Hot Pepper Jelly

This recipe for homemade Hot Pepper Jelly has been tested multiple times to ensure perfect results every time. It’s a popular appetizer or addition to a charcuterie board and the little jars make great gifts.

My parents are avid gardeners and one year they planted a bunch of “cherry bomb” peppers. They had an abundant harvest and were using all kinds of methods to preserve them. After chopping, freezing and drying, they had to throw out one of the pans they used because every time my mom used it after that, whatever was cooked in the pan was suspiciously hot.

But the best thing they made was Hot pepper Jelly.

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I used Ricardo’s recipe for the basis of this Hot Pepper Jelly recipe and modified it to make it hotter. I then added some tweaks of my own and now it’s our go to recipe. Just like making Salsa, it’s fun to get together with a friend and make a big batch.

How to make Hot Pepper Jelly

The hot peppers will burn your fingers so use gloves when you’re cutting them up. I keep a set just for use in the kitchen. Use the tip of a knife to scrape out the seeds and membrane. Save some seeds if you like, they look nice in the jars and are a visual reminder that it’s hot stuff. And make sure you wash your hands really well after you’re finished cutting the peppers. You’ll only forget to do that once. Trust me.

Make the pepper jelly in a large heavy pot because the mixture may bubble up and expand.

A modification I made to my original recipe was to add just the hot peppers to the sugar and vinegar mixture first and purée with an immersion blender before it got hot. For 2 reasons. First, it ensures the hot peppers are in very small pieces. Which is helpful when you’re trying to finely dice them with floppy gloves. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have perfect tiny cubes. And secondly, the jelly takes on the red colour of the peppers. The reason you want to do this before the jelly gets too hot is in case it splashes a bit, which creates a huge mess and could burn you.

You can totally skip this step, but I was glad I tried it and now I do this every time I make Hot Pepper Jelly. If you don’t have an immersion blender you could add the hot peppers and vinegar to a small food processor before adding to the pot with sugar and pulse until you get the size you want. Add the sweet peppers to the mixture after it’s pureed then let it simmer away on low heat for about 15 minutes. Don’t add the liquid pectin just yet.

What if your Hot Pepper Jelly doesn’t set?

If you follow the directions and measure carefully, you shouldn’t have any issues. Don’t try to reduce the amount of sugar because it may not set. Usually if there’s a problem, it’s human error. I was making Hot Pepper Jelly with my friend Marilyn and of course we were talking and having some wine. Since I was distracted, I added the pectin by mistake before I was supposed to. The jelly didn’t set properly. Luckily I found some tips online. I emptied all the jars into a pot and reboiled for about 15 minutes. After washing and rinsing the jars and lids, I scooped the hot jelly back into the jars, put the lids back on and not only did it set properly, the lids sealed and popped very quickly without water bath canning all over again. Phew!

The fifteen minutes cooking time is when you can get your jars, lids and boiling pot ready. For the sake of safety, you need to sterilize everything. The easiest way to do this is to wash your jars in the dishwasher and fill them while they’re still warm. Otherwise, wash them by hand in very hot soapy water and rinse well, then drain.

I’ve discovered recently that some instructions on lids and seals now say you don’t need to boil them first. In fact boiling could affect the rubber and impact negatively the proper seal so that does make sense. I made a batch without heating the lids and they all sealed perfectly. So this step isn’t mandatory but if you want to ensure you get a good seal, you can heat them a bit before topping the jars but don’t boil them. Just give them a quick dip.

After cooking the mixture for 15 minutes, add the liquid pectin (ie Certo brand) and let the jelly boil hard for 1 minute. Allow the mixture cool a bit and stir it well before adding to the jars. This helps you get an even amount of peppers in each jar. If you put a spoonful in each jar first before adding the rest, you’ll have better luck getting an even amount of peppers in each jar, since the peppers like to be near the top. Make sure you wipe the edge of the jars before adding the seals.

These tiny jars are perfect for giving Hot Pepper Jelly as gifts.

Always use new seals when you’re canning. Don’t tighten them too much.

How to preserve Hot Pepper Jelly

Finishing them in a hot water bath ensures there’s no bacteria left behind and keeps them properly sealed so you can store them in the pantry for months. You need a large canner or double boiler. Carefully lower the jars into boiling water until they’re immersed about an inch below the surface.

Since they’re tiny jars you really only need about 5 minutes. The peppers may tend to float toward the top but that’s ok.

These make great hostess gifts. We do a lot of happy hours in our community and Hot Pepper Jelly is a popular addition to a cheese platter. Drop a spoonful over goat or cream cheese on a cracker, and this makes a delicious topping for warm Brie.

This Hot Pepper Jelly recipe makes about 14 small jars. If you make some with a friend it’s a perfect amount to share.

Spread some of the jelly on a pork loin roast and sprinkle fresh chopped rosemary over top. Killer combination! It goes great on a Turkey Patty Melt Panini. Or better yet, add a spoonful to Coconut Curry Shrimp .

Here’s the recipe:

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