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
Will says
is this recipe possible with using ghost pepper powder instead?
Mike Hultquist says
Will, yes, you can do that. Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, or more to taste. I have a post on How to Make Hot Sauce from Chili Powders here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce-from-chili-powders/
Steve says
Hi Mike! What is the exact PH meter that you use? Thanks!
Mike Hultquist says
I use this one, Steve: https://www.thermoworks.com/high-accuracy-ph-meter-8689/?tw=CPM (It's my affiliate link to Thermoworks). I definitely recommend their products.
Steve says
Thanks Mike! One other question. Can this meter also be used to measure pH levels in soil?
Mike Hultquist says
Steve, I'm pretty sure you can test soil pH with this by using a slurry of dirt with distilled water. Check the specs, though, just to be sure.
Heather Soper says
Hello Mike, what are ghost peppers? Never heard of them before!
All your recipes sound wonderful, must make some!
Mike Hultquist says
Heather, you can learn more about Ghost Peppers here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/superhot-chili-peppers/bhut-jolokia-chili-peppers/
Albert says
Hello Mike,
Just made a recipe based upon yours.
Used 2 reapers, 1 aji amarillo and 1 cayenne pepper.
Skipped the cilantro, used a little bit of tarragon and added some lemon juice as well. Great balance between sweet and sour!
Thank you for the inspiration!
Albert
Mike Hultquist says
Sounds awesome to me, Albert! Nice!
Jan says
I’m super exited to make this recipe this weekend! Will a white wine vinegar do?
Mike Hultquist says
It sure will, Jan! Enjoy!
Ken says
Made it, tried it, LOVED IT!!!
Ty.
I did change out the Ghost peppers for what I had growing in my garden.
I used Habanero Peppers.
turned out amazing!
Everyone that has tried it ....just loves it!!!
I think I used 5 peppers...
it had a nice habanero zap to it, but not too hot to where you were sweating.
just right. Every spicy sauce chasers dream!!!
I used it on everything !
I cooked chicken in it !
put it on rice ,
did them both together... oh yeah !!! wow.
TY
I am literally headed to my kitchen to make some more !!!
5 stars !!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Ken!
Ariane says
Hey!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious. I'm strongly considering making it for my hot sauce-loving partner. A couple of years ago, I made him another one of your sauces, and he adored it. I have a couple of questions concerning some possible alterations to this one, though: neither ghost nor cherry peppers are available here, so if I were to substitude them with habanero peppers, how many would I aprox. need to give the sauce a kick? And do you believe that apple cider vinegar would make the sauce too sweet? It's the only type of vinegar I've used in cooking, so I'm not sure how white vinegar would make the sauce taste like in comparison.
Thanks a lot, and thank you for an amazing website!
Mike Hultquist says
Ariane, you can use equal amounts habaneros here for a nice kick. Apple cider would be good, but yes, will add more sweet/tang. Still good, though. I hope you enjoy it!
Joe says
I have reapers myself, and looking to sub those in for the ghost peppers (already discussed as a good idea in other comments). The hot/sweet/fruity combination of this recipe is why I want to use it. I'm curious, what can I sub in for the cilantro, and for the Cherry peppers?
Mike Hultquist says
Joe, for cilantro, you can sub in other fresh herbs - parsley or basil preferred. Different flavors, though, for sure. Cherry peppers can be swapped for any number of sweeter peppers, as you'll get plenty of heat from your reapers.
Eric says
This came out great! Made it yesterday. Should it be refrigerated once bottled?
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Eric. 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. Enjoy.
Kris Newman says
I wonder if you could substitute reapers for the ghost peppers? Can not find a great reaper recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Absolutely, Kris! Go for it! Really, you can sub in Reapers for many of my recipes. Enjoy.
Lee says
This is a fantastic sauce - fruity but not overly sweet
You can tell how good it is in that I always make two batches of this - one with Naga's, the other with no chilli in at all. Confirmed chillheads will always like the former but everyone likes the no chilli version
Either version is great with chicken, fish or even as a dressing for salad
Many thanks for such a great recipe
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Lee. I appreciate the comments. Yes, love this sauce, and use it as a salad dressing quite often. I love that you do multiple versions!
Devin D says
Hey man I just made this ! Used every ingredients but substituted the ghost pepper for a Carolina reaper and used dried cilantro instead of fresh and the only cherry peppers I could find were pickled sweet cherry peppers but overall this was fantastic with BBQ chicken! Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Devin!
Elsa says
I’m truly a beginner! I’m confused about fermentation— should I ferment the peppers before using them in this recipe to make it last longer?
Also, can I “can” it? I’m a beginner at that too.
😀
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Elsa, the process of fermentation effectively helps to preserve foods, so if you ferment, yes, they will last longer. It basically adds acidity to the food, which protects it from bad bacteria/rotting. An alternative is to add acid instead of preserving, like simmering with vinegar and/or citrus, which a lot of hot sauce makers do. Yes, you can "can" fermented foods, though make sure the fermentation is done to avoid pressure build up in your canned/jarred food, which could cause the storage vessel to explode.
Paul says
Wondering when making this and adding into 5oz. Woozy bottles about how long can something like this be stored, and should it be stored in the refrigerator?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Paul, hot sauces usually last a very long time because of the acidity, but fruit-based sauces not quite as long. They can still last months, though, especially when refrigerated. There is disagreement over whether or not hot sauce should be refrigerated. I am of the school that anything can go bad, so I prefer to refrigerate homemade sauces most of the time, and always refrigerate those with fruit in them. Enjoy!