Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
Get this recipe for spicy pepper sauce made with fiery Scotch Bonnet peppers and a mix of Jamaican seasonings. Great for chicken and seafood.
I grew a SLEW of Scotch Bonnet peppers last year. Holy WOW were my plants productive. I typically grow anywhere from 15 to 20 varieties of peppers, a mixture of my favorites and new peppers I want to try and play with.
Scotch Bonnets are one of my favorites that I grow most years. They have a good level of heat, very similar to a habanero pepper, along with the duo qualities of being both fruity and somewhat sweet.
It’s the ideal trifecta for me, really – Fruity, Hot and Sweet. Yeah, baby! Give me that any day of the week.
Learn more about Scotch Bonnet Chili Peppers.
When they’re so CRAZY productive, you’ll never really go through them cooking one or two into a dish. You need to make yourself some sauces to use them up.
Like this one — Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.
YES!
This is a recipe that begs to take your chicken or seafood to the next level.
Our Ingredients
The ingredients include some you’ll need to head to the store for – chayote, pineapple, mango, cucumber, along with onion, carrot, garlic, pickled jalapenos, lime juice, cumin, salt and vinegar – and plenty of Scotch Bonnets, of course.
It’s a flavorful combo that comes together in a particularly fiery sauce, taking you to the Caribbean.
How to Make Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce – The Recipe Method
It’s super easy to make. Just add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and process it all up until fairly smooth.
Next, simmer it in a big pot for an hour to let the flavors mingle and develop.
Finally, cool the mixture and set it into a sealable container. I let mine sit in the fridge at least a day before using, allowing the flavors to mingle even further.
Uses for Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
You can use it as a marinade for your chicken or fish, or as more of a finishing sauce, or both! It’s also great for swirling a few tablespoons into soups, stews or other sauces to give them a bit of a fiery kick and blast of flavor.
I hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you make it! – Mike H.
A few notes on making hot sauce.
Adjusting the Hot Sauce Heat Factor
If you’d like to dial back the heat level, skip the habanero pepper. You can also reduce or skip the serranos, and go with jalapeno peppers only. You’ll still get a nice kick from them.
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
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.
Check out These Related Recipes:
- Caribbean Style Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Ti-Malice – Haitian Creole Hot Sauce
- Caribbean Jerk Peach Hot Sauce
- Homemade Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce
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.
- 10 Scotch Bonnet peppers chopped
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 1 small carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 chayote peeled and chopped
- ½ cucumber chopped
- 1 mango peeled and chopped
- 1 cup chopped pineapple
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ cup pickled jalapeno peppers chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- Juice from 2 limes plus lime zest
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Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and process until nice and smooth.
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Transfer the mixture to a large pot and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour to let the flavors mingle.
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Cool, then transfer to a container and seal. Refrigerate at least 1 day to let flavors develop.
Makes about 1 quart.
Heat Factor: Hot, though you can easily dial back on the Scotch Bonnet peppers if you'd like a milder version.
4 comments
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Hi there, I’d like to make this sauce but can you advise how long it will keep in the refrigerator?
Lee, this sauce should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It’s all about the acidity. The 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. I hope this helps!
Hi Mike,
I really want to make this but all I have left from the garden is ghost & habanero peppers. Would either work with this recipe or is it best with scotch bonnet?
Thanks
REPLY: Brian, this recipe will work great with habaneros. Let me know how it turns out for you! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Do have a recipe for Bajan hot sauce (Barbados’s)
REPLY: Larry, I’ll have to work on that soon. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.