One of our favorite hot peppers to grow is jalapeños, they can be used in plenty of different ways once you have harvested them, whether you are stuffing them, pickling them, grilling, garnishing, or fermenting, there are seemingly endless possibilities with jalapeños.
There is a clear reason why jalapeños are grown so commonly, and their versatility is why. On top of the versatility you can get out of jalapeños, there is also a wide variety of different jalapeños.
This is why we have put this guide together. We are going to go through all the different types of jalapeños you can grow.
You will find that most of these will start green once they have started, and will then eventually ripen into a deep red.
However, there are other types of jalapeños that will ripen into other shades of yellow, orange, and some brown.
You can also get smooth types of jalapeños, but also ones that are bred specifically with small cracks, these are for corking.
There are also some jalapeños that are grown specifically for the size of their fruit.
You will find that there is an especially wide amount of jalapeños that are grown to be large, and in this guide we will be going through the best large types of jalapeños you can grow.
So, if you are interested in growing larger jalapeños specifically, then this guide will give you all the insight you will need. So, keep reading if you want to know the best large jalapeños available!
For a quick overview of the jalapeños we will be featuring, there is Craig’s Grenade that can grow to 4 inches long, the Big Guy that can get up to 5 inches long and an inch thick.
Then there is Goliath that gets to 4 inches long and an inch and a half thick, or Jedi that gets to 4 and a half inches long.
Mammoth can get to 4.75 inches long and 1.75 inches thick, and Mucho Nacho can get to 4 inches long, and finally Emerald Fire gets 4 inches long and 1.25 inches thick too.
1. Craig’s Grande
This variety of jalapeño is known for how thick it is as well as flavorful. This is also one of the largest open pollinated jalapeños available.
It takes about 70 days to reach maturity when green, and they can get to 4 inches long and will weigh around 3 ounces.
This is one of the best types of jalapeños to use for pickling and stuffing, so if this is what you are looking for, then put Craig’s Grenade at the top of your list.
It has a classic jalapeño flavor, so do not expect a flavor that is too unique for jalapeños.
As well as stuffing and pickling, we also love using this variety of jalapeño for roasting and drying, but it is also fine to eat raw, of course if you do not mind the heat.
This heat is about in the middle of the range for jalapeños, so still pretty hot. The heat from this jalapeño will depend on the growing condition so keep this in mind.
The plants for Craig’s Grenade are pretty sturdy and you can get peppers to harvest in just 70 days.
You will get dozens of peppers from the plants throughout the season, and keep in mind, the more jalapeños you pick from this plant, the more it will produce!
2. Big Guy
This is an absolutely huge type of jalapeños with the fruits getting to 5 inches long.
It will take about 69 days to reach its full maturity, and the size of the fruit will be the aforementioned 5 inches and about an inch thick as well. This is not open pollinated being a hybrid, which is worth noting.
This type of jalapeño was specifically bred to be one of the biggest around. You can get the massive size, also without sacrificing the productivity of the plant, as well as still getting the same great flavor!
As mentioned, this type of jalapeño will be a lot larger than average, but the plant itself will also be larger than average too.
The plant for most jalapeños will get to around 3 feet, but the plant for a Big Guy goes all the way up to 3.5 feet.
This makes it even more productive and you will get great value from it. The main issue with this plant is that getting seeds for it can be difficult due to how popular it is!
3. Goliath
This is another type of jalapeño that can get to a massive size, and while this one does not get as long as the Big Guy, it does generally get thicker.
These fruits will take around 70 to 75 days to get to full maturity where you can harvest them. The length of these fruits gets to around 4 inches, but the thickness is at around 1 and a half inches.
Like the Big Guy, this variety is also not open pollinated being a hybrid.
This is one of our top contenders for the thickest jalapeño around, and this one is extra thick but also crispy. This makes it a top choice for grilling, stuffing, as well as slicing too.
You will be able to get a lot of productivity from this type of jalapeño as well. It is also worth noting that this type of jalapeño is also a lot more disease resistant compared to some other varieties of jalapeños.
Getting seeds for this type of jalapeño is also a lot easier than it is for the Big Guy.
4. Jedi
We love this type of pepper for just how high the yield you can get from it is. And, like our precious option it is also pretty disease resistant for a bigger jalapeño.
It also has noticeably smooth skin and pretty thick walls. This plant will take about 72 days to reach maturity and the size of the fruit will be pretty thick and around 4 and a half inches long.
This is also not open pollinated being a hybrid as well. This type of jalapeño has gotten more and more attention for how large the fruits are while also having thick walls and a strong flavor.
We love how dependable getting a high yield from a Jedi jalapeño plant is, the plants are also sturdy as well.
It is worth highlighting that this type of jalapeño specifically has a strong resistance to BLS being bacterial leaf spots, this makes it a good choice if your other plants frequently suffer from this.
The fruit will be a nice dark green and the walls are crisp but juicy. There are also very smooth walls with few cracks too.
5. Mammoth
This type of jalapeño has a great thickness being the top on our list for thickness. It also has an amazing flavor which is why we love using this jalapeño for stuffing as well.
It will take about 70 to 75 days to get to full maturity. This pepper, while known for its thickness which gets to 2 inches wide, it is also pretty long getting to 4.75 inches here as well.
Also, worth noting, it is not open pollinated being a hybrid like a lot of the other choices here.
6. Mucho Nacho
This is a great hybrid variety of jalapeño that will give you a good heavy yield with heavy fruits as well.
Like the Mammoth, it will take about 70 to 75 days to get to maturity and the size of the fruits gets to about 4 inches long and are characteristically thick as well.
This is also not open pollinated as well. The walls of these jalapeños are also pretty thick as well and you will get a lot of pods which are disease resistant as well!
7. Emerald Fire
For our final main choice we are spotlighting the Emerald Fire jalapeño which are award winning for how uniform these fruits are while still being large.
They have a milder heat but still retain an amazing flavor, so if this is what you prioritize, then this is a variety you should keep in mind.
These jalapeños will take between 70 and 75 days to get to maturity and they can be anywhere between 3.5 and 4 inches long with a pretty consistent 1.25 inches of thickness.
They are also not open pollinated, since like a lot of these varieties, they are hybrids.
Bonus Choice – Nadapeno Pepper
For a bonus choice we are highlighting the Nadapeno Pepper. This jalapeño is not well known for its size, but the main reason we want to cover it is that it has no heat.
So, if you love the flavors of jalapeños, but not the heat, then this is one you want to know. This plant takes 60 days to reach maturity, and is small to the other choices on the list only reaching 3 inches long.
It is also open pollinated. This is a pretty productive type of jalapeño to grow, but make sure that you do not mix them with other spicy jalapeños when gardening!
Summary
Hopefully this guide has given you all the information you need about the best large jalapeños you can grow. Each of these jalapeños are unique and will bear slightly different results if you want to grow them.
The best thing to do before choosing the type of jalapeños you want to grow is work out what result you want from growing them, and what you want to do with them when harvested, this should make choosing a lot easier!
Hi, my name is Amelia Haslehurt and I am a food blogger. As you can guess, I am passionate about what I eat, but what is most important to me when reviewing is high quality, fresh, organic, delicious ingredients.
I wanted to create an online space where others could sample some of my favorite recipes, and share in my passion for home-grown produce.
Whether you are looking for vegan recipes, easy recipes, healthy recipes or your favorite yummy snacks to brighten your day, I can help you out here at LocallyGrownGardens.com
