The Best Pepper Jelly Recipe | Grandma Jones’ Famous Homemade Pepper Jelly

Are you looking for a delectable new way to liven up your meals? Well, look no further, because Grandma Jones’ recipe for pepper jelly dips and spreads is a one-of-a-kind taste sensation you’ll never forget. In just a few easy steps, you can enjoy your own homemade pepper jelly!

Following Grandma Jones’ cherished step-by-step directions, our hot pepper jelly recipe combines sweet, savory, sour, and spicy flavors together into one mouth-watering condiment. Not only is it perfect for dips and spreads, but it also works great for marinades, glazes, fillings, and more.

From ol’ favorites like Pepper Jelly burgers and Pepper Jelly glazed chicken to unique dishes like Southwestern Artichoke Soup and scrumptious snacks like the Best Beef Jerky you’ve ever had, there’s no shortage of mouth-watering and mind-blowing culinary applications for Grandma Jones’ Pepper Jelly recipe. Enjoy it with a side of cream cheese or gobble it up straight out of the jar. We certainly do!

Make Grandma Jones’ Pepper Jelly Recipe at Home!

One of the most valuable lessons that Grandma Jones passed down to us is the power of good food to bring people together. With that in mind, we’ve decided to extend an invitation to all Pepper Jelly customers, home cooks, and fellow foodies to join the extended Jones family. That’s right, just as Grandma Jones gave us her lip-smacking, tongue-tingling Pepper Jelly recipe, now we are giving that same recipe to you!

Maybe you’re a longtime Pepper Jelly customer interested in trying your hand at concocting your own flavor combination. Maybe you’ve never tried Pepper Jelly before and have decided now is the time to give it a try. Whatever the case, we want everyone to be able to experience the spicy, sweet, sour, and savory joys of Grandma Jones’ hot pepper jelly recipe.

Below, you’ll find an easy recipe for pepper jelly that anyone can make, anytime, anywhere!

Safety Precautions for Making a Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe

For the Traditional Pepper Jelly recipe below, all you’ll need are fresh green peppers and some red pepper flakes. These ingredients are on the milder end of the pepper heat spectrum. Even still, you should take care to avoid touching your eyes or other sensitive areas while cooking, and wash your hands thoroughly after you’ve handled these ingredients.

Depending on your taste (and tolerance) for heat, however, you may be craving something a little spicier. Some of the more fiery varieties we make here at Grandma Jones’ include Jalapeno Pepper Jelly and Cranberry Habanero Pepper Jelly.

If you want to spice things up yourself, you can easily add jalapeños, habaneros, chipotle peppers, or other hot peppers to Grandma Jones’ pepper jelly recipe below. For your own safety, please make sure to take the following precautions when working with these ingredients:

• Wear rubber gloves. Even after washing your hands, your skin may retain traces of capsaicin, the compound that gives most peppers their astringency. If capsaicin gets into your eyes or nose, it can be extremely painful.

• Wash the peppers in cold water. Never use warm, hot, or boiling water to clean peppers. Although you might think this would be an effective way of lessening the capsaicin’s pungency, it’s actually more likely to release the capsaicin into the air via water vapor. This makes it easy for the capsaicin to get into your eyes and even lungs. Play it safe by washing your peppers with a cold water bath instead.

• Be careful when handling the seeds. The seeds and inner “ribs” of a pepper are where its heat is most concentrated. This can actually help you moderate the heat level of your pepper jelly, by adding or removing the seeds to suit your taste. Just remember to exercise caution and avoid contamination with other foods.

• When not handling peppers, always wash your hands. Don’t wait until you've finished cooking to wash up. If you leave your chopped peppers behind to answer the phone or fetch something from the fridge, take a moment to wash your hands with soap and water. For extremely hot peppers, rubbing alcohol can help to neutralize the capsaicin.

Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe: Ingredients

• 6 Cups Sugar
• 1.5 Cups White Wine Vinegar
• Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
• Cup Diced Green Bell Peppers
• Packet of Liquid Fruit Pectin (Certo)

Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe: Directions

• First, sterilize jars to store your homemade pepper jelly in. You can do this by submerging them in boiling water for ten minutes. Once they are cool and dry, set them aside for later.

• Next, wash your peppers following the safety instructions outlined above. Remove the stems and, if you want a milder jelly, remove the seeds. Finely chop the peppers by hand or use a food processor to mince them.

• In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and liquid pectin until both are evenly incorporated. We personally recommend using Certo fruit pectin.

• In a heavy saucepan, mix your chopped peppers with white wine vinegar (you can also use apple cider vinegar if that’s your preference) over medium heat. Cover the saucepan and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• After 10 minutes, add in the sugar pectin mixture and turn up the burner to high heat in order to bring the ingredients to a rolling boil. Stir constantly until the sugar pectin mixture is completely dissolved.

• When your ingredients begin to take on a jelly-like consistency, remove them from heat and ladle the mixture into your sterilized jars. Wait until your homemade pepper jelly is cool before capping. 

• Do not refrigerate homemade pepper jelly. If you do, it may crystallize. Instead, keep the jar in a cool, dark place. If properly stored, your homemade pepper jelly should last for 1-2 years.

Enhance Your Homemade Pepper Jelly With Extra Ingredients

One of the great things about homemade food is getting to taste something that is just as unique as the person who made it. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to make Grandma Jones’ hot pepper jelly recipe your own.

Not only will adding in extra ingredients allow you to make a sweeter or spicier jelly, it can also dramatically alter the flavor profile, creating taste experiences you never would have expected. Here at Grandma Jones’, we make a diverse assortment of unique varieties of Pepper Jelly, such as Southwestern Chipotle and Caribbean Mango. Have fun experimenting with your own flavor combinations!

Need some suggestions? Here are a few quick and easy ingredient additions you can use to jazz up your jelly, based on some of Grandma Jones’ most popular hot pepper jelly recipes:

• Add fresh diced mangos
• Add fresh diced habaneros
• Add fresh diced jalapenos
• Add fresh cranberries (ground with a food processor)
• Add fresh pomegranate
• Add chipotles (cut fine)

Try Grandma Jones’ Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe Today!

Grandma Jones’ Pepper Jelly is great as an ingredient for home cooking, as an appetizer for parties, or just as a sweet ‘n’ spicy snack. One taste of our homemade pepper jelly recipe and we’re confident you’ll never want to go without it. There’s nothing else quite like it!