This Easy Peach Pepper Jelly recipe is made with fresh peaches and jalapeno peppers. No pressure canning needed, just a 5 minute water bath or store it in the refrigerator or freezer. It's a crowd-pleasing Southern appetizer served over cream cheese.
To me, an easy jelly recipe means small batch canning or freezer jelly. And by "canning", I mean boiling fewer than 8 half pint jars of this peach jalapeno jelly in water in a very large pot, not a pressure canner.
One of my favorite last minute Southern appetizer is always a pepper jelly over cream cheese. I keep on hand several jars of my Red and Green Freezer Jalapeno Pepper Jelly and more recently Freezer Blackberry Pepper Jelly for just such occasions!
I think my favorite way to serve Easy Peach Pepper Jelly is to spoon it over pan-seared chicken breasts. Of course, you can't go wrong slathering it on a cornbread muffin or my 2 Ingredient Biscuits, too.
I've made three batches of this easy hot pepper jelly recipe (It's actually not very hot) this summer to give as food gifts this Christmas.
It makes a nice hostess gift and if you're lucky, the hostess will go ahead and "cream cheese it" right then, so everyone can enjoy it. Don't forget the crackers!
A reader told me she used frozen, drained peaches and the recipe worked! So, this is a great tip to know you can make this peach pepper jelly recipe in the winter for Christmas gift giving!
Shortcuts
- No pressure canner needed.
- Small batch means just a few small jars of jelly so less time spent prepping ingredients.
- I use the food processor to "chop" all those jalapeno peppers.
- My instructions are given in a way that maximizes your time management.
- Store this peach jalapeno pepper jelly in the refrigerator or freezer and skip the water bath step, altogether.
Ingredients
Scroll down to printable recipe for ingredient quantities.
Food styling trick: The yellow or orange bell pepper is optional and can simply be left out. I like to add it because it holds its shape better than peaches and actually looks like chopped peaches in the cooked jelly!
How to make Peach Pepper Jelly
This is an easy homemade pepper jelly recipe. I'll walk you through each step in more detail in the printable recipe at the end of the post.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional canning expert. For expert canning advice contact your local county extension service or a good resource for canning and preserving is Ball canning and preserving website.
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
- Bring a very large pot of water to boil if processing in a water bath.
- Wash jars in hot, soapy water. If processing in water bath, sterilize jars.
- Remove stems from jalapeno peppers (and yellow bell pepper, if using). Cut in half vertically. Remove seeds. Cut in half horizontally.
- Chop the peppers or use a food processor in batches to make quick work of it.
Important: Wear latex or vinyl gloves and don't touch your eyes when seeding and chopping hot peppers.
- Combine peppers, sugar, and vinegar in a 6- to 8-quart pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, peel and chop peaches.
Pro Tip: It's important to use a pot this size because the mixture can bubble up much higher while boiling.
- After pepper mixture boils 3 minutes, add chopped peaches.
- Bring mixture back up to a boil and boil 2 minutes.
The peaches are added later so they will still hold their shape.
- Meanwhile, combine Sure-Jell powdered pectin and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Try to time this so it is ready when peach mixture has boiled 2 minutes.
- Stir cooked pectin mixture into the peach mixture. Bring back up to a boil (whole lotta boilin' goin' on here) and boil 1 full minute.
It's better to go a tiny bit over a minute here than under a minute after adding the pectin to ensure it sets up. Speaking from experience...just sayin'.
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- Remove peach-pepper mixture from the heat and skim off any foam that may appear.
- Fill jars with hot jelly mixture. Wipe rims of jars clean. Seal lids with jar rings.
Freezer Jelly Instructions
For freezer jelly, let stand at room temperature for 24 hours to set up, then store in refrigerator or freezer. (Scroll down for fridge and freezer storage times.)
But it's ready to eat as soon as it sets up which may be sooner.
Processing jelly in a water bath
Tip: My cabinets are close to my stovetop eye, so I place a baking sheet between the large pot of boiling water to shield them from the prolonged heat since it takes a while to boil that much water.
To make Peach Pepper Jelly safe for storing on a shelf at room temperature, process in a boiling water bath.
Place a canning rack or small round cookie cooling rack in the bottom of the very large pot. Lower the jars slowly into the boiling water with canning tongs. They grip the jars much better than regular tongs.
There should be 1 inch of water above the top of the jars.
Place the lid on the pot to bring it back up to a boil faster. Once boiling, set a timer for 5 minutes for half pint jars.
Remove the jars carefully with canning tongs and place on a kitchen towel to cool.
You will know the jars have sealed when you hear a distinct pop and the lid is flat, not raised, on top.
(I stacked these for the photo after they had sealed.)
Substitutions & Variations
- Liquid pectin - A 3 ounce pouch of Certo liquid pectin can be substituted for the powdered pectin and water.
- Habanero Pepper Jelly- I haven't tried a habanero or other hot peppers in this recipe because I'm a scaredy cat. I feel sure Serrano peppers can be traded out equally in weight and just result in a hot pepper jelly rather than this rather mild version. Anything hotter, I can't speak to it, but I think two habanero peppers will give you lots of heat!
- Nectarines are basically slick-skin peaches so, easy-peazy trade out for this peach and pepper jam combination.
- Jalapeno Pepper Jelly Dip- It's as easy as stirring in ⅓ to ½ cup of Easy Peach Pepper Jelly into very soft cream cheese.
Helpful Information
Yes, instead of boiling a (1.75-ounce) box of powdered pectin and water together for 1 minute, just stir in one (3-ounce) pouch of liquid pectin. The liquid pectin saves a step but costs a little more.
Pro tip: Stir jams and jellies slowly to prevent whisking in air bubbles.
Peach pepper jelly uses
- Cream cheese it! If you have a block of cream cheese, some crackers and this spicy pepper jelly, then you have a party!
- Glaze pan-seared chicken and pork chops with it.
- Brush a baked ham with it before and after baking.
- Spread it on baked brie and put it on a charcuterie board.
- Drizzle my Bacon-Wrapped Dove Jalapeno Poppers or chicken wings with it!
- Top your grilled burger with it...don't forget the cream cheese!
How to store
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Store in the freezer up to 1 year.
If you've processed it in the water bath procedure, store at room temperature for up to 2 years.
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Easy Peach Pepper Jelly
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Ingredients
- 1 pound jalapeno peppers (about 20 medium) (1 ½ cups chopped)
- 1 medium yellow or orange bell pepper (optional)
- 6 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 large peaches* (1 ½ cups chopped)
- 1 (1.75-ounce) box Sure-Jell powdered pectin (Original)
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- If processing in a water bath for shelf stable jelly, put on a very large pot (21-quarts) of water to boil. Not necessary if storing jelly in fridge or freezer.
- Wash jars with hot soapy water. For shelf stable jelly, sterilize the jars.
- Wearing kitchen gloves, remove stems and seeds from jalapeno (and bell pepper, if using) peppers. Chop the peppers with a knife or pulse in a food processor in batches.
- Combine peppers, sugar, and vinegar in a pan no smaller than 6- to 8-quarts. Bring to a boil, gently stirring occasionally. Boil at a rolling boil for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and chop peaches. Peaches are added later to hold their shape.
- After pepper mixture has boiled 3 minutes, stir in peaches. Bring back to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, stir together powdered pectin and water. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Try to time this so it is ready when the peach mixture has boiled 2 minutes.
- Stir cooked pectin mixture into the peach mixture. Bring to a boil and boil 1 full minute.
- Remove the peach-pepper mixture from the heat and skim off any foam that may appear.
- Fill jars with hot jelly mixture. Wipe rims of jars clean. Seal lids with jar rings.
For Freezer Jelly
- Let stand 24 hours to cool and completely set up but jelly is ready to eat as soon as it sets up. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freezer up to 1 year.
For Shelf Stable Jelly
- Place a canning rack or small round cookie cooling rack in the bottom of the very large pot. Lower the jars slowly into the boiling water with canning tongs. They grip the jars much better than regular tongs.
- There should be 1 inch of water above the jars.
- Place the lid on pot to bring it back to a boil faster. Once boiling, set a timer for 5 minutes for half pint jars.
- Remove the jars carefully with canning tongs. They grip the jars much better than regular tongs. Place on a kitchen towel to cool and set up completely.
- You will know the jars have sealed when you hear a distinct pop and the lid is flat, not raised on top. Wait at least 24 hours up to 2 days for the jelly to completely set.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Daisy Guernsey
Turned out so good!!!!
Do you think swapping the peaches for any other fruit would work out similarly? I absolutely love this recipe and I’m worried I won’t find one as good😅
Kathleen
Yes! But it depends on the fruit. I literally just finished photographing a Cranberry Pepper Jelly that will be on the blog soon. It is very similar. I have a blackberry pepper jelly recipe on the blog where I strain the seeds out and just use the juice if you want to check that one out. Lastly, I have just a red and green pepper pepper jelly recipe. It's called freezer jelly, but you can process it in the same water bath to make it shelf stable. So glad you love the peach pepper jelly recipe!
William Taufic
Can the recipe be done 6x as I have 48 jars? Great Christmas gifts.
Kathleen
I have not made the jelly in large batches like that so I can't recommend it. Maybe have one pot of cooking while another batch is processing the water bath and save some time that way?
Angela
Can you substitute the jalapeños for a hotter pepper?
Kathleen
Yes you can! Serrano peppers are slightly hotter and that is an easy swap for same amounts. For hotter peppers like habanero, you'll have to experiment with how hot you want the jelly. Even just using 2 habanero peppers will add lots more heat. Leaving in the membrane and seeds of jalapeno and serrano peppers will also make it hotter.
Joyce
I made the jelly today and used liquid pectin. I am hoping that it thickens. I followed the recipe.
Kathleen
If you added the liquid pectin after the pepper mixture boils for the second 2 minutes, then let the mixture come to a full boil for 1 minute after adding the liquid pectin, it should set up. Be sure to let it cool the 24 hours before checking it.
Tara
Do peaches need to be peeled first?
Kathleen
Technically, they do not have to be peeled. It will not affect the jelly other than the appearance. Nectarines can be used without peeling them and their skins will stay connected to the fruit better than peaches when cooked.
Melodie Mills
Can you use frozen peaches?What is you are making freezer jam can you still use frozen peaches?
gritsandgouda
I have not made it with frozen peaches but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Just be sure to thaw them and maybe pat them dry with paper towels so as not to add extra water to the jelly. Let me know if you make it with frozen peaches. I can add that to the recipe notes if it works well for you!
Barbara
I used frozen peaches and the jam came out fine. I did drain the juice ,and gave a jar to friends, served with goat cheese they loved it.
Kathleen
This is good to know! I will add this tip to the blog post and recipe so readers will know they can make Peach Pepper Jelly in the winter for gift giving! Thank you for sharing!