Easy Banana Pepper Honey Mustard Canning Recipe
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Mix the delicious sweetness of sweet banana peppers with honey to create the most delicious and satisfying banana pepper honey mustard. A condiment every dinner table needs :)
I’m sure you’ve heard of hot banana pepper mustard or hot pepper mustard that is a popular condiment to can and put by for eating and gifting. BUT, have you made a honey mustard version?! This is one of my favorite ways to preserve and use banana peppers, which are very prolific and easy to grow in my zone here in Ohio. I always plant like 8 plants thinking I need SO MANY and then end up drowning in them.
Use hungarian wax peppers, sweet banana peppers, or a mixture of the two for just the right amount of heat, and make a deliciously sweet and tangy banana pepper honey mustard that you’ll be putting on everything. I love dipping soft pretzels in this banana pepper honey mustard, along with french fries, smother hot dogs, mix into potato salad, and a whole lot more variety of dishes. This stuff goes on everything!
Instead of buzzing the raw peppers in a food processor, I prefer to cook the peppers in the vinegar and mustard until they’ve softened and then blend them til smooth. This gives a nice, smooth condiment as opposed to have little chunks here and there, which is what I prefer. If you would rather make this the traditional way, then do that!
I have also moved to thickening this with cook type clear jel (or something similar) as opposed to flour because I really prefer the texture and ease of whisking it into the mustard. Flour tends to want to lump up and I was tired of fighting it. If you’d like to use flour (rebel canning), you’ll need to add about 1 1/2 cups of it and whisk it with 1 1/2 cup of water before pouring into the mustard mixture to thicken.
If you’re going to make homemade banana pepper honey mustard, well you might as well try and make my homemade tomato ketchup recipe, too!
Let’s make some banana pepper honey mustard!
Equipment You Might Want:
- Stock Pot
- Immersion Blender
- Pint or half pint canning jars
- Canning lids and screw bands
- Jar Funnel
- Jar Lifter
- Steam Canner
- Water bath canning pot
Ingredients:
- 42 banana peppers (about 2.5 quarts rough chopped)
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups honey
- 1 quart yellow mustard
- 1 cup raw unrefined sugar (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup clear jel
- 1/2 cup water
Step 1: Prep
Wash banana peppers under cool running water and set aside to dry.
Remove stems and seeds and chop roughly into big pieces. No need to be neat here because we are going to blend them later on.
Add chopped peppers to a medium sized stock pot.
To the pot, add in apple cider vinegar, honey, optional sugar, yellow mustard, and salt. Stir to combine.
Step 2: Cook
Place stock pot with the pepper mixture over medium low heat. Bring to a very gentle simmer, covered, and reduce heat. Stir frequently to dissolve honey and sugar.
Once peppers have softened, blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
Bring mixture back to a simmer and allow to cook, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes to cook down a little bit.
Taste the mixture and adjust the salt if needed and add the optional cup of sugar if you would like it a bit sweeter.
Step 3: Thicken
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together clear gel and water.
Add clear jel mixture to the mustard mixture, whisking constantly to incorporate.
Heat to a very gentle simmer. Avoid boiling mixture to prevent bubbles being trapped in the mustard. If you bring this to a rolling boil, the mustard could have tons of tiny air bubbles which can make for a mess when canning and also be prone to burning to the bottom of your pot.
Continue simmering until nicely thickened; mine took about 10 minutes.
Step 4: Canning
Do not worry about having sterile pint jars. Since this recipe is processed for 10 minutes, the NCHFP states that jars just need to be clean. Any processing time UNDER 10 minutes requires jars to be sterilized prior.
Ladle hot mustard into clean pint or smaller jars to 1 inch headspace. Since this recipe contains clear jel, I do give extra headspace for the clear jel to expand during the canning process.
Wipe jar rims well and add new lids and secure with a screw band.
Process jars in a boiling water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes, adjusting time for altitude if needed.
Once processing time is complete, shut off heat and remove jars to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel for 18-24 hours.
Step 5: Storage
After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures.
Any jars that did not seal may be reprocessed.
Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seals good, it’s good. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best flavor and nutritional content, but they’ll last much longer than that if needed, especially this mustard due to the high vinegar and sugar/honey content.
Notes:
Use any variety of banana peppers or wax peppers you enjoy. You can even add in a few spicier varieties if you want it to cause you physical pain.
Equipment
- stock pot
- Pint or half pint canning jars
- Canning lids and screw bands
- jar lifter
Ingredients
- 42 banana peppers about 2.5 quarts rough chopped
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cup honey
- 1 quart yellow mustard
- 1 cup raw unrefined sugar optional
- 1-2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup clear jel
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Wash banana peppers under cool running water and set aside to dry.
- Remove stems and seeds and chop roughly into big pieces. No need to be neat here because we are going to blend them later on.
- Add chopped peppers to a medium sized stock pot.
- To the pot, add in apple cider vinegar, honey, optional sugar, yellow mustard, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Place stock pot with the pepper mixture over medium low heat. Bring to a very gently simmer, covered, and reduce heat. Stir frequently to dissolve honey and sugar. Once peppers have softened, blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Bring mixture back to a simmer and allow to cook, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes to cook down a little bit.
- Taste the mixture and adjust the salt if needed and add the optional cup of sugar if you would like it a bit sweeter.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together clear gel and water.
- Add clear jel mixture to the mustard mixture, whisking constantly to incorporate.
- Heat to a very gentle simmer. Avoid boiling mixture to prevent bubbles being trapped in the mustard.
- Continue simmering until nicely thickened; mine took about 10 minutes.
- Ladle hot mustard into clean pint or smaller jars to 1 inch headspace.
- Wipe jar rims well and add new lids and secure with a screw band.
- Process jars in a boiling water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes, adjusting time for altitude if needed.
- Once processing time is complete, shut off heat and remove jars to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel for 18-24 hours.
- After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures.
- Any jars that did not seal may be reprocessed.
- Shelf life is 'til you eat it. If the seals good, it's good. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best flavor and nutritional content, but they'll last much longer than that if needed, especially this mustard due to the high vinegar and sugar/honey content.
I want to make it but clear gel. What can I substitute for clear gel?
Clear jel is the only approved thickener for canning (which is stupid lol), but you can sub equally cornstarch or thermflo; just know it’s rebel canning. In past years I’ve used flour but have since moved to a thickener like clear jel because I enjoy the texture after it has been canned better.
Am I suppose to add the honey and sugar when I add the mustard, acv and salt? It just says to add the mustard, acv, and salt but doesn’t say when to add the sweet ingredients, but just to stir until they are dissolved.
Yes! Sorry about that. Add it with the peppers and then stir to dissolve. I’ve fixed the recipe to reflect this. Thank you!
about how much does this yield?
Anywhere from 5-8 half pints.
I’ve never used clear gel before. What type and name brand do recommend for making the honey banana pepper mustard?
any cook type will work. There should be a brand I use linked in the recipe card of this post :)