Jalapeño Jelly Recipe

This jalapeño jelly recipe is the perfect sweet and spicy spread to go with cheese and crackers.

 

Growing up, my dad was a huge fan of hot peppers. Me? Not so much. But as I’ve gotten older, I guess I’ve come around a little bit. 

Probably because of the way my mom used to make Italian beef. It tasted so good, it was worth the pain of the spice (which was magnified because my dad used to sneak jalapeños into it), so eventually, I got a little desensitized to hot foods. 

I still never would have tried jalapeño jelly if it weren’t for the charcuterie board craze. 

But if you love cheese, crackers, and hot things, you’re going to be in heaven when you add some cream cheese and hot pepper jelly to your board!

Ingredients for making Jalapeño jelly

Like with most jam and jelly recipes, the ingredients here are super simple. 

You’ll just need these simple ingredients:

• Jalapeños
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Sugar
• Pectin – I use powdered rather than liquid pectin
• Jars
• Lare saucepan
• A kettle for canning

Some recipes add bell or serrano peppers, and you can definitely replace some of the jalapeños with bell if you want to, but it doesn’t change the spice level noticeably, and you can hardly taste the difference in sweetness, since the jelly is already sweetened with sugar. 

So I just leave them out since I usually have other plans for my bell peppers (like pepper relish).

How to choose Jalapeños for this recipe

Jalapeños are pretty simple: you want them to be fresh and firm. If you’re harvesting them from your own garden, let them get 2-4 inches long before you pick them. 

Whether you use green peppers or red, or a mix of them, is up to you. 

Can I use frozen jalapeños? 

If you’re like me and get overwhelmed with produce during the summer, you may find yourself freezing things to get them processed quickly, and then bringing them out to make pickles, jams, etc., little by little as you have time. I do this the most with canning pork, and also chicken when we process our animals. 

I will say that I think fresh jalapeños have a better texture, but frozen peppers still do the job. So if you’re wanting to make hot pepper jelly and frozen peppers are what you have access to, go for it! 

As they thaw, they’ll probably release some water, and you’ll want to make sure you add both he solid parts of the pepper and that water to your recipe. It’s not added water, it’s just the ice having broken the cell walls in the vegetable, so that it’s able to leak out. 

Why isn’t my jelly bright green? 

I wanted to address this since sometimes you’ll see pictures of brilliant green jalapeño jelly that almost looks like candy. 

This is because the person who made it added green food coloring. 

My jelly is a bit more dull and vegetable-looking, because that’s what it is. Just jalapenos – no dye. 

The flavor is the same, though, and whether you dye it is up to you, but I prefer to keep things natural. 

How to serve Jalapeño jelly

If you’re a person who loves spicy food, you’ll probably have no problem coming up with uses for your pepper jelly. 

It’s really good on a lot of things, to be honest! 

Here are just a few: 

• Brush on bacon-wrapped almost anything. Such as chicken, asparagus, butternut squash, and shrimp. It adds a nice bit of sweet spiciness.
• Use as a glaze for ham
• Serve with pork chops. Honestly, almost any pork since sweet things pair so well with it.
• Serve with crackers on top of cream cheese
• Mix with barbecue sauce

These are just a few ideas. If you have one that you love, please add it to the comments section!

Don’t forget, this hot pepper jelly recipe also makes a great gift for your spice-loving friends.

Can I double this recipe? 

Yes, but keep in mind that you’re going to need a really big pan for that! This recipe, as is, is best made in a 4-quart pot, so expect to need at least a 7-quart pot if you double it. 

Keep in mind that it will also take a little longer to make. 

Both because you’ll have more peppers to prepare, and because it will take longer to heat. 

How to make jalapeño jelly

The first step to making this jelly is to take the stems off and de-seed your peppers. 

Pro-tip: wear rubber gloves while handling hot peppers to keep from burning hands, or accidentally touching hot pepper hands to face. 

Next, puree peppers in a blender or food processor, and add the puree to a 4-quart large saucepan or pot, along with apple cider vinegar.

Stir in fruit pectin, and heat the pot of peppers over medium-high heat, stirring now and then until it reaches a full rolling boil. 

Once it’s boiling, add the sugar, all at once, and stir in.

Bring the mixture back to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down.

Boil for exactly one minute.

Remove from heat, and skim off foam.

The foam, by the way, is perfectly edible, so feel free to remove it to a bowl to use later, but you need to skim it off for canning. 

To can pepper jelly

For jams and jellies, water bath canning is usually the method used. It’s very easy and omits the need for a pressure canner. You only need a large pot with an inner rack to separate the jars from the direct heat source.

1. Ladle the hot jelly into canning jars such as half-pint jars, or quarter-pint jars, leaving a half-inch headspace. You can use a canning funnel to make this easy.
   

   

   
   
2. Top with lid and screw band down firmly, wiping jar rims first to make sure they’re free of debris.
3. Prepare a boiling water canner with hot water (note: you’ll want to closely match the temperature of the canner to the temperature of the jelly jars. So if you’re canning after the jelly has cooled, prepare your canner with cool to warm water rather than hot water.)
4. Lower jars onto the inner rack, ensuring there is at least an inch of water over the jars.
5. Put a lid on the canner and bring to a rolling boil.
   

   

6. Start the timer, and boil for 5 minutes for half pints, or 10 minutes for pint jars.
7. Remove from heat and let cool. Once the jars are cool, check for a good seal. The “button” on top of the lid should be vacuumed down.

It’s best to let the canner cool naturally, but if you need to remove the jars while they’re hot, do it carefully with a jar lifter, and protect the hot jars from cool drafts that might crack the glass by covering them with a towel. 

Other recipes you may enjoy

• How to make pickled jalapeños
• How to make chipotle peppers (hint: they’re just smoked jalapeños)
• How to make pickled okra
• Strawberry rhubarb jam recipe
• Pickled Celery Recipe

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