A spicy habanero hot sauce recipe made with fiery roasted habanero peppers and plenty of garlic, ideal for spicing up your favorite foods.
Time for hot sauce, my friends! As as spicy food lover, I already know you love a good hot sauce. There are so many wonderful artisan brands out on the market, and I love so many of them, but I also LOVE making my own hot sauce at home.
Today we're making a wonderful Garlicky Habanero Hot Sauce with lots of fiery habanero peppers and loads of fresh garlic. I think you're going to love this one. It is huge on flavor with just the right combination of fruity heat and wonderful garlic.
Habanero peppers are no slouch when it comes to heat. These babies pack around 300,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale, and that is still plenty hot enough for some, even too hot for many, though it is somewhat tamped down in this recipe.
You will certainly get the heat and fruity habanero flavor, but the garlic is quite pronounced and somewhat vinegary with nice citrus tones. I was very happy with both versions. This is more of an everyday sauce, something you can splash on just about anything that needs a bit of moisture and would benefit from some garlic flavors, as well as heat.
For me, everything needs a little bit of heat and zestiness.
I would encourage my superhot loving readers to try this with New Mexico scorpion peppers. 7-Pot chili peppers would be nice as well, with their gentler blooming heat that builds to a powerful crescendo, though habaneros are still plenty good here, and they're much easier to find.
Let's talk about how we make it, shall we?
Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce Ingredients
- Habanero Peppers. 6-8, stemmed and halved - I used orange habaneros, though you can use red habanero peppers, or any variety of your preference. Try it with Scotch Bonnets, too.
- Olive Oil. 2 tablespoons.
- Water. 1 cup. For thinning the sauce to your preferred consistency.
- White Vinegar. 4 cups.
- Garlic Cloves. 20, peeled and coarsely chopped - yes, 20 garlic cloves! I love this nice and garlicky.
- Onion. 1, chopped.
- Sugar. 1 tablespoon or to taste.
- Worcestershire Sauce. 3 teaspoons.
- Lime Juice. ½ cup. Use 1/4 cup for less lime flavor.
- Ground Cumin. 1 teaspoon.
- Salt. 1 teaspoon.
How to Make Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce - the Recipe Method
Roast the Habanero Peppers. Preheat oven to 425°. Set peppers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast in the oven 15-20 minutes or until soft and skins begin to blister.
Cook Down the Ingredients. Heat a large pot to medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until onion and garlic soften. Add roasted peppers and simmer about 5 minutes.
Process. Transfer mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot. Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
Serve it Up! Serve, or strain into sterilized bottles until ready to use.
Boom! Done! It's time for hot sauce, my friends! Drizzle it over your next plate of tacos, over sandwiches and burgers, spice up grilled meats, pretty much anything you're eating. I love this hot sauce. Such a great recipe.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Heat Factor. You'll definitely get a good level of heat from the habanero peppers. If you're looking for a milder version, use only 1-2 habanero peppers along with 1-2 bell peppers. You'll still get some wonderful flavor and heat. For an even hotter version, go with superhots, like the ghost pepper, Trinidad scorpion peppers, or the Carolina Reaper.
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get on other sauces:
How long will this sauce keep?
It should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It's all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors. If you're concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.
Where'd you get that sauce bottle?
I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4. If you like the smaller bottles that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles, 5 Oz - 24 Pack.
Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?
Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.
What should I do with hot sauce?
Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here's a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. LOL. I hope you find it helpful!
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
Try These Other Popular Habanero Hot Sauce Recipes
- Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Caribbean Style Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Cilantro-Habanero Hot Sauce
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Garlic-Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 6-8 habanero peppers stemmed and halved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups white vinegar
- 20 garlic cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Set peppers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Roast in the oven 15-20 minutes or until soft and skins begin to blister.
- Heat a large pot to medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until onion and garlic soften.
- Add roasted peppers and simmer about 5 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot.
- Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
- Serve, or strain into sterilized bottles until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Greg says
This is an awesome recipe! I've made it twice and both times I roasted the peppers in the oven whole. Am I doing this right or should I slice the peppers open before roasting them in the oven?
REPLY: Greg, you can roast them that way, no problem. I like to slice them in half and roast them skin sides up. Works great! -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Grant says
Yummy! It is perfect with the habaneros so I made an even hotter one with ghost peppers. Thank you so much this it's going to be a great Christmas present. It makes 6 8oz wine bottles full. Once again I wanted to thank you so much.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's awesome, Grant! Glad you enjoyed it. I love that you made a ghost pepper version. Nice.
Steve says
How much does this make? I want to make sure I have enough bottles sterilized and ready to fill.
REPLY: Steve, you'll get 5 cups or so. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Grant says
Thank you so much for this recipe. Yummy!!!!! I just finished making a batch. Can't wait to eat dinner now!!!!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Outstanding!
Pat says
Where do you buy your bottles from?
REPLY: Pat, I get them from Amazon. I added a link (affiliate) to the post above. Let me know if they work for you. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Tina says
What would the proper times be for canning?
REPLY: Tina, I have a page you can refer to here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/preserving-chili-peppers/canning-or-jarring-chili-peppers -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness
Katy says
Is it possible to can this?
REPLY: Katy, to safely can foods, make sure the ph level is 4.6 or lower, and follow safe canning procedures, like pressure canning. This recipe uses a lot of vinegar, so it should be fine to can, though be sure to measure. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness
Just Joe says
Potassium sorbate solution using a 1 teaspoon for 1 quart liquid will keep for months, if refrigerated.
Amber says
Is there any way to can this sauce for a longer shelf life?
REPLY: Amber, there is a lot of vinegar in this recipe, so it should keep quite a while. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Mark says
How about with ghost peppers? They have that nice blooming heat as well. I think I'll try it and let you all know.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Ghost peppers are GREAT for this recipe.
PeterS says
I made a hot sauce usingyour older recipe. I used a few varieties of 'hot' chillies. I really love it, use it on just about everything.
Will make this one next. Thanks guys.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Peter!
Pepperhead says
That recipe sounds delicious! I'm definitely going to replace habanero with Carolina Reaper though 🙂
When is this "superhots" cookbook coming out??
Mike from Madness says
Thanks. I believe the book should come out by the summer. I'll be sure to make an announcement.