What to Do With Jalapeno Seeds

Jalapeno peppers are prized for their spicy, fresh flavor and fiery-hot zing. They're often added to Mexican, Thai and American dishes. If you love cooking and eating spicy foods, you have probably cooked with jalapenos. However, many wonder what to do with their seeds after chopping up the pepper’s flesh.

Add Seeds to the Dish You're Cooking

Jalapeno seeds are where this pepper stores much of its fire. If you like spicy-hot food, add the seeds to your dish along with the chopped jalapeno pepper flesh. The more seeds added, the hotter the spice. Add a little at a time until you get your preferred heat level.

Dry Them and Plant Them

Save the seeds and plant them. Choose a ripe jalapeno pepper that turned red and is starting to wrinkle. Cut it open, remove the seeds, spread them out in a single layer and air dry them. Put the dried seeds in a tightly sealed glass jar and store them in a cool, dry place, such as the refrigerator, until ready for planting. Do not freeze them.

Dry Them for Cooking

Use dried jalapeno seeds for cooking. Air dry or oven dry them. To oven dry them, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake them at 135 degrees until they are fully dehydrated. Store them in a tightly sealed jar until ready for use. Sprinkle them on pizza, eggs, tacos, nachos or any dish that you'd like to spice up.

Discard Them

It is certainly fine to throw the seeds away. If your dinner is spicy enough for your taste and you don't need jalapeno seeds for planting, don't feel like you must save them.

Safe Pepper Handling

Jalapenos are very hot and can burn skin, eyes and nasal passages. When chopping or handling chopped jalapenos, wear rubber gloves or place plastic bags over your hands. Do not touch your eyes with your hands until you have taken off your gloves and washed your hands. Do not place your face near the chopped peppers and breath in deeply, as the fumes are irritating.