Nuclear Jalapeno Hot Pepper Relish
Hot Pepper Relish is a great way to preserve all the peppers you have at the end of the season. It is super easy to can to make it shelf-stable.
If you are not a huge spicy heat fan, the Hot Pepper Relish is NOT for you. It is hot. Go for the sweet pepper relish instead. It is very mild, containing only a few jalapeños. This relish becomes hotter depending on the chili that you use. If you make it a large percentage habanero or Scotch bonnet, it will be even hotter.
At the end of the season, we always have bushels of peppers left. We have to devise creative ways to use up a lot of peppers.
We have been making different relishes for ages, including cucumber and zucchini, so why not try a relish with peppers? This relish does not disappoint. Honestly, you can’t have too many condiments. It takes a same old boring meal to all new realms.
IMPORTANT: Wear gloves! This is very important! If you don’t, you will have to wash your hands 100 times to get all of the pepper oils off your hands. Don’t touch your eyes or any mucus membranes.
What you need
- hot peppers – use any hot pepper you have access to. Jalapeños, Hungarian wax, habanero, serrano peppers, ghost pepper,
- vinegar
- sugar
- turmeric
- dry mustard
- pepper
- celery seed
How to make it
Step One:
Wash peppers. Halve them and remove most of the seeds and ribs. You can technically leave them in if you want the heat level nuclear.
Step Two:
Add the peppers to a food processor bowl. Pulse until they are finely chopped.
Step Three:
Add them to a large pot.
Step Four:
Pulse the onions, too, and add them to the pot.
Step Five:
Add the spices and vinegar.
Step Six:
Mis it well and bring it to a boil.
Step Seven:
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until it is a relish consistency.
To Water Bath Can the Relish
- Prepare the jars and lids while the relish is cooking down.
- Fill the prepared jars with the hot relish using a canning funnel and a ladle. Preserve a ½-inch headspace.
- Remove any bubbles as needed.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel.
- Center the lids on the jars. Screw on the jar bands on finger-tip tight.
- Process the jars for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
You can adjust the heat level in this relish by the number of hot peppers included in the mix. If you like medium or hot salsas, add two more jalapeños for every degree of heat you would like to increase. I would call this Hot Pepper Relish pretty hot. It is mostly jalapeños, red, and green in a dry year. The drier the year, the hotter the peppers will be.
As always, when making salsas or hot sauces, err on the side of caution. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away. Always taste for heat before canning any sauces, bearing in mind that as it sits, the heat level will increase, not decrease, as it ages.
We hope you enjoyed the recipe today for pepper relish. Give it a try.
How to Use this Relish
- Use it on hot dogs or hamburgers.
- Add it to salads, like macaroni or tuna salad, for a new kick.
- Use a spoonful for deviled egg filling.
- Mix it with mayonnaise or ketchup for a new twist on a classic.
- Pour some over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers for a super fast, last-minute appetizer.
More Relishes
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Helpful Tools
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- Water bath canning pot
- extra large bamboo cutting board
- Canning tool set
- canning bands
- canning lids
- pint jars
- half pint jars
- ladle
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Hot Pepper Relish
Ingredients
- 5.5 cups peppers, stems removed, chopped fine in food processor use jalapeno, serrano, habanero, Hungarian wax, or any other hot pepper you have access to.
- 2 cups onion, chopped fine in food processor
- 1.5 cups cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups Sugar
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1.5 tsp celery seed
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until thickened, the consistency of pickle relish.5.5 cups peppers, stems removed, chopped fine in food processor, 2 cups onion, chopped fine in food processor, 1.5 cups Sugar, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp Black Pepper, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1.5 tsp celery seed, 1.5 cups cider vinegar
- Here is the Sweet Pepper Relish recipe. If you are making hot Pepper Relish, use all hot peppers!!
To can the relish
- Prepare the jars and lids while the relish is cooking down.
- Fill the prepared jars with the hot relish using a canning funnel and a ladle. Preserve a ½-inch headspace.
- Remove any bubbles, as needed.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel.
- Center the lids on the jars. Screw on the jar bands fingertip tight.
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Notes
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something, at no additional cost to you. See FTC Disclosure, here.
I canned one batch last summer and we finished it within a very short time. This year I will make more! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing that! I’m so glad you liked it! It’s a favorite with my family and friends too! Have a great weekend Angela!
Sounds great! Gonna try it, Thanks. But, I see no canning salt.
Hey Mike. The peppers have a great texture and not as much water content as say zucchini or cucumbers, so I didn’t brine them. You certainly could if you wanted to. Just follow this recipe for the brine and process of brining them! https://binkysculinarycarnivalcom.bigscoots-staging.com/zucchini-relish/#recipe Let me know how you like it.
I am so glad I discovered this recipe! I made several batches of this nuclear hot version, using mostly jalapeños- but added poblanos when I had some. I didn’t remove the seeds in ~1/2 of the jalapeños in one batch, and that was declared the ‘favorite’ by my heat loving son and his wife. I am still aging my cowboy candy, but am confident we will enjoy that too. Thank you so much for some excellent recipes. I will never throw jalapeños out again!
Thank you so much for letting me know! That makes my day! I’m so glad you liked the relish! I’m sure you’ll like the cowboy candy too! The waiting is the hardest part! 🙂
I am wondering if this relish could be preserved in the freezer vs canning. It is impossible to buy / find flat canning lids this year! I ordered some lids from Amazon that (supposedly) shipped from China last week, but the projected delivery date has come and gone already, so I am losing hope. Help! We love this stuff and want to have it available year round!
I have honestly not tried freezing it. My thoughts are that the texture may get a little funky, after thawing. Why don’t try a small batch and freeze it overnight, then thaw it the next day and see what you think. I know what you mean about the lids. It’s impossible to find them atm. I just ordered some yesterday. Hoping they get here sometimes soon! Thanks Jan! If you try freezing it. Get back to me with the results. I’ll do some myself this year! Thanks for checking out the recipe!
Very good. We took all the seeds out so it wasn’t very hot. Try my receipe for pickled carrots.
2 serano peppers slit lengthways on one side
1 clove of garlic crushed
As many snack carrots as you can pack in a pint jar
Mix 1cup vinager half cup of water bring to boil
Fill jar almost to top, it will go down
Add lids and rings process 10 min
4-5 days and enjoy
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi! Was wondering if I had to process the jars after simmering? How long is the shelf life if I just put them in the fridge without canning?
Thanks!
I would say the shelf life is fairly long. Certainly months. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, depending on your refrigerator temp and such. 6 months is not unreasonable. I have had opened jars in the refrigerator for 6 months. Unopened will last longer. Thanks for checking out the recipe, Shannon!
How many pints or 1/2 pints does this recipe make. I love the sound of it for my Pub.
It makes 4 half pints Keith. So about 128 tablespoons! It is one of my most requested recipes. Thanks for checking out the recipe! Let me know how you like it!
Hello, I know this is an older post but hopefully you are still answering questions. for your 5.5 cups of peppers (1st ingredient on your list) what type peppers are you using?
I notice that there is just .5 cup of jalapenos…does just this amount provide enough heat?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Tammy, For this recipe I use any hot pepper I have at the moment. I have used Hungarian Wax, Serrano, Habanero, or simply all jalapenos. If you prefer it not so hot, add any sweet pepper. Bell, Pablano, you name it. All of the different peppers will give you slight variations in flavor, but all are equally good! Thanks for stopping by!
I will try not to rattle off about this Relish too much. But save your time looking for any other
THIS IS IT people! Just think you can be make Sweet jalapeno Pepper Relish right now. I have done 34 1/2 pints. I am waiting
for a batch to get done now.
I did the Nuclear Jalapeño & Sweet Pepper Relish. You just can’t go wrong.
Some of mine will go in my Christmas gift baskets
Have you started yet ? What are you waiting for.
Wow! Thank you sooo much, Sheila! I am so glad you are enjoying them! My son eats it as fast as I can make it! I have about 15 more quarts of peppers that I am going to do today!
Ohhhh I love spicy food! This looks right up my alley. The flavors in this look so tasty. Can’t wait to try.
I love relish and this recipe sounds AMAZING! Thanks for sharing!
Oooh lucky you having all those peppers! I had to buy them but got a good deal at my local Mexican market and it was so worth it for this pepper relish! Yumm!!