Natural form

Fresh jalapeños showing characteristic elongated conical shape and glossy bright green skin.

Establishes the identifying visual signature — glossy green color, elongated conical form tapering to a rounded tip, and smooth surface — that readers use to recognize jalapeños at a glance.

Produce

Jalapeño Pepper

Bright green chili with a moderate, fruity heat

Fresh and grassy with a medium kick, jalapeños spark up salsas, nachos, and pickles — seed them to tame the heat or leave it in for fire. Keep them cold.

The jalapeño is the everyday chili — bright, grassy, and fruity with a moderate, approachable heat that you can dial up or down. Green ones are sharper and more vegetal; ripened red ones are sweeter and a touch hotter. Most of the burn lives in the white inner ribs and placental membrane; the seeds carry little heat themselves but pick it up by contact, so you control the fire by how much of the ribs (and the seeds attached to them) you leave in. Smoked and dried, the jalapeño becomes the chipotle — a whole second ingredient.

Measured in: piece
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 14 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Green jalapeño

Underripe, grassy and sharp; the common type

Red jalapeño

Fully ripe, sweeter and slightly hotter

Chipotle

Smoke-dried jalapeño; smoky, deep — a distinct ingredient

Pickled (en escabeche)

Tangy, milder; for nachos and sandwiches

How to choose

Want firm, smooth, glossy peppers that feel heavy. Fine pale 'corking' lines on the skin are a sign of maturity and often more heat — not a defect. Avoid soft, wrinkled, or dull peppers. Heat varies pepper to pepper even on the same plant, so taste a sliver if a dish depends on a precise level.

How to control the heat

Capsaicin, the heat compound, is concentrated in the white pithy ribs (placenta) inside, with the seeds along for the ride. For milder flavor, slice the pepper open and scrape out the ribs and seeds; for full fire, leave them in. Red, ripe jalapeños are a bit hotter but also sweeter, which softens the perception of heat.

Heat lives in the white ribs, not mainly the seeds
Remove ribs and seeds to tame it
Taste — heat varies pod to pod

Handle with care

Capsaicin sticks to skin and lingers; wear gloves when handling a lot of chilies, and never touch your eyes, nose, or lips afterward. Wash hands, board, and knife with soap (oil-cutting) and warm water. If you do get burned, milk or yogurt (dairy fat) soothes far better than water, which just spreads the oil.

Common uses

Pico de gallo and salsasJalapeño poppersGuacamoleNachos and quesadillasPickled jalapeñosCornbreadHot sauceStuffed and grilled

Tips & pitfalls

Scrape out the ribs and seeds for flavor without the full fire
Char or roast them to add smoky depth before adding to salsa
Wear gloves and keep your hands away from your eyes
Milk or yogurt, not water, calms a chili burn
Ripe red jalapeños are sweeter — great for hot sauce

Nutrition

29kcal

Energy

121 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 11%Carbs 79%Fat 10%

Protein

0.9g

2% DV

Carbs

6.5g

2% DV

Fat

0.4g

0% DV

Fiber

2.8g

10% DV

Sugars

4.1g

of which

Sodium

3mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin C132% DV

Vitamin B625% DV

Vitamin E24% DV

Vitamin K15% DV

Niacin (B3)8% DV

Folate7% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Peppers, jalapeno, raw

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

No matched grocery products for Jalapeño Pepper yet.

Good to know

Peak season: Summer through early fall; available year-round
Flavor: Bright, grassy, fruity; medium heat (~2,500–8,000 Scoville)
Origin: Mexico; named for Xalapa, Veracruz
Nutrition: ~29 kcal/100g; vitamin C, capsaicin; eaten in small amounts
How to buy: Firm, glossy, smooth (or lightly corked); deep green or red; no wrinkling

Substitutes