Red Pepper Jelly

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If you make one thing this holiday season, let it be this Red Pepper Jelly. It’s the perfect hostess gift, teacher gift, and it makes for a quick and dare I say BEST appetizer for easy entertaining.

You can get the full recipe HERE.

Six glass jars, back lit, on a white kitchen counter. The jars are filed with homemade red pepper jelly. www.mountainmamacooks.com

RED PEPPER JELLY

I’m not kidding when I tell you this is quite possibly my favorite canning recipe I’ve shared to date. There are so many reasons to love this red pepper jelly but let me give you the top ones!

1. The color! Seriously…..it’s the most gorgeous hue of red and orange.
2. It’s such an easy canning recipe. Perfect for beginners and confident canners alike.
3. This recipe makes 8 jars so there’s plenty to gift and keep for yourself.

A white kitchen counter and a black rectangle tray with a block cream cheese topped with red pepper jelly. Ritz crackers are on the tray for serving. www.mountainmamacooks.com

CANNING RED PEPPER JELLY

This is a great beginner canning recipe. It’s fail proof, really. As long as you have all of your ingredients prepped the rest is a breeze. The hardest part- and not hard at all- is chopping all the bell peppers. It takes a bit of time as you want to chop the peppers pretty small but after that it’s a cinch. As always, you want to make sure the canning jars are clean, warm, and ready to go. Make sure you have a pan large enough to fit 6-8 pint sized jars.

A black tray fills the image with what is the easiest appetizer ever! Cream cheese, homemade red pepper jelly, and butter crackers. Image is a woman spooning the jelly onto the cream cheese. www.mountainmamacooks.com

THE EASIEST RED PEPPER JELLY APPETIZER

My mom’s signature appetizer is a brick of cream cheese on a plate covered with a jar of pepper jelly. She and I have made a variation of pepper jelly a few times over the years and it’s always her offering whenever she has to take an appetizer somewhere. It’s beloved by all that taste it, the color makes it the perfect holiday nosh, and have I said…….IT IS THE EASIEST APPETIZER OF ALL TIME.

Seriously. The easiest.

A close up image of a jar of homemade red pepper jelly. A petite wooden spoon is overflowing and dripping over with the sweet and spicy jam. www.mountainmamacooks.com

WAYS TO USE RED PEPPER JELLY

My son loves to use the jam on a pot roast sandwich- yes, it’s as good as it sounds. We also love to smear it over a bagel and cream cheese. I like to make little hummus bites with sliced cucumber, a dollop of humus, and then a dollop of red pepper jelly. Pretty much this jelly is the bomb anyway you use it. It’s a fantastic compliment to anything savory.

Sweet + savory = the greatest of all things.

Five mason jars fill with the most gorgeous orange hued red pepper jam. The middle jar is open and has a small wooden spoon it it. www.mountainmamacooks.com

GIFTING HOMEMADE CANNED GOODS

I also love to gift this homemade gold. Doctor up the jar with some festive ribbon and a homemade tag. It makes great gift for any foodie! Make sure to keep few jars for yourself. You’ll be so happy you did!

A tray on a kitchen counter. The image is a brick of cream cheese topped with spicy pepper jelly. www.mountainmamacooks.com

OTHER CANNING RECIPES TO GIVE AS GIFTS

Candied Jalapeños
Apricot Jalapeno Jelly
Homemade Vanilla Extract

GET THE RECIPE

You can get the full recipe for this deliciousness HERE on the Dixie Crystal website. Dixie Crystal’s has been a longtime partner of Mountain Mama Cooks. All opinions are my own, as always. Thanks for reading and have a great week! xo, Kelley

Photos by Deborah DeKoff/ recipe by Mountain Mama Cooks