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JalapeƱo Jelly is a delicious sweet and spicy spread for toast or crackers and can even be used as a glaze or sauce on meats.

This sweet and spicy jelly is great for so many reasons – especially a topping! We love to use it to serve with cream cheese and crackers. If you love jalapeƱos, you’ll love our Jalapeno Poppers and Dip.

Jalapeno Jelly in jar

Aka hot Pepper Jelly

If you love jams and jellies, you are sure to love this JalapeƱo Jelly aka Hot Pepper Jelly!

Yes, the flavor is a little different than your typicalĀ Strawberry JamĀ but it is so good! The sweet with the heat is addicting! It’s great for pouring over cream cheese and serving with crackers or for basting on your meats.

What is JalapeƱo Jelly?Ā This jelly is really more of a jam. It is made up of jalapeƱo peppers, bell peppers, lots of sugar, vinegar, and pectin. While you may be tempted to reduce the sugar, don’t. This is meant to have lots of sugar. It’s a jelly! It also helps to perfectly balance out the heat from the jalapeƱos.

How to make jalapeno jelly process pictures

How to Make JalapeƱo Jelly?

PREP THE JALAPEŃOS:Ā (I recommend using rubber gloves when handling) Cut off the top of the jalapenos and remove the veins and seeds from half of the jalapeƱos. The veins and seeds are where more of the heat comes from and I have found that the perfect balance of heat and sweet in the jam comes from leaving the seeds and veins in half of them.

PREP THE BELL PEPPERS:Ā You can really use whatever color of bell peppers you have on hand but I like the color and taste that one green and one red gives to the jam. Remove the stems and center. You can leave the veins but I like to cut mine out. Then roughly chop into large chunks since you’ll be pulsing them in the food processor.

FINELY CHOP PEPPERS:Ā You can do this by hand but it will take a while. I recommend pulsing the jalapeƱos and peppers together in a food processor or blender. Chop until fine.

DRAIN:Ā Pour the peppers into a mesh strainer to take off excess liquid so that your jam isn’t runny.

COOK:Ā Add the drained peppers to a large 4 quart pot along with the sugar, vinegar, and salt. Bring it to a boil and boil for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.

ADD PECTIN:Ā Stir in the liquid pectin and boil for 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat.

Jalapeno pepper jelly in jar close up pic

How to can Jelly:

Start out with sterile equipment. You’ll need to wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water (or run them through the dish washer).

The jars need to be warm when adding the hot jelly or they could crack. To keep the jars and lids hot and sterile, place them on a rack in a pot of boiling water. When the jam is done cooking, remove the jars, draining off water, and place on a towel.

Ladle jam into the jars using a wide mouth funnel. Be sure to leave 1/4 inch space from the top of the jar so there is room for expansion.

After filling the jars, wipe the rims with a paper towel and then top with the lids. Screw on the lids using just your thumb and index finger. This will ensure that they are on but not too tight.

Place the jars back into the pot of water on the rack and bring it to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 more minute for each 1000 ft elevation above 1000 ft.) Remove and place on the towel about 1 inch apart. After a few minutes you should start to hear the cans seal with a pop. Leave the jars untouched on the counter for 12 hours.

Check the seal:

To see if your can is sealed, touch the middle of the lid. If the lid springs back up when you remove your finger you do not have a seal.

To check for a proper seal, remove the the ring of the lid and lift the can up off the counter 1-2 inches while holding the edges of the lid. If the lid stays attached then you have a good seal and it can be store for 12 months in the pantry.

Hot pepper jelly recipe in jar

pepper Jelly Uses:

There are a lot of surprising ways to use this sweet and spicy jelly, believe it or not!

  • Glaze your steak, pork, or salmon with it. Pretty much any meat recipe that calls for a glaze will do really well with this hot pepper jelly.
  • Put it on top of vanilla ice cream.
  • Use it like regular jelly and make a spicy PB&J!
  • Put it on top of cream cheese (or mix them together) to make a cracker spread (similar to our green chili cream cheese dip).

FOR MORE JALAPEƱO RECIPES, CHECK OUT:

4.95 from 184 votes

Jalapeno Jelly Recipe

By: Lil' Luna
JalapeƱo Jelly is a delicious sweet and spicy spread for toast or crackers and can even be used as a glaze or sauce on meats.
Servings: 6 half pints
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 10 jalapeno peppers half seeded
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped
  • 5 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3 ounce pouch liquid pectin

Instructions 

  • Place all peppers in a food processor and pulse until peppers are finely chopped. Empty into a mesh strainer and drain off excess liquid.
  • Place the chopped vegetables in a large stock pot and add in the sugar, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Add the pectin and boil 1 more minute. Remove from heat
  • Ladle jam into hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Top the jars with the lids and then seal jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
  • Jelly that is sealed properly can be stored on the shelf. If a seal did not form or if you opened the lid and broke the seal, jelly can be stored in the fridge. Let jelly rest 1 day to fully set up.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 739kcal, Carbohydrates: 187g, Sodium: 198mg, Potassium: 134mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 185g, Vitamin A: 945IU, Vitamin C: 69mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

About Melanie

Melanie is the cook and photographer behind the blog Garnish & Glaze. When sheā€™s not playing princesses with her two little girls, sheā€™s experimenting in the kitchen. She takes simple ingredients and creates everything from healthy dinners to indulgent desserts.

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4.95 from 184 votes (133 ratings without comment)

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195 Comments

  1. Danielle says:

    Can I use powder pectin instead?

  2. tori says:

    can you use a low calorie sugar substitute?

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      I wouldn’t recommend. Typically jellies and jams need an exact amount of sugar to properly set up. I haven’t tried this recipe with a low sugar substitute, so I don’t know exactly how it would turn out, but I imagine it would not set properly.

  3. Michelle says:

    My batch is sealed nicely but is still runny in the container. I followed the recipe exactly. I made this last year and didnā€™t have this problem.

    1. Jennifer says:

      I have the same problem. Did yours eventually set? I made a triple batch (because of the insane amount of jalapeƱo from my garden) Will bo such a huge waste if these don’t set.
      Made another triple batch a week ago and they set beautifully. I don’t know what happened?? šŸ˜ž

      1. Katie says:

        Turn it into a wing sauce, if it doesnā€™t set.

      2. Lil'Luna Team says:

        That’s a good idea!

  4. Timothy Singleton says:

    How many jars will it make.

    1. Shaun Brady says:

      I usually end up with 5 pint jars.

    2. Lil'Luna Team says:

      It depends on what size of jar you are wanting to use.

  5. Britt says:

    I havenā€™t made this recipe yet, but was going to very soon. I was wondering how long it would stay for in the fridge if I didnā€™t do the canning process?

    1. Naomi Peters says:

      I donā€™t think you would have to do the water bath part. As long as when you ladle the jam into the jar’s, you make sure the rim of the jar is wiped clean with. A damp cloth and the lid is screwed on nice and tight. I donā€™t usually water bath any of my canning and it usually all seals.

  6. betty mattos says:

    thank you