Chilli Jelly Recipe — Easy Homemade Chilli Jelly
This simple chilli jelly recipe is an absolute classic. Perfect to eat with cheese and biscuit, spread inside a warming toasty or used to flavour and spice a stew. Once you have tried it, you will never want to be without a jar in your fridge.
In this recipe I use natural pectin found in apples to set the jelly. The apple pectin approach is the traditional British method for making fruit jellies. The pectin — a natural setting agent — is concentrated in the peel and core of the apple, which is why we cook it whole rather than peeling and coring first. Crab apples give the best pectin content and a slightly sharper flavour, but ordinary cooking apples work perfectly well and are far easier to find.
The heat level is entirely in your hands. Use mild red chillies like Fresno, Jalapeno or Hungarian Hot Wax for a gentle warming jelly that suits all tastes. Use habaneros or Scotch bonnets for something with genuine fire – Jim in our comments has made it with 50 Scotch bonnets, which gives a jelly that sounds genuinely memorable. We typically use around 15 cayenne or aji lemon chillies for our standard recipe which gives a medium heat that builds pleasantly without overwhelming the apple flavour. Feel free to experiment.
It is best to use ripe chillies – see our guide to knowing when chillies are ripe.
Chilli Jelly Ingredients
1 kg of cooking or crab apples
500 ml of Water
500ml of cider vinegar
Sugar (1lb of sugar to each pint juice
A handful of fresh chillies (vary according to taste/variety, i use about 15).
Method
Add the chopped apples (including the peel & core which is where most of the pectin is found!) to 500ml of cold water and 500ml of cider vinegar. Throw in about half the chopped chillies then bring to the boil then simmer for about 25 minutes.
Pour the contents of the pan through a piece of thick muslin or a jelly bag. The key here is not to force the pulp through the muslin as this can result in a cloudy jelly. Leave to drip through the bag for 5 hours.
Put the strained juice/pulp into a pan on a low heat. Measure the juice and stir in half a kg of sugar per pint of strained juice/pulp then turn the heat up for a further 10 minutes stirring to ensure the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, as you notice it thickening up stir in some more finely chopped chillies.
Meanwhile boil some clean jars in water to sterilize. Place the jelly mixture in the sterilized jars and allow to cool fully.
If you have left seeds in the final jelly beware that the seeds sometimes have a tendancey to float to the top of the jars. To help even out the distribution of the seeds turn the jars upside down after 10 minutes of cooling.
This chilli jelly is incredible. It is delicious served with cheese & crackers or in sandwiches/toasties.
Getting The Right Setting Point
In order to avoid your jelly failing you need to ensure you boil the jelly to the correct setting point. Below is a simple test you should do to ensure you boil the jelly enough to avoid problems with is setting.
Before you start to make the jelly place a small plate into the freezer. Once you think the jelly is ready (after 25 mins boiling) remove the plate from the freezer and place a small amount of jelly on it and allow it to cool for a few seconds. Run your finger through the jelly, if it has formed a skin that wrinkles slightly the jelly is ready.
If you jelly has not set simply return it to the boil for a further 10 minutes before retesting.
Useful Equipment
We get asked a lot about equipment used for this recipe.
- Jam thermometer – If you are not confident using the plate test mentioned above using a jam thermometer takes the guess work out of it. Aim for a temperature of 105 degrees Celsius (220 degrees F).
- Jam strainer bag and stand – Essential bit of kit for this recipe. The stand clips over a large saucepan or bowl allowing the jelly to slowly stain through.
- Mini jam jars – These cute mini jam jars filled with firey chilli jelly make great gifts for family and friends
Which Chillies Work Best for Chilli Jelly?
The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility — almost any fresh chilli variety will work, and the choice mainly affects the flavour and heat level of the finished jelly.
Mild — Fresno, Anaheim, Apache or Hungarian Hot Wax give a gentle warmth with good fruity flavour. Ideal if you want something everyone can enjoy.
Medium — Cayenne, Aji Lemo or Ring of Fire are our go-to choices for this recipe. They give satisfying heat that builds gradually without overwhelming the sweetness of the apple and sugar.
Hot — Jalapeño gives a distinctive grassy heat and works well, particularly in the finishing chillies stirred through at the end.
Very hot — Scotch Bonnet and Habanero both work brilliantly. Their fruity, tropical character complements the apple base beautifully. Use fewer than you think — the heat concentrates during the long boiling process. Jim in our comments made a batch with 50 Scotch bonnets. We’ll leave that to the brave.
Superhot — Naga and Carolina Reaper will produce a jelly with serious heat. Use sparingly and label the jars clearly if giving as gifts.
Chilli Jelly Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Chop the apples including peel and core and place in a large pan with the water, cider vinegar and half the chillies. Bring to the boil then simmer for 25 minutes until the apples are completely soft.
- Pour the contents through a muslin cloth or jelly bag suspended over a large bowl. Leave to drip for at least 5 hours — do not squeeze the bag or the jelly will turn cloudy.
- Measure the strained juice. Place a small plate in the freezer for the setting test.
- Pour the juice into a clean pan, add 450g of sugar per 570ml of juice and heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 10-15 minutes.
- Test for setting point using the frozen plate — drop a small amount of jelly on the plate, allow to cool for 30 seconds, then push with your finger. If it wrinkles it is ready. If not, boil for a further 5 minutes and retest.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes then stir in the remaining finely chopped chillies. This helps distribute them throughout the jar rather than having them float to the top.
- Pour into sterilised jars, seal immediately and leave to cool completely.
Notes
- Leave jars to cool for 10 minutes and stir before potting to prevent chillies floating to the top
- If the jelly fails to set, return to the boil and reboil for a further 10 minutes before retesting
- Store in a cool dark place for up to 12 months sealed. Once opened refrigerate and use within 6-8 weeks
- For a clearer jelly use liquid pectin instead of apples — follow the packet instructions for quantities
If you liked this recipe be sure to check out these similar recipes:
- Chilli chutney – Our most popular way to use up your autumn glut of homegrown chillies.
- Chilli Oil – We always have a bottle of this chilli oil in the kitchen ready to drizzle onto pizza or pasta or to use for cooking.
- Pickled Jalapeño – For a sharper preserve this pickled jalapeno recipe is quick and delicious.
- Aji Lemon & Mango Sauce – This Peruvian sauce combines the exotic tast of mango with the citrus heat from Aji Lemon chillies.
If you still have a glut of chillies to use up at the end of your harvest take a look at our complete guide to preserving chillies.
FAQ
Standard chilli jelly requires a setting agent — either natural pectin from apples (as used in this recipe) or commercially produced liquid or powdered pectin. Without one or the other the jelly will remain liquid. The advantage of apples is that they’re cheap and contribute flavour as well as pectin. The advantage of commercial pectin is a more reliable, firmer set.
Yes but cooking apples are best. Based on our experience cooking apples work perfectly well and contain good natural pectin. Normal eating apples have less pectin but still produce a reasonable set but can be less reliable. Crab apples give the firmest set and a slightly sharper flavour, but whatever you have available will work. Most of the time we use cooking apples and we always get great results.
The most common cause is insufficient boiling at the setting stage. The jelly needs to reach 104-105°C (setting point) to set properly. Use a jam thermometer if you have one, or rely on the frozen plate test described in the recipe above. If the jelly hasn’t set after cooling, return it to the pan, reboil for 10-15 minutes then retest.
In reality you can use any food grade vinegar. White wine vinegar produces a slightly cleaner, less complex flavour but works well. Malt vinegar is too harsh for this recipe and will overpower the delicate apple flavour. Cider vinegar gives the best result overall in our opinion.
Properly sterilised sealed jars kept in a cool dark cupboard will keep for 10-12 months. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 6-8 weeks. In practice it rarely lasts that long.
Yes. Removing the seeds gives a milder result since most of the heat is in the white pith and seeds. The chillies boiled with the apples can have the seeds left in as the seeds are strained out anyway. For the fresh chillies stirred in at the end, remove the seeds if you want to control the heat more precisely and end up with a clearer looking jelly.
A dedicated jelly bag or square of muslin is ideal but not essential. As one reader memorably pointed out, clean tights work (just be sure to check with your wife first!). Any finely woven fabric will do — the key is not to force the pulp through, which clouds the jelly. Leave it to drip under gravity for the full 5 hours.
During the boiling stage a white foam may appear on the surface of the jelly. We skim this off with a large serving spoon to help keep the final jelly as clear as possible.
Hi when you first boil the chillis with the crab apples do you remove the seeds from the chilli?
And do you remove the seeds from the chillis when adding them to the sieved liquid?
Thanks
Laura – I usually remove the chilli seeds, especially if I’m using a hot variety.
I’ve used this recipe fir about 8 years now. Thanks for sharing 🌶
I do one with added fresh ginger too
I’ve made two batches of the jelly now and I’m about to do a third, my teenage son uses it on just about every sandwich he makes. I’ve given some to the family and the third batch is for us as people kegs coming back for more. I’ve trying the chilli chutney at the mo it’s on the hob just finishing off, looking forward to trying it!!
Don – Glad you like the recipe. I hope the chutney turns out just as well!
Hi – I would like to make this recipe; but I’m not sure what is a “thick muslin or a jelly bag” is. I went to my local grocery store and no one at the store seemed to know what I’m asking for either. Please help and let me know where I can find this material? or what is a proper substitute? maybe cheese cloth?
Thank you.
Rony – A cheese cloth will do the job. Alternatively any decent fabric cloth should sell muslin if you can’t find a specific jely cloth.
I used some tights……they were clean ones though!
This recipe is awesome! Finshed making it today and used home grown apples, don’t know what kind they are! and overall 12 chillis and 11 tiny bird eye chillis (that smelt evil, nose burners!) I actually can’t eat spicy stuff, but tried a bit of left over jelly on crackers and it wasnt too bad, just warmed the tongue a bit but wasn’t over spicy, as the apple in it made it a bit like sweet chilli. I cheated and put a bit of red food colouring in it so it looked extra fiery! I’m putting it in Christmas hampers as something a little bit different to go with the cranberry and apple chutneys etc, everyone is excited about trying it though, hope they can hang on ’till Christmas! P.S I think you should have a photo upload bit! Because mine looked amazing- even though I cheated :p
Made this using half crab and half coolers, but forgot crabs give much less juice! So using 10 scotch bonnets in the super concentrated pulp……and resulting jelly is SCORCHIO!!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am now making my second batch. First batch i used the white wine vinegar, a mixture of peter penis chillies and jalapeno chillies. This was delicious
Great recipie!!! made it today and goes great with poppadoms or a side
I have just pulped up loads of chillis and mixed it in with the jelly to give a more ‘jammy’ consistancy, heaven!!!
Love this recipe, thanks!
The chillis always float. Once you’ve put the jelly in jars, leave to cool for about 10 minutes then turn the jars upside down for a bit. Chillis will slowly redistribute themselves. Just remember to turn the jars the right way up before it sets completely and sticks to the lid! Also works with marmalade.
My main tip would be to keep the windows open while you cook this, otherwise you’ll never get the vinegar smell out of the house! 🙂
im very excited to try this recipe, if my daughter wasn’t tucked up asleep i’d be off to the nearest 24 hr supermarket for the ingredients im missing to start a midnight jelly session.
We do not have crab apples, so i used normal apples. The juice is slight brown. Would this be a problem? Would normal apples work?
Francoa – Yes, normal apples are fine as they contain natural pectin.
When I was boiling the juice and the sugar a lot of sticky white stuff kept floating on the top, should this be removed. My jelly is really clear apart from this.
jennifer – you don’t have to but for asthetics you can spoon this off before putting the jelly into jars.
How long will it keep for ?
So long as you sterilise the jars it will keep for 6-12 months unopened (keep it somewhere cool and dark). Once opened, use it within 6-8 weeks and keep it in the fridge. That said it never lasts anywhere near that in our household!
Hi
Last year I triped your recipe and made 3 batches throughout september. each one turned out a little different. I will be making my first batch of the year tomorrow which I am excited about.
last year I experieinced the above problems- it not settign so THANK YOU for the frozen plate tip i will use tomorrow.
i used fresh chillies and found the bits floated to the top whether I let it cool or not- so will try cooling it more this year
Tips I have found include:
wear gloves when chopping large amounts of chillies- I didn’t and had to go to bed with my hands in a bowl of water to stop the burning!
If using little crab apples the jelly will turn more red
thanks
L x
Lucie,
Just wanted to check up and see how your jelly making went, good news i hope?
Shadowchilli.
Jim,
Cant wait to see / hear from you about the insane hotness of your chilli jelly.
Maybe enter it into the competition that Chilli King is running at the moment, or at least post some photos on the Flicker site.
Good Luck!
Shadowchilli.
I have made this recipe before and used 50 scotch bonnets it was fantastic.today i am going to use home grown naga jololika.( scorchio) let you know how it turns out!!!
yes we reboiled and reduced and that worked a treat , have made another batch this time we doubled the amount of water and apples , chopped apples and left to soak for an hour used this water to cook with, added 4 quinces , 20 to 25 varies types of chillies in the pan , cider vinager , and cook / simmer . drain the pulp again and add the sugar then put 10 red chopped chillies into mixture for decoration reheat then into jars , fantastic , A chiili jelly with bite and warm , everyone loves it and has taken the recipe nad half my chilli stock looks like we’ll have to grow more next year , many thank for your recipe
made my first batch yesterday , tasted great , looked good but has not fully set gone to the not runny but sticky stage but not set, any suggestions please
Shaun – You could try reboiling it.
My first attempt was very runny and did not set so i put it all back on the boil and it was sorted. Its fantastic thankyou!
Does anyone know how long this will keep?
Kate – Once opened keep it in the fridge and it should last 4-6 weeks. Unopened it should last a few months if kept in a dark cool place. Enjoy!
@Anna
The same thing happened to me too – the top 1cm had all the chilli, the rest was pure jelly. I spoke to my mum about this (jam/chutney maker of old), and she suggests leaving the jelly to cool for about 10 mins,and stirring the mixture lightly before putting into jars.
I’m just off to make my second batch, and will give this “improved” method a try to get a better distribution of chilli.
*UPDATE* the new batch seems to have a lot better distribution of chilli pieces throughout the jar- so Mum knows best!
I made your wonderful jelly but the chilli flakes have risen to the top of the jar and set.It tastes great but where have I gone wrong?
So thanks in advance and look forward to making fault free jelly!!!
Anna – Did you use dried chilli flakes? I always use finly chopped fresh chillies…
Re Chilli Jelly.
You say, “Place in clean jars and boil to steralise”. Do I boil the juice before putting in jars, or boil the jars. Please explain.
Bernie – Apologies, that was very clear. I’ve updated the recipe now. You need to boil the jars when empty to sterilize them, then fill them up and allow to cool. Apologies for the confusion and good luck making the jelly!