What To Do With Extra Jalapenos From Garden

Man does my husband ever love hot peppers. There are so many ways you can preserve excess hot peppers from the garden to enjoy later!

Of course, we make tons of Pico de Gallo and salsa throughout the garden season, but I also love to save garden veggies for later use during the year. Click here for a great salsa recipe.

We also put hot peppers in many dishes such as this homemade Rotel or soups, casseroles, and pasta. Hot peppers have such a wonderful flavor. I'm a big sissy when it comes to heat, so I only use a little. If you like a lot, by all means, use a LOT!

Is your garden overflowing with other excess fruits and vegetables? Check this out.

different kinds of hot peppers laying on a board

(check out my favorite seed brand here)

What to do with hot peppers

Peppers can be used to make a marinade, sauce, or salad to go with your dinner. They are very versatile if you like spicy foods. Pickling, frying, freezing, canning, and so much more can be done to preserve hot peppers for later. Or you can find an abundance of great recipes to use them in.

9 Ways to Use Excess Hot Peppers from the Garden

Preserving hot peppers from the garden

The easiest way to use excess hot peppers is to hang them to dry. I just thread a needle and poke it through the stem area of the pepper and run it down the thread. Then I poke the next one and keep adding them until I have a foot or so of beautiful hot peppers strung up like a piece of art.

Then I take the needle off the thread and tie a little loop in the end so I can hang it on a nail or hook on the wall. In a few weeks, the peppers are dried beautifully and when I need some spice for a dish, I just cut one off and toss it in the pot or grind it up and sprinkle it in. It's so easy. They last for years this way. The only thing you need to make sure of is to hang them in a dry place so they won't mold. I've been doing it for years and have never lost any of my excess hot peppers to mold.

What to do with chili peppers from garden

Chili peppers are medium-hot peppers that are perfect for many applications such as drying. They really do make the prettiest dried pepper in my opinion, although many types of peppers will dry beautifully. You can use them in many dishes fresh as well. They are quite versatile.

Freezing excess hot peppers for later

You may wonder, can you freeze hot peppers? Another way I love to save our excess hot peppers for later is to freeze them. All I do is cut them up into small dice, seeds, ribs and all, and put them in a freezer bag. Then I can sprinkle them in my dishes throughout the year. The only thing we don't use is the stem.

And for a complete guide on how to use even more produce, check out How to Use All the Garden Produce You Grow-Without Canning by clicking this link.

Pickling excess hot peppers for later

My husband loves those pickled jalapenos in a jar. I make them the same way, but I use all kinds of peppers and even onions and carrot slices. He loves to add them to his food for a zesty treat. Click here to see how we make pickles. I just use the same recipe, but I slice up all the veggies and put them in instead of the cucumbers. You can also make other pickled vegetables spicy with hot peppers like these spicy dilly beans.

Making pepper salt with excess hot peppers

Another treat you can make with your excess hot peppers from the garden is to dehydrate them in a dehydrator, sun oven, or in your oven with the pilot light on. You just need to cut off the stems and cut the peppers in half. Then dry them until they are no longer chewy. Once they have cooled, you can grind them up in the blender or spice grinder and mix them with salt according to your taste. This pepper salt will give a wonderful flavor to finish off any dish you want to use it on. Yum yum.

Hot pepper recipes

This tuna casserole is rich, creamy, and delicious.

You can make a spicy Rotel pork chop right in your crockpot with a few hot peppers.

Low carb hatch Chile and cheddar casserole is a delicious breakfast or brunch dish.

It's tough to beat homemade mac and cheese, but I think I just figured out how. It starts with a homemade cheese sauce, a little bit of smoke, bacon, and some fresh roasted hatch chiles.

Every now and then I get a wild hair and make something that's not quite in line with what is "normal". Another one of those instances came up recently when I decided I was going to make Jalapeno Popper Ribs. I love jalapeno ribs, and I love jalapeno poppers, so I felt like combining them was the next logical step.

This traditional Greek spicy whipped feta dip-tirokafteri is a rustic, delicious appetizer served with pitas, crackers, or cut-up veggies. Tirokafteri is also known as Ktipiti. The recipe of the dish may vary from region to region. Ingredients most commonly include feta cheese, hot peppers, roasted peppers, olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, garlic, yogurt, and oregano.

Spicy Jalapeno Deviled Eggs will have your taste buds tingling with fresh jalapeno and sriracha – a unique take on a classic dish.

This easy Thai curry chili's spiciness level varies, depending on the amount and type of hot peppers used. Any kind of hot pepper will work well in this recipe.

An easy to make casserole with layers of poblano peppers and lots of cheese.

This spicy, fragrant herbaceous sauce is going to make your dishes pop with flavor! Great on meat, fish, vegetables or as a dipping sauce for bread. The possibilities are endless!

This stuffed pepper soup is made with lean ground beef simmered in a flavorful tomato sauce and chicken broth and served with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

Feature those fresh garden peppers in this sweet and spicy jerk sauce. Use it as a dipping sauce or marinade to add heat and Caribbean flavor to your dishes. You can use any hot peppers you have on hand in this recipe.

This Chile verde recipe uses a variety of peppers and has plenty of spice.

This unbelievably delicious Vietnamese Pho Recipe is made with a nourishing beef broth infused with fragrant spices, chewy noodles, and tender slices of meat. Filled with the same delicious and authentic flavors as your favorite pho restaurant, learn how to make this Vietnamese Noodle Soup from scratch and serve topped with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Savory Chettinad Chicken smothered with coconut and onion, with the rich flavors of South India. Serve it with white rice for lunch or dinner.

An authentic Mexican soup, Sopa de Tortilla is packed with flavors of pasilla peppers, tomatoes and herbs, filled with tortilla strips.

Keto Jalapeño Savory Poppers are fun and easy to make, even more fun and easy to serve. These savory poppers are yummy snacks or appetizers with a little kick.

Check out more things you can do with excess hot peppers from the garden too. There are other ways you can use hot peppers besides as the main part of your dish. You can make all these wonderful condiments as well.

Hot sauce
Spicy Kraut
Fermented jalapenos
Fermented hot sauce
Fermented Jalapeno Rings

Hot peppers are so versatile and have a ton of uses. Experiment with different peppers to see which ones you like best in the different preparations. They have amazing flavors. They also vary in heat. Such as the bell pepper has no heat, all the way to the Carolina reaper which is the hottest pepper in the world and is VERY hot!

There are banana peppers and pepperoncinis which are barely hot. Then the anaheim and poblano which are larger and easier to stuff, but are just a little hotter. The next hottest are jalapenos and serranos. Serranos are notoriously inconsistent. You can easily get one with no heat and then a scorcher in the same batch off the same plant.

Then if you want a pepper that's a little hotter, the chile de arbol, cayenne, and tabasco are next in line. And if you really want some heat, thai, habanero, scotch bonnets, and then ghost peppers can light up your life. And then the infamous Carolina reaper takes top position.

If you like hot things, these peppers can really bring a lot of flavor and variety into your life.

Preserving Peaches from the garden, Preserving Green Beans from the garden, Preserving Cucumbers from the garden, Preserving Tomatoes from the garden

Storing garden produce to make it last as long as possible

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