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
Chris Johns says
This is really really good. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Chris!!
sharon says
great recipe and so much fun to make...how can you tell when the hot sauce goes bad? will it taste weird? smell weird? look weird? thanks!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sharon, usually you'll notice a bad smell, or you might see infected growth on it. YUCK.
Dave says
I would like to add some fruit to this recipe. any suggestions? I am thinking pineapple?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Mango and/or pineapple pair very nicely with habanero. If you use it, you MIGHT want to dial back or skip the garlic, if you're not a fan of that combination. I think it would be great. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Dave says
Thanks. Will do, 😀
Dave says
On reflection, what about reducing the vinegar by 1 cup given that pineapple is quite acidic? I just need to use up most of this batch before the pineapple version. I really like it as it is but I love to experiment. 😉
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure thing, experiment away!
Shank says
I like the sauce but when i made it i feel its lacking something. I have some star fruit that i was thinking of adding in. Not a lot just a bit to bring out the flavors a bit more. Any ideas?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Shank, feel free to experiment with flavors you enjoy. Personally, I'm not sure about the combination of garlic and star fruit, but it's worth experimenting. Most of my hot sauce recipes here are meant to be adjustable. Check out some of my other Hot Sauce Recipes for other flavor combos. Good luck on the next batch!
Mike says
Hi, I'm Mike was wondering how much does this recipe make want to make I have 200 habaneros out of 3 plants and still growing more
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Mike, this should make you a good 5-6 cups, depending on how much moisture evaporates during simmering, and whether or not you strain. It's a very thin sauce. Let me know how it turns out for you. You can very easily add in more habanero peppers for a more pronounced habanero pepper flavor. Instead of 5-6 habaneros for the recipe, try using 20 and see how it turns out. I think that would be GREAT.
Mike says
Michael making this tomorrow will let you know. This definitely sounds good to add to chili and other foods thanks again
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds good, Mike. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks.
Mike says
Hey Michael,
Made it this morning I changed 2 things. I used 1 tsp of ground cayenne instead of cumin. And instead of 1/2 cup of lime juice I added a half cup of apple cider vinegar as substitute. Used 10 habaneros instead of the 20 to make sure would like it. Absolutely loved it next batch being made Sunday but would like to thicken it up. Thanks for the responses and recipe love it ordered a case on 10oz bottles this morning
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure thing, Mike! Glad you love it, and super glad to help! Enjoy your hot sauce! Have a good one.
Tony says
I'm going to make this later can I use cider vinegar instead and how much honey do you use instead of sugar? Thanks I can't wait to get on the go!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Tony, yes, you can use cider vinegar, or pretty much any other vinegar to your choice. I would use a tablespoon of honey, though you could easily add 2 or 3 tablespoons, again to your preference. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Patrick says
Do you have to strain the sauce or can you leave the "chunks" in the sauce?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Patrick, you can skip the straining step and keep this sauce thicker, no problem. I do that all the time. It's more of a personal preference and will depend on how you want to use it. No issues!
Pow says
Thank you for this recipe! I made the sauce last night following the recipe exactly. It's amazing and my husband is going crazy for it. I also canned four jars as gifts for family. I can't wait to make more!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's GREAT, Pow! Thanks!
Mandy says
I made this with red chili peppers and jalepenos from my garden. I put about 6 of them on the pan to roast then followed the directions listed above. The only difference is I used half of everything - mainly b/c I didn't have enough vinegar. I'm glad I halved it b/c it still made a lot! Plus I added some of my own spices - Adobo and Cajun from Penzey's. This sauce turned out amazing. It's hot. But not tooo hot and the flavor is great. Thanks so much for sharing this!
REPLY: That's great, Mandy! Thanks for sharing. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Kerrin says
Hi there.
Nice sauce but mine keeps splitting in the jar. Any tips for solving this problem?
Thanks
REPLY: Kerrin, this is common with homemade sauces that use a lot of vinegar. You can use less vinegar, or just shake up the bottle before using. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Mike says
Is this sauce supposed to be runny?I was wanting a thicker sauce .
REPLY: Mike, yes, this is a thinner sauce. You can easily thicken it up with more peppers or by adding other ingredients, like tomato or carrot. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
James says
i have frozen habanero's can i use them?
REPLY: James, yes you can. Just be sure to thhaw them completely first. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Evan says
Add 2 heaping Tablespoons of prepared horseradish!! Yummmmm
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect! I love that addition.
Evan says
It sounds great, except for the sugar. I never understand why people feel the need to add sugar to everything.
After all, it's a hot sauce, not a sweet sauce.
REPLY: It's very easy to omit the sugar. I enjoy just a touch and use honey often. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Zack says
I found this to be way too sweet