Super Easy Grape Jelly Recipe

Name: Super Easy Grape Jelly Recipe
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 11
Ingredients: 3 cups bottled grape juice, unsweetened (make sure it says 100% grape juice on the bottle); 1 package powdered pectin; 4 1/2 cups sugar

by Thistlewood

11 Jars

50 min

I remember when we planned the jump from the city to the country and I spent hours with my friends talking about the future waxing poetic on country life.

I couldn’t wait to have a little house on a prairie.

And make simple, easy grape jelly like this.

I told everyone I was going to grind my own wheat and grow cucumbers and tomatoes and squash and bake with fresh herbs and raise horses and have chickens and farm fresh eggs and can my own preserves.

And nine years later?

One out of eight isn’t bad.

This week the twins and I made jelly.

I literally cannot believe I typed a sentence.

And the best part?

IT WAS SO EASY.

And really, really yummy.

We made eleven of the prettiest jelly jars you have ever seen because we were planning on eating one or two and giving the rest away as gifts.

At least that was the plan until my family tried the jelly on biscuits.

Now we are regifting the jelly to ourselves.

Want to regift some jelly, too?

Here’s the recipe we used to make it.

Easy Grape Jelly

Ingredients

3 cups bottled grape juice, unsweetened (make sure it says 100% grape juice on the bottle)

1 package powdered pectin

4 1/2 cups sugar

Combine grape juice and powdered pectin in a large saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Return to a boil.
Boil hard for one minute.
Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

7. Ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Wipe jar rims.

Adjust two-piece caps.

8. Process 10 minutes in boiling-water canner.

Yield: about 5 pint jars (or ours made 11 of the smaller 4 oz jelly jars)

It was amazing that grape juice and sugar and pectin went in.

And this came out.

It was one of the proudest moments of my life putting that freshly-canned jar of jelly on the table.

Now that I’m an official canner maybe I should think about those chickens. 🙂

Super Easy Grape Jelly Recipe

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Recipe details

Yield 11 Jars
Time spent: Prep time: 45 Minutes Cook time: 5 Minutes Total time: 50 min

Show Nutrition Info

Per serving

% Daily value

Instructions

Combine grape juice and powdered pectin in a large saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Return to a boil.
Boil hard for one minute.
Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.
Ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims. Adjust two-piece caps.
Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: about 5 pint jars (or ours made 11 of the smaller 4 oz jelly jars)

Comments

Liz on Sep 08, 2021

Can they be put in a regular pot instead of a canner? I don’t own a canner.

Like Reply
- Sha51586572 on Oct 01, 2021
  
  A soup kettle is fine. just be sure 1” or more of water is over the top of the jars
  
  2
Car47422657 on Oct 02, 2021

Hello Everybody - I am Carola from Germany and I am often check Recipes on this website.
May I ask why do you put the glasses - when the jelly is already cocked - extra in a pot or canner to close the glasses.
We turn the glasses around on the lid for 5 minutes - then the glasses (jars) closes by itself.

2 Reply
- See 2 previous
- Christine on Oct 02, 2021
  
  Hi Carola. I’ve done it your way also with fine results. As long as it is tasty, I’m happy. Blessings.
  
  1
- KarenLyman on Oct 04, 2021
  
  Hello Car47422657,
  
  The method of turning jars around on the lid for 5 minutes is not a safe way to preserve your jelly. It may appear as if they have been sealed (the heat may cause the rubber seal to melt and form a seal) but placing the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes will force air out of each jar and will create a vacuum to get rid of pathogens after they are taken out to cool. This is the only way to safely seal your jars. High acid foods such as jelly need the "boiling water bath" method of preserving to kill yeast, moulds, and bacteria and will prevent botulism bacteria from growing. Botulism is a serious form of food poisoning that can cause death. The poison is called "Clostridium botulinum," a bacterium that is found on fruits. Improper home canning creates the perfect environment to grow botulism bacteria. Many years ago home canners used to use this "inversion method" that you describe and some people would get sick and die. This prompted research and the USDA then created the publication "The Complete Guide to Home Canning," which is a resource on line or in print that is constantly being updated. But please do not be afraid to preserve jelly- as long as you do it properly it is safe and easy. And you cannot go by taste!
  
  5
- Doc's Mom on Feb 28, 2026
  
  A friend told me about that method long ago and I've done it with almost everything I can. Works great! Thanks for telling people about this, Carola. As long as jars are sterilized (washing them in a dishwasher and holding them there till ready to use works great) and the product has been cooked till it reached a high temp, it should be fine. The important thing is do it the way YOU feel safest and make sure things are clean. Be sure you don't let kids, cats, dogs, etc. around while you are canning. Unclean hands and paws as well as hot things that can spill are dangerous. My wonderful Mom made lots of jelly that never went into a boiling water bath (the product itself was boiled and poured into hot jars, then sealed with wax to keep the dirt, etc. out of it. When I run out of lids and use the wax method, I lay a piece of heavy string across the jar and pour the wax over it to make it easier to get the wax out. Save the wax, wash it, and save for another time. If there was a little mold on the top when opened, it was scraped off. We grew up with those kind of things and I'm still here at 74. The older generations preserved things many ways according to their financial abilities. Perhaps the fruit was not properly washed, prepared, or cooked properly to remove the botulism. No medical person here - just someone who grew up in conservative times. Dad used to tell about his mother who was widowed with a 10 yo, 5 yo (Dad), and held onto their farm during the Great Depression, preserved cooked sausage balls in rendered lard. She kept them in their rock basement in a big crock. Both Mom & Dad died in 1996 at ages 78 & 75. Hard working people who had conserve and taught me well.
  
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