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A spicy jalapeno Cranberry Jam recipe that’s perfectly festive!

Jalapeno Cranberry Jam Recipe

Cranberries! They are the most identified fruit of the Holiday season, making beautiful sweet and tart cranberry sauce sitting pretty by that roast turkey. But they are also just as happy sitting on your cheese board or topping off a sandwich as this spicy cranberry jam recipe!

Baguettes with brie and fruit spread

When entertaining, I believe that one of the easiest things to feature is a beautiful charcuterie or cheeseboard filled with a mixture of delicious cheeses, nuts, and fruits with a pile of crusty bread and crackers.

Spicy and Festive Jam

Ideas for entertaining recipes?

  • Try this easy to make Cheeseboard for Two, this one has one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations, a strawberry balsamic chutney! Oh dear me, it’s amazing!
  • Pear Walnut and Blue Cheese Bruschetta, yes! I adore a tangy blue cheese, but you could also try this with goats cheese if that’s your preference.
  • Okay, so this Baked Gouda with Pear Compote is screaming eat me! Taste gorgeous and perfect for holiday entertaining! Honestly, it’s a must-try, with that warm pear compote piled on top it’s an impressive appetizer recipe. You can also use just the pear compote as a side with any of your favorite cheeses to create a lovely cheeseboard.
  • Like things a little spicy? This small-batch Pepper Peach Jam is perfectly balanced with the heat of the peppers and the sweetness of the jam. My favorite way to serve it is simply on a toasted baguette with creamy soft cheese, just like the Jalapeno Cranberry Jam recipe below.
  • Here’s a great guide on how to create a cheese board including how to store the cheese and pairings from Good Housekeeping.
Spicy jam on a cheeseboard

For this recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen cranberries, and if you prefer a hotter pepper, by all means, but proceed with caution. Maybe try a small batch or half batch first and then add more or less as desired the next time you make a batch.

Drizzling spicy fruit spread on toasted baguettes with brie

How to make this Jalapeno Cranberry Jam Recipe

Cranberry jam on a cheeseboard

Jalapeno Cranberry Jam

Stacey Doyle
A slightly sweet and spicy jam recipe, Jalapeno Cranberry Jam, perfect for adding to your charcuterie or cheese board, or to top of sandwiches, hamburgers, with pork and of course, alongside a beautiful roast turkey.
4.47 from 105 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Preserves and Canning
Cuisine American
Servings 2 pints
Calories 33 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 jalapenos diced
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • ¼ cup of liquid pectin
  • ½ cup of water
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries

Instructions
 

  • In a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat, combine the jalapenos, sugar, and salt, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add in the lime juice, pectin, water, and vinegar, stirring to mix well. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
  • Add in the cranberries, stirring occasionally, and simmer gently until the cranberries have burst and the juices start to thicken, about 15 – 20 minutes.
  • Transfer jam to the sterilized jars and seal. You can either allow to cool at room temperature, then keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, freeze for up to 6 months, or you can process in a hot water bath and keep for up to a year.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbspCalories: 33kcalCarbohydrates: 9gSodium: 7mgSugar: 7g
Keyword appetizers, canning, cranberries, holiday foods, jalapenos, jams, jellys, peppers, preserves, sauce

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Stacey Doyle is a Southern girl with a taste for travel, thriving on the discovery of the world through food. After spending many years traveling and living overseas, she's now back home in her beloved deep south enjoying life with her three little ones and loving the adventure. She's a food stylist and food photographer, as well as, the creative behind Little Figgy Food, where she loves to inspire others to try new flavors and foodie techniques.

4.47 from 105 votes (105 ratings without comment)

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16 Comments

    1. You weren’t overlooking it, I had it in there and then corrected something and well now it’s back. Thank you for letting me know! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Hello Deborah! I’ve not personally tested this recipe with dried. But I would start by replacing the fresh or frozen cranberries with 8 ounces of dried cranberries (because they are more concentrated in flavor) and add 1/4 cup extra of water … again, this would be my starting point. Then I would watch for consistency and before the canning stage, I would cool some off to test for flavor and sweetness. I hope this helps, again my suggestion hasn’t been tested on this recipe, but I would definitely start there and I believe that it would work since I know that you can make cranberry sauce/jelly from dried with no problem. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out and what your substitution amounts were!

      Reply

  4. Have you ever tried making this as a sugary free jam? I love this jam but it shoots my sugar levels up above 200. I would really appreciate it if you have a sugar free recipe that you can share with me. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Hello Amanda! Great question! So I’ve not personally made sugar-free jam, but did some research and go some feedback from a friend who does, and they suggested using powdered erythritol. So something like Swerve with an equal substitution to sugar. Another option is Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener, the only drawback is that if wanting to keep it for a longer time, more than just a few days, it will tend to cause crystalization. Again, same 1:1 substitution for sugar, although I would probably decrease the amount of Lakanto to about 3/4 cup. I haven’t heard back from Ball yet, but if I do, I’ll update any info here. Another thing to keep in mind for keeping the sugar levels down is to make sure that you use low or sugar-free pectin. As I was looking I did find a berry keto jam from Lakanto https://www.lakanto.com/blogs/recipes/berry-keto-jam and also as well as this article on sugar substitutes https://survivalfreedom.com/substitute-for-sugar-in-jam-making/. I hope this helps and I hope you can still find a way to enjoy this jam and keep those sugar levels down! 🙂

      Reply

      1. Ok. I will check out these other 2 links. Please let me know what Ball says about there ideas. Also when I use swerve do I still follow the recipe the same as before?

        Reply

        1. Hello Amanda! Here’s the update.
          So I haven’t heard anything from Ball, but did hear back from Lakanto:
          They suggest making it as freezer jam BUT to eat right away.
          Also gave the following tips for lowering sugar content in making jam:
          Try in varying degrees of sugar replacement. Expect a moderate amount of crystallization with a 1:1 replacement of Lakanto sweetener. If you just want to lower the sugar more, try using half Lakanto and half sugar. This will still create some crystallization. Using only 1/3 -1/4 Lakanto and the balance sugar leaves a very slight to no crystallization. The jam needs to be eaten within the next month. Even with a small amount of Lakanto, the jam will become grainy over time of being frozen.
          Tip – Make small batches and eat as you go. The fruit could actually be frozen and then made into jam later.

          I would skip the hot water bath process and just make it as freezer jam as they suggested above. I hope this helps in your jam making endeavors! 🙂

          Reply

    1. Hello Sarina! I would use 8 teaspoons of powdered pectin as a substitute for 1/4 cup of liquid pectin. (Reference: For every 1 ounce liquid = 2 tablespoons of liquid pectin, which = 4 teaspoons powdered pectin). I hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Hi Deborah, yes you can use liquid hot sauce instead of the jalapeños. I would start with 1-2 teaspoons, adding it at the end. Taste and adjust to your preference.

      Reply