Make your own hot sauce at home with this quick and easy recipe that incorporates spicy habanero peppers, sweet pineapple and cilantro. Perfect for dashing over meals or spicing up your favorite cocktails. We like it for our Bloody Marys.
Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
This hot sauce exists for 2 very specific reasons. FIRST, the habanero peppers are POPPING in the garden.
YES!
We seriously LOVE when the garden starts producing. So many fresh peppers! We can walk right outside and grab a few off the plants and get busy! Talk about living.
To quote my father-in-law, "Is this living or what?"
SECOND...Bloody Mary. If you are like us, you enjoy a bit of spice and kick to your Bloody Mary drinks, and this, my friends, is the solution. Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce.
To be honest, it's great on just about anything that can take the level of heat with the touch of sweet. It's on the vinegary side, which works for me for many things.
Think Tabasco sauce. It's about that consistency level, thin and "dashy". Dash it over chicken tacos or a fish fillet, over pork shoulder or sliced pork loin or pretty much any pork. Dash it onto your veggies.
Or hey, into your Bloody Mary!
Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce Ingredients List
You don't need many ingredients for this one. The list includes: Habanero peppers, pineapple, cilantro, lime juice, white vinegar and salt. Easy, right?
It is thinner because you'll strain this one at the very end. However!
Thicker or Thinner Sauce
If you prefer a thicker hot sauce, you have a few options:
- Do not strain the sauce.
- Strain, but add some of the pulp back into the sauce to thicken.
- Use less vinegar.
FIRST, don't strain it. I don't like to keep this one completely unstrained because the ingredients chosen easily separate in the bottle.
No biggie, though, as you can simply shake up the bottle before each use. Or, SECOND, add a bit of the strained pulp back into the sauce before you bottle it.
That's what I did here. I took about a tablespoon of the pulp and swirled it back into the finished sauce, just for a bit of substance. I like the little swirlies you get in the bottle.
You can also use only 1/4 cup vinegar, process, then add more to thin as desired.
This is a vibrant and flavorful hot sauce recipe, ready and willing to go where your taste buds want to take you. It takes practically no time to make, which is nice.
I posted a VIDEO RECIPE below so you can see just how easy it really is. Making hot sauce at home is fun, isn't it? All you need are a few ingredients. I hope you enjoy it!
Patty's Perspective
Mike mentioned using this in your Bloody Mary, but give a dash into your beer. Seriously! I love it. Also, it was FUN making the video. I hope we do more of them!
Check out my other Hot Sauce Recipes, too.
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.
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. I hope you find it helpful!
Check out These Related Recipes:
- Sweet Habanero Chili Sauce
- 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
- Sweet Pepper Chili Sauce
- Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
- What is Xanthan Gum?
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
Try it with Pineapple Fried Rice!
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 habanero peppers coarsely chopped
- 2 cups chopped pineapple
- 1 handful cilantro leaves rinsed
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Add to a pot and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Cool and strain, if desired.
- Pour into bottles and refrigerate until ready to use!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Scot says
Just made this and tried a little bit off of the spoon after straining. It has a nice bit of heat to it and a really mildly sweet flavor. I wasn't sure if it would strain but the mash kind of clumps together well even in a normal strainer.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Scot. I appreciate your comments.
Russell says
I am excited to try this recipe as my first attempt at making hot sauce, but I'm just a little confused. When this recipe says 'White Vinegar' does that mean 'Distilled White Vinegar' or is that something else? Should I look in the store for something just called 'White Vinegar' without the word distilled?
I can't seem to find a clear answer on the internet about if there is a difference.
Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Russell, yes, use distilled white vinegar. You can use other vinegars if you'd like, such as apple cider vinegar. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Zane says
Hi there. What would happen if I roasted the habaneros and pineapple first. Would you advise this? Would it relate to more heat?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Zane, it won't really translate to more HEAT, but you can definitely roast the habaneros and pineapple first. It's a great way to make sauce or salsa. I do it that way all the time. Check out these recipes:
https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/honey-roasted-hot-pepper-hot-sauce/
https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/salsas/roasted-mango-habanero-salsa/
Andrew says
Super yummy, even better after a week or two for the ingredients to truly meld together.
The best use for me so far has been as a glaze/sauce at the last 15-30 minutes of cooking on jerk-rubbed smoked chicken drumsticks and pork chops. *drool*
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Drool indeed! I love it!
Andrew says
I forgot to say I didn't strain it at all, so it was a bit of a thicker texture, enough to stick to the meat.
Nick says
Great recipe! Thanks! DO you have a time limit on using it up when in the fridge?
Cheers!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nick, this should last easily several months in the fridge or longer in the fridge, depending on the pH. Fruit-based hot sauces don't tend to last as long. Thanks!
Colin says
Very nice recipe. I live near Saint Augustine FL and have an extremely high yield Datil pepper plant in my garden, so I used datils instead of habaneros (similar in hotness but sweet as well). Also used canned pineapples with the juice included, and added a large sweet onion (I tripled the recipe) and it turned out wonderfully. I’m always appreciative of simple recipes like yours. One question: I’ve seen a number of hot sauce recipes that call for much longer Cook time. Did you do the shorter cooking time for a reason? Do you think it would work just as well if I simmer it for two-three hours? Thanks again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Colin, thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. You can cook/simmer the ingredients longer if you'd like and the flavors will develop along that way, like any sauce. I find a shorter cook time is fine, though, to get them to meld, and the flavors continue to mingle and develop in the bottle.
John says
Very good recipe and easy to make! After straining the sauce, I added about half of the pulp back in to thicken it up and it was just the way I like it! Several friends tried the sauce and loved it also. I like sauces with different heat levels so I am going to try a batch using maybe 2 peppers. Thanks so much for sharing!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, John!
Jennifer says
So far so good! The color was a little greener than this photo but that’s not a problem for me. It’s smelling wonderful! I wonder will this work with ghost peppers as well?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jennifer. Absolutely, make this with ghosts! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Nicole says
So yummy!! I’ll definitely make this again!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's great, Nicole! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wild Bill says
This is so freaking good it's not even funny. I roasted the Habeneros and then just threw everything together on the stove and used an immersion blender. Rudicously good! Bravo! I'm so thankful I found your website, no more wasting peppers from the tiny garden!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's GREAT, Bill! Yes, waste no peppers! I love it.
Thomas Overmier says
I made a double batch of this used 4 limes instead 2 and I used pineapple and mango and I did 20 peppers half I left the them just cut off the tops other half took out most of the seeds and vein and I also reblended it after I let it cool to make it smoother so need to strain can’t wait to try it. I wish I could a picture of the bottles.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Thomas Overmier says
if i wanted to make it hotter how many peppers would you suggest if i didnt want to remove the seeds and vein of the peppers.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thomas, you could realistically double or triple the amount of habaneros in the recipe. It will just get thicker. You can thin it out a bit with a bit more vinegar to your own textural preference. Also, if you really want to heat it up, toss in something like a ghost pepper or 7 Pot pepper. Nice! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Thomas M Overmier says
Well I’m limited right now on what peppers I can get. I can easily get habaneros and I was was thinking of still using the 6 peppers and seed and de vein half of them and the other half keep them whole and just remove the stems.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That should work GREAT, Thomas. Enjoy!
Edee Long says
I used white wine vinegar as this is the type vinegar I use in my Mango Habanero and Raspberry Habanero jelly.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Edee! Glad you enjoyed it.