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.
It makes the best EASY Cream Cheese Pepper Jelly Appetizer. I serve this at all my parties and everyone loves it!
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
- Sweet & Spicy Homemade Pepper Jelly
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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
- Combine the peppers, vinegar and sugar in large nonreactive pan and boil for 3 minutes.
- Add the liquid pectin to the pain and boil for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn’t boil over.
- Remove the jelly mixture from the heat, skim off foam and let set for 5 minutes.
- Ladle into hot jars, leaving a half inch of headspace in each jar.
- Run a chopstick, small spatula or debubbling tool around the inside of each jar to remove any air bubbles from the pepper jelly.
- Wipe down jar lids with a clean wet cloth before applying lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight.
- 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.)
- Turn off the canner, uncover and let jars sit for 5 minutes.
- Use a jar lifter to transfer jars to a cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with towels.
- 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.
I do not recommend doubling this recipe as it may boil over when you add the liquid pectin. Instead, I recommend making two seperate batches.
If you have leftover pepper jelly, but not enough to fill a jar, don’t throw it out.
Put the leftovers in a jar or another sealable container and store in the refrigerator. Use within 3 months.
Don’t attempt to can a partially full jar of pepper jelly. Jars with improper headspace may not seal properly and the food inside could spoil.
More Canning Recipes
Try these other delicious and simple recipes for preserving summer produce.
Pin This! Homemade Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Recipe
🎥 Recipe Card & Video
Sweet & Spicy Homemade Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chopped hot peppers
- 1½ cups chopped sweet peppers
- 6½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups vinegar
- 3 ounces liquid pectin
Instructions
- Wash peppers well. Wearing gloves, coarsely chop the peppers.
- Grind the chopped peppers in the food processor. You may want to wear a mask to avoid breathing in the fumes.
- Combine ground peppers, vinegar and sugar in a large, nonreactive stockpot. Bring to a brisk boil, and boil for 3 minutes.
- Add the liquid pectin to the pan and and boil for 1 minute, stirring so the mixture does not boil over.
- Remove the pan from heat and skim off any foam. Let pepper jelly set for 5 minutes.
- Ladle into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a half-inch of head space. Run a chopstick, small spatula or debubbling tool around the inside of each jar to remove any air bubbles.
- Wipe down the rims of jars before adding lids and rings. Adjust rings to fingertip tight.
- Transfer jars to a rack in a water bath canner. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
- Turn off the canner, uncover and the let jars sit for 5 minutes before using a jar lifter to move them to a cooling rack or baking sheet lined with kitchen towels.
Video
Notes
Variations
- To make spicier: Change the ratio of hot peppers to mild peppers, or use hotter peppers.
- To make milder: Omit the hot peppers altogether or use fewer hot peppers.
- Red or green pepper jelly: After removing the pepper jelly from the heat, add six drops of red or green food coloring.
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 Adjustments:
If you live at a high altitude, increase processing time 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
Heidi
I have several family members who love spicy food and so i decided to make this for them as gifts. All of them raved about it and wanted me to make more!
Rosalie
Can I use some crushed pineapple in this recipe?
Atta Girl Amy
I haven’t tried that, but I would think you could. You may want to drain it so that it doesn’t introduce too much liquid into the recipe. Let me know how it turns out.
Rosalie
Can I add crushed pineapple to this recipe?
Catherine
Thanks for the recipe. It Was easy and turned out Great!
Jamie
Can I use sweet banana peppers for this recipe?
Atta Girl Amy
You certainly can. Any type of pepper will work
Brenda Carter
How many jars needed for this recipe? OK to process these in a water bath for 5 min?
Sounds really good . . .
Thanks
Atta Girl Amy
This should make six 1/2 pint jars, and you can definitely process in a water bath.
vicky
Amy could you use blender instead do not have food processor also how many jars does it make and what type of hot peppers can you use jalapenos thanks vicky
Denise
This recipe sounds great! I think I want to use it as Christmas Gifts this year, but could you tell me how many jelly jars this recipe will make in a batch?
party supplies online store
Homemade pepper jelly seems delicious, I like the packaging part. It would be a great option for a birthday party and I am sure they are going to love this jelly.
Suzy @ Worthing Court
I’ve had your yummy pepper jelly and personally attest to how delicious it is! So glad to have the recipe. I didn’t know it was so simple to make.
Marty Walden
Looks great! I had never tasted pepper jelly until recently. Somehow my southern upbringing failed me!
Ashley @ 3littlegreenwoods
Oh, I am so making this pepper jelly! This week!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Ashley
Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads
Amy, would you believe that I have never made pepper jelly? I have plenty of peppers in the garden that I need to use. I’m going to try your recipe! Thanks so much for sharing the labels, too!
vicky
you do not process them sounds yummy thank you i make homemade gifts for my friends and family every year,they love it