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
Joel Couturier says
Just made this with only 4 habanero cause I'm a bad farmer and neglected my plant this summer, but I used half of everything else too and wowza! She's a beauty.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent!!
Jonathan A Freed says
JON'S MEEKER REAPER HOT SAUCE
- subbed Carolina Reaper peppers for the habanero
- subbed balsamic vinegar for Worchester sauce (didn't have any)
- subbed 2C white wine vinegar for half of the white
Added
- pinch of ginger powder
- 2 duck sauce
- large spoon of jar jalapenos and juice
- tsp. ghost pepper oil
- 3 other types of large mild peppers
- 2 other mild / medium types
---about 20 peppers in total
- lg. spoon of garlic chili sauce
- carrots (about 6-8 peeled minis) food processed fine
- 1/2 tomato (just to use it up)
Use blender (or stick whip mixer to blend and puree in the pan.)
Amazingly, it's 100% tasty and not too punishing. You would think the Reapers would make it a nuclear disaster but the others mellow it down perfectly.
Would put this head to head with any sauce on the market - and win.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice. Perhaps a challenge to some hot sauce makers out there!
Moody says
This is the first hot sauce I’ve ever made in my life aha. Tastes great. A bit vinegar-y for my taste and I went half water and half vinegar. Great learning experience though! Next time I’ll add a few more peppers. I went with 8. Its got a nice kick but I thought it would hit harder considered eating a single pepper alone makes me cry aha
Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Moody. Yes, lots of room now for experimentation so you can adjust to your own personal preferences and make a 5-Star Sauce! Best!
Jeff says
Hi,
I made this sauce which is delicious, the only issue is that it turned out to be very watery. I followed the instructions but it’s more of a liquid then a sauce, any suggestions? Can I boil the sauce down to a thicker consistency?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jeff, yes, this is meant to be more liquidy. You can try processing it with more peppers and other non-liquid ingredients, or use a thickener. You can reduce it some, but again, it's really meant to be more of this consistency.
Karen says
Hi, I'm excited to try this recipe. Do you think I could freeze half the recipe to be used later?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Karen, yes, you can freeze this recipe. It's better fresh, but will definitely keep when frozen.
Brian b says
Made this today just as the recipe called for and it turned out delicious!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great! Glad to hear it, Brian!
Rupert Theroue says
Took your recipe, varied it a bit, and came out with:
Sweet Cheeks Hot Sauce
6-8 Small Habanero Peppers
35-40 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tomatillos
1 Medium Yellow Pepper
Place on cooking sheet and roast at 425 until soft and bubbly
4-5 Small Tomatoes (chopped)
1 Medium Sweet Onion (chopped)
3 Cups White Vinegar
1 Cup Water
Place vinegar, water, tomatoes, and onion in pot and bring to boil. Allow to boil at least 15 minutes until tomatoes and onions are soft.
Coarse chop roasted peppers, garlic, and tomatillos, then add to pot. Allow to boil another 10 minutes. Chop fresh cilantro and add to mixture, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour into food processor or blender and ‘chop’ until well mixed. Pour back into pot and allow to simmer 20-30 minutes.
Allow to cool and pour into containers.
o0o
Not too acidic and the added veggies impart excellent flavoring with right amount of heat.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds like a good recipe, Rupert. Glad you enjoyed it!
louis says
Great recipe, i made it recently with 6 habanero and halved all the other ingredients (wanted it hotter!) Also I added half an apple and half a cup of spiced rum. Love the sauce. Goes with everything!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Thanks, Louis! I appreciate the comments. Glad you love it.
Jack says
loved it! substituted 2 tsp of honey for the sugar, added smoked paprika and a little more salt. next time I will roast the garlic as well, but its quite the versatile recipe, thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Thanks, Jack! I appreciate it, and am glad you loved it.
Christian Rapallo says
I just discovered this recipe, when I made it the sauce came out very thin and very acidic, any idea why?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Christian, this is definitely a thinner hot sauce, and there is a lot of vinegar in it, which is acidic. You can adjust the recipe to use half of the liquid or even less. Much depends on your taste preferences and preferred thickness. Here is one way to adjust - proceed with the recipe as-is, but when it comes time to simmer in the pot, add only 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Simmer, then puree the mixture. Do not strain. Test it for thickness. Is it too thick? Add in more liquid (water or vinegar), then process until you achieve your desired thickness. You can also save what you made and use that to make several other thicker batches. Just use it in place of the vinegar for the recipe, but only use a portion. Please let me know if this helps.
Tim says
I halved the recipe since I only had three sauce bottles left and it came out really good. The last few sauces i made were to thick so i strained this one and kept the pulp for a spice, how would i go about drying that? I have a nesco fd-1040. Wouldnt just putting it on one of the trays just make the stuff fall through?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Tim! For dehydrating the pulp, yes, you can use your Nesco, but the unit should have come with some solid tray liners where you can spread out the pulp so it doesn't slip through the grating. You can order those if you don't have any. Just freeze the pulp until they come in. Or simply use parchment paper. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Tim says
Mine did come with those trays didn't even realize I could just use those. Going to load it up right now, thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great! Yeah, let me know how it turns out.
David says
Hi, Just wondering about roasting the garlic with the chillies, instead of just boiling them, to get better flavour from the garlic. Any reason not to do this?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
David, absolutely, you can roast the garlic with the peppers. I LOVE roasted garlic. I do that with a number of my hot sauce recipes. Give it a go and let me know how it turns out for you.
Jeff says
Amazing recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jeff!