It’s quick and easy to make oven-roasted jalapeños peppers at home. Putting oven-roasted jalapeños in your recipes is a great way to add a new depth of flavor. Also, if your recipe calls for raw jalapenos, but you want less heat, then baking jalapenos in your oven mellows the heat and adds a smoky depth of flavor.
With a few simple tips, you can easily roast whole jalapenos without burning your hands and eyes.
Meal Prep Tip: Having roasted jalapenos already cooked and in your freezer is a great shortcut for preparing an easy meal for friends and family. If you like sweet and spicy seasonings, you will also what to make my pickled jalapenos recipe.
Why roast jalapenos?
- Roasting your own jalapenos in the oven is quick and easy.
- You can do a small pan of peppers or several cookie sheets full so that you have extra to freeze in a sealed container for later use.
- Roasting jalapeños can make them slightly milder than when eaten raw. The high heat from roasting tends to break down the capsaicin, which is the ingredient in peppers that makes them spicy and hot.
- If you are a gardener, you know one jalapeno plant can yield a bunch of peppers. One can only eat so many jalapeno poppers recipes. Roasting and freezing your whole jalapenos is a great way to preserve chili peppers.
🛒 Ingredients needed
There is not much needed to develop the flavor of oven-roasted jalapeno peppers.
- Jalapeono peppers
- Olive oil
- Liquid Smoke
See the recipe card for a complete list and quantities.
🌶️ Tips for roasting jalapeño peppers
- First and foremost, wear a pair of single-use disposable gloves to cover the sensitive skin on your hands. I keep a box of these in my kitchen when I prepare hot peppers or work with raw meat.
- Remember, even though you have gloves on, don’t touch any other part of your body while working with the hot peppers.
- Use a large cutting board that can be put into the dishwasher after you are done. The oils can remain on the board unless you wash them with a lot of soap and hot water.
- Cover your baking pan with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Roast jalapenos whole. This helps retain moisture and makes it easier to peel the skin off.
🔪 How to cook jalapenos in the oven
- With a small sharp paring knife, cut the top off, then vertically from the top, cut one side, stopping 1/2 inch before the tip. Gently open the pepper, grab the stem, and pull out the pepper’s center and seeds. Use your thumb to clean out anything not coming loose and tap out the seeds. Toss the whole cored pepper into a large bowl.
2. Whisk in a small bowl the olive oil and liquid smoke. Drizzle the oil mixture over the peppers in the bowl and toss gently.
3. Lay peppers on a parchment-lined prepared baking sheet. Be sure and leave 1/2 inch space between each pepper.
4. Roast for 5 minutes, then turn peppers over—roast for 5 more minutes. If you have very large jalapenos, roast them for 8 to 10 minutes.
After the 5-minute mark is up, remove the pan of peppers from the oven and quickly cover the whole pan with aluminum foil. Be very careful to seal the foil around the pan’s edges so the peppers can be steamed. Allow the peppers to sit and steam for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the foil and gently pull off the outer skin of the roasted jalapeno pepper. Don’t worry about the blackened bits on the skin. Just peel it off.
6. The skin of the pepper is a little papery and is better discarded, using only the soft flesh in your recipes.
🔥 Extra spicy tip
If you like jalapenos really spicy, skip the coring of the seeds and stem. Just trim the stem off and roast the whole pepper, seeds, and all. The pepper membrane and seeds will infuse more spicy heat.
How to store
- You can place your peppers on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. After 24 hours, remove the peppers and place them in a freezer-style zip-lock bag.
- You can also use a food processor, place all your roasted peppers in its bowl, and ruff chop them. Place them in ice cube trays that have been sprayed with a touch of cooking spray. Allow freezing for 24 hours. Then place the cubes in a freezer-style zip-lock bag. Depending on how much you fill the trays, this will give you 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of roasted peppers.
- Put roasted jalapenos in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator. Use within five days.
What to do with roasted jalapenos
Roasted jalapenos are great diced into a Pimento cheese dip. Mix them in taquitos, taco meat, Mexican caviar, or a nacho casserole. You will definitely want to try them in some of these Mexican appetizers or your favorite Cinco de Mayo recipes.
More Seasoning Recipes
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How To Roast Whole Jalapeños Peppers
Note: Be sure to read through the recipe’s post for tips and details about this recipe.
Ingredients
- 8 jalapenos, medium to large sized
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Move your oven rack to the highest position near your broiler element. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Wash your peppers well under warm water. Place them on a towel and pat them dry.8 jalapenos
- With a small sharp paring knife, cut the top off then vertically from the top cut one side stopping 1/2 inch before the tip. Gently open the pepper and grab the stem and pull out the pepper’s center and seeds. Use your thumb to clean out anything not coming loose and tap out the seeds. Toss the whole cored pepper into a large bowl.
- Whisk in a small bowl the olive oil and liquid smoke. Drizzle the oil mixture over the peppers in the bowl and toss gently.1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- Lay pepper on a parchment-lined prepared baking sheet. Be sure and leave 1/2 inch space between each pepper.
- Roast for 5 minutes, then turn peppers over—roast for 5 more minutes.
- After the 5-minute mark is up, remove the pan of peppers from the oven and quickly cover the whole pan with aluminum foil. Be very careful to seal the foil all around the edges of the pan so the peppers can be steamed. Allow the peppers to sit and steam for 15 minutes.
- Remove foil and gently pull off the outer skin of the roasted jalapeno pepper. Don’t worry about the blackened bits on the skin, just peel it off. The skin of the pepper is a little papery and is better discarded, using only the soft flesh in your recipes.
Notes
- First and foremost, wear a pair of single-use disposable gloves to cover the sensitive skin on your hands. I keep a box of these in my kitchen when I prepare hot peppers or work with raw meat.
- Remember, even though you have gloves on, don’t touch any other part of your body while working with the hot peppers.
- Use a large cutting board that can be put into the dishwasher after you are done. The oils can remain on the board unless you wash them with a lot of soap and hot water.
- Cover your baking pan with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Roast jalapenos whole. This helps retain moisture and makes it easier to peel the skin off.
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