How to Cut Jalapeño: A Step-by-Step Guide

No matter how you slice them, jalapeños add a zip of flavor to any dish. Though low in calories, they contain vitamins A and C and potassium. Many of their health benefits can be attributed to capsaicin, the compound that gives these peppers their heat. It also happens to be a potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties, which may be why eating chili peppers has been linked to lower rates of death from all causes.

Although they are on the lower end of the Scoville scale, the heat index of peppers, jalapeños can still have a bite, and not only if you eat them. Contact with capsaicin can sometimes cause burning of the skin too, so you want to avoid touching your eyes and nose if you’ve been handling jalapenos, especially the seeds, and wash your hands thoroughly afterward or even wear disposable gloves if you’re very sensitive to capsaicin. The seeds and white membrane inside the pepper have the most concentrated capsaicin, so removing them, as shown in the second method below, can temper the heat. If you like it spicy, though, by all means, keep them in your recipe (as in the first method below, for example)!

Here are two ways to cut these spicy peppers.

How to Cut It: Jalapeño

Into Rounds

1. Cut off the stem.
2. Slice into equally thick rounds.

Diced 

1. Cut off the stem.
2. Halve the jalapeño lengthwise.
3. Scoop the seeds and membrane out with a spoon.
4. Place jalapeño halves cut-side down.
5. Cut lengthwise into sticks.
6. Cut crosswise into a small dice.