Easy Hot Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
Use up your garden peppers to make this beautiful homemade pepper jelly! Bell peppers and jalapeno peppers combine with vinegar and sugar to make a sweet, tangy jam.
Every year, the little city we live in hosts a barbecue competition. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year! Good food and a lot of good community, young, old and everyone in between gathered together. Last year, one of the contestants made a crazy good homemade pepper jelly as a topper for one of their smoked sausages. And, I was obsessed! I started combing through my old cookbooks and testing different recipes to find the perfect flavor.
This pepper jelly is actually pretty easy to make! The hardest part is chopping the peppers. To speed this up, you can absolutely use a veggie chopper or food processor.
Recipe Substitutions and Additions
You can completely control the spice level by including or discarding the jalapeno seeds. For a hot jelly, keep the seeds from several jalapeno peppers.
I did NOT add food coloring, but you are welcome to. Add a few drops of red food coloring to make a red pepper jelly.
Use whatever size jars you have, but be sure to use new rings and lids.
I have not tried substituting liquid fruit pectin in this particular recipe, but liquid pectin is typically a decent substitute for the powdered pectin.
This recipe does freeze well. If you want to skip the hot water bath process, just fill the jars and leave a bit of headroom at the top. Let the jelly set, then transfer to the freezer.
Serving Suggestions
The classic way to serve this hot pepper jelly is over a block of cream cheese with crackers or tortilla chips. It makes a great appetizer! You can also use a goat cheese log instead of the cream cheese.
I also use it on turkey sandwiches with pepper jack cheese. It is SO good! It is also a wonderful glaze for grilled chicken or pork chops.
Storing Leftover Pepper Jelly
Once sealed, the jars can be stored at room temperature. Once opened, refrigerate the jam.
I hope that you love this old school pepper jelly recipe! If you make it, I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below.
Easy Hot Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 3 cups bell peppers, finely diced, any color
- 1 cup jalapeño peppers, seeded, diced fine
- 5 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 ounces fruit pectin, powdered
- 4 drops food coloring, red or green, optional
Instructions
- Wash and sterilize canning jars according to manufacturer's directions, set aside.
- To a 6 quart or larger pot, add bell peppers, jalapeños, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, salt and powdered pectin.
- Bring the mixture to a boil for 1 minute.
- Add the sugar all at once and bring to a fast, rolling boil. Boil for 1 full minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in food coloring (optional).
- Ladle the jelly into the prepared canning jars. A funnel is helpful. Leave at least 1/4-inch of headroom. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp paper towel and place a sterilized lid and ring on each jar, tighten to seal.
- Process in a water bath for 10 minutes once water is boiling. Make sure the water is completely covering your jars and bring water to a boil. Notes for high elevation processing are below.
- Remove jars from the water bath carefully with canning tongs and let sit on the counter until fully cooled and the lids have popped.
- Store in a cool, dry place.
