This Freezer Jalapeno Pepper Jelly recipe is so easy to make! Small batch recipe for homemade hot pepper jelly that doesn't require canning or processing in a water bath. You can use either powdered pectin or liquid.
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Adding red bell pepper to the green jalapeno peppers in this sweet & hot (not too hot) pepper jelly adds a festive color. If you want no bell pepper, just leave it out.
The color combination makes it perfect for the holidays served as a Christmas jalapeno jelly appetizer over cream cheese.
This jalapeno pepper jam (jelly) is made with powdered pectin but you can easily substitute Certo liquid pectin. See variations below.
One of my favorite recipes to make with Freeze Jalapeno Pepper Jelly is Instant Pot Bone-In Pepper Jelly Ham. In this recipe, I use it to glaze the ham. I also love to just spoon it onto a block of cream cheese for a quick and easy appetizer.
What's the shortcut?
- Freezer and refrigerator pepper jam and jelly takes less time to complete than the traditional method of pressure cooking or processing in a water bath.
- Using the food processor is a huge time saver.
- This is a small batch jalapeno jelly recipe. Small batch means quick and easy with fewer jars to wash, fewer peppers to chop, and less time in general.
Ingredients
- Jalapeno peppers
- Red bell pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Sure-Jell powdered pectin
- Water
How to make Freezer Pepper Jelly
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the detailed, printable recipe. Pictures below will help guide you as you read the recipe.
I'll walk you through this easy jalapeno jelly recipe step by step!
- Wash 5 half pint jars in soapy water and let them dry while you prepare the pepper jelly.
- Wear gloves when handling jalapeno peppers and do not touch your face or eyes. Remove seeds and white membrane from the jalapeno and bell peppers.
- Cut peppers into approximately 1 ½-inch pieces. This will help the food processor mince the peppers evenly. (You can also mince the peppers with a chef's knife.)
- Pulse the pepper pieces 3 or 4 times or just until minced. Do not puree!
Canning Jalapeno Jelly tip: If you choose to can the jelly to be shelf stable by processing it in a water bath at the end, be sure to sterilize your jars, first. If you are going to store them in the freezer, just be sure to wash with hot soapy water.
- Add vinegar to pepper mixture; stir in sugar and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
- Meanwhile, combine pectin and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
- Gradually add cooked pectin liquid to pepper mixture, stirring well. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil 3 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat.
- Stir in a couple of drops of red or green food coloring, if desired.
- Using a canning funnel, or very carefully, pour pepper mixture into washed and sterilized Mason jars or 1-cup freezer containers.
- Cover with the lids and screw on the metal bands. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours to fully set up. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 month or freeze up to 1 year.
Pro Tip: Do not stir pepper/pectin mixture fast or with a whisk. This will incorporate unwanted air bubbles in the jelly.
Jalapeno Jelly Uses
- The most common way to serve pepper jelly is spooned over a block of cream cheese (or goat cheese) as a dip or spread and served with crackers. It's my go-to, quick and easy appetizer at Christmas for parties.
- Use it as a sauce on seared chicken breast. Sear the chicken and when almost done inside, spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons per breast over the chicken and cover with the lid. The jelly will melt and create the sauce!
- Brush it on a roasted pork loin or tenderloin 15 minutes before finished baking, then serve alongside it.
- Toss wings in this pepper jelly or serve as a dipping sauce.
- It makes a fantastic glaze on ham. I used it on my Instant Pot Bone-In Pepper Jelly Ham recipe.
- Top grilled burgers with a tablespoon of pepper jelly right as they come off the grill. The sweet and spicy combination is to die for on a cheese burger.
- Stir it into pimento cheese spread for a little sweet heat on a cracker.
- On a sausage biscuit! Yes please!
- Add one cup of this hot pepper jelly to a 20 ounce bag of small, frozen meatballs in a slow cooker. Cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours for Sweet & Hot Glazed Meatballs. Serve as an appetizer with a toothpick.
Variations
- Add red or green food coloring just before pouring into jars.
- Use red jalapeno peppers instead of red bell pepper.
- Don't like the heat? Use red and green bell peppers.
- Want to turn up the heat? Don't remove the seeds or add one ghost or other seriously hot pepper along with the jalapeno.
Make this jalapeno jelly recipe with Certo liquid pectin instead of Sure-Jell powdered pectin. Instead of combining the powdered pectin and water and bringing to a boil for 1 minute, simply pour in the liquid pectin to the pepper mixture. Where it says to add the cooked powdered pectin mixture is where you pour in the liquid pectin.
The Sure-Jell jalapeno pepper jelly version will cost less because the liquid pectin in slightly more expensive. You pay for the convenience of not boiling it yourself.
Can I store this jelly in my pantry?
Freezer jams and jellies are not shelf stable. Since the jar lids are not sealed and the jelly has not processed in a hot water bath to kill bacteria inside the jar, freezer jams and jellies need to be stored in the freezer or fridge.
To store them outside the freezer or fridge, simply process the half pint jars in a water bath for 5 minutes and pint jars for 10 minutes.
How long can I store this jalapeno pepper jam in the fridge and freezer?
Freezer Jalapeno Pepper Jelly (jam) can be stored in the freezer up to 1 year according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. It can be stored in the fridge for 1 month.
How do I thaw freezer jams and jellies
Simply place the jar of jam or jelly in the refrigerator and it will thaw in about 24 to 32 hours. Do not leave on the counter to thaw. It will thaw unevenly and unsafely on the counter.
Other shortcut canning recipes you will love
- Freezer Blackberry Pepper Jelly
- Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam
- Slow Cooker Fig Jam
- Shortcut Sweet Heat Pickles and Vidalia Onions
- Peach Freezer Marmalade
Freezer Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
SAVE THIS RECIPE
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 large jalapeno peppers (enough for 2 cups minced)
- 1 large red bell pepper (enough for 1 cup minced)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 (1.75-ounce) package powdered Sure-Jell pectin (not MCP powdered pectin)
- ¾ cup water
- 2 drops red OR green food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Wash 5 half pint jars in soapy water; let them air dry on a clean towel.
- Wear gloves when handling jalapeno peppers and do not touch your face or eyes. Cut the peppers in half and remove seeds and white membrane from the jalapeno and bell peppers.
- Cut peppers into approximately 1 ½-inch pieces or in half if peppers are small. This will help the food processor mince the peppers evenly. (You can also just mince the peppers with a chef's knife and skip the food processor.)
- Pulse the pepper pieces 3 or 4 times in the food processor or blender or just until minced. Do not puree!
- Add the minced peppers, vinegar and sugar to an 8 quart pot or large saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, combine pectin and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
- Gradually add cooked pectin liquid to the pepper mixture in the pot, stirring well. Bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes, without stirring.
- Remove the pan from the heat and skim any foam from the top.
- Stir in a couple of drops of food coloring, if desired. You can also divide the hot mixture into two pans and put one or two drops of red food coloring in one pan and one or two drops of green in the other to get half red and half green pepper jelly.The red and green peppers in the jelly is pretty as it is without any extra coloring, too.
- Using a canning funnel, or very carefully, pour pepper mixture into washed Mason jars or 1-cup freezer containers.
- Cover with the lids and screw on the bands. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours to fully set up. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 month or freeze up to 1 year.
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.
Updated 11/28/2022 with new images and valuable information
Zoe
I just made this recipe and it looks like a good one. When filling your jars, remember to leave a good one-half inch of headspace to allow for the jelly’s expansion as it freezes. Also make sure your jars and lids are scrupulously clean so your jelly doesn’t mold or otherwise go bad.
Thank you, Kathleen for sharing this recipe!
Kim
Hi Kathleen, I made this recipe using Certo. I think I know what i did wrong, but it didn't set up. How can I fix this.
Thanks
Kathleen
Was your Certo the liquid pectin? That can work but I have found that the boiling hot pectin (powdered and water) tends to help dissolve the sugar better, therefore, sets up the jelly better. There is a way to fix jelly that doesn't set up. In the NOTES section at the bottom of the printable recipe, there are detailed directions. Unfortunately, it does involve pouring the jelly out from all the jars. If your jelly is only slightly off from setting up, you can use just half of a new package of pectin and 6 tablespoons of water. Let me know if this works for you!
Stephen Ellis Hornstein
Can I use the low sugar Sure jel in this recipe? and how much sugar should I use?
gritsandgouda
I'm so glad you want to make my Freezer Pepper Jelly! Unfortunately, I haven't made it with the "less or no sugar" Sure-Jell pectin. I did a little research just now and found a recipe that used this ratio 3 cups sugar to 1 package "less or no sugar" Sure-Jell. While that is still a good bit of sugar, it is 2 cups less than my recipe calls for. I'd love to know if you make it how it turns out so I can add that tip to my recipe for others!
Sallyjojo
Directions are a bit confusing. At the top of the recipe it says it's for 15 half pint servings . . I think that is really 5 half pint servings, since I followed the directions and that's about how much it made. I used the little 1/4 pint jars and it made 12 and I had 7 oz of chopped red and green jalapeno peppers from my garden, didn't use any bell pepper and used 6 drops of green food coloring. I've taste tested it and it's great! Thanks for sharing.
gritsandgouda
Yes, the yield is 5 half pints. In the first line of the directions, it says to wash 5 half pints. I can't figure out why the servings says 15. It must be a type-o on my part or a glitch. I am grateful that you pointed it out so I can remove it. I'm so glad you liked the jelly!
Lori Kolb
I had a hard time dissolving my sugar! Any tips? Could i warm up the vinegar?
gritsandgouda
I'm so sorry you had trouble dissolving your sugar! While the sugar doesn't have to be completely dissolved, you can have just a little bit of graininess. Pouring the boiling pectin mixture into the sugar straight from the stovetop will help. If your jelly is grainy after refrigerating for 2 days to give it a chance to melt the sugar, you can use the directions at the bottom of the printable recipe to re-do the same batch. The directions are there in case it doesn't set up, but I think you can use the same process to help dissolve the sugar the second time. I hope this helps. Let me know how it does in the fridge in 2 days.
cathy scott
How do I fix my red pepper freezer jelly that didn't set up?
gritsandgouda
I am so sorry your jelly didn't set up. There are a few reasons why that may have happened but you may have done everything right and occasionally, this may happen. The Sure-Jell package directions recommends: 1. Remake entire batch if none of it set up: Pour unset batch of jelly into a large bowl (no more than 8 cups). 2. Wash those containers and rinse in boiling water; thoroughly dry. 3. For every 1 cup of unset jelly, add 2 tablespoons to the bowl of unset jelly. Let stand 10 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, stir in 1 pkg powdered Sure-Jell Original into 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until a full rolling boil without stirring. Boil 2 minutes. 4. Pour the hot pectin mixture into the unset/sugar mixture. Stir at least 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. 5. Pour into washed containers, wipe rims with wet paper towel and seal with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours before refrigerating.
cathy scott
Stir 2 tablespoons of what into the pepper mixture...sugar? Then mix the sure-gell with with water & boil?
Cathy Scott
2 teaspoons of what....sugar or vinager to the peppers while boiling the sure-gell and water?
gritsandgouda
Yes, in the directions to remake a batch if your jelly does not set up, you add 2 tablespoons of sugar for every one cup of unset jelly. I have not had a batch to not set up so I took these instructions from the Sure-Jell package for freezer jelly.