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
Sadie says
The flavor of the sauce is nice, but it has a really strong tomato presence. If you're looking to make a more peppery hot sauce, I'd replace the tomatoes with a milder pepper instead. The sauce as is tastes more like a tomato salsa than a hot sauce. The red wine vinegar adds a great flavor though, and in the future I will tweak it to have more pepper, less tomato, and add garlic!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks for your input, Sadie. You can obviously adjust to your own flavor preferences.
Joachim Hirsch says
Delicious sauce! I used canned tomatoes a clove of garlic and one tablespon of brown sugar. Thanks for the inspiration
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Joachim! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Nice touch.
Chris says
So in my last review of this sauce I said it didnt have much flavour. Well I just finished the bottle and I was wrong. Over a couple of weeks I found that the flavors blended nicely while still keeping the heat.
I hope the same to be true with my Reaper sauce.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks for reporting back in, Chris. True that many sauces continue to develop flavor as they age and mellow. Glad you are enjoying it.
Ross says
First of all what a great recipe to follow. I've added garlic, as well as used different spices. A lot of fun. This last time I decided to smoke the ingredients on my grill before mixing everything on the stove. I used twice as many peppers, but did not double the amount of water. It is thick. I was wondering whether I could add the extra water now. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thank you. I am certainly having fun experimenting.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Ross! Thanks! Absolutely, you can easily add in more liquid at this point and thin it out to your preferred consistency. Let me know how the experimenting goes! Enjoy.
Leo says
Hi there! Great recipe! Well rounded flavor. Question on the tomatoes. I’m noticing that after a week the bottles are building pressure and bubbling. Normally this is from tomatoes starting to ferment.. any idea what’s going on here? Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Leo. How are you storing the sauce? It's possible you're getting some fermentation activity. You can simmer it down longer to stop fermentation if that is the case. Also, refrigeration would keep that to a minimum.
Nins says
Hi! Am new to making hot sauces 🙂 I love your site! It's super helpful and has lots of interesting stuff 🙂
I duno if I missed it, but what do you have to do to make a bottle of this recipe safe to be placed in room temperature and not in the ref? Just ensure a ph level 4.6 and below? Is this even possible even after opening it? If possible, what's the minimum number of safe days? 🙂 I've been reading about this and have come across cautions about botulinum. So I just wana be sure 🙂
Oh! ..and if you put the bottle in the ref, how long will it last (after opening) if I just sterilized the bottle and didn't do any canning? 🙂
Sorry for the many questions Thanks in advance ☺️
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Nins. Welcome. You can process the bottles in a water bath for longer shelf keeping. The sauces will remain shelf stable for years that way, until they are opened. Then I refrigerate, though some people still don't refrigerate. Kind of a personal choice with hot sauces of high acidity/low pH. In the fridge, hot sauces can last a year or longer, though mine never last that long. Just keep an eye on them as they age, especially ones with fruit. See this page for reference on canning/jarring as a start: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/preserving-chili-peppers/canning-or-jarring-chili-peppers/
Chris Narduzzi says
If you're looking for heat, this has got it. Not much in terms of actual flavour however. It's a nice addition if you're looking to punch something up in weight class for heat.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Chris. There are ways to play with the recipe with other ingredients to adjust to flavors you love, but definitely got heat here!
Raphael says
I wish i had read the tipp about cooking outside before..
Wow my apartements air is burning right now :*-P
Anyway what a great tasting sauce!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Raphael. Yeah, the fumes can really get you!
Sarah says
Hi! Recipe looks great. Planning to make it tomorrow, but I’m a little worried about using my food processor or vitamix. Will there be the lingering heat left on the blades and/or in the container? Is that a usual issue? Do you have to clean it in a special way to ensure that it won’t make everything else spicy when I use the blender or food processor for something non-ghost pepper related?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sarah, I've never had an issue. The only time I've heard of people having such issues is from grinding up dried pods in coffee grinders for making powders, particularly with superhots. You really shouldn't have a problem. Just wash out the Vitamix well. Enjoy.
Paul says
I’ve just made this with Armageddons and added some Passats to make it a ketchup. Lovely! Brutal though but lovey! People didn’t lie about the fumes!! Hahahahaha ouch
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Paul. Yeah, the fumes are no joke!
Tj says
Just finished mine. I used six ghost peppers that were still green. Used white distilled vinegar (only thing I had on hand) and added some cumin and it tastes great just enough heat. Thanks for the recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful! Thanks, TJ!
Tim Streets says
I'm in the middle of making this now. Simmering the pepper mixture outside is a good idea. I'm glad I read the comments before trying to cook with these peppers the first time. Hopefully it turns out good. The only difference I did was using apple cider vinegar. It looks awesome!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Tim! Enjoy!!
Jay says
I put all ingredients through my vitamin blender before cooking it outside in my instapot pressure cooker set for 12 min. and let the pressure release naturally. This way I avoided all the chopping and fumes in the house. It turned out great.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect, Jay! Great idea. Glad you enjoyed it.