No Fail Red Pepper Jelly Recipe

What is Pepper Jelly Made Of?

Pepper jelly first hit the stores in Texas in 1978 and became quite popular in the 1980s. The ingredients were simple: vinegar, pectin, sugar, and of course, the peppers for flavoring. Although the original recipes started with jalapeño, a variety of versions with different types of peppers followed.

If you’ve never tried hot pepper jelly you might think it’s super spicy. The great thing about making your own pepper jelly is that you control the outcome. It doesn’t have to be spicy-hot at all.

Because its flavor can be intense, this red pepper jelly isn’t meant to be slathered on things in the same way as other fruit jellies.

It’s fantastic dabbed onto Brie and other soft cheeses and served on crackers. It also has the perfect consistency for glazes, sauces–and yes, the center of thumbprint cookies, my favorite use of this recipe.

Why Make Your Own Red Pepper Jelly?

Pepper jelly enjoys popularity not only in Texas but in most parts of the United States. Most likely you can buy a red pepper jelly similar to this one in your local grocery store.

However, I highly recommend making your own. It’s really not as hard as you might think! And by making it at home, you get to adjust the heat exactly to your taste.

I have been making this red pepper jelly for years and have never had this recipe fail. Watch me make it for the Outdoor Channel here, or watch my video on this page.

How Do You Adjust the Pepper Heat and Flavor?

Remove all the seeds from the peppers to get great flavor without the heat. Leave half the seeds and get 3 out of 5 star heat. Leave them all in – like my husband likes it – and get a 5 star heat!

You can use green jalapeños or red for the jelly. I like the flavor and color of the red peppers just a hair more than the green, but both are amazing.

Growing the peppers at home is pretty easy, too! Follow this link for tips and tricks for growing your own peppers (hot or otherwise) from seed.

How Do You Make the Jelly Set?

As far as red pepper jelly setting, just add the pectin packet and it should be good to go. If it doesn’t set the first time, don’t worry! You have room for a do-over. It is fine to pour the mixture back into the dutch oven or stock pot, bring it to a boil, and add more pectin. Then follow the canning instructions as you would normally.

Get the cookbook with this recipe here: Stacy Lyn’s Harvest Cookbook

Tips for Preparing Red Pepper Jelly

Here are some tips that I’ve learned from experience.

1. Wear gloves when deseeding and and chopping the peppers.
2. Control the heat by controlling the amount of seeds that go into the jelly.
3. Plant extra peppers to make extra jelly for unexpected guests!

No Fail Red Pepper Jelly Recipe

This no-fail red pepper jelly is super easy and has the perfect consistency for glazes, sauces, and yes...thumbprint cookies (my favorite).

4.9 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Condiment, Sauce, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 pound red jalapeño red peppers
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 ounces liquid pectin one packet
• pinch of Kosher salt

Instructions

 

• Remove stems from all the peppers. Cut half of the peppers in half and remove the seeds by scraping them out with a small spoon. Place the peppers into a food processor and pulse 7 to 8 times to roughly chop peppers.
• Transfer peppers to a large pot and add the vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil then lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Add sugar to the pepper mixture and bring to a boil. When it reaches a rolling boil, allow to continue boiling for 1 minute. Add butter to keep the mixture from foaming. Add liquid pectin and stir to mix. Allow mixture to boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
• Ladle mixture into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Place hot lids on the jars and screw rims firmly. Proceed canning in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Refrigerate after opening.

Keyword jelly, red pepper jelly, stacey lyn, stacey lynn, stacy lyn, stacy lynn

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!