Can You Freeze Jalapeño Peppers?

Jalapeño pepper plants can start popping off with fruit in the summertime, so much so that people with home gardens end up with an overabundance. You can only add jalapeños to your homemade pesto so much before you start pawning them off on friends and family. Even still, you can be left with a huge pile of them. While you generally want to avoid storing peppers in the fridge, you might be thinking about freezing that surplus for longevity. How would that work?

As it happens, it works a treat, and they can be frozen for up to a year, though they are best used within three months for the closest texture to fresh jalapeños. But don't worry — they don't lose too much of their spiciness after going through the freezing and thawing process. You can freeze them whole or sliced and diced. If you opt for the latter preparations, you can choose how much of those whitish ribs (the main source of jalapeños' spicy capsaicin) you want to keep with them.

Rather than just tossing your whole jalapeños in the freezer (which you can totally do if you're in a hurry), you can prepare them for the deep freeze so that they'll come out more convenient to use. First, you'll want to give your jalapeños a bath, but be sure they're dry before moving on to the next step.

Then, remove the stems with a sharp knife, and cut them however you like. Slices are great for throwing on top of something like frozen burrito enchiladas, while a fine dice is better for sauteing. To avoid burning yourself on the capsaicin, you might want to put a barrier between your skin and the peppers by donning plastic gloves or wearing a plastic baggie on your veg-holding hand. If you want portioned-out jalapeño pepper pieces, you can pack them into an ice cube tray or a silicone mold and put them in the freezer. Let them set, and move them to a freezer-safe bag.

If individual portions won't be useful to you, flash-freeze them in a single layer on a tray. Then transfer the frozen pepper pieces to an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag once they're frozen. Fresh whole peppers can just go straight into a container or bag — they won't stick together.

If you know ahead of time that you will need some jalapeños, you can let them defrost in the fridge overnight. They will release quite a bit of water, so you'll likely want to use a paper towel to absorb the excess moisture as they thaw. Once defrosted, the texture will be softer and wetter than fresh peppers, but if they're heading for soup, a casserole, cheesy nachos, or a salsa, it won't make too much of a difference since they'll moisten anyway. For ease, you can also cook them straight from their frozen state. 

Where whole jalapeños are concerned, the somewhat limp, post-thaw texture might put a damper on your dish, so it's best to use them in a preparation that gets cooked. For a mild flavor, toss the whole frozen peppers right into batches of chili, stews, beans, or stocks. Also, any textural iffiness will be totally concealed if the cooked peppers are blended into warm snack dips, creamy soups, or homemade salsa verde.