Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish (No Canning Required)

Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish is a tasty condiment that is amazing on pork, chicken, fish, and even burgers! No canning required, this onion and pepper relish recipe is the perfect way to use up some of those vegetables in the garden!

Made with jalapenos, onion, red bell pepper, brown sugar and red wine vinegar. You can easily use a brown sugar substitute instead of regular sugar too! 🙂

Jump to:

• 🎥 Recipe Video
• ❤️ Sweet Pepper Relish
• 🥗 How To Use
• 🥘 Ingredients and Tools
• 🍽 Variations
• 🔪 How To Make Sweet Pepper Relish
• 💭 Expert Tips
• ❓ Common Questions
• ✔️Related Recipes
• ⭐ Stay Connected
• 📋 Printable Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🎥 Recipe Video

❤️ Sweet Pepper Relish

"If you've never tried a sweet pepper relish you are in for a treat! The blend of red onion, jalapeno, and sweet pepper with brown sugar is ahh-mazing. I've tried this relish recipe on burgers, pork, and fish - all delicious. Enjoy!" 🙂 -Kori

Simple to Make

I think you'll find this pepper relish recipe pretty simple to make. The hardest part is letting it reduce and thicken on low for 20 to 25 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Do what I did and grab a stool and a book and sit by the stove. I did that while working on this recipe. I wanted to keep a close eye on the relish as the first time I made it, I cooked it too long and turned it into hard candy. Oops. 🙂

Delicious

What do a chef in Wisconsin and a jar of Parisienne onion jelly have in common? Well, let me tell you! 😉

I love this stuff! It's delicious and works on so many things. The inspiration for this recipe came from two places. First, my nephew Jake, who is a wonderful chef up in Wisconsin. He serves this sauce on his peanut butter burgers - it's an AMAZING combination!

The second place was from a jar of onion preserves I picked up in Paris while on a trip a few years ago. I served my onion jelly at a party over cream cheese with crackers and everyone went nuts!

While the French version was heavy on the onion, my nephew's recipe is more of a sweet jalapeno, pepper and onion relish with a little kick (but not too spicy). Both recipes are similar to each other and I'm super excited to share this recipe with you!

No Sugar Added Pepper Relish Recipe

If a brown sugar substitute is used, this relish becomes gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly, with no added sugar. This relish recipe adds a lot of flavor and no one will know that this is healthy. 🙂

While the full nutritional value is provided at the end of the recipe card, here are the most important if you're following a sugar free low carb keto plan:

0.1 g fat | 1.4 g net carbs | 0.3 g protein | 1 g sugar

If you are interested in keto be sure to get our FREE keto food list and shopping list!

🥗 How To Use

Need easy serving suggestions? Here's how to use this pepper and onion relish:

• Serve over or alongside pork, fish, beef, or chicken. It doesn't matter if it's grilled, broiled, seared, or other - it all tastes good. Keep it simple and seasoning your protein with salt and pepper, then cook. The relish can be served on top or the side.
• Use it as a condiment for burgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst.
• Serve over cream cheese for the most delicious sweet pepper relish and cream cheese dip!
• Roast some vegetables and toss with a little of the relish. It will liquefy slightly when warm and will coat the veggies in the most delicious way.
• Spread on a biscuit, roll, or some crackers.
• Make a new kinda PB&J! Use this sweet pepper relish and peanut butter instead of regular jelly.

🥘 Ingredients and Tools

Here are the ingredients and tools you'll need to make spicy 'n sweet pepper relish. For the full recipe see the recipe card.

Ingredients

• Jalapenos
• Red Onion
• Red Bell Pepper - you can use any color pepper, but red pepper tends to be sweeter.
• Garlic
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Brown Sugar Substitute or Regular Brown Sugar - Use a brown sugar substitute for sugar-free or regular brown sugar. I have been using an allulose brown sugar alternative as it doesn't have a cold feel and won't crystallize once refrigerated as erythritol will.
• Unflavored gelatin - to use as a thickener if using a brown sugar substitute.
• Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
• Black Pepper

Tools

• Measuring spoons
• Medium-sized nonstick saucepan
• Whisk
• Chef knife
• Cutting Board
• 1 Airtight jar - 1 pint or 2 half-pint jars (that way you can keep one and share the other with a friend!).

🍽 Variations

There are several ways you can vary or make substitutions to this catalina french dressing recipe:

• Make it spicier with a little hot sauce or by adding more fresh jalapeno.
• Substitute shallots, green onion, yellow, or sweet onion, for the red onion. Keep in mind that red onions are sweet, so if you substitute a different onion this may affect the overall sweetness of the recipe.
• You can use red peppers or green peppers - any color you have on hand. Red is sweeter than green, though.
• You can use regular brown sugar if you aren't following a sugar free diet.
• Using different kinds of vinegar will give you a variety of flavors.

🔪 How To Make Sweet Pepper Relish

Here's how to make sweet pepper relish:

Saute The Vegetables

In a medium-sized nonstick saucepan add jalapenos, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes just until they start to soften.

Simmer The Relish

Add red wine vinegar and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and reduce heat.

Continue to gently simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced and the relish thickens, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Note: If using a brown sugar substitute, the mixture will thicken, but not as much as if you use regular brown sugar. Remove the relish from the heat after 25 minutes. Add 1 packet of unflavored gelatin and whisk or stir until it's well incorporated.

Cool and Serve or Store For Later

Allow relish to cool then transfer to an airtight jar or container. Refrigerate until you are ready to use, up to 2 weeks.

💭 Expert Tips

• I prefer using an allulose brown sugar alternative instead of monk fruit erythritol because erythritol will crystallize once chilled and can also give you a slight cooking effect in your mouth. Allulose does neither.
• If you prefer a thicker relish use 1 whole packet of gelatin, if you want it less thick than use 1/2 packet. It does not change the flavor - only the thickness.
• While simmering, make sure to watch the pot carefully and stir frequently so the relish does not burn.
• Feel free to halve this recipe, or separate into smaller containers and give some to a friend!
• Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
• This recipe serves 16. If you don't need that many servings, feel free to half the recipe.

❓ Common Questions

How do you store homemade onion and pepper relish?

This red pepper relish recipe is not canned, therefore it needs to be stored in an air-tight jar or container with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Is this relish recipe keto friendly?

This spicy and sweet pepper relish recipe is keto-friendly if you use a brown sugar substitute. With a brown sugar substitute, this recipe has only 1.4 net carbs in total.

✔️Related Recipes

Pepper Recipes

Here are a few more salad dressings you might like! All are easy and healthy, sugar free, gluten free, low carb, and keto.

• EASY Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole (Keto Low Carb)
• Best Greek Salad Recipe (Keto Low Carb)
• Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef
• Lasagna Stuffed Peppers (Keto Stuffed Peppers)
• Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers (Keto Stuffed Peppers)

⭐ Stay Connected

If you tried this Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish, I'd love for you to come back and give it a star rating and/or a review in the comments! 🙂 Let's stay connected, so please share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!

Try this Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish recipe - you'll love it. It's sweet and tangy with some kick with jalapenos, onion, red bell pepper, brown sugar and red wine vinegar. So many uses! It's the perfect condiment or topping for pork, chicken, fish, beef - even hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. Make a simple dip and spread this over cream cheese. This healthy relish is low sugar (1 gram), low carb, keto, and gluten-free.