Description
Give your food a lively kick with this homemade jalapeño finishing salt. It’s a simple blend of dried jalapeño and coarse salt that brightens snacks, mains, and cocktails with an instant hit of green chile flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
- About ½ cup fully dried jalapeño pieces (roughly 10 fresh peppers before drying)
- 1 cup coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Prepare fresh chiles (if starting fresh): Rinse and pat the jalapeños dry. Remove stems and slice into small pieces. Spread them in a single layer on dehydrator trays and dry at about 125°F until the pieces are completely crisp and brittle — usually several hours. (If you’re using store-bought dried jalapeños, skip this step.)
- Break the dried chiles down: Put the dried jalapeño pieces into a food processor and pulse a few times to fragment them. Stop when the pieces are roughly the size you want in the finished salt — less pulsing = chunkier flakes; more pulsing = finer granules.
- Add the salt: Pour the coarse kosher salt into the processor with the jalapeño bits. Pulse until the pepper and salt are evenly mixed and reach your preferred texture.
- Store the mix: Spoon the jalapeño salt into an airtight jar or shaker. Label with the date and keep it in a cool, dark cupboard.
Notes
- Notes & Safety
- Dry peppers completely before mixing or the salt may clump.
- If you’re sensitive to pepper fumes, consider wearing a mask or draping a damp towel over the processor to help trap airborne spice.
- This recipe yields roughly 1½ cups of seasoned salt — a little goes a long way.
- Scaling Guide (easy conversions)
- Small test: 5 fresh jalapeños → about ¼ cup dried → ~½ cup coarse salt
- Medium batch: 10 fresh jalapeños → ~½ cup dried → ~1 cup coarse salt
- Large stash: 30 fresh jalapeños → ~1½ cups dried → ~3 cups coarse salt
- Storage and Shelf Life
- Keep your jalapeño salt sealed in a dry, dark place. Properly dried and stored, it will retain its flavor and texture for a year or more since the salt acts as a preservative. If you notice any soft or damp pieces in the dried chiles, remove them before blending — moisture shortens shelf life.
- Quick tips
- For a citrusy twist, add a little finely grated lime zest while processing.
- For a smoky profile, start with smoked sea salt instead of kosher salt.
- Use this as a finishing salt — sprinkle it on after cooking to preserve its crunchy texture and bright flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1g
- Calories: 0.2kcal
- Sugar: 0.03g
- Sodium: 1886mg
- Fat: 0.003g
- Carbohydrates: 0.05g
- Fiber: 0.02g
- Protein: 0.01g