Beautiful in color and sweet with heat; this homemade hot pepper jelly recipe is perfect for entertaining when served on the top of cream or goat cheese.
Follow these easy steps and tips to make it homemade!
My family loves this hot pepper jelly recipe. We have it over cream cheese at all of our gatherings.
It also makes a great glaze for a pork tenderloin, hot wings, or salmon.
Homemade is the best. I hate it when we run out of our homemade jars and have to put out the store-bought stuff. It is never as good.
While there are a few steps and it is a little time consuming, the Hot Pepper Jelly is pretty easy to make.
Follow these steps and to learn how to make your own homemade hot pepper jelly. Be sure to make extra, this Homemade Hot Pepper Jelly is great for gifts.
*This post contains affiliate links.
What canning supplies do you need?
To make this pepper jelly, you need the following canning supplies:
- A canning pot. If you do not have a canning pot, you can order: Roots & Branches VKP1130 Harvest Stainless Steel Multi-Use Canner with Temperature Indicator, Holds 7 Quart Jars, 20 Quart Liquid Capacity
- A canning set: jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter, wide mouth funnel, and bubble measurer. If you do not have a set, you can order: Norpro Canning Set (6 Pieces), Green
- Jars, screw bands, and lids. You can find these in the canning section of your grocery store, or order here: Ball Mason 8oz Quilted Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 12
Step by Step Tutorial
Follow these steps to make delicious pepper jelly!
- Wash your jars and screw bands.
- Next, sterilize jars and screw bands in boiling water to kill off any germs and bacteria.
- Set your jars and screw bands to dry in a clean area.
- Finely chop your peppers.
- Add your peppers to a large pan over high heat.
- Mix in vinegar and fruit pectin.
- Stir constantly and let it reach to a rolling boil. Once it reaches a rolling boil, remove from heat.
- At this point, you want to add sugar. Stir well and put it back on high heat, continually stirring. Let it reach to a rolling boil and boil one minute.
- Remove from heat. Skim off all foam.
- Ladle jelly into 8oz jars filling to ¼in from the top.
- Cover with flat lids and screw on screw bands tightly.
- Place jars into canner. Water should cover jars completely. Water should be hot, but not boiling.
- Bring water to boil and process 5 minutes. Pull jars out and cool. *NOTE* If you live in a high altitude, you will need to adjust processing time. Here is a chart.
- You will start hearing a popping noise as the jars seal. When jars are completely cooled, check seals by pressing centers of lids with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Pepper Jelly Tips
Cooking Tip: Scoop one ladle of pepper jelly in each jar to evenly distribute peppers before completely filling each jar. The peppers rise to the top. If you do not evenly distribute them, you will have no peppers left for the last jars.
Cooking Tip: If you do not want your Pepper Jelly hot, substitute jalapeños with red bell peppers. If you want a spicier jelly, use a hotter pepper. I used red jalapeños for this batch.
How do you know if your jelly is set?
Try the "Plate Test." Put a plate in a freezer for 15 minutes or more. When you think your jelly is ready, remove it from the heat. Drop a spoonful of the jelly on the plate.
Let it cool for a few minutes. Using a dry, clean finger, run your finger down the center of the jelly. If it remains divided, it is set! If it forms back together, it needs to cook a few minutes longer. Here are some more tips to ensure a set jelly.
How to Save a Runny Jelly
You can make a jelly the same exact way and have one batch that is perfect, while another batch is a runny mess.
Different factors can mess up a jelly from the size of a pan, altitude, more liquid in the peppers....
This Pepper jelly will not have the same firmness or texture as a store bought "Welches" jelly. It will be more soft and a little runny. However it should set and firm. If yours does not, read these tips on how to save a runny jelly.
How long is the Shelf Life?
Stored pepper jelly in a cool, dark space such as a pantry will have an 18 month to 2 year shelf life.
Once your pepper jelly is opened, it should last 6 months to a year in the refrigerator.
If you like this recipe, check out:
- Pickled Hot Serrano Peppers
- Fire and Ice Pickles
- Homemade Jalapeno Salt
- Fresh Hot Jalapeño and Garlic Relish
- Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
- Jalapeño Chimichurri Sauce
*Disclosure: I held the jar lifter upside down when I was videoing. I did not know at the time I was doing it incorrectly. That was a mistake on my part. Do not grip the jar lifter on the same side I was using.
Leave a comment and tell me what you think!
Please leave me a comment below if you make this pepper jelly and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your jelly on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
Deliciously Easy Homemade Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup finely chopped and seeded Red Bell Pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped and seeded Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1 ¼ cup finely chopped and seeded Green Bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped and seeded Jalapeño
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1.75 oz package powdered pectin
- 5 cups sugar
- 6 8oz canning jars
Instructions
- Sterilize six 8oz canning jars and lids in boiling water.
- Place 1 ½ cup finely chopped and seeded Red Bell Pepper, 1 cup finely chopped and seeded Yellow Bell Pepper, 1 ¼ cup finely chopped and seeded Green Bell pepper, and ¼ cup finely chopped and seeded Jalapeño in a large saucepan over high heat.
- Mix in 1 cup apple cider vinegar and 1.75 oz powder fruit pectin.
- Stir constantly. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat.
- Add 5 cups of sugar and place back on high heat. Return to a rolling boil for one minute.
- Remove from heat. Skim off any foam from top.
- Ladle jelly evenly into sterile jars, filling to ¼ inch from top of jar. Cover with flat lids and screw on screw bands tight.
- Place jars into canner with hot water that is not boiling. Water should completely cover jar. Cook on high heat to reach a boil. Process for 5 minutes,
- Remove from heat.
- When jars are completely cooled, check seals by pressing centers of lids with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Katie Crenshaw
The extra fruit might affect the thickness of the jelly. It might come out very runny. I have not used fruit in the jelly to know personally for sure.
Lindsey
Can I add a fruit to it and if so do I need to change anything about the recipe?
Michael Russell
I LOVE this recipe!
I bought a hobby farm this year and wound up with a literal truckload of various types of peppers. I tried one batch of this recipe and it was absolutely perfect. SO incredibly good. And since I had plenty of peppers and jars, I made a lot more batches where I played around with different kinds of peppers (the total amount of peppers was always the same as the recipe). One batch was a little runnier than others, so I learned the spoon drip test. Every batch was perfect after that.
These are so colorful and taste so good that we will likely give this to friends in their holiday baskets!
Betty Rogers
I have a lot of peppers left from my garden this year so I made a double batch. 6 cups of assorted bell and sweet peppers and 2cups assorted hot peppers. 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 2 boxes of Sure Jell pectin and 10 cups of sugar. It made 12 1/2 pints that I canned and a 12 ounce jar that I did not can, just refrigerated. Once the jars were sealed and cool enough to touch, I flipped the jars over on their lids so the peppers would start to rise. 30 minutes later, I flipped then back over. 30 minutes later I flipped them over again and 30 minutes later back over again. This got the peppers distributed evenly throughout the jelly. From the little tastes I had, it was delicious.
Katie Crenshaw
I am sorry. I am not sure how to make jelly with alcohol.I am sure it is good, though.
Terrie deLiefde
I love Pepper Jelly! I once bought pepper jelly from an older man who made it with Jack Daniels. Yummy…
Any thoughts as to how I could make it with Jack Daniels?
Unfortunately the older gentleman hasn’t been seen lately and we’d love to replicate the recipe. Thank you! Terrie
Katie Crenshaw
You do not add any water.
Rose
How much water will I need? I don't see water in the ingredients.