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
Tricia Groen says
Hullo, I bought all the ingredients, except for the pectin, I usually use lemon seeds, would that work?
Mike H. says
Tricia, yes, using lemon seeds can work as a natural pectin substitute.
jc says
May dried Mango be used?
Mike H. says
Yes, absolutely.
Bob says
I found this recipe to be the best of anything I've tried. I used golden scotch bonnet peppers and it turned out wonderfully.
Now I'm going to harvest the last of my bumper crop of cayenne peppers and make jelly with these.
Thank you very much!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!! Thanks, Bob!
Bob says
Hi Mike,
I LOVE this recipe. I made six batches of jam using this recipe and they all turned out great! (1 golden Scotch bonnet, 1 jalapeño, 5 cayenne)
One question though. Looking at your above photos, the chopped bits all ended up mixed throughout the jam, whereas mine all rose to the top. What am I missing?
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Bob. Yeah, this happens sometimes as it cools. If it cools over a longer time, they have more time to rise. You can try to turn the jars next time to keep them more distributed. I do wind up just mixing it more when I open it sometimes. Glad you like it!
Joanne Geveshausen says
can I substitute powdered pectin for the liquid?
Mike Hultquist says
Joanne, yes, you can, though check the packaging for the recommended ratios for that product. Enjoy!
Gwen Baldwin says
Can you tell me about how many habeñeros there are in a pound?
Mike Hultquist says
Gwen, could be around 50 average habaneros per pound. You'll need 25 or so for this recipe, but you can use fewer for less heat.
Gwen Baldwin says
thank you so much! I have enough for at least 4 batches!
Mike H. says
Fantastic, enjoy!
Deb says
Great recipe. We had tons of habaneros this year so I canned some. This was one of the recipes I used and it is a hit with my family! Also made pineapple mango habanero jam that is really good too. Now that the garden is just about done I will be making this recipe again.
Mike H. says
I am excited to hear it, Deb. Thank you!
Mary says
So you leave the seeds in the habaneros? All the seeds?
Mike Hultquist says
I do Mary, yes, though you can core them out if you prefer. Enjoy!
Alicia VanCoillie says
This is my favorite recipe for habanero jam. I have made it with mango. Can I use canned mandarin oranges to make this? Trying a few variations but don’t want to ruin it
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Alicia. I haven't used it with canned mandarins, but I think that should work just fine. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
David says
I would like to make this with either a sugar substitute or a decreased amount of sugar, any recommendations on substitution amounts for stevia or would this work the same with 2 cups of sugar? Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
David, you can do this, but look into low or no sugar pectin, which works much better for gelification.
Chris Coble says
After some research you can use the powder Sure Gel in this recipe..I put all ingredients (except sugar) in with two heaping table spoons of the powder on high heat with the habaneros and stirred until rolling boil. I removed from heat and then added my four cups of sugar. I returned to high heat and after a rolling boil I then set a timer for one minute while constantly stirring. The jelly set perfectly. I used the same recipe with jalapenos as well as cayenne. This is really a great recipe. Avery simple recipe as well. The heat is very intense if seeds are left in the mixture..
Mike H. says
Thanks for the feedback, Chris. I appreciate it.
Toni J says
Love this recipe! 2 years ago used the habanero's. This year I want to use jalapeno's but do I have to increase sugar? Love the lower sugar content. I will be using water bath to make shelf stable.
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
You can use the same amount of sugar, Toni. Enjoy!!
Alicia VanCoillie says
I made a batch this past weekend and my sons can't stop eating it. I have so many peppers, I will be making more! They love it!
Mike Hultquist says
Boom! Glad you like it, Alicia! Thanks!