Sweet Heat Hot Pepper Jelly

An easy homemade hot pepper jelly recipe that can be as spicy or as sweet as you like. Serve pepper jelly on vegetables, sandwiches, meats or with crackers and cream cheese for an easy appetizer! This is an easy canning recipe — ideal for beginners. It also makes a great food gift.

This hot pepper jelly recipe is one of my favorite things to make in the summer with peppers from our garden. It’s so delicious and also quick and simple to make — even if you don’t have any canning experience.

I use this jalapeño pepper jelly all the time as a condiment on cooked vegatables, such as green beans, corn and lima beans. It’s also delicious on grilled sandwiches, or as a glaze on grilled meat.

For a punch of flavor, I use pepper jelly in these Chinese-style cream cheese wontons and on this strawberry-bacon flatbread pizza recipe.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• How to Serve Hot Pepper Jelly
• Best Peppers to Use in Pepper Jelly
• How to Make Pepper Jelly Spicier (Or Milder)
• Ingredients for Hot Pepper Jelly
• Equipment
• How to Make Hot Pepper Jelly
• 🌶 Variations
• Storage
• High Altitude Canning Adjustments
• Printable Jar Labels
• More Canning Recipes
• 🎥 Recipe Card & Video
•  

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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

If you’re looking for a beginner canning recipe, pepper jelly is a great one to start with. (I also recommend this strawberry jam and these crispy freezer pickles to beginners.)

The prep and cooking time is minimal. A batch of pepper jelly should be ready in about 30 minutes. This easy recipe makes six half-pint jars that can be stored in the pantry up to two years.

That makes it a wonderful homemade food gift for the holidays, or any time of the year. (I’ve even made some printable jar lid labels for you to use.)

How to Serve Hot Pepper Jelly

Pepper jelly is a versatile condiment to keep in the pantry or fridge after you’ve opened a jar. I always include pepper jelly as part of a charcuterie board because it pairs so well with meats and cheeses.

If you need a super quick and easy appetizer, spoon some homemade pepper jelly over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers. For a fancier presentation, try these cream cheese and pepper jelly wonton cups.

Best Peppers to Use in Pepper Jelly

This recipe uses a mix of fresh sweet (or mild) peppers and hot peppers.

I like to different colored peppers for a pretty presentation — some red, some green, some yellow and occasionally even a purple pepper.

Options include:

• bell peppers
• jalapeño peppers
• habanero peppers
• banana peppers
• cayenne peppers
• poblano peppers
• hungarian wax pepper
• ghost peppers
• Scotch bonnet peppers

Just make sure you are using fresh peppers, not ones that have already been pickled or brined.

How to Make Pepper Jelly Spicier (Or Milder)

The types of peppers you use and the ratio of hot peppers to mild peppers will determine how spicy the pepper jelly turns out.

You can also control the spiciness by removing the inner pith from pepper.

Contrary to common wisdom, the seeds aren’t what make a pepper spicy. Capsaicin is actually concentrated in the ribs or white pith inside a pepper.

Don’t forget to take proper safety precautions when dealing with hot peppers. Gloves and masks are your friend. You may even choose to grind the peppers outdoors if you’re sensitive or someone in your house is. Better safe than sorry.

You may want to leave your windows or door open when making the pepper jelly, especially if you’re using hotter varities.

Want to see a brief overview of the process before diving into the recipe? Watch my web story on how to make hot pepper jelly.

Ingredients for Hot Pepper Jelly

• hot peppers
• sweet peppers
• white granulated sugar
• white vinegar (at least 5 percent acidity)
• liquid pectin

See recipe card for quantities.

Equipment

Here’s the equipment you’ll need to make a batch of hot pepper jelly.

• 6 half-pint jars with rings and NEW lids
• water bath canner with rack
• jar lifter – I recommend this canning essentials kit
• funnel
• ladle
• large measuring cup
• food processor
• large stock pot
• gloves & mask (optional, but recommended)

How to Make Hot Pepper Jelly

Continue reading for step-by-step instructions on how to make and can hot pepper jelly. The recipe card also includes a short how-to video.

Prepare the canning jars

First, you need to prepare prepare your jars. You’ll need six ½-pint jars, but I always have a few extra jars just in case the recipe makes more.

You can sterilize the jars in your canner. But I find it easiest to run them through the dishwasher on the hottest setting.

You’ll need to sterilize your jar lids and rings, too. I do this by boiling them in a pan of water.

Prepare the peppers

• Wash peppers and coarsely chop them.
• Grind the peppers in a food processor.

When handling hot peppers I recommend wearing gloves to protect your hands and eyes. You may also want to wear a mask when grinding and cooking the peppers.

Making and canning homemade pepper jelly

1. Combine the peppers, vinegar and sugar in large nonreactive pan and boil for 3 minutes.
2. Add the liquid pectin to the pain and boil for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn’t boil over.
3. Remove the jelly mixture from the heat, skim off foam and let set for 5 minutes.
4. Ladle into hot jars, leaving a half inch of headspace in each jar.
5. Run a chopstick, small spatula or debubbling tool around the inside of each jar to remove any air bubbles from the pepper jelly.
6. Wipe down jar lids with a clean wet cloth before applying lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight.
7. Place jars on a rack in a water bath canner and process (covered) for 10 minutes. (If you live in a high-altitude, adjust processing time according to this chart.)
8. Turn off the canner, uncover and let jars sit for 5 minutes.
9. Use a jar lifter to transfer jars to a cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with towels.
10. Allow jars to sit for 24 hours before moving them. Check that lids are properly sealed before storing.

🌶 Variations

You can customize this recipe to your taste preferences, making it as spicy or as mild as you like.

• Spicy – Change the ratio of hot peppers to mild peppers, or use peppers that are higher on the Scoville scale.
• Mild – Omit the hot peppers altogether or use fewer hot peppers to make a mild, sweet pepper jelly.
• Colorful: After removing the pepper jelly from the heat, add six drops of red or green food coloring. These colorful jars make great food gifts at Christmas.

Storage

Sealed, unopened jars of homemade pepper jelly can be store in the pantry for up to two years.

After opening, store pepper jelly in the refrigerator and use within three months.

High Altitude Canning Adjustments

If you live at a high altitude, increase processing time in the water bath canner by the appropriate amount:  

• 1001-3000 feet above sea level – increase by 5 minutes
• 3001-6000 feet above sea level – increase by 10 minutes
• 6,001- 8,000 feet above sea level increase by 15 minutes
• 8,001- 10,000 feet above sea level increase by 20 minutes

Printable Jar Labels

If you’re making hot pepper jelly to give as gifts, you may want to add a pretty label to the jars.

Enter your information below to have these free printable labels, featuring a vintage botanical illustration of peppers on the vine, emailed to you..

The botanical labels are designed to be printed on 2-inch round Avery sticker labels.

More Canning Recipes

Try these other delicious and simple recipes for preserving summer produce.

• Overnight Refrigerator Pickles
• Homemade Lemon Curd
• 14-Day Sweet Pickles
• Watermelon Rind Pickles

Pin This! Homemade Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Recipe

🎥 Recipe Card & Video