A homemade hot sauce recipe made with the spicy peach sugar rush chili pepper.
We talk about making homemade hot sauces all the time. There are some amazing hot sauces on the market today. The industry is growing quickly, and that's a great thing for all of us.
I like to keep a number of them on hand at home for recipes or for simply dashing over meals for extra flavor and heat. There is something about a homemade hot sauce, though.
You'll get a nice blast of fresh chili pepper flavor and that bright heat of a spicy pepper. Sure, you can make hot sauces from mild peppers, but I like the "hot".
These sugar rush chili peppers are ideal for a hot sauce. The peach color is inviting, and if you want heat, you got it! It's close to habanero level heat, though doesn't get quite that hot. And, it is nice and sweet, hence the "sugar" in the name. Learn more about the Sugar Rush Chili Pepper here.
I added a bit more sugar to this recipe for extra sweetness. When you first make this sauce, it will be rather chunky. You need to strain it to achieve a thinner consistency. You can strain it several times to get it to the point that you prefer, or heck, don't strain it all and have yourself a chunkier sauce.
This is a simple sauce recipe for sure, but a good way to use your fresh peppers. Once you learn more and more about making hot sauces, you can begin to work in more complexity with additional flavors and ingredients. Soon, you'll be selling your own hot sauce!
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 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.
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.
Peach Sugar Rush Hot Sauce - Recipe
Ingredients
- 20 sugar rush chili peppers
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Remove stems from the sugar rush chili peppers and discard. Toss the peppers into a food processor.
- Add all remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
- Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
- Process again if needed, and strain. Discard the solids.
- Pour into a bottle and serve as desired!
Nutrition Information
Lisa says
Hi,
I very much want to make a yummy batch of this + printed another one of your great recipes. This one however, the PRINT button keeps returning me to the top of the page. Is there anyway that can be remedied? Thank you so very much!
Mike Hultquist says
Lisa, what browser are you using? I've never had any other issues with printing. So strange!
Aditi says
I followed this recipe to make a small batch (around 8 peppers), and the texture looks viscous. Is that expected? Anything I could change next time?
Btw the recipe was super easy to follow.
Aditi says
Also, why boil/simmer the sauce? It's my first time making a hot sauce so I'm curious about the process.
Mike Hultquist says
Simmering lets the flavors meld and come together.
Mike Hultquist says
Aditi, you can add/subtract liquid to achieve the consistency you desire. Thanks!
Amy says
This sauce is delicious!!! I started growing these last year and planted six plants this year. I have a bunch and this sauce really sets their flavor off!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Amy!
James Neal says
Can this sauce be fermented with all the ingredients and then be blended and not cooked? Just blended after the fermentation period, strained and poured into bottles.
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
James, yes, absolutely. Be careful, though, as the fermentation process can continue without cooking, and the bottles can explode from the pressure build up.
Chelsea says
1.Should I use a 5 percent vinegar? I’m thinking white distilled.
2.Also, will this last months in the refrigerator?
3.If you use xantham gum, how much should you use?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Chelsea, white distilled is fine, though any kitchen vinegar is good. Use your favorite tasting vinegar. Yes, it will last months in the fridge because of the acidity. For Xanthan Gum, use 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon per cup to thicken. Enjoy.
Mari says
Thank you for such a wonderful site! I’m cooking this up now and should have read the comments before I started cooking. I used all apple cider vinegar. If it’s too harsh, do you have a suggestion for mellowing it if I don’t have more Sugar Rush to make a second batch to blend?
Thanks much!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure thing, Mari. By harsh, do you mean heat? If it's too hot, you can make another batch with sweet peppers and combine.
Nattie says
I found the vinegar very overwhelming , I used apple cider I’m wondering if there’s a milder option? Did a lot of people use white , champagne or rice ? or maybe less vinegar and part water to preserve some of the flavour of the peppers without that extreme cider vinegar flavour? I followed the exact recipe and simmered down quite a bit hoping it would help even added some more sugar … if anyone has a trick or solution to remedy the batch or I’m
Hoping more will ripen to which I’ll just blend into this batch
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nattie, yes, you can use a milder white vinegar next time. Also, yes, making another batch with milder vinegar and combining them can help as well.
Mathew Bowser says
I love this pepper. It’s sweet at first then the heat hits but doesn’t linger. I grew three plants, oops . I have peppers coming out my ears. It’s a good problem. This sauce is so easy to make, I have made 4 batches this year. 3 batches with pineapple!! It works so well that I just drink it, a shot here and there. I am getting ready to make three regular batches today. I might try to add some xanthan gum with some of it. I am going to try to use some peach wood and smoke these a bit later this week to put a twist on it. I will let you know. And yes (sigh) I have that many peppers on three plants. ♂️
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, great peppers! Enjoy!!
Sabina M says
I absolutely love Hungarian banana peppers and was looking for something a little different to try with them so I planted six of these pepper plants this season. I have put them in relish and pickled them with the banana peppers. My banana pepper plants are done but the sugar rush plants still have TONS of peppers on them. I will definitely be making a batch or two of this hot sauce for gifts. And there is a big difference in flavor if you let them ripen to their beautiful peach color. What I like is that you do get the heat, but it doesn’t linger, the sweet flavor bursts through! I won’t plant as many next season since they’re so prolific yielding plants but I will definitely plant these again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! thanks, Sabina!
Rafe Carroll says
I made this tonight! I used a Vitamix and pureed the ingredients. After boiling it was strained thru a find metal strainer. I bottled the sauce and jared the puree. The sauce is fantastic! Not too hot at all. Very different from my usual fermented hot sauces. Will make again for sure. Thank you
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Rafe!
Mary says
I just made this recipe and it has a lot of zing to it. I did use my food processor first but after I cooked it on the stove I put all of it in my Vitamix which ground the rest of it up completely. Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Mary.
Rochelle says
Could you freeze the bottle of sauce for storage? We made the happy mistake of planting 6 plants! Time to start making stuff.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Rochelle, you can freeze this. Just make sure the container is freezer safe. Enjoy!
Kathryn says
Great use of the abundance of peppers that grew in the garden! I was surprised at the sweetness that came out when these peppers finally ripened and moreso when cooked.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Kathryn!
Tom says
Discard the solids? I think not. Wouldnt that make a great pepper relish?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Tom, right, you don't have to toss those valuable solids! Relish is GREAT with the pulp. I often make seasonings from them by dehydrating it. See my post here for that: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/seasonings-from-hot-sauce-pulp/
Sabrina says
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Do you recommend using fresh lime juice or is store-bought preferable? And how many 5 oz bottles will this recipe make?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sabrina, fresh is usually better, but you can use bottled for convenience. This should make you between 3-4 5-ounce bottles. Let me know how it goes for you.
Christina says
I tried this yesterday and it is amazing! It's too hot for me, so I'm going to bottle it & give it to friends who can stand the heat. Peach sugar rush peppers are one of my favourites to grow & eat. I used 1 cup of white balsamic & 1 cup of cider vinegar. I thought it was a bit too runny (after straining the solids out), so I reduced it by simmering longer. It is a bit sweeter now and a bit thicker. I'm going to make a 2nd batch with most of the seeds taken out to see how much that reduces the heat, and then puree the solids so that it's a thicker sauce.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Christina! Thanks for sharing! Super happy you enjoyed it!!!
Cat says
Thank you for the recipe! I scored on some sugar rush peppers from the Farmer’s Market and tried this out. Wow, it is so delicious and easy too!
I used rice vinegar, left the sugar out and did not strain... glad I didn’t, it would’ve been eaten twice as fast!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it, Cat!
Lori says
Hi this is the first year to grow these peppers. I have a pretty good crop and don’t want to waste. Can I freeze the peppers and make hot sauce later?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Lori. Absolutely. I do this all the time with peppers. Good luck, and enjoy!
Melanie says
This hot sauce is amazing! I will be making it again, for sure. Thank you!!
Using it in a margarita is ridiculously good! Thank you for sharing that idea!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Melanie! Glad you enjoyed it! Great peppers for sure.
Joseph A Lehman says
can you make largr batches and jar it for long storage?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Joseph, absolutely. It is best to shoot for a pH of 3.5 or lower for home preserving if using the water bath method. Enjoy!
Shane says
What can I do to stop the sugar from seperating while storing the hot sauce?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Shane, just give the bottle a shake to recombine. Or, look into using xanthum gum. It's a common ingredient people use for keeping hot sauce more uniform. Let me know if this helps.
Nicole says
This hot sauce was incredible!! I’m new to loving spicy food and started growing sugar rush cream peppers and that’s what I used in this recipe. I’m getting ready to make batch 2 today. I use it predominantly to make spicy margarita type beverages. I rim 1/2 a glass with salt, fill the glass with ice, pour 1/2-1oz hot sauce over it, then 3oz good tequila and add the juice from 1 lime fresh squeezed. Serve it with a nadapeno hot pepper to stir and nibble on and OMG the drink is bomb! Thanks for the hot sauce recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Sounds AWESOME, Nicole!
Joe says
What type of vinegar do you use?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Joe, I used apple cider vinegar, though you can use white or champagne vinegar.