Homemade Chilli Jam: A Practical Way to Use Up Tomatoes
Turn cherry tomatoes into a sweet, tangy chilli jam, with adjustable heat and small jars that work well for sharing.
Chilli jam makes a generous crop of tomatoes feel like something special. It pairs sweetness and tang with a measured chilli heat, and the finished jam can be spooned into a toastie with pesto and mozzarella. It’s also a way to turn surplus tomatoes into a homemade gift, once the household’s everyday tomato supplies are sorted.
This recipe uses 800g of cherry tomatoes, though other types of tomato work too. The chilli level is adjustable: removing some of the seeds keeps the result milder. Fennel seeds are optional, so the flavour can stay simple if you don’t have them to hand.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- A couple of shallots, or one onion
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 800g cherry tomatoes
- 3 chillies, finely chopped; remove some seeds for a gentler heat
- 275g light brown sugar
- 250ml white vinegar
Make the jam
- Wash the jars with soapy water, then sterilise them with boiling water. If the oven is already on, the author also uses it to sterilise the jars.
- Warm the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shallots or onion and cook for about five minutes, until soft and golden.
- Add the chopped chillies, garlic and fennel seeds. Cook for three to four minutes, until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring as needed, until the mixture becomes thick and sticky. A double batch may take longer.
- Spoon the jam into the sterilised jars and leave them to cool.
Plan the batch around your tomatoes
The recipe is a useful fit for a home harvest because it can take cherry tomatoes that might otherwise be difficult to use up all at once. The cook who shared it first tried a bush-type heirloom variety from Real Seeds, but says other tomatoes work just as well. That gives you room to use the tomatoes you already have instead of setting aside a particular variety for the job.
There’s also a practical order to the work: make the everyday tomato staples first, such as passata, then use what remains for a batch of jam. That approach makes the treat feel like a bonus from the harvest, rather than a reason to buy more ingredients. The quantities here give you a starting point for one batch; if you make a double batch, allow extra simmering time because the mixture takes longer to thicken.
Choose heat and jars to suit
The three chillies don’t have to make the jam very hot. The recipe’s author leaves out some of the seeds to keep the heat comfortable. If people in your household prefer different spice levels, that’s a useful point to adjust while preparing the chillies. The sugar and vinegar remain part of the recipe’s sweet and tangy character.
Jar size can be flexible, too. The author uses recycled jars in different sizes, including smaller ones for family gifts. A single batch filled three jars in one example; a double batch made about five. Those yields are approximate because the jars vary in size, so set out a few clean jars before you start and use the sizes that suit how you plan to serve or share the jam.
Serving, storing and sharing
For a quick meal, try the jam in a toastie with pesto and mozzarella, the combination that inspired the recipe. Small jars can also go into a homemade hamper, making them a thoughtful option when you’re planning modest gifts. A batch prepared from tomatoes already on hand can make use of the harvest while giving you something to share.
The recipe author reports that their sealed jars have kept for more than a year, attributing that to the sugar and vinegar, and says they don’t use a water bath. They advise keeping a jar in the fridge once opened. Treat those storage details as the author’s own experience when deciding how to handle your batch.
Other homemade preserves featured by the same cook include Piccalilli, Caramelised onion chutney, Apple Cider Vinegar, Apple Chutney and Sweet Chilli Sauce. There’s also a post on planning condiments and preserves for the season.
Start with the tomatoes you need to use, then choose the chilli level and jar sizes that suit your household. The result is a tangy, sweet addition for meals and a small homemade gift from the same batch.
