This Caribbean style chili sauce recipe is made with a mix of spicy Caribbean chilies with peaches in syrup, brown sugar, and molasses, sweet meets heat!
Homemade Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce
As I was working on a new superhot cookbook, I experimented with a number of homemade hot sauce recipes. That is the fun part of running a food blog, especially one dedicated in large part to chili peppers in general.
I get to make all sorts of spicy recipes, particularly hot chili sauces.
So very fun for me!
When making hot sauce, it is easy to work up large batches and even different types of chili sauces at the same time because you can use a little bit here, a little bit there, save some and combine it with something else for an entirely different result.
This particular chili sauce is a Caribbean style sweet chili sauce recipe that uses a combination of Bhut Jolokia chili peppers (aka Ghost Peppers) and some Scotch Bonnets, though I also included several long red cayenne peppers because I had them on hand and wanted to use them up.
I'm tagging different types of chili peppers here because you can use a variety of them, depending on your personal preference.
You don't have to go superhot. You can go mild if want. I've made this hot sauce entirely with ghost peppers for something truly HOT.
I've made it with Scotch Bonnets, Fatalii peppers, habaneros, and even sweet peppers from the garden. Experiment on your own. The true sweetness in this one comes from the can of peaches.
As an alternative, try sweet pears. Very good to me!
Let's discuss how to make this sweet chili sauce, shall we?
Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce Ingredients
The full ingredients list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Red Chilies. Use a good mix like ghost peppers, Scotch Bonnets, habaneros, or even milder peppers - or a combination of them all!
- Peaches in Heavy Syrup. Canned.
- Yellow Mustard.
- Brown Sugar.
- Molasses.
- Distilled White Vinegar.
- Spices. Cumin, ginger, salt, black pepper.
How to Make Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce - the Recipe Method
- Roast the Peppers. Set oven to broil. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and set them onto a baking sheet. Broil them about 15-20 minutes, or until the skins char and blister. Don’t get too close to the heat source. Remove, cool, and peel.
- Peaches. Add peaches to a food processor and process until fairly smooth.
- Add the Rest. Add chili peppers, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and ginger. Process until smooth.
- Strain or Not. At this point, you can strain through a food mill if you want a silkier style sauce. Or, simply pour directly into a bowl or jar and cover.
- Mingle the Flavors. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to mingle.
Shout out to my good friend, Matt. He loves this chili sauce. I always love to hear that. I hope to make another batch soon!
Patty's Perspective
Yes, hanging out with our neighbors last night and we were all craving grilled cheese sandwiches. I wanted mine spicy, so Matt grabbed out this hot chili sauce from the fridge and spiced it up. Delicious!
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get on other sauces:
Storage Information
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. 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.
Homemade Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound red chili peppers chopped (see comments above - try ghost peppers, Scotch Bonnets, habaneros, or even milder peppers - or a combination of them all!)
- 1 8- ounce can sliced peaches in heavy syrup pears works well, too
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Set oven to broil.
- Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and set them onto a baking sheet. Broil them about 15-20 minutes, or until the skins char and blister. Don’t get too close to the heat source. Remove, cool, and peel.
- Add peaches to a food processor and process until fairly smooth.
- Add chili peppers, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and ginger. Process until smooth.
- At this point, you can strain through a food mill if you want a silkier style sauce. Or, simply pour directly into a bowl or jar and cover.
- Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to mingle.
Notes
Nutrition Information
WENDY Broome says
Can i use Jamaican honey if i do not have molases
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wendy, honey is a GREAT substitute. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Nancy says
Just picked one last ghost pepper and a few habaneros to add to the last of the peppers for the season. Not bad for November in the northeast! This sauce is fantastic. I am on my second batch and it is quite addictive, I've been putting it on everything. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice! Glad you like it, Nancy! Thanks.
Lisa says
This is super tasty...mine is MUCH darker than the one pictured. What would be your perfect recipe/dish you'd use this hot sauce for?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Lisa. This is an all-purpose sauce, great with anything. I enjoy it with grilled chicken a lot.
Scott Haymaker says
Mike
I LOVE all the recipes and this is the first time I've made hot sauce and so far have made 4 different typs, 2 of which are fermenting right now.
My question is how can I thin out the sauces? I made this one and its pretty thick...but i dont want to lose any of the flavor.
THANKS
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Scott. Great! Love to hear it! You can either strain the sauce or add in more liquid, such as water or vinegar, then process it more. Or a combination. You can save the pulp from straining to dehydrate and make chili powder: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/seasonings-from-hot-sauce-pulp/. Let me know which method works best for you! Enjoy!
Pat Bennett says
Hi Mike
Just wondering if apple cider vinegar will suffice instead of distilled white vinegar? I am about to give this sauce a crack but can't find any distilled white vinegar.
Regards
Pat
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Pat, absolutely. Apple Cider Vinegar will work great here. It has a touch of sweetness. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Judith says
Can you still make this sauce but not using hot peppers. Can I use sweet red or yellow peppers?
REPLY: Judith, absolutely. You can try a mix of peppers. Let me know how it turns out for you. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Sam C. says
I didn't peel the peppers since it was too difficult. I hope that doesn't make too much of a difference! It looks great!
Aimee says
Amped the recipe up with a handful of Scotch bonnets to go with our homegrown Serranos and jalapenos, and it made my husband seriously cry it was so hot even for him, so I ran it through the sieve. Used honey from our bees instead of brown sugar and home-canned peaches in juice instead of the 'heavy syrup' style (sorry can't get myself to buy that canned syrupy stuff from the store) and its doing just fine.
Helpful tips:
* I simply cut the peppers in half and tossed them in the food processor. No need to chop the heck out of them as the processor will do the brunt of the work, plus it keeps the evil pepper oils off your hands if you're careful.
* As someone else said, dairy is the best solution for getting this off your hands, etc. We drink almond milk at home which is of course useless, but do eat yogurt so my husband kept a jar of yogurt next to us and literally just spooned it on his hands as "soap" before rinsing them off. Because I wear contacts and learned my lesson on this years ago, I am extraordinarily cautious, and even put a cloth over the top of the processor and keep the dishwasher open so everything can go straight from the counter to the dishwasher. Nothing like Scotch bonnet seeds sitting in your kitchen sink drain after you think you've cleaned everything up...
Richard says
How much (ml) does one unstrained batch make? Thanks in advance.
REPLY: Richard, you should be able to get at least a couple cups or more. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
ShonaDMF says
Bicarbonate of soda toothpaste for chilli fingers - just spread on thick and leave to dry. Take some paracetamol too!. Should resolve itself in around 24 hours. Next time wear gloves.. I'm going to when I try this recipe!
Nic says
Just made this using several different types of chili, not all red so the colour is very dark.... I haven't strained it as i like a thicker sauce. I tasted it and the molases taste is very strong... did i do something wrong?
REPLY: Nic, that's odd, and sorry it didn't turn out as you'd hoped. You can lower the amount of molasses next time, but for this batch, you can try to dilute the undesirable flavor with more ingredients, like more peach or more peppers. Let me know if this helps. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Mark says
This is an awesome recipe! I'll be making more as my chili peppers ripen in the garden. Grilled the peppers instead of broiling them, worked just the same. Just the right amount of heat and sweetness for even my kids.