Cherry Habanero Jam

Fresh cherry habanero jam adds some sweet heat to your plate. This spin on pepper jelly is delicious spread over crackers and cream cheese for a sweet, savory bite.

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Sugar and spice and everything nice” that’s what we were taught little girls are made of.

In this case, it’s what some of the best jams like this cherry habanero jam are made up of.

Beginning with a base of sweet dark cherries, we then added sweet peppers and for our spice we included some habanero.

The flavors blend beautifully and give the jam wonderful depth.

Just like with traditional pepper jelly it’s perfect to serve at parties over cream cheese and crackers.

The fun doesn’t have to stop there though.

Spread this on toast, out over pancakes, or use it as a marinade for grilled meats like chicken and pork.

Anyway you use it, you’re sure to be in for a treat!

Ingredients

To make this you’ll need:

• Cherries– Go for dark red sweet cherries not the tart cherries in this.
• Bell pepper– A red bell pepper finely diced
• Habanero pepper– A small one
• Sugar– Granulated
• Ball Fruit Pectin Classic – You can find this near the canning section in large grocery stores
• Lime juice– For the hint of tart. Fresh or bottled is fine.
• Butter– Optional

How to Make

Making cherry habanero jam is pretty similar to making other jams.

To start. wash and de-stem the cherries.

Then using a cherry pitter cherry pitter, pit the cherries over a bowl so that you lose as little juice as possible.

Roughly chop the cherries right in the bowl.

Add the chopped cherries and any of their juices to a large pot.

Stir in the lime juice and the diced bell pepper.

Then finely mince the habanero pepper.

Add the pepper to the pot as well.

Stir the pectin into the fruit and heat the mixture on low heat, continuing to stir occasionally, until the pectin’s melted.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the mixture to a roiling bowl.

Stir in the sugar until almost completely melted.

Then bring the mixture to a rolling boil again.

If the pot’s foaming stir in the butter but if not, you can omit it entirely.

Otherwise let the jam boil for a full minute.

Remove the pot from heat.

Skim off any excess foam.

Let the mixture rest for a minute or two.

Fill canning jars up to a 1/4″ from the top.

Wipe the rim of a jar with a damp paper towel, place flat lid on top of jar and place band on screwing until just hand tightened.

Repeat for each additional jar until the jam is all canned.

Process your filled jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Then store or gift accordingly.

Enjoy!

Storing

Storing the jam in jars or cans in a cool dark place.

When you open the jar, store the opened jam in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Tips and Tricks

• The intensity of the habanero pepper will decrease with cooking, so I’d advise tasting as you go to decide how much you want to add. 
• Keep in mind the more pith and seeds you keep will increase the heat.
• We’ve found true heat seekers like it best when the hot pepper is stirred in right after cooking, but right before removing the pot from the heat.
• I highly recommend wearing a pair of rubber gloves when chopping the habanero pepper to avoid painful pepper hands.

Other Jam Recipes

Cherry habanero jam is a delicious combination of sweet heat perfect for crackers and more.

Make it and enjoy!

Looking for other jam recipes?

Try these:

• Easy Strawberry Jam
• Drunken Monkey Banana Rum Jam
• Instant Pot Peach Jam

If you’ve tried this CHERRY HABANERO JAM, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

Cherry Habanero Jam

Fresh cherry habanero jam adds some sweet heat to your plate. This spin on pepper jelly is delicious spread over crackers and cream cheese for a sweet, savory bite.

4.50 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 pints

Calories: 612kcal

Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 4 heaping cups dark red sweet cherries
• 1 cup finely diced red pepper
• 1 small habanero pepper
• 4 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp Ball Real Fruit Pectin Classic
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp butter optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Wash and de-stem the cherries. Using a cherry pitter, pit them over a bowl so that you lose as little juice as possible.
  4 heaping cups dark red sweet cherries
• Stick a knife into the bowl and roughly chop up the cherries before adding them to a large pot.
• Sprinkle the lime juice out over the cherries and gently stir them to coat.
  2 tbsp lime juice
• Stir the red pepper into the cherries.
  1 cup finely diced red pepper
• Finely mince the habanero pepper. Remember-- the more pith and seeds you keep will increase the heat. Add the pepper to the pot as well.
  1 small habanero pepper
• Stir the pectin into the fruit and heat the mixture on low heat, continuing to stir occasionally, until the pectin's melted.
  6 tbsp Ball Real Fruit Pectin Classic
• Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the mixture to a roiling bowl.
• Stir in the sugar until almost completely melted. Allow the mixture to reach a rolling boil again.
  4 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• If the pot's foaming stir in the butter. If not, you can omit it entirely. Otherwise let the jam boil for a full minute.
  1 tbsp butter
• Remove the pot from heat. Skim off any excess foam. Let the mixture rest for a minute or two.
• Fill canning jars up to a 1/4" from the top.
• Wipe the rim of a jar with a damp paper towel, place flat lid on top of jar and place band on screwing until just hand tightened. Repeat for each additional jar until the jam is all canned.
• Process your filled jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Then store or gift accordingly.
• Notes
• To avoid a painful case of Hot Pepper Hands, use a pair of rubber gloves when slicing and dicing the habanero peppers.

Notes

• The intensity of the habanero pepper will decrease with cooking, so I’d advise tasting as you go to decide how much you want to add. 
• Keep in mind the more pith and seeds you keep will increase the heat.
• We’ve found true heat seekers like it best when the hot pepper is stirred in right after cooking, but right before removing the pot from the heat.
• I highly recommend wearing a pair of rubber gloves when chopping the habanero pepper to avoid painful pepper hands.

Nutrition

Calories: 612kcal | Carbohydrates: 153g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 152g | Vitamin A: 853IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

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recipe adapted from Flour On My Face

This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.