Simple Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe (Just 6 Ingredients)
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So you grew habaneros this year, and you have WAY more peppers than you were expecting. Never fear, it is time to make this simple habanero hot sauce recipe and put them to use.
With just 6 ingredients, this habanero hot sauce is super simple, yet highly delicious (and spicy). This recipe will use up a good amount of habaneros from the garden and will beat many craft hot sauces for flavor and price.
Ingredients
Peppers, especially habanero varieties, are full of unique flavor. You’ll get powerful floral notes paired with intense heat. It’s definitely one of our favorites to work with in the kitchen.
This recipe lets the habanero peppers take center stage, with a touch of sweetness and some garlic and olive oil. The texture is silky smooth, and the flavor is incredibly bright and tangy, perfect for chicken wings, tacos, or just about any type of food.
If you like a sweeter flavor, try our pineapple habanero hot sauce instead.
- Habaneros. These peppers are absolutely delicious, but most people can’t handle the high heat level. By using them for hot sauce, you can dull down the spice level a bit with vinegar and sugar. This way, you can enjoy more out of your harvest.
- Vinegar. Vinegar is highly acidic and is used to preserve the ingredients for long term use. Without vinegar, this sauce would only last a week or so. I prefer to use white distilled vinegar for this recipe.
- Sugar. A small amount helps to balance out the flavors and add a touch of sweetness.
- Olive Oil. We use the olive oil to cook the peppers and garlic, but it also gives the habanero hot sauce a buttery-smooth texture after blending. It also helps the sauce pour easily from the bottle, despite it being on the thicker side.
- Garlic. Garlic just makes everything taste better, right? With just a small amount, this sauce comes alive. If you are sensitive to garlic, try substituting the olive oil for garlic-infused olive oil.
- Salt. Use regular table salt or kosher salt. Salt helps to bring the flavors together and makes them pop.
You can’t get much simpler than that. Trust me, this hot sauce will change how you look at other, store-bought hot sauces! Homemade is superior, and you can always tweak the recipe to your liking.
Tip: Habaneros are HOT. If you want to tone down the heat level a bit, consider using half habaneros and half jalapenos (or other milder peppers). We used a blend of homegrown white habaneros and red serranos for the sauce in this article.
If this is your first time making habanero hot sauce, this can serve as a base-recipe for experimenting. Try adding in other tasty flavors like fruits, veggies and herbs & spices. Sweet fruits are a great way to substitute some of the sugar used in this recipe.
I have had good results using pineapple, blueberries, mango, cumin, oregano, lemon, lime, and all spice in our other homemade hot sauces.
Tip: This recipe tastes great on our jalapeno popper mac and cheese.
How To Make Habanero Hot Sauce
Now for the fun (and surprisingly easy part)! Let me show you how to make this habanero hot sauce recipe from start to finish. As I said, this hot sauce showcases the habanero pepper, so the peppers make up about 50% of the contents.
Vinegar is the next ingredient, followed by sugar, olive oil, garlic and a touch of salt. With the ingredients ready to go, we have to follow a careful process to preserve the fresh flavors of our habaneros.
Ingredients:
- 15-20 medium habaneros
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 4 tsp white sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt
*Makes 1-2 5oz woozy bottles depending on size of peppers.
How To Make Habanero Hot Sauce
- Wash the peppers.
Always choose ripe, healthy looking peppers when making hot sauce. Wash them thoroughly under cold water, then dry them.
- Remove stems.
Remove the stems and discard. For a milder sauce, you can cut the peppers and remove the seeds with a spoon. However, opening the peppers before cooking can lead to more spice getting into the air.
- Cook the peppers in the oil.
In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil on low heat. Add the chopped peppers and cover. Cook, turning occasionally, until the peppers are very soft, about 8 minutes.
Note: I recommend wearing a respirator or mask and lab goggles while making super spicy hot sauces. Cooking habaneros may release capsaicin into the air, which doesn’t feel good to breathe! At least open windows to improve ventilation. - Add the garlic.
Add the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Add vinegar, sugar, and salt.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly. Allow the mixture to come to a light simmer, cover, and cook for an additional 10 minutes on low heat.
- Allow to cool.
Remove the mixture from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add vinegar by the teaspoon and blend until it is right.
- Pour into bottles or jars.
Carefully distribute the hot sauce into jars or bottles. We use a small funnel, but a turkey baster works as well to avoid spilling.
Recipe Tips
This is our basic process for homemade habanero hot sauce. But, we have learned a few tips and tricks along the way:
- Garlic is always added after the habanero peppers are mostly cooked to avoid burning.
- Don’t cut the peppers before cooking them to avoid spicy fumes in the kitchen. Also, cook over low heat to avoid burning the peppers.
- Allow the mixture to cool for a bit before blending. There is nothing worse than a super spicy, hot pepper mash splashing around the kitchen.
- Wear eye and respiratory protection when cooking hot peppers. With 20+ habaneros sizzling on your stove, you will feel the burn in the lungs if you fail to wear a tight-fitting mask!
Sauce Too Thick or Thin?
If you want to thicken your hot sauce, there are a few easy ways to do it. First, you can simmer your sauce on low for an additional 10-15 minutes until more liquid cooks off. Or, you can add more ingredients from the recipe (add more peppers or fresh fruits).
If your sauce is too thick, thin it out by adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar at a time. Blend it up after each addition of liquid until the sauce is just right.
Shelf Life
With homemade sauce, it is best to test the pH level. However, with this recipe, the contents are about 50% vinegar, meaning it should last at least 3 months in the refrigerator. Always keep hot sauce refrigerated, especially if it is homemade.
Related recipes:
Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Medium Sauce Pan
- Blender
- Bottle or jar
Ingredients
- 15-20 habanero peppers use 50% habanero and 50% jalapeno for milder heat
- 4 tsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 4 tsp white sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Wash peppers thoroughly.
- Remove stems and rough chop the garlic. You can slice the peppers to remove seeds at this step if desired, which may reduce bitterness.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil over low heat.
- Add the peppers and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers soften, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, sugar and salt, stirring to combine.
- Bring to a light simmer and cover, cooking for an additional 10 minutes on low heat.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, covered.
- Pour mixture into a blender and blend thoroughly until smooth.
- Distribute the hot sauce into individual bottles using a glass baster or a funnel.
- Store for 3+ months in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Cooking hot peppers, such as habaneros, can release spicy fumes that may irritate the eyes or lungs. Wear a mask, open windows, and avoid cutting the peppers before cooking.
- Simmer over low heat to avoid cooking off too much liquid and to keep the bright, fresh taste of habaneros intact.
I hope you enjoy this delicious, simple habanero hot sauce recipe. Feel free to change this recipe up and add in some of your other favorite flavors.
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.
Asum thank you save this one ole boy
Made this recipe once and it came out pretty good. I’ve found that it’s a little bit to muchvinegar for me.
My spice tolerance is a bit lower than others’, so I substituted some of the habaneros for other peppers. Here was the pepper mix I used with this recipe, and it turned out great:
– 3 habaneros
– 9 jalapeños
– 1 anaheim
10 oz. by weight of peppers (I weighed the 3 habaneros and it came out to 1.5 oz, so 20 would be 10 oz). Still spicy, but not kick your butt spicy. I also removed the seeds from 2 habaneros and the anaheim. Left the seeds in all jalapeños and 1 habanero. Thought I’d share for people looking to make substitutions.
Awesome
I made this, but I substituted a tablespoon of soy sauce for the salt, added a splash of sesame oil, and used a tablespoon of sugar (3/4 the recipe amount). It is delicious. My peppers were about 15 Caribbean red habaneros and 5 of these weird similarly sized bell-shaped peppers that have no heat (just needed to use them from the garden too). I removed the seeds, because I don’t like their texture in hot sauce.
First year doing hot peppers; doing my second round of Habanero sauce this weekend. Did salsa with a lot of the Jalapeno peppers, but I cheated! I have a couple favorite commercial salsa products, so those formed the basis of my recipe. Added garlic, red Jalapenos, and a couple habaneros (all chopped) and let the mix simmer for a while then a bit more cider vinegar to thin it down a bit and into fresh sterile 8oz jars. Great flavor and the heat is awesome!
Calvin, you’re absolutely right, WAAAAY more habaneros! Worse, we plant our peppers on commerical building’s garden area (obviously, in a spot they don’t put their begonias and such). We have 6 or 8 types of peppers and people come by and do pick the sweet ones, but, they seem to leave the haberneros alone. OK, our question, can we substitute honey for sugar in your recipe? I would think so, it’s all according to your own taste. Later: have scrolled down and see others have subbed honey, so, we’re good!
Nice! Hope the sauce comes out good for you. I’m sure the honey sub will be just fine
Doctored up the recipe a little. Used apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, a little peach, pear, spot of honey, and some fresh squeezed lemon.
Delicious.
Wow those are all some tasty sounding additions. Glad it came out good!
My husband loves this recipe! He enjoys the burn! Lol. Thank you!
Very simple recipe however; I needed to add 1/4 extra cup of vinegar to thin the sauce so it would pour out ofthe container.
I also use sea salt with all my pepper recipes.
My husband gave the recipe a thumbs up!
I made habanero hot sauce but instead of sugar, I used mango. It was soooooo delicious!!!! And I always use Himalayan or sea salt, table salt it terrible to me. These other salts impart more flavor other than just salty.
@Dawn, my first thought on reading the recipe was to try it with mango, brilliant! How much mango did you use?
@Dawn, did you use mango juice or mango chunks?
I had bought a slew of habaneros for a mango chutney and found your recipe so the remainder wouldn’t go to waste. Thank You! I cannot resist the burn. I substituted honey and carrots for the sugar. Now I need to make dishes to incorporate this sauce only so that I can make more. Very grateful!
Easy and delicious recipe. I halved the ingredients and added one diced carrot at the same time I sautéed the garlic. I set my Ninja to “DRESSING” and ended up with one cup of perfect sauce. This is great on tacos; can’t wait to try it on my wings and ceviche. A little bit goes a long way!
Nice additions, carrots are a great compliment for habaneros. We fermented some carrots, onions and habaneros last year and the sauce is still going now!
You had mentioned roughly 4oz of habaneros, if I substitute another pepper do I use 4 oz of any pepper?
Thanks
Yes I’d keep the weight about the same for the peppers, just to get a similar consistency
Wow I went with the 1/2 Green Jalapeno & Habaneros soooo good, thank you next I will try red Jalapenos!!
Thanks guys. JB
Love it
I made a double batch of this and ended up putting 1 and 1:4 cups of vinegar and a bit more salt. I also added 5 chipotle peppers in adobo to add some smoke flavor. This is the best hot sauce I’ve ever made! Thank you!
The smokey chopotles sound like a great variation! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Didn’t have habaneros on hand tonight so used 4 jalapeños, 4 serranos and one “long hot”. Added 5 cloves of garlic. Used an apple cider vinegar that is blended with honey and two small ripe apricots in place of the sugar. Left the salt as is. Just fantastic.
Sounds tasty, glad you enjoyed!
Can you process these bottles ina water bath/canning so the sauce lasts longer?
@Zoe Townend, Did you every try canning this? How did it go?
made this with 2tsp of honey instead of 4tsp sugar and no garlic (i’m allergic.) Still pretty sweet but it’s nice! used it to make some spicy mayo with kewpie mayo c: