Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish is a tasty condiment that is amazing on pork, chicken, fish, and even burgers! No canning is required! This onion and pepper relish recipe is the perfect way to use up some of those vegetables in the garden!
This relish is made with red bell peppers and onions, jalapeños, brown sugar, and vinegar. You can easily use a brown sugar substitute instead of regular sugar too! 🙂
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🎥 Recipe Video
❤️ Sweet Pepper Relish
"If you've never tried a sweet pepper relish, you are in for a treat! The blend of peppers and onions (jalapeno, and sweet pepper) with brown sugar is ahh-mazing." 🙂 -Kori
Simple to Make
I think you'll find this pepper relish pretty simple to make. The hardest part is letting it reduce and thicken on low for 20 to 25 minutes while stirring occasionally.
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 - my nephew Jake, a wonderful chef up in Wisconsin, 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 bit of kick (but not too spicy). Both recipes are similar, 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 adds a lot of flavors, 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!
🥘 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make spicy 'n sweet pepper relish.
- Jalapeños - I used jalapeno hot peppers but you can take it even hotter with spicier peppers such as habanero. If you don't want spicy at all you can use green bell peppers.
- Red Onion
- Sweet Red Bell Pepper - you can use any color pepper, but red bell peppers tends to be sweeter than other colors. Orange or yellow bell peppers can be used (or a mix).
- Garlic
- Red Wine Vinegar - you can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Brown Sweetener - Use a brown sugar substitute if making this sugar-free or regular brown sugar. Lately 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
🍽 Equipment
- 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!).
🔪 How To Make Sweet Pepper Relish
Here's how to make sweet pepper relish:
Saute The Vegetables
Add jalapenos, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a medium-sized nonstick saucepan. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they soften.
Simmer The Relish
Add vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. 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.
🥗 How To Use
Need easy serving suggestions? Here's how to use this pepper and onion relish:
- Serve over or alongside pork, fish, beef, lamb, or chicken. It doesn't matter if it's grilled, broiled, seared, or other - it all tastes good. One of my favorites - serve it on grilled chicken or these grilled pork steaks!
- Use it as a condiment for burgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst. Hint: try my Peanut Butter Burger with Bacon
- Spread it on grilled cheese sandwiches.
- Serve over cream cheese for the most delicious sweet pepper relish and cream cheese dip!
- Easy appetizer recipe: Make crostini by toasting thin slices of french or Italian bread. Spread cream cheese over the top then the relish. Garnish with chives or other favorite fresh herb.
- 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.
📖 Variations
There are several ways you can vary or make substitutions to this sweet pepper relish 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.
- If you prefer a smoother relish use a food processor and puree it to your desired consistency.
- 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.
💭 Top 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.
❓ FAQs
This red pepper relish recipe is not canned; therefore it needs to be stored in an airtight jar or container with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
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.
The answer to this varies with each recipe, but most commonly pepper relish is made of a combination of sweet bell peppers and hot peppers along with a sweetener (sugar, brown sugar, sugar substitute), and vinegar (usually, apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, etc.)
Use on grill or roasted meats, poultry, pork, and fish. It's the perfect condiment for burgers, grilled cheese, and hot dogs. Use it as a glaze on ham and pork. It also makes an easy appetizer with crostini, cream cheese, then topped with the relish.
✔️ More Bell Pepper Recipes
Whether it be bell peppers or hot peppers - here are some more recipes you'll enjoy!
- 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)
- Copycat Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe - use it in the taco stuffed pepper recipe above!
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📋 Recipe
Spicy 'n Sweet Pepper Relish
Ingredients
- ¾ cup jalapenos seeded and finely diced (approx. 2)
- 1 cup red onion finely chopped (approx. 1 medium)
- 1 cup red bell pepper finely chopped (approx. 1 large)
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1½ cups [brown sugar substitute] or regular brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin only needed if you're using a brown sugar substitute, see instructions below
Instructions
- In a medium-sized nonstick saucepan add jalapenos, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. 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, remove the relish from the heat after 25 minutes. Add 1 packet of unflavored gelatin and gently whisk or stir until it's well incorporated.
- If you like thick relish use 1 packet of unflavored gelatin, if you prefer it less thick use 1/2 packet.
- Allow relish to cool then transfer to an airtight jar or container. Refrigerate until you are ready to use, up to 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
© 2023 Seeking Good Eats™
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 vinegar. So many uses! It's the perfect condiment or topping for pork, chicken, fish, beef - even hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, 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.
cathy says
Can you increase the onion and jalapeño pepper and leave out the bell pepper as my husband is allergic to Bill peppers
Kori says
Hello, yes absolutely! I hope you enjoy this recipe 🙂
Helen says
Can this be canned? If so, do you water bath or pressure can?
Kori says
Hello! To be honest I've only ever canned pickles and sweet jelly, both being water bath. I have seen similar recipes in a few of my canning cookbooks (also using the water bath method) but I'd be afraid to make specific recommendations on how to can this recipe since I didn't actually do it myself. You have inspired me though! I am going to try and can this at my next opportunity! 🙂
Jill says
Did you can this with success?
Kori says
I have not canned this recipe before, but it is definitely on my list to try it this year! I would love to give it a longer shelf life so I can make more and use all year 🙂
Mel says
The ingredients say salt and pepper but nowhere in the recipe does it say to add.
Kori says
You would add in when you add the vinegar. Thanks so much! Enjoy
Gretchen says
Do I need to use gelatin if I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar?
Kori says
I have not used coconut sugar for cooking so I hesitate to give any solid instructions. This relish is mainly thicken by reducing the liquid but when using alternative sugars things can be a bit finicky. I would proceed with the gelatin as it is my understanding that coconut sugar can burn easily so I would be concerned about reducing it as much as you can with brown sugar. Another concern is texture. When I used monk fruit/erythritol blend it has a tendency to burn easily AND crystallize after it cools. I am not sure if coconut sugar would do this or not. Hope that makes sense! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂