This sweet and hot cherry pepper relish will make anything taste delicious. Use it to spruce up your sandwiches, hot dogs, hummus, and more! This incredibly simple and easy condiment will be ready to hit the table in 5 minutes or less and tastes just like the relish from Jersey Mikes Subs!
What is Cherry Pepper Relish?
Cherry pepper relish is a sweet and spicy pepper relish made popular by a national sandwich chain called, Jersey Mikes Subs and a popular condiment in the United States to put on a hoagie sandwich. It’s made exclusively using the cherry pepper – a small, round, moderately hot pepper with a hint of sweetness.
Cherry pepper relish is, in my opinion, the one thing that makes Jersey Mike’s sandwiches enjoyable. Let’s be honest, they don’t have a large variety of flavors or sauces on their menu, but the cherry pepper relish gives their sandwiches that burst of flavor I’m looking for.
This relish is the perfect balance of hot and sweet. It’s super quick and easy to make and can be used in a variety of dishes. It’s not one of those condiments that’s spicy just for the sake of being spicy, it has loads of flavor to back it up. Even friends who can’t handle a ton of spice, love this relish.
I’m only slightly kidding when I say we’ve been putting this relish on everything. It’s just that good! It goes perfectly with sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, spicy hummus, eggs, the list goes on. This relish is sure to become a household staple.
Why You’ll Love This Cherry Pepper Relish Recipe
- This relish adds a ton of delicious flavor to anything you put it on. It will make even the most mediocre sandwich taste amazing.
- It’s made with only 4 simple ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry.
- It’s easy to make and will be ready to eat in 5 minutes or less. Best of all, no cooking is required!
Hot Cherry Pepper Relish Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this copycat Jersey Mike’s cherry pepper relish recipe.
Jarred Cherry Peppers – these sweet and spicy recipes are the star of the show, you can find them jarred at most grocery stores. Sometimes they have both red peppers and green peppers in the jar, don’t worry they’re still delicious and will work just fine for this recipe.
Sugar – I like to use granulated cane sugar for this recipe
White Wine Vinegar – this vinegar has a fruity flavor that works really nicely in this relish.
Fresh Garlic – fresh garlic adds a depth of flavor to the relish.
How to Make Spicy Cherry Pepper Relish Step by Step:
Below are some quick visual instructions. You’ll find full recipe instructions and exact ingredients on the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1 – Remove cherry peppers from the jar and finely dice the peppers. you can also use a food processor for this step if you wish, just a few pulses should be enough.
Step 2 – In a small bowl, mix together diced cherry peppers, sugar, white wine vinegar, and grated garlic.
Step 3 – Move the pepper mixture to a serving bowl and enjoy on hot dogs, sandwiches, hummus, and more!
Storage and Reheating
- Storage – you can store this hot pepper relish in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. A mason jar works great.
- Freezing – This relish freezes really well. Use an ice cube tray or a freezer-safe container to freeze this relish for up to 3 months.
- Make Ahead – This relish actually tastes better and better as the days go by so feel free to make this relish recipe a few days in advance of when you want to serve it. If you don’t have time to make it ahead don’t worry, it’s still incredibly tasty on day 1.
Substitutions
I recommend sticking to the original recipe for this one, as any substitutions will definitely change the flavor of the relish, but if you’re in a pinch you can try the substitutions below.
- White wine vinegar is the absolute best choice for this relish recipe however you can substitute regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you must. I can’t promise the relish will be as tasty.
- This recipe will only work with jarred peppers. If you are looking to substitute the cherry peppers for a different pepper, such as red bell peppers, sweet peppers, or other hot peppers make sure they are jarred.
- Fresh garlic is the best choice here, however, you can try adding pre-minced jarred garlic if it’s all you have. ½ teaspoon of jarred garlic is equal to 1 clove of fresh garlic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cherry pepper relish is a little bit sweet and mild to moderately spicy. The spice level definitely isn’t out of control at most I would consider it a medium heat. If you’re worried, test out just a little bit on your food before loading it up. You’ll still get a lot of flavor using a small amount.
Cherry peppers are typically milder peppers than a jalapeño pepper. Cherry pepper heat level only ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 on the Scoville scale, whereas jalapeños range from 2,500 to 8,000. Sometimes the heat level really depends on the individual pepper.
Yes, Jersey Mikes serves cherry pepper relish. This is a copycat recipe of the cherry pepper relish served at Jersey Mike’s Subs.
This cherry pepper relish goes well on so many things. Serve it with your favorite sandwich, hot dogs, and even omelets. The cherry pepper relish on top of this spicy hummus recipe is to die for!
If you make this spicy cherry pepper relish be sure to leave a comment, give a rating, or share on Instagram! Don’t forget to tag me, I love looking through photos of the recipes you make!
Cherry Pepper Relish
Ingredients
- 1 12oz Jar Sliced Cherry Peppers
- 1/4 Cup White Wine Vinager
- 2 Cloves Garlic grated
- 2 1/2 Tbsp White Cane Sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Remove cherry peppers from the jar and finely dice the peppers.
- In a small bowl, mix the diced cherry peppers, sugar, white wine vinegar, and grated garlic.
- Move the pepper mixture to a jar or small serving bowl and enjoy!