Candied Jalapenos
If you’ve ever looked through my recipes, you’ll see that I like things spicy. These little candied treats are a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. The sweet hits your tongue right away, then the warmth from the jalapeno kicks in. Removing the seeds makes the heat a lot less intense, just a hint of heat and sweet jalapeno flavor. But, you know me… I left the seeds in. Oops!
This is a really simple recipe that requires about an hour of your time and a little patience. The process, at its most basic is:
- Melt sugar and water to create a syrup.
- Simmer jalapenos in syrup for 5 minutes.
- Remove jalapenos and let cool.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 until desired candied-ness is reached (I did it 4 times)
I fell in love with these little sweet and spicy bombs at District Donuts and Sliders in NOLA, where I had them on top of cheesy waffle fries. This recipe is as close as I could come to whatever magic crack they’re doing to their jalapenos at District.

You’ll need sugar, jalapenos and a bit of cayenne pepper.

Bring sugar, cayenne and water to simmer until all sugar has dissolved. Add in the sliced jalapenos.

Round two of simmering and cooling the jalapenos.

Simmer. Cool. Repeat.
I did the process 4 times.

I decided to serve these little magic candied slices of heaven atop homemade goat cheese on crusty french bread. Yeeee!
Candied Jalapenos
8 large jalapenos, seeds removed and sliced into rings (1/8″ – 1/4″ thick)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
Directions
In a sauté pan, combine sugar, water, and cayenne pepper over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and liquid comes to a simmer.
Add in sliced jalapenos and simmer over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
Remove jalapenos from pan with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a plate and turn off the heat. Once cooled, repeat the process (bringing the syrup to a simmer, adding in jalapenos, simmering for 3-4 minutes and cooling) 3-4 times, until desired candiedness is reached. I repeated process 4 times.
Let cool and serve!