How Long Do Jalapeños Last?

Jalapeños is a popular pepper that’s found its way into many sauces that require more spiciness. Besides sauces, it can be added to any dishes that need to be hotter. Therefore, many will buy a lot of jalapeños to keep in the kitchen for later use. Since jalapeños are like any other vegetables, they tend to not last very long.

So how long do jalapeños last? Fresh whole jalapeños will last 3 to 5 days in the pantry, while it will last 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Sliced and chopped jalapeños will last a couple of hours at room temperature and 3 to 4 days in the fridge. In the freezer, whole, sliced and chopped jalapeños will last up to 1 year.

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Jalapeños Shelf Life

	Room Temperature	Refrigerator	Freezer
Whole Jalapeños last	2-4 Hours	7-14 Days	1 Year
Cut or Sliced Jalapeños last	2-4 Hours	3-4 Days	`1 Year
Canned Jalapeños last	6 Months after Expiry Date	6 Months after Expiry Date	Not Recommended

How Long Do Jalapeños Last

At room temperature, fresh whole jalapeños will last for about a couple of days. The warmer the air temperature is, the faster they will go bad. Therefore, you’ll want to keep them in a cool place like the pantry or the cabinet.

In the fridge, fresh whole jalapeños will last for about 1 to 2 weeks. How long they last will depends on when it was harvested. If you’ve just picked them from your garden and store it in the fridge right away, it can last up to 2 weeks.

On the other hand, if you’ve left them in the kitchen for a couple of days and then transfer it to the fridge, it might last just a week. Therefore, if you’re not planning to use jalapeños within a couple of days, it’s best to store them in the fridge right away.

For jalapeños that are sliced or chopped, the peppers will last about 4 hours at room temperature. Again, the warmer it is, the faster it will go bad.

If you store sliced jalapeños in the fridge, they will last about 3 to 4 days. Make sure to always put them in an airtight container or a resealable bag to preserve their freshness.

When it comes to canned jalapeños, it’s pretty much the same as other canned products. Canned jalapeños will come with a “Best By” date on them. The printed date is just a date of how long the jalapeños will retain their freshness.

However, it could last much longer than that if the can hasn’t been opened yet. Once the can is opened, it will shorten its shelf life. Always put open canned jalapeños in the fridge, where it will last 1 to 2 months.

How To Store Jalapeños

To keep jalapeños fresh and at their best quality, you’ll need to properly store them. Depending on the type of jalapeños, there are different storage methods for them.

Storing Fresh Jalapeños

For fresh jalapeños, if you’re planning to use them within a day, you can simply leave them at room temperature. Just make sure it’s stored away from direct sunlight.

If you want fresh jalapeños to last more than a couple of days, the peppers should be stored in the fridge. The best place in the fridge to store them is the vegetable drawer or crisp drawer. You can simply put the jalapeños peppers in there without any coverings.

Storing Chopped Or Sliced Jalapeños

For chopped or sliced jalapeños peppers, if they are not going to be used within 2 hours, they should be stored in the fridge immediately.

When storing them in the fridge, unlike fresh whole jalapeños, you’ll need to keep the peppers in a small airtight container or a resealable plastic bag. This is to ensure that they don’t dry out.

When using a plastic bag, make sure to squeeze out all the air before sealing it. Also, try not to cramp them all into one bag, The jalapeños peppers should be stored in the bag loosely.

Storing Canned Or Bottled Jalapeños

For canned or bottled jalapeños, it’s the same method as for other canned products or bottled products. As long as it hasn’t been opened yet, they can be stored in the pantry or the cabinet. As long as the storage area is cool and dark, you should be fine.

Once the can or bottle has been open, any leftovers should be stored in the fridge. When storing them in the fridge, transfer the peppers along with the liquid it came with to a mason jar or an airtight container.

Can You Freeze Jalapeños

Freezing jalapeños peppers is an excellent way to preserve them for later use. You can either freeze them whole or sliced and they’ll still retain their freshness for a long time.

When freezing jalapeños, you should always store them in a freezer bag.

Keeping jalapeños in a freezer bag for a long time is fine. However, over time, the heat index of the pepper will be reduced. The cause for this is due to freezer burn. The more air that’s in the bag, the more likely it will get freezer burn.

To keep them from getting freezer burn and lasting for a long time, use a vacuum sealer to take out all the air. This Automatic Food Vacuum Sealer, which can be found on Amazon.

Another method to reduce freezer burn is to blanch the jalapeños peppers. By blanching the peppers, it destroys a particular enzyme that helps prevent the pepper from breaking down further.

To blanch the peppers, simply drop them in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Then drop them immediately into freezing water.

By blanching and vacuum sealing the jalapeños, you can expect the texture and taste to be the same after a year in the freezer.

How To Freeze Jalapeños

For jalapeños, there are two options you can use for freezing them. The methods you choose will depend on how often you use jalapeños and the amount of storage space in the freezer.

First Option: Freeze Whole Jalapeños

Clean the peppers with cold water.
Use a clean towel and dry the peppers.
Remove the stems if you’re not planning to use it.
Place the peppers in a freezer bag. Avoid packing too much into a single bag.
Remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag.
Label the date on the bag and seal it tightly.
Put the jalapeños into the freezer until they are needed.

Second Option: Freeze Sliced Jalapeños

Clean the jalapeños with cold water.
Dry the peppers completely with a clean towel.
Cut the stems off each pepper.
Slice the peppers into the desired shape.
Place a baking sheet on a tray.
Spread the sliced jalapeños onto the baking sheet spacing them out evenly.
Put the entire tray of peppers into the freezer.
Flash-freeze them for 1 hour or until they are completely frozen.
Transfer the frozen sliced peppers immediately to a freezer bag.
Squeeze or press on the bag to remove the air from it.
Label the bag and put it in the freezer.

Tips: To keep jalapeños peppers fresh for a long time (more than 1 year), vacuum seals them. The less air that’s in the bag, the less likely it will get freezer burn.

Defrosting Jalapeño Peppers

When it comes to defrosting jalapeños, you’ll want to leave them in the fridge. Simply take them out from the freezer and put the entire bag or the number of peppers you need onto a plate. Put the plate into the fridge for about 6 hours to let them thaw.

After the pepper thaw, the skin will be wrinkle and it will be a bit soft. It may not taste that great eating it fresh, but it will make a great addition to add to spaghetti sauce or dipping sauce.

How To Keep Jalapenos Fresh Longer

To keep jalapeños fresh longer doesn’t just depend on where and how it’s stored, it depends on other factors as well. One of them is where and when it was harvested. Of course, there are no jalapeños fresher than the one you have in your own garden.

If you’re buying jalapeños from the grocery stores, always check the quality of the pepper first. From the time it was harvested and processed to being sold in the store, it could be a day to even a week! Since there are no labels or dates on the jalapeños when it was harvested, it could be hard to tell how long it will last when you take them home.

Therefore, always check the quality of the jalapeños peppers before you buy them. Pick the pepper up and examine it. Good quality peppers will be firm and have no signs of bruising, cut, or mold on them. Once you take them home, transfer them to a resealable plastic bag immediately. Another option would be to store them in the crisp section of the fridge.

If you planted jalapeños in your garden, it’s best to leave them there until you’re ready to use them. This will ensure they will be at the best quality.

However, jalapeños peppers can only be grown in the warmer seasons. When it gets colder outside, to keep them fresh longer, you can harvest them and store them in the house. You have the option of freezing, canning, or pickling jalapeños.

How To Tell Jalapeños Is Bad

Jalapeños peppers are just like any other vegetables when it comes to going bad. After a certain period of time, it will start degrading in quality until it no longer is safe to eat. While it’s starting to go bad, you’ll have time to either use them or prepare them for storage.

For jalapeños, when they go bad or spoil, they’ll be signs that you can look for.

For fresh jalapeños peppers, whether it’s stored in the pantry or in the fridge, the flesh will start to become wrinkle. This is a sign that’s it starting to go bad. While the peppers are safe to eat, the quality won’t be that great.

In addition, fresh jalapeños will start to lose their spiciness when it goes bad. Therefore, if you’re looking to make salsa or a dish that requires it to be really spicy, always use fresh jalapeños.

Another sign to look for is the color of the jalapeños peppers. When it goes bad, it will start to have brown or grey spots on the pepper. Again, it’s still safe to eat, but the taste and spiciness will decrease.

However, if the spots are accompanied by mold, you should discard it. The mold could be found right around the spotted area or in the pepper when you cut it open.

The last thing to look for is the smell of the jalapeños. Fresh jalapeños will have that freshness smell to it. Jalapeños that is bad will have a rotten smell to it. Therefore, if the pepper has an off smell to it, you should discard it the entire pepper.

Additionally, if it came from a batch that you stored together, the other will be bad as well.

As for canned jalapeños, make sure the can isn’t dented, have rust on it, or leaking. If so, throw out the entire can of jalapeños, even if the peppers inside seems fine.