pepper jelly jar and cracker with chicken salad and jelly
Feet under my table -Leslie J. Watkins,  Food,  Projects

Do You Need a Perfect Pepper Jelly for Guests?

Do you need a perfect pepper jelly recipe for entertaining? I’ve got you!

This is one of my favorite items to add to a charcuterie board or with appetizers. It is the perfect addition with crackers and cream cheese.

Even a favorite topping for a platter with Chinese appetizers in place of a hoisin sauce.

We are overflowing with peppers of all types from our CSA garden boxes. There are snacking peppers, jalapenos, red peppers, green peppers, orange ones. Some I have no clue what they are.

My solution for putting up this produce? (By the way…”puttin up” is a Southern thing that I explained here.)

Making a perfect pepper jelly.

It is truly the easiest pepper jelly recipe to make and everyone will love you when you serve it or give it as a gift.

For me, probably more has gone out in the way of gifts, like this one here, than I have served from my table!

Cream cheese with pepper jelly on crackers is always a favorite!

Your guests will thank you when you add it to your table.

And can I give you a tip?

Use those small crystal 4 oz. jars when you can this jelly. It’s the perfect size for serving guests AND the perfect size to tuck into a gift basket–whether a housewarming, birthday, bereavement or Christmas one.

pepper jelly jar and cracker with chicken salad and jelly

Pepper Jelly

A wonderful pepper jelly perfect for serving with appetizers or to give as gifts!
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 12 4 oz. jars

Equipment

  • water bath canner
  • 12 4 oz. jars, rings and lids
  • Jar lifter
  • measuring cups
  • Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven
  • Ladle
  • food processor

Ingredients
  

  • 7 bell peppers- orange, green and red mixture
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 1 1/2 C vinegar
  • 1 1/2 C apple juice, bottled
  • 1 pkg powdered pectin
  • 5 C sugar
  • 1/2 t. salt

Instructions
 

  • Prepare canning supplies. Fill water bath canner to water level according to directions for your canner and place canning basket inside. Begin heating the water in the canner.
  • Wash canning jars and make sure that they are clean when you begin adding hot jelly to them.
  • Have rings and jars and a jar lifter ready before you begin.
  • Wash peppers with cold water and remove stems and seeds.
    TIP: wear gloves if your peppers are hot ones!
  • Chop the peppers finely with a food processor.
  • Add vinegar and apple juice and mix together.
  • ***Some recipes recommend that you cover and refrigerate overnight. That produces a hotter jelly.
    ***I have always just continued and made the jelly without the refrigeration or removing the chopped peppers that some recommend to produce a clear jelly. I love the jam consistency that the peppers provide.
  • Place pepper mixture into a Dutch oven – I love my ceramic lined cast iron Dutch oven.
  • Add pectin and salt and bring mixture to boil over high , stirring constantly.
  • Add sugar and stir until all of the sugar has been dissolved.
  • Bring mixture to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down and boil hard for one minute.
  • If foam appears on top, skim off and remove.
  • Ladle the mixture into clean and hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
  • Wipe the lid with a clean damp paper towel. Add lid and ring.
  • Add the jars with a jar lifter to the canner. You will want at least an inch of water covering all of the jars when they are all placed in the canner. Cover and bring the water to a boil.
  • Process jars for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat to the canner and let them sit in the canner for about 5 minutes before removing them.
  • A great way to let them cool is on a cooling rack over a jelly roll pan to catch any water from the jar.
  • NOTE: Let them cool for 12 hours before moving them to ensure that they seal properly.
  • Check lids to make sure that they all sealed. Label and store.

Notes

This is a wonderful pepper jelly that I love to add to appetizers with cream cheese and crackers or on top of chicken salad. It even is a perfect combination on charcuterie boards or with a platter of Chinese appetizers, such as, egg rolls or crab rangoons.
NOTE: I don’t strain this jelly because I prefer the texture, flavor and look that this gives the jelly. It also provides more of a “jam” consistency which I like much better than a “jelly”.
TIP: I always love a mixture of color of peppers with this jelly for the color and taste.
Enjoy!
Keyword pepper jelly
I promise this jar of pepper jelly will be empty soon after guests arrive. Always a winner!

I love having a jar of this pepper jelly on the table when guests arrive. It’s the perfect welcoming to add to cheese, cream cheese, chicken salad, crackers, toast or a charcuterie board. The mixture of the peppers and sweet is perfect for any time of year, but, truly heralds in fall for me.

Whether your guests like peppers or not, the sweetness added with it prove to be a winner. Every. Single. Time.

I’d love to hear if you give it a try! Any suggestions to how you would serve it would be wonderful to share in the comments.

Enjoy, friends! I’ll be over here putting away more in my pantry or freezer…

As I often do, I’m adding links to some of the products that are similar to what I use for making your shopping list easier…those links may help support the blog…but at NO EXTRA COST to you! You are welcome!

Water Bath Canner

Lodge Dutch Oven

Jar Lifter

Crystal Canning Jars

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