I have searched for many years for a Red Pepper Jelly recipe that a neighbor served at one of her Christmas parties. The jelly was tangy, with just a whisper of heat. Slathered on a cracker with cream cheese, it was love at first bite. Finally, I was able to recreate that red pepper jelly recipe and I’m thrilled beyond words. Whenever I serve this at a pot luck, or party, the bowl is completely clean!
There’s a back story as to how I discovered this sweet and savory jelly. My story goes way back before my son was born. A former neighbor of ours served a jar of her homemade red pepper jelly, along
with cream cheese and crackers at a neighborhood Christmas party.
I had never even heard of red pepper jelly, but I obediently prepared my cracker as she instructed me to do.
Whoa! What?! My taste buds were vibrating with delight, as my taste buds danced between sweet, tangy and a little bit of heat. I was seriously considering shoving the entire tray into my purse, and sneaking out of her house to my own– so I could greedily eat the whole shebang. But, that would be rude. So, I listened to my good conscience. Reluctantly.
I asked my neighbor for the recipe,and she kept saying she’d get it to me. But, sadly, she never did. Then we moved away and on occasion, I would think about that jelly with a nostalgic longing for it. I did find a similar jelly made by Stonewall Kitchen. It’s really delicious, at about $8.00 per jar. Still, I always wanted to make my own.
In recent years, I’ve searched high and low, for recipes for red pepper jelly. There are lots of them, and most of them use green bell peppers and lots of jalapeño peppers. I even saw some recipes that uses habanero peppers. Nope, that’s not what I was looking for. I’m a wimp when it comes to really spicy foods, and I didn’t want the taste of the jalapeños to overwhelm the sweetness of the red bell peppers.
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I seriously debated whether or not I wanted to use jalapeños. Would it be too hot? Would it detract from the red bell peppers? What to do?! I had also seen variations using hot sauce or red pepper flakes. In the end, I reduced the recipe from 2-3 jalapeños to one. I used my food processor to pulse the peppers finely. Then, I pressed the peppers through a fine sieve colander, to remove the excess water.
I will admit that Jarden Home Brand has spoiled me, for sure. Over the last three years, they have sent me the Ball Canning Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker and the Ball Automatic Home Canning System (Sadly, this has been discontinued, though I still use mine year-round.) My kind of canning is “small batch” because I’m not canning enough food to last until the apocalypse. It’s just the two of us. So, these two technical marvels makes my canning so much quicker– like in one hour, I have six half-pint jars of preserves.
Fear not! You don’t have to go out and buy these marvels of canning technology products. You can still use a pot and a stove, and you’ll get great results. So, here’s my jelly and it smells fantastic!
While the Automatic Jam & Jelly maker was stirring my concoction, at the perfect temperature and time, I sterilized my jars in the Automatic Canner. Then, I filled them. I used these cute new Ball® Design Series Jar Lids with Bands, in matching red. I just love them.
Once I placed the jars into the Auto Canner, all I had to do was press two buttons and walk away.
Or, you can use a canning pot with a rack and water can the old-fashioned and reliable way, too.
I held the jelly up to the light, and was happy to see that the peppers were evenly distributed. Yay!
Whenever I make jam or jelly, I always place a little bit into a small bowl so it will set almost immediately. That way, I can make sure that the pectin did it’s job well. I was thrilled to see that my jelly was perfectly set.
Of course, in the interest of quality control, I had to test out the jelly. A dollop of this jelly on top of cream cheese and a cracker is a must. Here I go…
TASTING NOTES: Oh wow! Oh my! I am so happy that I don’t have to look any further for a Red Pepper Jelly recipe. This is it. I got the perfect balance of sweet, tart (from the vinegar) and then a very subtle heat from the jalapeño. There are other ways to enjoy this jelly– as a “kicked up” PBJ sandwich, on chicken or salmon… use your imagination. Oh. I figure that it cost about $2.50 per jar for me to make this, so it’s also cost-saving…and being homemade, it’s priceless!
Get canning! The sky is the limit with what you can make, and who doesn’t love homemade canned goods as gifts?!
Sweet Red Pepper Jelly
Equipment
- Canning equipment large pot, sanitized jars
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups sweet red bell peppers about 3 to 4 large
- 1/2 cup jalapeno peppers about 3 to 4 small (increase if you prefer super spicy!)
- 1 cup cider vinegar 5% acidity
- 4-1/2 tablespoons Ball® brand RealFruit™ Classic Pectin
- 1/2 teaspoon butter optional, reduces foaming
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 6 Ball® brand Half Pint 8-ounce Glass Preserving Jars
Instructions
- Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.
If you are using your stove top to make jelly:
- Remove stems and seeds from red bell peppers and finely chop. (I used my food processor, and pulsed them until they were fine enough.) Measure 3 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers.
- Note: I placed the finely chopped peppers into a fine strainer and pressed out the excess liquid.
- Remove stems, seeds, and veins from jalapeño peppers* and finely chop. Measure 1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers. Measure remaining ingredients for your recipe; set aside.
- Place chopped bell peppers and jalapeño peppers in an 8-quart saucepan. Add vinegar. Gradually stir in Ball® brand RealFruit™ Classic Pectin. Add butter, if using. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary, from top of jelly.
If using the Ball Canning Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker:
- Note: I placed the finely chopped peppers into a fine strainer and pressed out the excess liquid.
- Sprinkle pectin evenly over bottom of the Pot fitted with the Stirrer. Add peppers evenly over pectin. Pour vinegar evenly over peppers. Add butter to help reduce foaming.
- Press Jelly button – the cook time will automatically default to 25 minutes. Press the (–) minus button until the time reads 21 minutes. Press Enter.
- Wait 4 minutes for appliance to sound 4 short beeps indicating that it is time to add sugar. Add sugar gradually while Stirrer continues running. Place the Glass Lid on the Pot.
- The appliance will continue to automatically stir your ingredients while it cooks. Stay within earshot of the Jam & Jelly Maker, the appliance will beep again at the end of the process signaling jelly cooking is complete. Press Cancel, unplug the appliance and immediately remove Glass Lid.
- Remove Stirrer using a pot holder. Skim foam, if necessary, from top of jelly.
- Preserve pepper jelly immediately, in sanitized jars.
Prepare jars with Automatic Canner instructions (while jam or jelly is being made in your Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker)
- Wash jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse well.
- Keep jars warm until ready to use, in order to minimize risk of breakage when filling with hot jam or jelly. You can heat them in your canner or stockpot of simmering water, or in a heated dishwasher. Set lids and bands aside in your work area.
Fill Your Jars:
- Ladle hot jam into hot jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe any jam or jelly from the rims of the jars. Center lids on jars. Twist on the bands until fingertip tight.
- Place filled jars in the canning rack inside the canner, ensuring jars are covered by 1-2 inches of water. Place lid on canner. Bring water to gentle, steady boil.
- Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars from water and cool. Check lids for seal after 12 to 24 hours.
Check the Seal:
- Press on center of cooled lid. If jar is sealed, the lid will not flex up or down. If it is not sealed, refrigerate immediately or re-process.
If using the Ball Canning Auto Canner (my preferred method as it's so easy to do:
- Remove one hot jar. Close Lid, but do not lock, to keep remaining jars hot. Ladle hot jelly into hot jar, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe any jelly from the rim of the jar. Center new lid on jar. Twist on band until fingertip tight. Return filled jar onto Rack in Inner Pot.
- Repeat step 2 until all jars are filled with jelly and returned to Inner Pot. Close and lock Lid.
- Press Jams & Jellies, then press Recipe 1. Press Start to begin preserving.
- The appliance will start sensing your recipe, indicated by the orange Sensing light. Then, the preserving phase will begin, indicated by the orange Preserving light. When your appliance beeps and the green Ready light is flashing, your jelly has been successfully preserved! Press Stop. Unlock and open Lid.
- Remove jars from Inner Pot using jar lifter and place upright on a towel. Allow to cool, undisturbed, for 12 to 24 hours. Check lids for seals and store your jars.
Storage:
- Store sealed jars in pantry for up to 1 year. Jars may be stored without bands, or you may clean the underside of bands to ensure no moisture is trapped during storage.
Nutrition
Anxious to try this recipe, Debby. Appreciate all the work you do to get it to us. This will be used this winter. I find red peppers very reasonable in the Mexican grocery stores in PHX.
I "liked" Ball Canning on Facebook.
I am a beginner canner and spell check doesn't like that word! I love spicy foods and would love to put garden bounty into jars without fear of botulism. So I will be checking out the Ball canning website!
Can't find the recipe card!
I'm glad you found exactly the recipe you are looking for Debby. I would have reduced the heat too, since I am also a whip 🙂
Dear Jeff, You don't have a profile or contact available so I hope that you check back for my response. I have my email address all over my blog (foodiewife@gmail.com). Had you emailed me, I would have sent you the direct link to my recipe. Are you sure it's not there? Did you scroll to the very end of my post? I can see TWO recipe cards– one for the regular recipe, one for reduced sugar. It's there! I can see it using Mozilla, Explorer, Google Chrome and from my iPad and iPhone using Safari. Look again… and if you still can't see it, please email me.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
I have never canned before but I would LOVE to start!!!
I like Ball Canning on FB (Lindsay Lee)
I follow Ball Canning on instagram (https://instagram.com/linzaleetus/)
What a great setup for making jams and jellies! I like pepper jelly just the way you make it, Debby. I think it would make nice holiday gifts for special people.
I follow ball canning via twitter (@linzaleetus)
I have never canned before, but have always wanted to try!
I am a big canner, but more so in jams, jellys, berries, etc. I do some broccoli freezing but never dealt with types like this having pepperish type stuff in there.
I'm an intermediate canner. I can jellies, jams, marmalades, chutneys & tomatoes. Still need to learn to can the rest.
Like so many people, I grew up eating the foods that my grandmother canned. I didn't truly appreciate those foods until I grew up and sadly, my grandmother was no longer here to show me how. I'm now 60 and have never canned anything although I've always wanted to try.
I'm also a big fan of red pepper jelly, so I think I'll try your recipe as my first canning experience!
I would love to learn how to can…I say i will do it each year, but am a bit afraid of it. This is great motivation.
I have tried canning, with no luck. Will be trying this recipe in hope of success.
I make strawberry rhubarb jam every spring, and haven't tried to can anything else, but I think I will give your pepper jam a try!
I love pepper jam and can't wait to give your recipe a try.
I'm a fairly new canner–only been doing this for about three years–but I love it! Jams, pickles, fruits, tomatoes…love it.
I have been making a lovely jam of Blackberries/Lemon/Vanilla/Turbinado Sugar (which is exactly what it sounds like it is). You have to use real vanilla beans though!
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Hey there your recipes are so lovely. You can use the same dip on Potatoes wedges.Potato chips or crisp as you guys call it would work too but the wider floury volume of a Potato wedge and its crunchy feel is out of this world
Wow!! I cannot believe I found this recipe!! I found the pepper jelly recipe in the Ball book, but I like to look at others. I sometimes use 2 for balance. Your recipe is what I was looking for!!! I have canned for 50 years, but have never made pepper jelly. I also love my jam/jelly maker! Makes me feel like I’m cheating 😂 Thank you.
I wanted to recreate the red pepper jelly that I fell in love with all those years ago. I’m not big on spicy heat, so I was going for a mild amount of chili, with a balance of sweet. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope it all works out for you!