Learn how to dehydrate jalapenos and easily preserve them for long-term storage at room temperature. Dehydrating jalapenos is very easy and a great beginner dehydrating project. The peppers keep their taste and beautiful color and are a great ingredient to have on hand.
Jalapeno peppers might be the most useful hot pepper in anyone’s kitchen. They are just spicy enough and add a touch of spice to any dish without making it overly spicy. They are easy to handle and also pretty easy to grow in the home garden.
If you’ve ever planted and grown a jalapeno pepper plant, you also know that just one plant can produce so many beautiful peppers. Where with bell peppers, I find that most of the time the bugs get to them before me, right when they turn red and beautiful, no creature bothers the jalapeno peppers. Apparently, bugs don’t like spicy food!
Dehydrating Jalapenos….
Therefore, every summer, I find myself with way too many jalapeno peppers even if I manage to keep myself in check (which doesn’t always happen…) and only plant a few plants. We preserve them in many different ways…
- Candied jalapenos – those are a favorite! Jalapeno peppers cooked in vinegar and sugar.
- Canning hot peppers – it’s pretty simple to can hot peppers, yet as always with canning, it requires a bit of work.
- Peppers in vinegar and salt – these are easy to make and keep the peppers as fresh as possible but for a shorter amount of time.
But just like any other homesteader, I always search for more ways to preserve a vegetable simply to mix things up a bit, to simplify, and because there are different ways to use a vegetable in the kitchen and the way that you preserve it will probably affect the way that you can use it later.
Dehydrating jalapenos is my new and favorite way of preserving these peppers (same with cayenne peppers!). It’s such a simple way to preserve jalapeno peppers, my kids can do it! The peppers keep their color and taste and it’s great having them on the shelf, at room temperature, ready to be added to any dish.
Reasons For Drying Jalapenos…
- Preserving the flavor -even though jalapeno peppers can be found in most grocery stores year-round, they have a season just like any other vegetable. During the summer, they are the most delicious, and that is the best time to preserve them.
- Easy to travel with – do you like camping? We camp every summer and packing a couple tablespoons of dry jalapenos to spice up dinner is so much easier than packing fresh peppers. It’s also easier for me to handle since they are ready to be used and I don’t need to pack gloves and start chopping spicy peppers before dinner.
- Preserving for long-term storage – just another way to preserve your garden peppers and keep them at room temperature.
- Saves time – there are many dishes that call for jalapenos. When you have them ready, dry, on the shelf, it’s super easy to throw them into anything and saves you the time of chopping when you make dinner.
Ingredients…
- Jalapenos – this is all you need! I processed 20 peppers in this tutorial and ended up with a little over half a pint of dried, diced peppers. Dehydrate as many as you want!
Note – you can follow this tutorial to dehydrate any kind of spicy pepper with thick flesh.
Kitchen Tools…
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Large mixing bowl
- Dehydrator – I am using a nice dehydrator that allows me to control the temperature and produces a better end result. If you don’t have one of those, you can still dehydrate jalapenos in the oven (if your oven can work on a low enough temperature…) or in a cheap (no temperature control) dehydrator. More on this in the FAQ section below.
- Air tight storage container (I use jars)
How to Dehydrate Jalapenos…
Step one – prep the jalapeno peppers. Wash the peppers well and dry them with a paper towel. Cut the stem (you might want to use gloves to protect your skin when handling spicy peppers), quarter the peppers, and clean out the seeds and pith. You can leave the peppers quartered or you can dice them. I prefer dicing them because it’s easier for me to fit them into a jar for storage and it’s easier for me to use them later. Try to cut or dice uniform pieces so your peppers dry in the same amount of time.
Step two – add to the dehydrator. Set the peppers on the tray of the dehydrator. Try to spread them around so they are not all piled together.
Step three – dehydrate. Place the trays in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 125 degrees F for about 12 hours. Check to make sure that the peppers are dry. If they aren’t completely dry, keep dehydrating for another hour or two until they are completely dry.
How to Store Dehydrated Jalapenos…
Once the jalapenos are dry, remove them from the dehydrator, let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to an air-tight container. You can vacuum seal them or use zip-lock bags, however, in my opinion, jars with two-piece lids work best for storage and are beautiful on the shelf!
How to Use Dehydrated Jalapenos…
Usually, if we are dehydrating orange slices or strawberry slices, for example, I’ll have a few different ideas in this section on how to use the dried food. However, when it comes to jalapenos it’s pretty simple. Set the jar of dried jalapenos on your spice shelf and use them to spice any dish. If a dish calls for jalapenos, simply add a few dried jalapenos instead. Here are a few dishes that will benefit from the addition of those delicious peppers…
- Israeli Bean Soup Recipe (simply throw them in there, alongside dry oregano!)
- Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice (add them with the rice. You can also add dry mushrooms).
- Classic Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers (add them in the stuffing)
- Southwest Chicken Chilli (or any other kind of chili! Add dehydrated carrots as well).
- Healthy Shakshuka Recipe (add them in the tomato sauce)
How to Make and Use Jalapeno Powder…
One of the greatest things about dehydrated food is that you can turn it into powder. To make jalapeno powder, place the dry jalapenos in a coffee grinder and grind them until you get a powder. Store your powder in jars at room temperature and use it just as you’d use cayenne pepper powder.
Frequently Asked Questions…
Yes. Drying foods in a proper dehydrator where you can control the temperature produces a better result and preserves the nutrition better, however, if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can follow the same prep instructions, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, turn your oven to its lowest temperature (hopefully lower than 180 degrees F), and dehydrate your jalapenos this way. Of course, drying time will change so keep checking your jalapenos. Also, you might need to turn your baking sheet and/or turn the peppers halfway through.
It’s not recommended simply because jalapenos are pretty thick. There are other spicy peppers with thinner flesh that will be more suited to drying whole. When you dry jalapenos, it’s better if you slice them or dice them.
The cheaper Presto dehydrator is very popular and you can find it at any Walmart or online. It runs at a temperature of 165 degrees F and there is no way to control the temperature. Yes, you can use this kind of dehydrator to dry jalapenos. Again, for best results, we want to process jalapeno peppers at a temperature of 125 degrees F but a higher temperature will work as well. Drying time will probably be shorter, around 6-8 hours or so and you might need to purchase drying mats for your dehydrator (especially if you want to dry them diced).
Yes, you can. Add as many as you want to a bowl of hot water and let the peppers sit for a few minutes. Since we mostly use them to spice food they will rehydrate in the dish so I usually don’t rehydrate them separately. However, if you want to add them to bread dough, for example, or anything else that is pretty dry, you might want to rehydrate them first.
Yes, you should be able to dehydrate frozen jalapeno peppers by following the same steps.
If you are a beginner when it comes to dehydrating food, if you are a gardener with a ton of jalapenos, or if you simply came by a large number of peppers and want to preserve them in some way, dehydrating jalapenos is very easy! You can keep them at room temperature and use them to spice any dish. They are very useful to have on hand. I hope that you’ll give this a try!
More Dehydrating Tutorials…
- How to Dehydrate Green Onions
- Dehydrating Onions For Long-Term Storage
- Dehydrated Kale Chips
- How to Dry Apples in the Oven
- Purple Sweet Potato Chips Recipe
- How to Dehydrate Bananas
- Drying Radishes
How to Dehydrate Jalapenos
Dehydrating jalapenos is a very easy way to preserve these peppers. Follow the instructions below and learn how to dehydrate jalapenos.
Ingredients
- 20 jalapeno peppers (or as many as you want to process)
Instructions
- Wash the peppers well and dry them with a paper towel. Cut the stem (you might want to use gloves to protect your skin when handling spicy peppers), quarter the peppers, and clean out the seeds and pith. You can leave the peppers quartered or you can dice them. I prefer dicing them because it’s easier for me to fit them into a jar for storage and it’s easier for me to use them later. Try to cut or dice uniform pieces so your peppers dry in the same amount of time.
- Set the peppers on the tray of the dehydrator. Try to spread them around so they are not all piled together, but it’s fine if they touch.
- Place the trays in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 125 degrees F for about 12 hours. Check to make sure that the peppers are dry. If they aren’t completely dry, keep dehydrating for another hour or two until they are completely dry.
- Once the jalapenos are dry, remove them from the dehydrator, let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to an air-tight container. You can vacuum seal them or use zip-lock bags, however, in my opinion, jars with two-piece lids work best for storage and are beautiful on the shelf!
Notes
- Can I dehydrate jalapenos in the oven?
Yes. Drying foods in a proper dehydrator where you can control the temperature produces a better result and preserves the nutrition better, however, if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can follow the same prep instructions, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, turn your oven to its lowest temperature (hopefully lower than 180 degrees F), and dehydrate your jalapenos this way. Of course, drying time will change so keep checking your jalapenos. Also, you might need to turn your baking sheet and/or turn the peppers halfway through. - Can I dehydrate whole jalapenos? It’s not recommended simply because jalapenos are pretty thick. There are other spicy peppers with thinner flesh that will be more suited to drying whole. When you dry jalapenos, it’s better if you slice them or dice them.
- I can’t control the temperature on my dehydrator, can I still use it? The cheaper Presto dehydrator is very popular and you can find it at any Walmart or online. It runs at a temperature of 165 degrees F and there is no way to control the temperature. Yes, you can use this kind of dehydrator to dry jalapenos. Again, for best results, we want to process jalapeno peppers at a temperature of 125 degrees F but a higher temperature will work as well. Drying time will probably be shorter, around 6-8 hours or so and you might need to purchase drying mats for your dehydrator (especially if you want to dry them diced).
- Can I rehydrate jalapenos? Yes, you can. Add as many as you want to a bowl of hot water and let the peppers sit for a few minutes. Since we mostly use them to spice food they will rehydrate in the dish so I usually don’t rehydrate them separately. However, if you want to add them to bread dough, for example, or anything else that is pretty dry, you might want to rehydrate them first.
- Can I dehydrate frozen jalapenos? Yes, you should be able to dehydrate frozen jalapeno peppers by following the same steps.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 pepperAmount Per Serving: Calories: 4Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.