Make your own ghost pepper hot sauce at home with this recipe, which includes plenty of chopped ghost peppers, tomatoes, vinegar and salt. Big flavor, big spice! With a pleasant blast of heat. Drizzle it over everything!
Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce Recipe
Ghost pepper hot sauce coming at you, baby! You GOTTA have some ghost pepper sauce in the fridge for times when you need that extra bit of heat.
Our ghost pepper plants weren't quite as productive as our 7-pot plants this year, but we still got plenty of pods for whipping up some hot sauce.
Hot sauces are one of my favorite foods to make. I've become a bit fanatical about it, really. I've come to need a big variety on hand for all the different types of meals I make. You can tell by the growing collection of Hot Sauce Recipes on the web site.
I've been moving into making flavors and combinations of all different sorts, but we're keeping it super simple with this sauce. Sometimes simple is best.
With only 7 ingredients, you can make this sauce in about a half an hour, not including chopping time. Most of the time is spent watching the ingredients simmer to cook down a bit and let the flavors meld.
How to Make Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce - The Recipe Method
In a nutshell, your cooking steps include: Chopping, Cooking, Simmering, Processing, Bottling. Done! Easy!
The unfortunate part of this recipe is that it is best to wait a few days or even longer to let the flavors mingle and mellow slightly in the bottle. Of course you can eat it right away, but I like the flavor that much more after waiting.
So have a little patience, will ya?
The flavor is spicy for sure, but somewhat fruity from the ghosts and savory with the tomatoes. This is one of my very favorites.
Safety Advice
When working with hotter peppers, including superhots, it is important to wear gloves when handling the peppers both in raw and dried forms. The oils can get on your skin and cause burning sensations. See above.
Need help? How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn On Your Skin.
Also, the fumes from the chili peppers and/or the fine powders may get into the air if you are not working in a well ventilated room, so you may want to wear a mask and goggles. Superhot chili peppers, truly, are called superhots for a reason.
Here are some answers based on the many comments I get on other sauces. Here goes:
How long will this hot 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 4.0 or so, to account for errors.
I have not measured the ph of this sauce, but I won't have it around very long anyway. If you're concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph.
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 hot 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. I hope you find it helpful!
Can You Die from Eating Ghost Peppers?
It is possible to overdose on capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot. However, the only way you can die from eating ghost peppers is if you eat them in sufficient quantity.
A study performed in 1980 calculated that it would take consuming 3 pounds of superhot pepper powder, like ghost pepper powder, to kill a person weighing 150 pounds.
It is highly unlikely anyone could consume that amount, as their body would react before reaching such a limit.
Ghost Pepper Flavor
Ghost peppers offer a an intense sweet pepper flavor that is quite fruity. The heat is more of a blooming heat, taking 30 seconds or longer to kick in.
As they measure over 1 Million SHU, you can imagine that is quite hot. The burning generally rises in intensity over the next 10-15 minutes, then subsides after 30-40 minutes.
More Ghost Pepper Recipes to Try
- Homemade Ghost Pepper Chili Sauce
- Roasted Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Fresh Ghost Pepper Salsa
- Ghost Pepper Salsa
- Ghost Pepper Jelly
More Hot Sauce Recipes to Try
- Pineapple-Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Ti-Malice - Haitian Creole Hot Sauce
- Caribbean Style Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Homemade Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce
- Fresh Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Sweet Habanero Chili Sauce
- Sweet Pepper Chili Sauce
- Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
Got any questions? Ask away! I'm happy to help. 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.
Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce - Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 bhut jolokia peppers ghost peppers, chopped
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped (I used Black Krims from the garden)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add peppers and onions. Stir.
- Add tomatoes and stir. Cook about 10 minutes.
- Add vinegar, salt and water. Simmer 20 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
- Transfer contents to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Transfer to a container. Seal and refrigerate until ready to use.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nancy says
What a wonderful recipe. I took some habanero, ghost, scorpion, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes from last year's harvest from the freezer. I didn't want to touch these peppers in the chopping process or get choked in the cooking process so roasting all on the bbq. Cooled peppers slightly put into the blender with onions and remaining ingredients blended til smooth. Poured into a saucepan and brought to a boil turned down to a simmer for 20 minutes and then cooled. This sauce was so hot my tongue went numb for about 10 minutes. But it had a wonderful flavor.
Thank you Mike,
Sincerely,
Nancy
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Nancy! Thanks for sharing!
N Cholette says
Anyone have a sauce recipe using Cumari do Para peppers? A recipe that can be water bath canned.
Thanks!
Mike Hultquist says
You can sub those peppers in for this recipe, and it can be water bath canned. Just be sure to get your pH to 3.5 or lower. Many of my hot sauce recipes can be done with those peppers.
Marisa says
How would I get the ph down to can?
Mike Hultquist says
Marisa, you can always add a bit of citrus or vinegar.
Brandon says
Would apple cider vinegar work in place of the red wine vinegar?
Mike Hultquist says
Absolutely, Brandon. Gives it a nice tangy touch! Enjoy!
Pete Denahy says
I just used this recipe but with six Carolina Reapers- Kapow! What a great result - I've been looking for a hot sauce that tastes like the one I just made - thanks for the recipe, Mike!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes BOOM! That's some serious heat right there, Pete! I love it. Thanks for sharing this!
jim says
we have a ton of ghosts;we will try your recipe;
Mike Hultquist says
I hope you enjoy it, Jim! Nice and spicy.
Bicycle Bob in Kalamazoo says
Had a nice harvest of these little devils, so I thought I'd give this recipe a go. Can't wait to share with my macho hot pepper friends!
Tom says
I have an load of ghost peppers turning colors now and have been looking for a recipe for them. I'm really looking forward to making this one. Just curious if you seed the peppers or just remove the stems before chopping. Thanks in advance!
Mike Hultquist says
Tom, you can remove the innards if you'd like. I usually just leave them in. You can also strain the sauce after to remove the seeds.
Trisha says
aHow long does this hotsauce last in fridge? Can it be canned in hotwater bath?.
Mike Hultquist says
You can can this, Trisha. It will last many months in the refrigerator, however.
David says
I grew some peach ghost peppers this summer for the 1st time, so I decided to try this recipe. I used a pint jar of roasted tomatoes that we had previously canned. I added 2 cloves of garlic and substituted aged Sherry vinegar for the red wine vinegar. Came out absolutely awesome!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, David!
Scales says
I was lucky enough to take cooking classes from James Beard years ago when I was living in San Francisco. He said to always make a new recipe EXACTLY as it is written the first time you prepare it. Changes can be made in future preparations. You didn't actually make this recipe as written. You made several changes. You made something different, so your comments don't actually apply to this particular recipe.
Bighornbob says
Pompous ass.
Jeff says
I just got a lot of compliments after making this recipe. Since I couldn't cook this in the house with the kids home, I made it on the Traeger. Loved how it turned out!
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Jeff! Thanks!!
James W says
It is October 2022 and I halved the recipe and came out with a 5oz woozy bottle of this sauce and it is very tasty! I will be sharing with all of my friends as well.
Mike H. says
Thank you James - enjoy!
Neal says
Hey! Love this recipe and about to try it. I harvested lots and lots of ghosts from my garden But just wondering on the sauté of the peppers onions and tomatoes, what’s the heat level on the stove/skillet? Thanks? I just want to get it right
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Neal. You can saute at medium heat. Enjoy!
Brandie says
okay , question so did this like make the kitchen insane to be in lol , like what am I looking at? lol
Because this recipe looks perfect and I have a pile of peppers and just got my bottles today . Just wanted to
Mike H. says
Give it a try and let me know how it goes, Brandie! 😉