Sweet Red Pepper Jelly

Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.

Sweet red pepper jelly is one of my favourite appetizers. The first time I ever had this kind of jelly was at a farmers market. The vendor had different pepper jellies. Some were spicy and others were sweet. He had some crackers and cream cheese to go with the jelly. 

I kept circling back to the vendor to try the different kinds he had. Eventually, I bought a couple jars. Then the next week I bought some more. I did it again the week after that. I became a regular purchase for me every time we went to the market.

It was much later on, that I learned how to make pepper jelly. I try to make a batch every year. While, I make lots of pepper jelly for us because it is excellent to snack on, it is also great to throw in a gift basket for friends and family. People always love getting a jar of this stuff.

Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.

I have made many different jelly recipes using peppers and onions. If you have never made a savoury jelly, you could try this red pepper jelly or any of the ones below.

I really like spicy jellies, but not everyone in the family likes the heat, so this sweet red pepper jelly is nice and mild.

Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.

Sweet Red Pepper Jelly

Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.
4.25 out of 5
12 reviews
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Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 250ml jars

Ingredients

  • 4 red sweet peppers , cored and seeded
  • 3 tbsp pectin crystals
  • cup white or cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp butter or margarine
  • 3⅓ cups sugar

Instructions

  • Place all the peppers in a food processor and pulse until chopped finely.
  • Transfer the chopped peppers to a large pot with the remaining ingredients.
  • Heat to boiling and continue to boil for about 15-18 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Skim any foam which accumulates at the top and remove from stove element.
  • While the jelly is still hot, ladle it into hot jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace.
  • Screw on lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes

If using the FreshTECH, use the instructions here in place of steps 2-4.
Sprinkle pectin evenly bottom of the pot fitted with the stirrer. Add peppers, vinegar and butter on top of the pectin. Press the Jelly button and press the – (minus) button, until the time reads 23 minutes. Press enter to start the machine. Wait 4 minutes for the machine to beep. Add the sugar and cover with the lid.

Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.

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Easy to make sweet red pepper jelly that is great with crackers and cream cheese. Simple canning with instructions for how to process in hot water bath.

Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

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Recipe Rating




25 comments

  • 4 stars
    I love this recipe, and love making it my late night snack. As a matter of fact I gave it to a friend. And she just took my last jar!!! LOL

    • Reply
  • Fantastic…..soooooo good! All thumbs up on this one. Thank You Katie Wood

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  • this is a good recipe and easy to use. Makes wonderful Christmas gifts because it comes from the heart!

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    • So glad you like the recipe. We make these for gifts as well!

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  • I made this and after three weeks I opened a jar and it was so set I could hardly get my knife into it. What could I have done wrong?

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    • So, it came out very firm and hard? Wonder if it cooked longer then needed. Sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out well for you.

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    • I make red pepper jelly and found if I used a little more peppers than called for it made a thinner jelly. You can also warm it which will make it a little thinner or easier to spread or pour over a block of cream cheese.

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      • We love red pepper jelly with cream cheese on crackers. So good!

  • What is the yield? I really don’t need more than a quart of jelly and would like to reduce this.

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  • I just lost my mother 2weeks ago, I never helped her with red pepper jelly so I hope this will be close. Thx

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  • Just made a batch of this jelly for the very first time. Thank you for the great recipe.
    I made couple changes though. I decided to add two table spoons of hot chili flakes after I chopped the peppers and it turned out just great. While boiling I wasn’t sure that the jelly would caramelize enough so I though another tsp of pectin would work better. Well it turned out to be quite hard after it cooled off, so probably next time I won’t do that.
    Other than that the recipe is super easy and very fast to make.
    I had about 800 gr of jelly in total

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  • 5 stars
    this recipe is delicious! I will be making it for the 3rd time this Christmas. One recipe will give approx. 5 small jars of jelly. It will be gone by New Year’s Day,!!!

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  • 5 stars
    I’m going to try making this today but instead of sugar I’m going to try Xylitol with no sugar pectin…a diabetic version. Wish me luck!

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    • I’d love to know how it turned out 🙂

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    • Please post how it turns out , l am diabetic as is most of my relatives and most of us love pepper jelly. I made this receipe and it is good. Only thing would like to see is approximately how many cups do the puried peppers yield and how many jars it makes?! If anyone has an idea would appreciate it.

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      • I just finished making it and it made approx 5.5 8oz jars, but I added some small hot red peppers as well.

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      • I followed the instructions but mine isn’t quite set like a thick jelly. Is it supposed to be a bit liquidy?

        • Reply
        • It is a tad liqiudy. It is definitely not as solid or firm as something like grape jelly. If it is too runny, maybe it needed to cook a little more. Getting jellies to set can be a little finicky and every batch of peppers is a little different.

          • Reply
    • 5 stars
      How did it turn out? I am on a low carb diet and would love to know how the xylitol or erythitol in it turned out. I used no sugar pectin but same amount of sugar.

      • Reply
    • I used Erythritol and it came out perfect and for those who like it a bit spicy, I just added 2 tablespoons of sirracha to the jar first and then added the jelly. Both versions were excellent. Mix the jelly with done host cheese and it makes the perfect dip for crackers, pretzels and all veggies! Everyone loves this dip! Enjoy!

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    • Nice to know if it works, because I can’t do sugar either. Skye

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  • Hello from Iowa 🙂 This red jelly looks wonderful! Where did get the cute jars ?
    marilyn….!

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    • They look like weck jars

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  • 5 stars
    Another jelly winner… amazing. 🙂

    • Reply
    • Where can I buy pectin crystals?

      • Reply

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