Any home-chef needs to know how to cut jalapeños for flavorful, well-spiced cooking. Learn the three easiest ways to cut this little green pepper in just a matter of minutes, as well as top tips for storing, freezing, and preventing hot pepper burns.
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📋 What are jalapeños?
Jalapeños are small, green chile peppers that are one of a few milder hot peppers you can enjoy. On the Scoville scale, jalapeños are spicier than the poblano pepper but more mild than the Chipotle and Serrano peppers. They are technically a fruit of the species Capsicum annuum and are most often harvested in the summer months, but can be grown year-round in warmer climates.
⁉️ What You'll Need
- Sharp chef's knife - One of the most important tools in the kitchen. It may be counterintuitive, but using a small knife or a dull knife is going to make it more likely that you will cut yourself and have difficulty cutting your jalapeños uniformly. A good chef's knife should glide through whatever you are cutting without resistance and feel comfortable in your hand.
- Cutting board - The larger the better! Using a small cutting board is going to make your workspace feel crowded and take you longer to prep.
🔪 How to Cut a Jalapeño
Just like in my Spicy Mango Habanero Salsa with Black Beans recipe, I recommend handling jalapeños with gloves. Jalapeños are significantly less hot then habaneros but both contain capsaicin oil and can irritate your skin and eyes just the same. As a rule of thumb, always wear gloves when chopping hot peppers.
If you don't have any kitchen-safe gloves available, thoroughly wash your hands with dish soap and cool water after handling and avoid touching the ribs (white parts) when possible. The ribs have the highest concentration of capsaicin oil which cause the burning sensation on skin.
To Mince or Dice
The difference between dicing and mincing is simply a finer chop. Diced jalapeños are great for raw salsas or dishes where you'd like some texture, like in skillet roasted corn. Minced jalapeños are more appropriate when you need something similar to a paste - essentially chop as small as you can.
- Cut off and discard the stem. Although you can eat jalapeño stems, they are tough and not the most palatable.
- Slice the jalapeño in half longways.
- Scrape out the membrane, ribs, and seeds. The membrane and ribs of the jalapeño are typically the spiciest. Feel free to include them in your dish if you want it to be as spicy as possible.
- Skin side down, slice one jalapeño half into long, thin strips.
- Slice the second jalapeño half into long, thin strips.
- Dice or mince the jalapeño strips crosswise. If dicing, you'll likely only need one pass through. If mincing, continue chopping until the jalapeños are very fine - think the texture of minced garlic or minced ginger.
To Slice
Sliced jalapeños are great for pickling, added on top of nachos, chili, or grain bowls! They can also be ready in less than a minute - great for quick dinner prep.
- Cut off and discard the stem.
- Slice the jalapeno crosswise, creating thin rings.
Note that this method does not discard the jalapeño ribs or seeds, so it will be naturally spicier. I love serving this kind of cut with sour cream or other dairy toppings to help cool the spice.
❄️ How to Store Jalapeños
To store whole, uncut jalapeños: Store whole jalapeños in a paper bag or plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Keep them separate from any fruit as fruit gasses can cause the jalapeños to spoil faster.
How to store fresh cut jalapeños: If you're looking to prep your jalapeños ahead of time, good news! Jalapeños can be diced, minced, or sliced up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Store in glass instead of plastic for optimal results.
🍽 How to Use Jalapeños
Similar to cut shallots, jalapeños are a versatile pantry staple and can be used in several different types of cuisines to boost flavor and spice.
- Diced jalapeños are great to use in seafood marinades like Tequila Lime Margarita Grilled Shrimp, in Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers, Beef and Bacon Instant Pot Dirty Rice, or 7 Layer Taco Dip.
- Minced jalapeños are useful when making Jalapeño Popper Meatballs, Jalapeño Ranch Dressing and Homemade Jalapeño Relish.
- Sliced jalapeños can be used as a fresh topping on Pizza, Air Fryer Nachos, Fajita Tacos, Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps, Ground Turkey Enchiladas, Chicken Chili Without Tomatoes, and Shrimp Poke Bowls. Sliced jalapeños can also always be used in pickling. Try these super easy 10 minute pickled jalapeños.
🔍 FAQs
Jalapeños turn red when they are left on the vine longer and become very ripe. The riper a jalapeño is, the more capsaicin oil it typically contains, which means in theory, it should be spicier than a green pepper. However, keep in mind that the hotness of jalapeños varies wildly, so it's possible to have a very hot green jalapeño and a more mild red one.
My favorite method to neutralize the burning sensation: submerge the skin in dairy products like whole milk, yogurt, or sour cream. The casein in dairy helps dissolve and neutralize the heat of the capsaicin oil. If you don't have any dairy, make a thick paste using baking soda and water and spread it over the burn. Allow the paste to dry on the skin, then carefully remove with water.
Yes, fresh jalapeños can be frozen in an airtight container or zip top bag for up to 6 months. It is best to chop, dice, or slice before freezing as opposed to freezing peppers whole. Frozen jalapeños do best in cooked recipes as opposed to fresh because freezing them alters their texture and moisture content.
💭 One More Tip
Taste your jalapeños before adding to your dish! As previously mentioned, the spice level of jalapeños varies considerably. Some are so mild you may be wondering why is my jalapeño not hot? Others can be so spicy they can quickly overpower a dish. Always taste your jalapeños before adding the called for amount to ensure it's not too spicy.
If you found this helpful, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
🍴 More Cooking Tips
📖 Recipe
How to Cut Jalapeños
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 jalapeño
Instructions
To Mince or Dice
- Cut off and discard the stem. Although you can eat jalapeño stems, they are tough and not the most palatable.
- Slice the jalapeño in half longways.
- Scrape out the membrane, ribs (white parts), and seeds. The membrane and ribs of the jalapeño are typically the spiciest. Feel free to include them in your dish if you want it to be as spicy as possible.
- Skin side down, slice one jalapeño half into long, thin strips.
- Slice the second jalapeño half into long, thin strips.
- Dice or mince the jalapeño strips crosswise. If dicing, you'll likely only need one pass through. If mincing, continue chopping until the jalapeños are very fine - think the texture of minced garlic or minced ginger.
To Slice
- Cut off and discard the stem.
- Slice the jalapeño crosswise, creating thin rings.
Notes
- You might want to use gloves while handling jalapeños to prevent the oils from burning your eyes or skin.
- The difference between dicing and mincing is simply a finer chop. Diced jalapeños are great for raw salsas or dishes where you'd like some texture. Minced jalapeños are more appropriate when you need something similar to a paste - essentially chop as small as you can.
- Sliced jalapeños are great for pickling, added on top of nachos, chili, or grain bowls! They can also be ready in less than a minute - great for quick dinner prep. Note that this method does not discard the jalapeño ribs or seeds, so it will be naturally spicier. I love serving this kind of cut with sour cream or other dairy toppings to help cool the spice.
- To store whole, uncut jalapeños: Store whole jalapeños in a paper bag or plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Keep them separate from any fruit as fruit gasses can cause the jalapeños to spoil faster. How to store fresh cut jalapeños: If you're looking to prep your jalapeños ahead of time, good news! Jalapeños can be diced, minced, or sliced up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Taste your jalapeños before adding to your dish! The spice level of jalapeños varies considerably. Some are so mild you may be wondering why is my jalapeño not hot? Others can be so spicy they can quickly overpower a dish. Always taste your jalapeños before adding the called for amount to ensure it's not too spicy.
Nutrition
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