A sweet and spicy hot sauce recipe made with fiery ghost peppers, fresh mango, citrusy pineapple and more, perfect for chicken or fish.
Flat out - I can't keep these around the house long enough. They never last! Hot sauces get poured onto everything. It is AWESOME to have hot sauce around as a nice finisher. Plus, you can incorporate them into recipes.
How many times have I written, "Hot Sauce of your choice" in a recipe? While not all hot sauces are alike, this recipe produces an ideal level of both sweet and heat, the perfect combination.
Walking through the store the other day, I found this HUGE pile of pineapples and one accidentally spilled into my cart as I was passing by, so I figured, OK, fine, I will cook with you.
And then his friend the mango came along for the ride. I didn't want them to be alone, so into a sauce they went. Tropical fruit is so nice and friendly like that.
Especially with ghost pepper! Yes!
I know ghost peppers are hot, over 1 Million SHU, but I urge you to try this hot sauce recipe, even if you are afraid of the heat. You can always sub in some milder chili peppers, but in reality, this isn't quite as hot as you'd think.
The ghost pepper heat is tamed a bit from the sweet. This particular hot sauce is excellent on chicken, fish, or shrimp. It would also be a nice base for a glaze.
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.
Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce Ingredients
- Olive Oil.
- Ghost Pepper. Chopped.
- Freshly Cut Pineapple. Chopped.
- Mango. Chopped.
- Cherry Peppers. Chopped.
- Water.
- Distilled White Vinegar.
- Cilantro. Chopped.
- Sugar.
- Paprika.
- Salt.
Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce - The Recipe Method
Heat a large pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Add peppers and fruit. Cook to soften.
Add water, vinegar, sugar, cilantro and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Remove from heat and cool.
Add to a food processor and process until smooth.
Pour into sterilized bottles and serve it up!
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. Refrigeration is not required, but recommended for longer keeping, particularly for sauces containing fruit.
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.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- While not all hot sauces are alike, this recipe produces an ideal level of both sweet and heat, the perfect combination.
- You can always sub in some milder chili peppers, but in reality, this isn't quite as hot as you'd think.
- The ghost pepper heat is tamed a bit from the sweet. This particular hot sauce is excellent on chicken, fish, or shrimp. It would also be a nice base for a glaze.
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.
Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce - Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 ghost pepper chopped
- 1 cup freshly cut pineapple chopped
- ½ cup chopped mango
- 2 cherry pepper chopped
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Add peppers and fruit. Cook about 8 minutes to soften.
- Add water, vinegar, sugar, cilantro and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- Add to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Pour into sterilized bottles and serve it up!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Matt says
Which way can these be canned: water bath or pressure canner how long in the canning time
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You can do either, Matt. A water bath of 10 minutes is usually sufficient, but you may need up to 20 minutes depending on your elevation. Check your pressure canner instructions for suggested times.
Kate says
Hi what are cherry peppers & cN they be substituted with something else?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Kate, see: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/cherry-peppers/. Red jalapenos are a good substitute.
Kris Newman says
I decided to grow Ghost Peppers this year. First pepper off the plant I made this hot sauce. Amazing flavour not just hot but packs a lot of flavour as well. Will definitely be making it again and again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Outstanding! Thanks, Kris!
Russell says
Hi Mike,
Great Recipe! I love the pairing of spicy and fruity.
I would like to incorporate Bourbon into the hot sauce. Do you think I could substitute bourbon for some , or all of the vinegar? Any thoughts or suggestions?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Russell. Thanks! Bourbon would be GREAT here. I would simmer it a bit with the other ingredients. You can replace some of the vinegar to your preference.
Alex says
Just tried this recipe with 4 tablespoons of Trinidad scorpion powder and 2 tablespoons of carolina reaper powder instead of the ghost and cherry peppers. Wow! Love the sweetness and packs a punch! Definetly going to keep this recipe
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Alex! Very nice! I appreciate it.
Andrew DelliPaoli says
I used 3 home grown scorpion peppers instead of the ghost pepper and skipped the cherry peppers. Otherwise I followed this exactly and it's fantastic. Brings the heat but the flavor of the tropical fruit brings it together really well.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! That'll bring some awesome heat, Andrew! Love it.
Chris W says
An outstanding recipe that I've made twice now. Both times I've made a double batch and use at least 6 ghost peppers and anywhere from 5 to 10 habaneros and omitted the cherry peppers. Additionally, I used equal parts pineapple and mango and since I like a thicker consistency I only add half of the water. The flavor is delightful however it packs quite a punch. Everyone who's tried it loves it.
For my next batch, I'm going to experiment with smoked paprika and smoked sea salt. Thank you for a great recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Chris. Glad to hear it. I love that you can really change it up in so many ways. Definitely a good one!
Benjamin R Tillson says
I have 3 dried ghost peppers from a friend and have been looking for what to use them with. I would like to use this recipe and make a wing sauce but did you use fresh or dried peppers. Is there a tangible difference? What would you recommend?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Benjamin, I used fresh peppers for this recipe, but you can use dried. You just need to rehydrate them. Check out my post on How to Make Hot Sauces from Dried Pods. https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce-from-dried-peppers/ I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Marc says
Just tried today - fantastic. Made a few changes, added apple juice(1/2 cup), no cilantro, and upped the peppers to 5 ghost peppers (no cherry peppers). Also changed the vinegar to apple cider vinegar. Let simmer down for 45 minutes to evaporate extra liquid. Packs a punch but has an amazing taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Marc! I love the updates! Very nice. Glad you enjoyed it.
Chris says
I made this sauce last night and it’s amazing!
I hadn’t got Ghost peppers so I used 3 Yellow Nagas. I wish I could put a photo here of how it came out because the colour is great.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
All the best,
Chris (UK)
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Chris! Super happy to be helpful!!
Dave says
If I was going to do this using fermented ghost peppers could you give me an idea on how much I would increase the ghost pepper proportion as it seems like fermenting kind of dials the peppers back a bit?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Dave, there is only 1 ghost pepper in this particular recipe (though you could easily use more), so I would use 1 tsp of mash to start. You can always increase to taste from there. Heck, I could see this recipe with 1 cup of ghost pepper mash. Talk about flavor and heat! Let me know how it goes for you.
Danny Herro says
So I decided to double the recipe and instead of Ghost Peppers I used Carolina Reapers and substituted mangos for cherrys and I didn't use any cherry peppers. I also put 5 reapers in the sauce. My question is what can I add to make it more of like a marinade sauce for wings? The texture I got from the recipe was more like a liquidy salsa which I am happy with but I would like to turn some of it into something I can use for wings. I was wondering if I added corn syrup to it, would that make it more like wing sauce marinade?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds great, Danny. If you'd like to thicken it, you can process it with more peppers or simmer it to remove some of the liquid, then process it a bit more. Adding corn syrup could thicken it a bit, but could get fairly sweet. Simmering with a bit of corn starch slurry will thicken it a bit. Also, simmer with some melted butter for more like a wing sauce (Buffalo style). If you'd like it thinner, I would just add more vinegar or a bit of water. Let me know how that goes.
TJ Sennott says
Used 7 pot and reapers for this. Very very good, and the second from your site I've made. Absolutely stellar stuff! Finally found my home in the pepper world.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent!