A recipe for sweet and spicy habanero pepper jam made with plenty of habanero peppers.
Habanero Pepper Jam Recipe
Habanero pepper jam coming your way! I used to shy away from making jams and jellies. I'm not sure why. Growing up, I was pretty boring, actually. All I ever ate was grape jelly.
Peanut butter and jelly was a daily thing, and if you served me grape jelly with seeds in it, forget about it!
And don't even get me started on strawberry jam.
Fast forward a few years - fine, MANY years - and here I am, making habanero jam. I mean, just look at it! Isn't it beautiful? I'm so happy my taste buds have evolved.
Habanero peppers are some of the best to work with. They are nice and spicy and have an inherent fruitiness and sweetness that lends them to spreads like jams or jellies.
A note about that - the biggest difference between a jelly and a jam is that a jam has the fruit bits in it.
A jelly typically uses only the juice or essence of your flavoring ingredient, like grape juice or strawberry juice. I prefer the actual habanero pepper inside the spread, so it is technically a jam.
Let's talk about how to make habanero jam, shall we?
How to Make Habanero Jam - The Recipe Method
First, add your habanero peppers to a food processor and pulse them until they are very finely chopped. Do not overdo it or you’ll wind up with a puree.
Next, scoop out the peppers and add them to a large pan along with your sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Return the heat to high and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in the pectin and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
If using food coloring, add it now and stir.
Ladle the liquid into sterilized jars and cover.
Process the jars in a boiling hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove and let cool overnight. The liquid will thicken up into a nice habanero jam for you. So delicious!
What is habanero jam good for?
Use it as you would use any other jelly or jam, by spreading it over cream cheese on toast, over bread for sweeter sandwiches, but it is also great over fish. I like to serve it over salmon or white fish.
Spoon it when the fish is hot and it will melt over a bit. No need for a sauce.
It also makes for a good gift! Lastly, a quick note about the sugar content. Some recipes call for almost double the amount of sugar I've included here.
You can add more sugar, but really, you don't need that much. This is plenty, plenty sweet with the amount I've included.
Patty's Perspective
What is habanero jam good for, Mike asks? My answer - what ISN'T it good for? Well, maybe 8-year-old PB&J Mike would answer differently, but really, don't just think of it as a sweet jam.
If you think of it more as a sauce, it becomes very versatile. Instead of reaching for that bottle of sweet hot sauce, try this instead. I want to try this on hot wings. Can't wait for that!
Here is a link to the jam jars that I personally use and prefer. Highly recommended. Affiliate link - FYI: Ball Mason 8oz Quilted Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 12
Try Some of My Other Popular Jelly and Jam Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Habanero Pepper Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound habanero peppers chopped
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces liquid fruit pectin
- 4 drops food coloring if preferred
Instructions
- Add the habanero peppers to a food processor and pulse them until they are very finely chopped. Do not overdo it or you’ll wind up with a puree.
- Scoop out the peppers and add to a large pan.
- Add sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Return heat to high and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- If using food coloring, add it now and stir.
- Ladle jam into sterilized jars and cover.
- Process jars in a boiling hot water bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove and let cool overnight.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Terry says
I've been making this for 2 yrs. now, but continue to have trouble reaching a desired consistency for jam. HOWEVER, that said, it makes a great sauce, poured over cream cheese, served with crackers. My guests loved it and the cream cheese cuts the heat.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Terry. Definitely a great glaze for sure. Be sure to check the pectin product you're using - the instructions might want more pectin. You can always reprocess a batch with more pectin later if it doesn't gel up. Glad you like the flavor!
Allam says
Hi, I’ve made this recipe many times and it always turns out great. I want to add raspberries this time to make a raspberry habanero jam. Any recommendations about how I can go about this? Would cooking the raspberries down to get rid of some water then just adding it to the jam mix yield a good result in your opinion?
Mike Hultquist says
Allam, yes, that will work nicely. You can mix those in by weight in place of the habaneros and have a nice mix! I hope you enjoy it!
Lynn McMahan says
Does this last longer than a month if you properly do a water bath?
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, that will make it shelf stable. You may need to add more acid, though. Best to shoot for a pH of 4.0 or lower for home canning. Enjoy!
Jody says
Your instructions say this recipe can be water bath canned so does additional acid need to be added in addition to the vinegar and lemon juice already called for in the recipe and if so, how much? Thank you
Mike Hultquist says
Jody, I did not measure the pH, but shoot for 3.5 or lower for home canning. You might need to add more vinegar to achieve that.
Sue says
I can't handle very spicy foods so I made this using Habanadas. Worked up well and tastes very good. It does have a bit of a vinegary taste on the back end.
Will this still work if I only use 1 cup of vinegar? If this recipe still needs that much acid would replacing a 1/4 cup of the vinegar with lemon juice work?
Mike Hultquist says
Sue, you can use less vinegar and replace with more lemon juice. You can use other liquid as well, though it won't last as long. Enjoy!
Maria says
Best recipe, been making for years, we grow habanero peppers just for this jam. Given as gifts, my dentist asks for it, lol
I wear a mask while cooking, the fumes are strong and make me cough.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome to hear, Maria! Glad your dentist likes, it too, haha! I do love to hear it. Very wise with the mask!
Jennh says
Hi Mike, I took your advice and used equal amounts of habanero and mango (frozen but thawed) it turned out beautifully, made 5 x 8oz jars! It looks beautiful also!
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful!! Glad you like it!! Very glad to help. I appreciate it.
Sandra Wright says
did you change anything in this mango/habanero recipe?
i am using 1/2 lbs each of mango & habanero & feel i should be doing something else.