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
Mike Smuts says
This sauce is amazingly delicious. Unfortunately, I'm one of the lucky few with a garlic allergy. I assume the garlic is not only for taste, but also adds a thickness to it. I'd love to make this for myself, but can you perhaps recommend a substitute for the garlic?
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Mike. Yes, it's for flavor and body. You can use onion or more peppers, along with other spices.
Peter says
I have not yet gotten past your garlic-habenero sauce. It is a good thing that it will keep about a month, because that is about how long it takes for me to use it. I am on some low sodium sites, and just recently started sharing your site info. I subbed in 1/4 teaspoon of powdered citric acid in place of the salt. very close to the same.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Peter! Super happy you enjoy it!! Thanks so much for sharing. I appreciate it.
Emily K says
It was my first time making hot sauce; the recipe is easy to follow and I’m so happy with the results. It’s DELICIOUS! I put it on tacos last night, so good! Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Emily! I appreciate it!
matt says
Hi Mike, I've made 5 of your sauce recipes. Wow, great stuff. Thanks you. I wanted to ferment my habs and garlic. Should I roast habs first and then ferment?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Matt! You can roast before you ferment, but you might need a fermentation starter if things don't get going, or mix them with some fresh.
Trina Morral says
Made a batch of this yesterday. I used 4 habaneros and about 8 jalapeno's. I used 3 tablespoons of honey instead of sugar. It turned out great! It's in the canner now and I just realized that I didn't strain it. Hope it still turns out!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I'm sure it will be great, Trina! Enjoy!
geri senter says
have lots of habaneros and want to can it as well. How long would you process this in a 4 oz. jar?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Geri, make sure the pH is 3.5 or lower for home preserving for safety reasons. Usually with a water bath, 10-20 minutes is sufficient, depending on your elevation.
Sweeney says
Hello! Can you process this recipe to make it self stable? Or is it only good in the fridge? We have A LOT of habaneros!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sweeney, there is a LOT of vinegar in this so it will last a long time, even out of the fridge, but look into the water bath method of preservation. Easy to do. Enjoy!
Peter says
I made a large enough batch of this to fill a 2 liter soda bottle and have some left over to share. I made the recipe as is, which I like to do on a new recipe. Two liters lasted me about a month. I am making another batch today without changing anything.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Pater. That went fast! Super happy you enjoyed it!
Ed says
Seems like a lot of vinegar.
How many 5oz bottles do get out of this recipe?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Ed, yes, this is a very vinegary sauce, about the consistency of Tabasco. It should fill 7-8 5-ounce woozy bottles easily or more, depending on the size of your onion and straining, etc. You can very easily cut way back on the vinegar to your preference. Let me know how it goes for you.
Nick says
Planning on making this tonight.
Any thoughts on if using apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar would come out good?
Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Nick. You can use ACV, no problem. It would add a tangy-sweet element.
Glenn says
Made this a couple of weeks ago. Very easy and great flavor and heat. Gave away some bottles for Christmas and it's getting rave reviews.
I will definitely be making this again.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Glenn. Perfect Christmas gifts for sure! Glad to hear it!
Mike says
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but how much hot sauce will the recipe yield? I'm planning on making the sauce but I need to get either a jar or bottle first, and I'm just wondering how big I should go.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Mike, there is a lot of vinegar here, so you'll get 4+ cups of hot sauce. You can easily dial back on the vinegar for a thicker sauce, though you won't get as much. Let me know how it goes for you.
Erik says
I skipped the owen/oil part because I’m lazy and I think the oil will reduce how long it can be kept. I also skipped lime because didn’t have any at home. The W-sauce and cumin gives interesting flavour. I use it for mixing with mayonnaise for a dipping sauce or blend as is with noodles. Very nice. My Chinese wife also likes it.
Only thing is the fruity habanero flavour is not really noticeable in the final product. I wonder if it perhaps evaporated during simmering?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you are enjoying it, Erik. Perfect as a dip ingredient. I think the fruitiness can take a slight background to the overall mix of flavors, but next time you can add in few more habaneros. Enjoy!!