Homemade sweet and spicy jalapeno jelly is easy to make a spread for toast, and crackers and can be even used as glaze or sauce over roast pork, glaze for ham, or any meat!
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Jalapeno Jelly Aka Hot Pepper Jelly
- If you love jalapenos but never tried making jalapeno jelly it’s time you change that! Make it right away, and thank me later!
- Jam and jellies are wonderful. But this jalapeno jelly aka hot pepper jelly will make your taste buds explode with its sweet and addicting heat flavors in it. It’s like jam or your favorite jelly, only so much better, tastier, and more addicting!
- The perfect balance of sweetness and heat from hot peppers makes it a great appetizer to be served on top of ice creams, goat cheese, crackers, and roast pork.
- It’s a perfect entertainment food.
- Super easy to make, can it in jars (follow correct canning instructions) and it stays for ages!
What is jalapeno jelly
Jalapeno jelly also called hot pepper jelly is a jam. It’s sweet and has addicting heat to it from hot peppers. Hot pepper jelly is made of hot peppers (I like to mix jalapeno and red Fresno chili peppers in my jalapeno jelly, you can use only jalapenos), assorted bell peppers, sugar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and pectin.
Just like any jelly, this hot pepper jelly recipe too uses loads of sugar. It’s meant to be sweet.
Ingredients needed
Here’s what you’ll need-
I have scaled downed the recipe while shooting, the picture shows the ingredients for scaling down to make a small batch. Don’t get confused with picture and ingredients list comparison.
- ¼ cup Jalapenos mild to medium hot – measured after dicing – (seeds removed if you want milder hot jelly) – about 10 jalapenos
- ¼ cup Fresno chile peppers – measured after dicing – (optional, I had it and wanted to use. Seeds removed if you can’t handle hotter jelly) – about 10 red fresno chili
- 3 ½ cup assorted bell peppers – use any color green, red, yellow, orange
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1.75 oz powdered pectin
Additional ingredients & substitutions
- Hot pepper jelly recipe only needs jalapenos and bell peppers along with sugar, ACV, lemon juice, and pectin. Red Fresno chilies are my version of making jalapeno jelly and I used Fresno chilies when I have them and skip them completely when I don’t have them. Simply skip Fresno chilies from the recipe and you’ll be good!
- This jelly recipe doesn’t need anything more than the ingredients mentioned above.
- You can add your twist to the recipe to suit your taste preference.
- Remove all seeds from jalapenos and bell peppers if you want milder jelly. Also, remember some jalapenos are hot while some have mild to medium heat. Choose jalapenos that have mild to medium heat if you want less heat in your jelly.
- Like me if you like hotter jelly, leave the seeds on.
- You can make jalapeno jelly with jalapeno and green bell pepper only. This will result in green jelly.
- If you want smoother jelly, minced jalapenos and bell peppers are super fine in a food processor.
How to make hot pepper jelly
Before you start, wash jars and lids in very hot soapy water and completely dry your jars.
If you are going to can, you need to get your jars sterilized. Follow the correct canning procedure.
**PLEASE NOTE** touching jalapenos without gloves can cause a burning sensation if you have sensitive skin. The oil from jalapenos or any hot peppers will remain on your skin for a long time and it can HURT if it comes in contact with your face or eyes.
Always wear rubber gloves before handling jalapenos or any other hot peppers.
I did not use gloves, but I made sure I washed my hands thoroughly after I had dealt with the hot peppers. I made sure I did not touch my eyes or face for the whole day.
Prepping Jalapenos – Wearing gloves stem and half jalapeno. Remove and discard seeds if you want milder jelly. You can keep the seeds if you love a spicy kick in your jelly.
Note: jalapenos can have varied level of heat. Be sure to use milder jalapenos if you don’t like it hot.
Here’s a quick tip to identify the hotness of jalapenos without cutting them.
As jalapenos age, they tend to get hotter. Jalapenos change their appearance as they age, they will develop stretch marks or white lines and flecks along their length. Jalapenos with white lines and white flecks mean they are old and they are HOTTER.
Jalapenos when young they are smooth and uniformly green. Uniformly green means less hotter or MILDER peppers.
Depending on what type of jalapeno you use and how hotter your jelly should be, decide of removing all seeds of(milder jelly) or keeping a few seeds while discarding most of it (little extra kick) or leave all the seeds on and use with the seeds (super hot jelly).
I removed seeds on red fresno chili peppers as well.
Chop jalapenos and red fresno peppers (if using) roughly.
Place jalapenos and fresno peppers in food processor, pulse until chopped finely.
Drain off any excess liquids if present.
Prepping Bell Peppers – you can use whatever color of bell peppers you want or have. For green jalapeno jelly use jalapenos and green bell peppers only.
Remove stem and the center with seeds. You can leave the inner ribs of bell peppers but I like to remove them.
Roughly chop it.
Place all the peppers in food processor and pulse until peppers are finely chopped.
Empty the peppers into a strainer and drain excess liquids.
Cook Jalapeno Jelly – In a large saucepan heat sugar, apple cider vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and finely chopped peppers (make sure to drain off excess liquids before you add them to the saucepan).
Stir to combine. Bring the mix to boil on high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and let it boil for 15 minutes stirring constantly.
Turn off flame. Remove pan from stove. Add pectin and give it a quick stir to ensure no lumps are left.
Jelly will be liquid pouring consistency while it’s hot, and it will thicken and form jelly as it cools.
Pour jalapeno jelly into hot sterile jars leaving ¼ inch headspace leaves room for expansion.
Canning Hot Pepper Jelly – Please follow USDA recommendation for canning.
With a clean wrung damp cloth wipe off the rims threads of the jar well.
Cover with lid and rim. Screw lids tight.
Place the jars in a rack for the canner. Fill it up with water ensuring the water is at least 3 inches on top of the jars. Bring water to boil and let it boil for 15 minutes.
Carefully lift rack from canner. Using bottle lifters remove jars and place it upright on a towel.
After a few minutes you should be able to hear the can seal with a pop.
Let it sit untouched on the counter for a day.
To check if the jars are sealed, the next day touch by pressing the middle of the lid with your fingers. If the lid springs back when you remove your finger the jar is not sealed. If jars are not sealed you will have to use them up within 7 days stored refrigerator.
Sealed bottles can be stored away in your pantry for 12 months.
How to use hot pepper jelly
Hot pepper jelly is perfect entertainment food. The perfect balance of sweet and heat from hot peppers makes it a great appetizer.
- Use it as glaze or sauce for roast pork, grilled steak, and other meat.
- Top it with vanilla ice cream.
- Spread it on toast and enjoy it. It’s just like your PB&J but with different levels of flavors and taste. Your mouth will be exploding with flavors.
- This jelly is a great cracker spread. Spread cream cheese on your favorite cracker (try seeded cracker, it’s so damn good), spread cream cheese, and top with jalapeno jelly. It’s soo yummy!
Frequently Asked Questions
No. As mentioned above I had red Fresno chili peppers and jalapenos in the fridge. I wanted to use up both so I have included that in the recipe. It’s completely optional. Please use only jalapenos without any doubts.
I haven’t tried it but I sure have read somewhere on the internet that you can use pickled jalapenos to make jalapeno jelly.
If you do try, please leave a comment below on how it turned out.
Well, jalapeno jelly has both a sweet and spicy taste to it. The level of heat in the jelly depends on the jalapeno type you use along with how you make it.
Depending on what type of jalapeno you use and how hotter your jelly should be, decide of removing all seeds (milder jelly) or keep a few seeds while discarding most of it (little extra kick) or leave all the seeds on and use with the seeds (super hot jelly).
Jalapenos can have varying levels of heat. Be sure to use milder jalapenos if you don’t like it hot. Here’s a quick tip to identify the hotness of jalapenos without cutting them.
As jalapenos age, they tend to get hotter. It changes its appearance as they age, they will develop stretch marks or white lines and flecks along its length.
Jalapenos with white lines and white flecks mean they are old and they are HOTTER.
Jalapenos when young are smooth and uniformly green. Uniformly green means less hot or MILDER peppers.
If you want smoother jelly, minced jalapenos and bell peppers are super fine in a food processor. You must also remember to remove ALL the seeds because seeds can be hard to process fine.
Yes, you can.
If you don’t want to can to store for a longer time, make just enough for a few weeks and store it refrigerated. Scale down the recipe to ½ or ¼. I have stored it refrigerated for about 2 weeks now and it’s going well!
Of course, if you are canning type you can make a bunch of it, can it, and store it in your pantry for up to 12 months. You can enjoy hot pepper jelly throughout the year.
Make sure you buy the right pectin. You need fruit pectin that is used for making jams and jellies. Sure Jell pectin is one brand that you can trust.
If you use different pectin or substituted pectin with gelatin, the jalapeno jelly consistency won’t’ be right.
NO. This is jelly and it’s supposed to be sweet. Please do not reduce the amount of sugar. Hot pepper jelly should have a balanced sweet and spicy taste. Reducing sugar will alter the balance and it won’t taste pleasant.
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📋Jalapeno Jelly
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Jalapenos mild to medium hot – measured after dicing – seeds removed if you want milder hot jelly
- ¼ cup Fresno chile peppers – measured after dicing – optional, I had it and wanted to use. Seeds removed if you can’t handle hotter jelly
- 3 ½ cup assorted bell peppers use any color green, red, yellow, orange
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1.75 oz powdered pectin
Instructions
- Before you start, wash jars and lids in very hot soapy water and completely dry your jars.
- If you are going to can, you need to get your jars sterilized. Follow correct canning procedure.
- **PLEASE NOTE** touching jalapenos without gloves can cause burning sensation if you have sensitive skin. The oil from jalapenos or any hot peppers will remain on your skin for long time and it can HURT if it comes in contact with your face or eyes.Always wear rubber gloves before handling jalapenos or any other hot peppers.
- I did not use gloves, but I made sure I washed my hands thoroughly after I had dealt with the hot peppers. I made sure I did not touch my eyes or face for the whole day.
- Prepping Jalapenos – Wearing gloves stem and half jalapeno. Remove and discard seeds if you want milder jelly. You can keep the seeds if you love spicy kick in your jelly.
- Jalapenos when young they are smooth and uniformly green. Uniformly green means less hotter or MILDER peppers.
- Depending on what type of jalapeno you use and how hotter your jelly should be, decide of removing all seeds off(milder jelly) or keeping a few seeds while discarding most of it (little extra kick) or leave all the seeds on and use with the seeds (super hot jelly).
- I removed seeds on red fresno chili peppers as well. Chop jalapenos and red fresno peppers (if using) roughly.
- Place jalapenos and fresno peppers in food processor, pulse until chopped finely.
- Drain off any excess liquids if present.
- Prepping Bell Peppers – you can use whatever color of bell peppers you want or have. For green jalapeno jelly use jalapenos and green bell peppers only.
- Remove stem and the center with seeds. You can leave the inner ribs of bell peppers but I like to remove them.
- Roughly chop it.
- Place all the peppers in food processor and pulse until peppers are finely chopped.
- Empty the peppers into a strainer and drain excess liquids.
- Cook Jalapeno Jelly – In a large saucepan heat sugar, apple cider vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and finely chopped peppers (make sure to drain off excess liquids before you add it to saucepan).
- Stir to combine. Bring the mix to boil on high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium and let it boil for 15 minutes stirring constantly.
- Turn off flame. Remove pan from stove. Add pectin and give it a quick stir to ensure no lumps are left.
- Jelly will be liquid pouring consistency while it’s hot, and it will thicken and form jelly as it cools.
- Pour jalapeno jelly into hot sterile jars leaving ¼ inch headspace leaves room for expansion.
- Canning Hot Pepper Jelly – Please follow USDA recommendation for canning.
- With a clean wrung damp cloth wipe off the rims threads of the jar well.
- Cover with lid and rim. Screw lids tight.
- Place the jars in a rack for canner. Fill it up with water ensuring the water is atleast 3 inches on top of the jars. Bring water to boil and let it boil for 15 minutes.
- Carefully lift rack from canner. Using bottle lifters remove jars place it upright on a towel.
- After a few minutes you should be able to hear the can seal with a pop.
- Let it sit untouched on the counter for a day.
- To check if the jars are sealed, next day touch by pressing the middle of the lid with your fingers. If the lid springs back when you remove your finger the jar is not sealed. If jars are not sealed you will have to use it up within 7 days stored refrigerator.
- Sealed bottles can be stored away in your pantry for 12 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes:
Choosing The Right Jalapeno:- Jalapenos with white lines and white flecks mean they are old and they are HOTTER.
Jalapenos when young they are smooth and uniformly green. Uniformly green means less hotter or MILDER peppers.
Fresno Chili Peppers:- It’s optional. Skip completely and follow the recipe if you want to. I had fresno peppers and wanted to use it up.
Milder Jelly:- Use young jalapeno (that are smooth and uniformly green) and remove and discrad seeds completely if you want milder jelly.
Fruit Pectin:- Make sure you buy the right pectin. You need the fruit pectin that is used for making jams and jellies. Sure Jell pectin is one brand that you can trust.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Jyothi Rajesh is the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail. She lives in Bangalore, India and is the mom of two beautiful kids. Her passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. She’s been blogging since 2007 and many of her recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
Lori says
Followed directions exactly and the jars did not set 😥
Jyothi Rajesh says
Sorry to hear you have issue with the recipe. Can you please check if the pectin used is not expired?
Debra Jeanne Richardson says
Made this jelly using jalapeños, pablanos, & Anaheims (from my garden) plus red, yellow, & green bell peppers. I got 7 jars and it came out great! Thank you, Debra.
Jyothi Rajesh says
I’m glad you liked the recipe, Debra. Thank you for sharing your feedback!