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
Jeff says
Big fan...thanks for many great recipes! Wondering if I strained the solids out of the Habanero peppers (like the jalapeno jelly recipe) would it reduce the heat any?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jeff, it would reduce the heat some, yes, though you'll still get heat overall.
Anne Riemer says
This recipe is fantastic! Very spicy. I have friends who can't get enough of it. For me, I'll reduce the habanero count slightly next batch. The color is gorgeous too, so I agree it makes a really nice gift. So when you say chop the habaneros, you mean seeds too, right?
Thanks,
Anne
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Anne! Super happy you love it! When chopping, yes, I include the seeds and innards. However, you can remove them if you'd like. Enjoy!
Arran says
I made this yesterday and followed the measurements exactly. However it has not set at all, so can I put it back into the pan and add more sugar and re boil it ? Will this affect the flavour?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Arran, it can take up to a week sometimes to set. However, yes, you can reprocess it with a bit more sugar and more pectin to help it set. Let me know how it goes. This has happened to me before, even with the exact same recipe. Sometimes it is the pectin.
Jamie says
Is it possible to use dried habaneros?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jamie, if you do use dried habaneros for this, I would rehydrate them first. See my post on How to Rehydrate Dried Chili Peppers. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Michele says
For some reason what I made is REALLY hot. Can I just dump em all into a pot and add more sugar and then process?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Michele, yes, you sure can.
Michele says
Will I need to add more pectin along with sugar ?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Michelle, yes, if you split the batch, it is best to add in the appropriate amount of sugar and pectin for 2 batches total. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Alex says
How long does a batch last? Before going bad?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Alex, jams will last 6-12 months in the fridge once they're opened. Lower sugar jams closer to 6 months.
Angela says
Love this recipe! Slightly sweet, very spicy! We had an abundance of habaneros in our garden this year. Perfect recipe for canning to enjoy throughout the winter.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Thanks, Angela!
Kerry Johnson says
I have been blessed with a lot of Chocolate Habaneros. Would that make a good jam? What would you di different if anything?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Chocolate habaneros would make a good jam. You might include some other elements, like blueberry or strawberry to compliment the darker color.
Kerry Hohnson says
Thank you for your suggestions. I made 1 batch plain and 1 with Blueberries. All I could taste was pure pain (Huge Pepper Weenie), so I took it to work- the men loved it. They could even taste the Blueberries.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad the men loved it, Kerry! Happy to help.
Tris says
Took the words right from my mind! I have choc Habs and have already stored them every which way (ferment, dehydrate (smoked/non smoked), freeze(both ways) but haven't prepared a jam yet have made many many hot sauces. Love the flavor but the heat is a little intense on mine!
rach says
This sounds delish! How many cups would 1/2 lb of peppers be approximately? Just want to make sure it sets properly.
Thank you
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Rach. It will depend on the sizes of your peppers, though figure you can easily chop 20-30 habanero peppers for this recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Victor says
Hey mike, I love this recipe just as it is, but I would like to add fruit to it, like pineapple or maybe strawberry do I have to do something different to the original recipe?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Victor. I have a couple different recipes you can check out. Just swap in habanero peppers and whatever fruit you'd like. Let me know how it turns out for you. See: Scotch Bonnet-Peach Pepper Jam, and Pinapple-Mango Hot Pepper Jam. I hope you like them!
Regina says
Hi Mike. I'm very eager to try this recipe as my Habanero plant has been producing sooooo much more than I ever anticipated. I really would like to make this for Christmas gifts for my friends but have a friend that is allergic to Lemons. Is the lemon juice a must, can I simply omit it, or is there some kind of substitution I can use?
Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Regina, you can make this without the lemon juice. Try lime juice, or just use a bit of extra apple cider vinegar. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Debbie says
what about with ghost peppers? a friend gave me some from garden and wanted to use for jam. usually do dry pectin freezer recipes. thanks.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Debbie, absolutely. You can make this exact recipe with ghost peppers. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Julie says
I made this with extra peppers and made a triple batch and made 13.5 jars!!! It’s beautiful but it hasn’t set to jam consistency and it’s been 2 days!!
Any tips to make it harden up some for jam?
I did tilt them around several times to keep the pepper bits and seeds speed throughout.. will that cause the jam to not set right?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Julie, this recipe definitely scales up, but when making very large batches of jam, like you've done, it runs the risk of the jam not setting. It just happens sometimes with larger batches. It should have set after 2 days. You can heat the jam back up with more pectin, then ladle it back into the jars for setting. Let me know how it turns out for you.