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Homemade sweet and spicy Jalapeño Jelly is easy to make and absolutely delicious!
This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving. All opinions are 100% mine. #BallProudlyHomemade
We’ve been growing fresh jalapeño peppers in our backyard garden this summer – and today’s Jalapeño Jelly is a delicious way to enjoy their zesty flavors for months to come.
We found this easy Jalapeño Jelly recipe over on BallHomeCanning.com.
We already have a few family members and friends hinting around that they would love a jar or two (or three) of this sweet and zesty homemade Jalapeño Jelly for themselves. 😉 And really…homemade jams and jellies are a great gift idea for the holidays (which, as a friendly reminder, are just a few months away)!
How do you make Jalapeño Jelly?
You’ll start by cleaning and coarsely chopping about a dozen fresh jalapeño peppers. You have a choice here: If you want a very spicy Jalapeño Jelly leave the seeds in, but if you want milder jelly with just a hint of heat, leave the seeds out. (Either way, we recommend that you wear food-safe latex gloves when you cut the peppers, and avoid rubbing your eyes or skin.)
Puree the jalapeños in a blender with some apple cider vinegar, then simmer in a pot with more vinegar and sugar.
After the jalapeño mixture has boiled, add Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin, boil for another minute, then skim off any foam before ladling the Jalapeño Jelly into Ball® Half-Pint Mason Jars. (We used the Ball® Half-Pint Quilted Mason Jars in our photos, but any 8 ounce Ball® Mason Jar is great for this jelly recipe.)
Ready to can?
The Ball® Utensil Set for Preserving is a convenient solution for a canner who is looking for replacement utensils. The set contains a Jar Lifter, a Canning Funnel, and Bubble Remover/Head Space Tool. You can find that here.
Click here for a great deal on a 12-Pack of 16-ounce Wide Mouth Ball® Mason Jars too!
How do you serve Jalapeño Jelly?
Serve Jalapeño Jelly spooned over softened cream cheese as a dip with crackers – you’ll love the sweet and zesty flavors of the jam with the cream cheese and salty crackers.
Or click here for our Jalapeño Popper Bites recipe. You’ll see that we’ve spooned this Jalapeño Jelly on top of a dollop of cream cheese inside a cheddar thumbprint cookie – for a very delicious bite!
Visit BallHomeCanning.com for new, seasonal recipes from Ball® Fresh Preserving, as well as to find new promotional offers throughout the summer!
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Jalapeño Jelly
Reprinted with Permission from BallHomeCanning.com
Ingredients
12 ounces rinsed and stemmed jalapeño peppers (about 12 medium)
2 cups cider vinegar, divided
6 cups granulated sugar
1 3–ounce pouch Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin
Green food coloring, optional
5 Ball® (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Instructions
Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
While wearing latex gloves, cut stems from fresh jalapeños, then cut peppers in half. Remove the seeds from the jalapeños for a less spicy jelly (Helpful hint: Run a teaspoon along the inside of each cut jalapeno to remove the seeds), or leave the seeds in if you’d like very spicy jelly.
Coarsely cut peppers, then place in a food processor or blender with 1 cup of vinegar. Puree until smooth. Do not strain.
Pour pureed jalapeño mixture into a medium pot along with the remaining 1 cup vinegar and all of the sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. (Be very careful here, this mixture WILL foam up and over the top unless you are careful.) Just as it starts to come to a boil, lower heat and with a ladle, skim off any foam. Then, increase the temperature under the pot to a point where it will gently boil, but not rise up and over the top.
Boil for 10 minutes then while whisking, add one pectin pouch and boil hard for an additional minute. Remove from heat, skimming any additional foam if necessary.
We chose not to add the optional green food coloring to our jelly. But if you’d like your jelly to be a darker green, add one or two drops and stir to combine.
Ladle hot jelly into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when pressed in center.
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It has been about 20 hours and my jelly is still liquid-y! Any idea what I did wrong? Thanks!
Hi Amber – Did you make any changes to the recipe? Did you swap in powdered pectin (that needs to be boiled, while the liquid does not), did you cut back on the sugar? Hard to know without additional information…you could try boiling it again and adding more pectin.
Can SureJell be substituted for the liquid pectin?
Hi Lindsay – I’m sure you can. There are lots of articles online about swapping in powdered pectin for liquid that might be helpful to you.
Hi Martha, just finished with this awesome easy recipe. I hope its as good as it smells and looks but, was wondering you did not say how long it has to sit before we can eat it. The last time I made this was many moons ago lol, but it was 14 days up and 14 days upside down. Is this the same? And thanks for this awesome recip3!
Hi Veronica – You can eat it right away (as soon as it’s cool enough)! Hope you enjoy the jelly!
I made jalapeno pepper today & did not add green food coloring. While your jelly looks like a beautiful goldfish color, mine is green…dark green. Tastes awesome, I was just curious about the difference in colors? Any insights?
Hi Laura – I’m not sure – maybe your jalapenos had more pigment than ours? Very interesting…the only time we achieved a dark green color was by adding food coloring, but do prefer the pretty, natural, light green color without it. I wish I had more insight for you.
How long
Does it take to set up? I made this today and can’t wait to try it.
Hi James – The jelly should be soft-set at room temperature and firmer once chilled.
How long will this last before and after opening? I have only ever done strawberry/rhubarb jam so I’m am a novice when it comes to water and pressure canning. Thank you. I did make this and I just tried it! So proud of ourselves…my husband helped. It is soo good. We did it Wednesday and I could hardly wait to try it out. All the seals are good and when I opened it it did pop. 🙌🏽👍🏽
Hi D – We’ve stored jars on a shelf in the basement for up to a year. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I have the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving which includes this recipe. The only difference; it calls for 2 3-oz pouches of liquid pectin, not 1. Here I was wondering why my jelly never set🤷♀️
Hi Megan – Thanks for your feedback. We had the complete opposite experience…the first time we made this jelly, we used two pouches and the jelly was the consistency of a chewy gummy bear! Not sure why we are seeing such opposite results.
Very easy and really good. I did not add any seeds and it was plenty warm for me but my family says I am not a good judge of spicy food 😄 they did like it too.
So glad the jelly was a hit Kyle! 🙂
How long does it last? I have a jar that didn’t seal not sure how long it keeps in refrigerator or the ones that sealed successfully how long do they last in shelf?
Hi Suzette – In the refrigerator, an opened jar should last about a month. For the successfully canned jars, I’d say up to a year.
Hello. I’ve just discovered your site and this recipe. Can I use apple cider vinegar with the “mother” or should I use the cider vinegar I grew up with?
Great question Laurie! We used the typical, filtered supermarket vinegar when we made this recipe. I’m not sure how using an apple cider vinegar with the mother would impact the recipe. I suspect it would be fine, although perhaps making the jelly a little cloudier. This recipe was provided to us by Ball Fresh Preserving – I will reach out to them today and ask them. (I’m curious too!)