Jalapeño Jelly Recipe

This home canned Jalapeño Jelly recipe adds a little sweet and spicy to your favorite meat dish or serve with goat cheese and crackers as an appetizer.

I made jalapeño jelly for the very first time six summers ago. I had never even tasted Jalapeño Jelly before, so I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not.

But, you know what? I was amazed at just how delicious this little jar of sweet and spicy jalapeno jelly was with grilled chicken! Amazed, I tell you!

My Salsa Garden

I have a little tiny backyard garden where I'm growing two tomato plants, two jalapeño plants and one bell pepper plant. I call it my "salsa" garden.

This little salsa garden has produced sooo many veggies that I'm having a difficult time coming up with uses and time to can everything! ? ? It's a good problem to have, right?

What do you do with 100 jalapeños? If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear about them!!

I had already canned several batches of salsa and tomato sauce

Our youngest son loves jalapeños and spicy food so I decided to try and make a small batch of jalapeño jelly. If it didn't turn out to be tasty or something I thought Owen would like, I'd try something else.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised and how tasty this jalapeno jelly turned out! My husband (who doesn't like spicy or hot spicy foods) even liked the jelly!

How to Make Jalapeño Jelly

Before I share the Jalapeño Jelly recipe with you, let me share my very best tip with you for working with peppers:

WEAR GLOVES - Do yourself, your hands, your skin and your eyes a favor and wear gloves when handling hot peppers. It seemed that no matter how much I washed my hands, I still had some pepper residue left.

Step One: Prepare Jelly Jars

Before you can begin to make your pepper jelly, you should have your jars washed, sterilized and ready for use. You can sterilize your jars in two ways:

1. Dishwasher - Simply load your canning jars, lids and bands in the dishwasher and wash on hot cycle. Keep your jars warm in the dishwasher while you prepare your jelly.
2. Hot Soapy Water - Wash the jars, lids and band in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Set the bands aside. Place lids in a small saucepan with water to cover. Sterilize jars by placing in your water bath canner, cover with water and heat to simmer (do not boil).

Step Two: Prepare Water Bath Canner

I typically prepare my water bath canner before I even touch my peppers because it takes some time for all that water to heat up in the canner. Also, I want to make sure my jars are sterilized and nice and hot before I need them.

To do so, fill your water bath canner with water. Load clean glass jars into the wire basket or on a wire trivet in the bottom of the canner. Water should fill the jars and cover them by at least 2". Heat the water over medium to medium-high heat. You want the water to simmer, not boil.

Keep the jars in the hot water until you're ready to fill them. Keep in mind, if you're using your dishwasher to clean and sterilize jars, you'll leave them in the hot dishwasher on the heat setting until you're ready to fill your jars.

Sterilize Lids

You'll also want to have a small saucepan filled with water, sitting on a burner over medium-low heat. You'll warm up and slightly soften the seal on the lids just minutes before processing the jelly. So, have the pan ready and add the lids to the pan just before you begin to fill the jars.

You do NOT want to boil the lids. You simply want the water hot enough to slightly soften the seal on the underside of the lid. I use tongs to remove the lids from the water when I'm ready place the lid on the filled jars.

Step Three: Prepare Peppers

Following my hint above to wear gloves, cut the stem end off of the jalapeno peppers and discard them. Then slice the peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and membrane, discarding them as well.

You can leave the seeds and membrane on a few of the peppers or maybe up to half of the peppers if you like things a little more on the heat side. For my jelly, I removed all the seeds and membrane.

Once you have your peppers ready, simply place them in a food processor along with one cup of the cider vinegar and process until smooth.

Step Four: Cook the Jalapenos

Pour the pureed jelly mixture into a heavy-bottomed pan. Add remaining cider vinegar and sugar and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to boil over high heat and boil for 10 minutes - stirring frequently.

DO NOT WALK AWAY or take your eyes off the jelly. It can and will boil over very easily. Once my jelly starts boiling, I turn the heat down just slightly so that it continues to boil and is less likely to boil over.

Keep a close eye on the jelly and stir frequently. After 10 minutes of boiling, add the fruit pectin all at once. You'll want to have the packets of fruit pectin already open so all you have to do is pour them in. I open my packets and then stand them in a coffee cup until I'm ready to use the pectic. Continue to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove jelly from heat.

Step Five: Fill the Jars

Place a towel on the countertop near your stove or the area where you'll be filling your jars.

Remove a jar from the water bath, pouring out any water that is inside the jar and place right side up on the towel. There is no need to dry the inside of the jar. (If using your dishwasher to sterilize jars, simply remove your jars one at a time from the dishwasher for filling.)

I use a pair of tongs to remove my jars from the water bath. I find by using the tongs, I can easily grab ahold of one side of the jar, lift it out of the water, tip it to drain the water out and place it on my towel covered surface for filling.

Once you have a clean, sterilized jar sitting on the towel covered counter, you're ready to fill your jar with jalapeno jelly. Place a jar filler inside or on top of the empty jar. Using a ladle, fill the jar to within ¼" of the top.

Remove any air bubbles (simply gently tap the jar on the countertop or run a knife along the inside of the jar. Wipe off the top of the jar with a clean damp cloth. Using your tongs, remove one lid from the pan of hot water and place on top of the jar. Screw on a band so that it is finger tight.

Place the filled jar back in the water bath canner and proceed with the next empty jar. Repeat until you have all jars filled and back in the water bath canner.

Step Six: Proccess the Jars

The next step in canning the jalapeno jelly is actually called "processing." We are going to process our filled jars in the water bath canner for 10 minutes.

So, make sure the jars are covered by at least 2" of water. Place the lid on the canner and wait for the water to boil. Once the water has begun to boil rapidly, start your 10 minute timer.

When the 10 minutes are up, turn off the burner and carefully remove the lid.

Place a clean towel on the counter. You want to place a clean towel on the counter to absorb heat and so that the jars continue to cool off naturally to room temperature. If you place them on a cold hard surface (ceramic, marble, tile, etc.), it can cause the jars to cool off too quickly.

Remove the jars of jelly from the water bath canner and place on the towel covered counter one at a time, leaving space between the jars for airflow.

Step Seven: Listen for the "Pings"

Did you know your canning jars will sing to you? They definitely will (or should)! See, when you heat filled canning jars in a boiling water bath canner (or pressure canner), pressure builds inside the jars. During the cooling process, this pressure creates a vacuum effect, which causes the lids to seal on the jars.

When the jars seal, you literally hear a "pop" or "ping" sound. This popping sound indicates that the seal on the lid has closed tightly over the jars. Music to my ears, I tell ya! If you've canned before, you know exactly what I'm talking about!

Step Eight: Wait

You should leave your freshly preserved jars of Jalapeno Jelly on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours. Some people say until they've completely cooled to room temperature. I simply plan on leaving them undisturbed on the counter for 24 hours before I label them and put them away (or gift them to friends and family).

Step Nine: Label Your Jars

Have you ever pulled a package out of the freezer and had absolutely no idea about the contents? Well, believe it or not, the same thing can happen with home canned goods.

I use a fine point permanent marker and label the lids with "Jalapeno Jelly" and the date they were canned. If I gift the jelly, I'll attach a pretty label to the lid as well. But, getting in the habit of labeling your lids right away, is a great idea.

Printable Labels for Jalapeno Jelly

Like I mentioned above, getting in the habit of labeling your canned goods is a great idea. You can simply write on the lids with a permanent marker. But, for a nicer touch and for gift giving, you might want to include a printed label.

I've got you covered!

Simply subscribe to The Birch Cottage newsletter and you'll have access to this free set of printable Jalapeno Jelly labels and the entire Subscribers Resource Library!

A Handmade Home Facebook Page

By the way, if you like this set of printable jalapeno jelly labels, I have an entire collection of the chalkboard design labels that I've shared in my Facebook Page, A Handmade Home. I'd love it if you'd come join us and share in the inspiration!

More Recipe Ideas

If you liked this Jalapeño Jelly recipe, you might also like these other jelly and jam recipes from The Birch Cottage:

• Pineapple Jalapeno Jelly
• Pear Jam
• Pineapple Pear Jam

I hope you will enjoy this Jalapeño Jelly recipe as much as my family has enjoyed it. And, don't forget, this jelly would make perfect little gift jars! You could even combine it with some crackers, brie cheese and a nice gift basket! The possibilities are endless!

Happy canning!!

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