Ghost Pepper Jelly
Ghost Pepper Jelly is made with one of the hottest peppers on the planet. Tame the heat of these firecrackers by making a delicious hot pepper jelly.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this easy recipe
If you love hot and spicy foods this is a recipe for you.
A Ghost Pepper clocks in at about 1,000,000 Scoville heat units. Scoville is the scale for measuring the heat in a hot pepper. As a reference point, jalapenos usually rate about 1,000-20,000 Scoville units.
I like hot food, but not so hot that I can’t taste the food. So a great way to tame the heat is to make a simple jelly.
Making jelly is an easy introduction to home canning. The combination of sugar and vinegar in the recipe keeps the mixture safe from spoilage.
Check out my Pickled Jalapeno Peppers and DIY Chipotle Pepper recipes for more ways to preserve hot peppers.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Peppers – Sweet peppers (like bell peppers) make up the bulk of the jelly. You can adjust the balance between the amount of sweet and hot peppers according to your taste. If you use a mild pepper like jalapeno you could probably do the entire amount with those.
- Ghost Peppers – You can use any hot pepper for this recipe. I’ve made this recipe with Habanero and Carolina Reapers. As noted above, adjust the number of hot peppers based on your taste.
- Cider Vinegar – Cider vinegar has a nice taste in this jelly. You can use any vinegar as long as it is 5% acidity.
- Sugar – This is a jelly so sugar is needed for body and gelling. The sweetness balances out the heat of the chiles.
- Pectin – For each pouch of liquid pectin you can substitute 2 tablespoons of powdered pectin. But you must adjust the cooking with powdered pectin. See the canning tips section below for details.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- First things first, when working with Ghost Peppers gloves are a must, and goggles are not a bad idea.
- Combine the chopped peppers with a cup of the vinegar in a food processor.
- Process to a loose puree. When you open the lid of the processor be careful. The fumes from the vinegar and peppers can sting your eyes and nostrils.
- If using powdered pectin see canning notes below. Combine the peppers with the sugar and the rest of the vinegar in a large pan. Boil the mixture for 10 minutes then add the liquid pectin. Boil 1 more minute.
- Pour the hot jelly into sterilized canning jars. A canning funnel makes this process easier.
- Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel. Any bits of pepper on the rim of the jar can prevent the lid from forming a seal.
- Use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a canning pot filled with boiling water. Process the jars for 10 minutes.
- Using canning tongs, remove the jars from the water. As the jars cool you should hear a “pop” and see the circle in the middle of the lid indented rather than popped up. This means the lid has formed an air tight seal.
- Once the jars are completely cooled unscrew the tops and check that the lids are firmly sealed. If any lids don’t properly seal, refrigerate and use that jelly first.
Notes on Home Canning
- You must use proper canning jars and lids for water bath canning. To sterilize the jars and lids, process the empty jars in boiling water for 10 minutes or run them with the “sterilize” cycle on your dishwasher.
- If you use powdered pectin instead of liquid pectin make the following changes to the recipe; Whisk the pectin with the sugar and put it in the pot before adding the pepper puree. Boil the jelly for 10 minutes as listed in the recipe.
- Check out the Ball Canning website for more detailed instructions on water bath canning.
Storage
- If you make a small batch of jelly and end up with just a jar or two they can be refrigerated. If you are refrigerating the jelly right away you don’t need to process the jars in the water bath.
- As long as you use proper canning jars and you process the jars in a hot water bath to make sure they’re sealed, Ghost Pepper Jelly will keep for a year in the pantry.
How to Serve Ghost Pepper Jelly
This Ghost Pepper Jelly has a nice flavor and a manageable heat level. I’ve tried the jelly on cheese and crackers, on a peanut butter sandwich and we even used it as a condiment for breaded pork chops.
I also put some Ghost Pepper jelly in my Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies and in Peanut Butter Mousse Pie. WOW, so good!!
I think Ghost Pepper Jelly in a pretty jar, wrapped with colorful ribbon, would make a lovely holiday or hostess gift.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider giving it 5 stars.
Ghost Pepper Jelly Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ghost peppers (or and chile to taste)
- 12 oz bell peppers
- 16 oz cider vinegar (2 cups)
- 3 lbs granulated sugar (6 cups)
- 2 pouches liquid pectin (see note)
Instructions
- Sterilize 8 half pint or 4 pint jars and lids by boiling for 10 minutes or running through the "sterilize" setting on your dishwasher. Set warm sterilized jars on clean kitchen towel while preparing the jelly.
- Put on gloves. Ghost peppers are hot! Stem, seed and roughly chop 4 ghost peppers and 12 oz bell peppers. In a food processor or blender, puree the peppers with 1 cup of the vinegar.
- Combine the puree with the remaining vinegar and 3 lbs granulated sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil (be careful not to breathe in the steam or get it in your eyes!!!). Boil for 10 minutes, keep an eye on the pot as it can easily boil over. Stir in 2 pouches liquid pectin, return to a boil and boil 1 minute, keep stirring.
- Ladle the jelly into the sterilized jars, leave 1/4" head space. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, moist paper towel. Place 2 piece lids on the jars. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Check the seals before storing in a cool dark place. If any jars don't seal refrigerate them and use first.
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Hey there!! As you probably see from my fb posts I love making jelly,jams and hot sauce! Can’t wait to try this.. I have 4 dozen ghost peppers lol. Thanks for sharing all your recipes!!
Elisa
Hey Elisa! I have a hard time finding ghost pepper plants. I’ve been mostly making jelly with habaneros. Have fun!
How long does it have to set
It need to cool completely. If you are processing the jars in a hot water bath, the lids should seal as the jelly cools.
In your recipe you have listed “Cider vinegar”. Have you ever just used regular vinegar? Was wondering how it might turn out?
You could use any vinegar. Vinegar serves the purpose of acidifying the mix. Cider vinegar has a fruity flavor that I like with the peppers.
Instead of the hot water bath, can it just be cooled with proper headspace, and then placed in the freezer for long term? We don’t have all the equipment for the bath.
I don’t have a lot of experience with freezer jam as far as which containers to use, etc. But I see no reason the jelly can’t be frozen as long as you use the proper container for the freezer.
Hi there! I just wanted to say I absolutely love this recipe, and I was also wondering if you know what might happen if I ended up using powdered pectin at 1/4c BUT I forgot to change the order of adding and still boiled for 10 then added the pectin then boiled for 2 🙁 will it still set? (Just got done a little while ago, pregnant brain made me completely forget to change the order of adding)
Did the jelly set? If not, you can try pouring the jelly out of the jars and boil them again to get it to set up. Re-sterilize the jars, fill and process again.
How long will the sealed jar last if unopened after the water bath?
If you process the jars in hot water and they properly seal they should be shelf stable for at least a year.
How much is 2 pouches of liquid pectin. First time jelly maker here and don’t want to mess it up.
The liquid pectin is sold in a box with a couple of pouches. That’s what I used. Depending where you live, you can usually find liquid pectin in the grocery store with the canning jars, etc. Although, many markets have been sold out of canning equipment.
@Eileen Gray, hi..i just made the recipe using the liquid pectin..it set almost to hard..could the pectin be reduced for a sodter set?
Did you just boil the jelly for 1 minute after adding the pectin? Did you use the same amount of peppers, vinegar and sugar as listed in the recipe? When I make this it sets as a jelly that holds it’s shape but I wouldn’t say it is “hard”.
@Eileen Gray, Walmart Has Certo by Jello.
You stated 12 oz of r ed, yellow, or orange bell peppers…This is the amount after choping, right?
Yes, that’s the weight after removing the stem and seeds.
I have a 16 really little ghost peppers from my pepper plant, the biggest maybe 3/4″ should I just use them all? And should a seed them?
Yes, I would use them all. I seeded mine, but you can leave the seeds if you don’t mind them (they’ll probably look pretty in the jar). Also, seeding does tame the heat a little bit.
Do you think this would be good with jalapenos?
Yes! But you might want to use all jalapenos instead of a mix of hot and sweet peppers to get a little heat.
Did you leave the seeds in or strained them out. We made Tabasco Jelly last year and stranded them out. It was still HOT. I hope to have some Carolina Reapers this year as I’m growing them too.
I strained the seeds out. The jelly is hot, but not unbearable. The flavor is really great. Have fun!
I used liquid. And I do not think I boiled hard enough. Definitely a first time error. Have you ever had this happen before? I’ve seen online that you can reopen the jars and add more pectin and reboil, but I’m afraid it will be overly sweet! Thanks for your advice!!
Yes, once the pectin is in you need to bring it up to a full boil and let it go for a full minute. I haven’t tried to reboil the jam. If you have several jars I don’t think it would hurt to try doing 1. I wouldn’t add more pectin, I would just boil it a little longer and see what happens. Worst thing to happen would be that it wouldn’t set up. But you could still store it in the fridge and use it in marinades, salad dressing, etc. In fact, I’m using Ghost Pepper Jelly to make a glaze for salmon for dinner tonight. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Hi! I’ve never made jam before and I followied the instructions perfectly when I made this recipe last night, but it seems to be very runny this morning like it didn’t set in the jars. Any advice? Thank you!
Did you use powder or liquid pectin? If you don’t boil the mixture long enough with the pectin the jelly won’t set properly.
Hi! I love this recipe and like others, have a hard time turning down those asking for a jar.
I was wondering if powdered pectin can be used and if so, what alterations need to be made.
Thanks!
Hi Debbie. Yes, you can use powdered pectin. Replace the two pouches of liquid pectin with 1/4 cup of powdered pectin (that’s 2 tablespoons per pouch replacement). Add the powdered pectin with the pepper puree and the vinegar to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and bring the mixture back up to a full boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
My wife and I just made a batch of jelly using this recipe, we used datil peppers instead of ghost peppers. Super delicious!!
Thanks! I just made a batch using Serrano peppers. I’ve never heard of datil peppers, have to look them up.
I was lucky enough to stumble over this recipe last fall as I was given a few ghost peppers and was looking for ways to use them. Awesome accolades were given from all who tried this, I spent the rest of the year fending off would be ghost pepper jelly thieves.. Although I did end up sharing many jars with friends and family, I’ve also passed this treasured recipe to many lovers of the heat.
This year I grew my own Ghost Peppers as well as some Carolina Reapers, and as I get ready to make a good sized batch this year to share and devour myself I just want to thank you for taking the time to post such a detailed recipe.
I’ve used it with rice, eggs, ribs, chicken wings, cheese and crackers, garlic bread, a dollop in soup…bottom line this Ghost Pepper Jelly goes with anything you can imagine where a nice sweet heat is needed.
Cheers Rick
Thanks Rick. Personally I’m a little afraid of the Carolina Reaper.Are they really that hot? By the way, I also like the Ghost Pepper Jelly on Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies. So good.
II have made and eaten Carolina Reaper jelly using 5 and another time 12 peppers- the 5 pepper receipe is really good, the other is hot but tasty and serves well with cheeses and meats for those who enjoy a hot jelly. o used green bells for the 5 pepper and red bells for the 12 pepper one Makes great holiday gift.
I don’t normally comment on recipes, but I just have to say that this is THE BEST pepper jelly! It’s spicy and flavorful. I get compliments every time I serve it!
Thanks, Heather!! I love it too. I’ve used it so many ways. On sandwiches, on pork chops and (my new favorite) in Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies. Thanks for visiting.