Cranberry Pepper Jelly
Cranberry Pepper Jelly is an easy, sweet spicy jelly that is perfect as a glaze, as an addition to appetizers and is perfect for a unique gift for the holidays!
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Gifting jams and jellies is one of my favorite things to do for the holidays, for hostess gifts and for special occasions.
Everyone has their favorite so I keep track of that in a spreadsheet, so that I am sure to give my loved ones exactly what they like.
Can you substitute different peppers?
Yes, absolutely. If you would like to make a hotter jam, use habanero or scotch bonnet peppers or add 2-3 jalapenos. For a milder jam, use only one jalapeno, or substitute poblano.
What you need
- Whole cranberries (fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries): There is no need to thaw the cranberries if they’re frozen.
- Jalapeño peppers: Increase the number of peppers or substitute a hotter pepper if you’d like it spicier. Try to find red peppers. The jam will be a nicer color. Red Serranos are readily available.
- Vinegar: An acid is essential to make a shelf-safe product.
- Sugar: Sugar aids in inhibiting bacterial growth and adds a nice sweetness to the jelly.
- Low sugar pectin: We use a minimal amount of sugar in this recipe, so it’s essential to use low-sugar pectin.
How to make it
Sort & wash cranberries. Measure pectin and add ½ cup sugar to it.
Add vinegar and water to a large stock pot.
Split and remove the seeds and stem from jalapeños. One cup of jalapeños makes a relatively mild jelly. NOTE: We use ripe, red jalapeños. It makes the jelly a nicer red color.
Rough chop the peppers. They don’t need to be finely chopped since the mixture will be processed in a food processor until smooth.
PRO TIP: If you don’t grow your own peppers and you can’t find red jalapeños, substitute another red pepper like
Add the peppers and berries to the pan with the vinegar and water.
Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes until everything is soft.
Add the cranberries and pepper mixture to a food processor or blender.
Blend until very smooth. (You can add some of the liquid from the pan to help break up the cranberries and peppers, if you need to.)
Return to the saucepan when smooth.
Add the sugar/pectin mixture. Bring it to a rolling boil.
Add the remainder of the sugar. Bring it back to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
Fill the hot jars with the hot jelly.
Remove bubbles along the edge with a bubble tool. Wipe the lids with a damp paper towel to remove any debris.
Center the lids on the jars. Screw on the bands finger tip tight.
Process the jars for 15 minutes for pints, adjusting for altitude. See the recipe card below.
What Can You Do with Cranberry Pepper Jelly?
- I love making glazes for chicken, fish, or pork with sweet and spicy jellies.
- Use it in place of BBQ sauce when grilling. Add it in the last 10 minutes of cooking time so that it doesn’t burn.
- Use it for a festive holiday season appetizer. Top blocks of cream cheese with jelly and serve with crackers for an easy appetizer.
- Mix it with cream cheese and add mayonnaise to make it more spreadable for a festive holiday spread.
- Try it on a peanut butter sandwich for a fun new twist.
- Have it on an English muffin for a breakfast that is sure to wake you up.
- Top a leftover turkey sandwich with the jam for a nice kick.
- These jars make a great gift for the holidays or a hostess gift.
Other recipes featuring hot peppers
- Candied jalapenos
- Jalapeno pepper jelly
- Spicy jalapeno relish
- Spicy grilled cheese
- How to make chipotle peppers
- Chipotle in adobo sauce
- Chipotle aioli
- 5 easy ways to dry peppers
- Fermented peppers
- Fermented hot sauce
More jelly recipes
Tools I Use
That’s how easy it is to make this delicious cranberry pepper jelly.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Cranberry Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup jalapeno
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 4 cup Sugar
- 6 tbsp Ball RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Pectin
Instructions
- Sort & wash cranberries. Measure pectin and add 1/2 cup sugar to it.2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- Add vinegar and water to large stock pot.2 cups cider vinegar, 1 cup water
- Chop and remove seeds from jalapenos. 1 cup of jalapenos makes a fairly mild jelly.1 cup jalapeno
- Add peppers and cranberries to the vinegar and water to pan.
- Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes until everything is soft.
- Strain out the cranberries and pepper mixture with a slotted spoon to a food processor or blender.
- Blend until very smooth. (you can add some of the liquid from the pan to help break up the cranberries and peppers, if you need to)
- Return the cranberry mixture to the saucepan with the remaining vinegar mixture.
- Add sugar/pectin mixture. Bring to rolling boil.4 cup Sugar, 6 tbsp Ball RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Pectin
- Add the remainder of the sugar. (3½ cups)
- Bring back to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
- Fill hot jam into hot jars.
- Wipe rims.
- Attach lids. Tighten bands finger tip tight.
- Process in a water bath canning pot for 5 minutes for half-pints or 10 minutes for pint jars. Turn off the heat, and allow jars to sit in hot water for at least 5 minutes.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky's Amazon Store!Notes
- I love making glazes for chicken fish or pork with sweet and spicy jellies.
- Use it in place of BBQ sauce when grilling. Add it the last 10 minutes of cooking time so that it doesn’t burn.
- Use it for a festive holiday appetizer. Top cream cheese with jelly for an easy appetizer.
- Mix it with cream cheese, adding mayonnaise to make it more spreadable for a festive spread for the holidays.
- Try it on a peanut butter sandwich for a fun new twist.
- Have it on an English muffin for a breakfast that is sure to wake you up.
- These jars make a great holiday or hostess gift.
Nutrition
Originally published October 16, 2022. Updated October 3, 2025.
Please add me to your mailing list. I’m gonna try this recipe tomorrow.
Thank you for publishing❣️
We’ve added you. Thanks Sandy!
I was just curious if you have ever used the green jalapeños? My red ones are extremely hot!! I am making this now. I used red bell pepper, a FEW red jalapeños, and a couple of green ones. Hoping it’s not going to be too hot. Haha! Thanks!
The only thing I have found with the green jalapenos is it changes the color. Hope it’s not too hot! You could have reduced the pepper in it and just used half and removed the seeds too. Thanks Robin. Let me know.
Hi! Since it is January (and I love this jelly) but I can’t find fresh or frozen cranberries, can I used cranberry juice instead??
I think you could make it using juice although I haven’t tested it myself. I always buy an extra bag or two of cranberries and toss them in the freezer, so that I have them throughout the year. I might bump up the pectin a little to make sure you get a nice gel from the juice. If you try it, let me know Mary!
Hi, I could only get liquid pectin, so wondering if i can still put it in the water after making it? tp seal it.
Yes. you can . Add the liquid pectin at the end of the cooking process. Thanks for checking out the recipe Brittany!
Could you use Habanero peppers instead of jalapenos?
Sure you could. It will be crazy hot though! Thanks for your questions Yvonne!
It’s not clear to me how many jars I should buy.
This recipe 5.5 pints. I have to set up the servings as tablespoons, since that is the normal portion size. 176 tablespoons is 5.5 pints. Thanks for checking out the recipe Valerie.
Unable to fine low or sugar free pectin (sold out) can I use liquid pectin instead:
Sorry for the delayed response Joyce. We are on vacation with spotty internet access. If you can’t find the low sugar pectin just increase the sugar to 6 cups to ensure that it gels. Thanks for checking out the recipe.
Instead of adding more sugar, could I use an entire box of pectin?
Sorry for the late response.
You would need to use low sugar or no sugar pectin. Then you can reduce the quantity of sugar used.
Made a batch this morning….love the sweet spicy combination! Makes a lovely little gift for Christmas baskets. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Susie! I’m so glad you like it. We just love it too! Happy holidays!
Do you use the vinegar and water after you put cranberries in the blender or get rid of it. Not real clear to me
Hi Gabby. You put the cranberry pepper mixture into the food processor then you can add some of the vinegar and water to thin, if needed. Then process it. After that, strain out the solids through a fine mesh sieve and proceed.
So any remaining vinegar water not used to thin the mixture in the the food processor is discarded? That’s what I’m not sure about. Thanks and I’m going to try to make this!
No. We reworded the instructions to make it more clear. Add the cranberry mixture that was processed back to the pan with the vinegar mixture.
Hi Susan, I’m not really sure that the product will be as smooth as if you used a blender. I blended for quite a long time to get it totally smooth. If you don’t mind a few chunks, that is fine too. It can be lumpy and not really affect the recipe.
Hi Beth,
Sorry to bother you again, as I was reading the recipe again, I didn’t see how long to use hot water bath to extend the shelf life the jelly.
Do you use hot water bath for 10-15 minutes like other hot water bath recipes?
Thank you.
Susan
I’m going to make this today Just want to verify one cup chopped jalopena peppers and the pectin I’m using the low sugar one but brand name Certo How much should I use? Thanks
You need to go by the directions on the Certo package. It should be the same, but the sugar to liquid ratio, to pectin ratio needs to be calculated from the package directions.