Chicken Free Pepper Jelly
Sweet, spicy, and impossibly glossy, this pepper jelly hits every note you want from a homemade condiment — vibrant color, a slow-building heat from fresh jalapeños, and that signature sticky sweetness that makes it impossible to stop spreading. It's a purely plant-based preserve built from bell peppers, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and liquid pectin, so there's absolutely nothing to navigate here from an animal-protein standpoint. The real magic is in the technique: getting the mixture to a true rolling boil before adding the pectin is what gives you that jewel-like set and glossy finish. You can dial the heat up or down simply by keeping or removing the jalapeño seeds and ribs, which makes this recipe genuinely flexible for different crowds. Proper water-bath canning means you'll end up with shelf-stable jars that make excellent gifts or a permanent fixture in your own fridge. Spoon it over cream cheese with crackers, glaze roasted vegetables, or swirl it into a vinaigrette — the uses are practically endless once you have a few jars on the shelf.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 ½ cups red bell pepper, finely minced (about 2 medium peppers)
- ½ cup green bell pepper, finely minced (about 1 small pepper)
- ½ cup jalapeño peppers, finely minced (about 4–5 jalapeños, seeds and ribs removed for medium heat or kept for more heat)
- 6 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 pouches (3 oz total) liquid pectin
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Sterilize 6 half-pint (8 oz) mason jars by submerging them in a water bath canner or large stockpot filled with water, bringing to a boil, and boiling for 10 minutes. Keep the jars in the hot water until ready to fill. Place the lids in a small saucepan of hot (not boiling) water to soften the sealing compound.
- 2
Pulse the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and jalapeños in a food processor until very finely minced — pieces should be no larger than 1/8 inch. Measure the minced peppers after processing; you need exactly 1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, 1/2 cup green bell pepper, and 1/2 cup jalapeño. Adjust quantities as needed.
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