A recipe to make your own homemade cayenne pepper sauce in your own kitchen, with store bought or garden grown cayenne peppers, garlic, vinegar and salt. It's super easy and super flavorful.
Make Your Own Cayenne Hot Sauce
Cayenne pepper sauce is by far one of the most popular hot sauce varieties in the U.S. You'll see it packed into specialty hot sauce bottles all over the place, and there are some pretty famous cayenne pepper sauce products out there.
Perhaps you've heard of some of them - Frank's RedHot? Original Louisiana Hot Sauce? Crystal?
Yeah, some big names out there making some pretty awesome cayenne sauces. I love them all.
The thing is, when your garden is EXPLODING with several cayenne pepper type varieties, you really gotta make some yourself, because if there's anything better than hot sauce, my friends, it is Homemade Hot Sauce!
YES!
So yeah, we're talking Homemade Cayenne Pepper Sauce and it's fabulous.
I'm making this particular sauce purely with cayenne peppers, though I'm adding in some garlic for a bit of extra flavor. I flat out LOVE garlic in sauces.
Brings it over the edge for sure.
About the Cayenne Peppers
You may have heard of cayenne chili peppers, but there are also a number of cayenne types out there, so you don't have to limit yourself to what you find in the stores.
Check these babies out, picked straight from my garden.
Don't get me wrong. Store bought cayenne peppers are outstanding for this sauce, but I've made with this other cayenne types that I grew in my own garden, like the ones above, including:
Yes, I've even made this Cayenne Buist's, which are yellow pods, and the hot sauce came out great. It's a super simple base recipe, but that's the great thing about it.
You're free to play around with it and include other ingredients to your preference.
So let's talk about how to make cayenne pepper hot sauce, shall we?
Cayenne Hot Sauce Ingredients
- Cayenne Peppers.
- Garlic.
- Vinegar. I'm using white wine vinegar, though others will work.
- Salt.
How to Make Cayenne Pepper Sauce - The Recipe Method
First, gather up your cayenne peppers. Clean and dry them.
Chop up the cayenne peppers along with garlic cloves and add them to a pot with white wine vinegar and a bit of salt.
Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer everything for 20 minutes. The peppers and garlic will be nicely softened.
Cool the mixture slightly, then transfer it to a food processor or blender. Process it until the sauce is nice and smooth.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve if you'd like a smoother sauce, or pour it into bottles as-is for a thicker sauce.
Done! Simple enough, right? I use this to make a great homemade Buffalo sauce recipe.
Recipe Notes and Information on Yields
My included recipe yields 5 ounces of strained sauce, which is the size of a typical hot sauce bottle. To make enough strained cayenne pepper sauce to fill a 5 ounce bottle, you'll need to start with 10 ounces of cayenne peppers, 6 garlic cloves, and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Plus some salt.
This is approximate, but should get you quite close. And note again that this is STRAINED. Unstrained, the above measurements will yield you about 1-1/3 cups of cayenne pepper sauce.
Straining definitely thins out the sauce, though you can also thin it and/or stretch the sauce out by adding more vinegar or water, or perhaps another liquid, such as lime juice or beer. Consider the flavor possibilities.
Just be sure to weigh out your peppers first based on how much you're looking to make.
Fermented vs. Non-Fermented Cayenne Pepper Sauce
As you'll see, this is a fresh pepper hot sauce, meaning I did not ferment it. I have no preference over fermented or non-fermented hot sauces, as either has their advantages, though fermenting your peppers first does mellow them out considerably.
If you're interested in fermenting, check out my post on How to Ferment Chili Peppers, and simply incorporate them into the recipe below.
Learn More About Hot Sauce Making
That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy the hot sauce! Go cayenne!
Safety Advice
When working with very hot chili peppers peppers, including superhot chili peppers, 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.
Need help? How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn On Your Skin.
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!
Try Some of My Other Popular Hot Sauce Recipes
- Homemade Sriracha (both fermented and non-fermented varieties)
- Roasted Red Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Fermented Aji-Garlic Hot Sauce
- Devil's Tongue Hot Sauce
- Honey Roasted Hot Pepper Hot Sauce
- Spicy Serrano Hot Sauce
- Ti-Malice – Hatian Creole Hot Sauce
- Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Superhot Hot Sauce (The Hottest Damn Hot Sauce I Ever Made)
- Homemade Tabasco Sauce
- How to Make Hot Sauce from Chili Powders
Also see: Cayenne Pepper Benefits.
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.
Homemade Cayenne Pepper Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 ounces cayenne chili peppers
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar (or more, as desired - use 1 cup for a thinner sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
Instructions
- Chop up the cayenne peppers along with garlic cloves and add them to a pot with the vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer everything for 20 minutes.
- Cool the mixture slightly, then transfer it to a food processor or blender. Process it until the sauce is nice and smooth. Adjust to taste with more salt if desired
- Strain the sauce through a fine sieve if you'd like a smoother sauce, or pour it into bottles as-is for a thicker sauce.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Tony Lavigne says
After reading the comments and reading everything on this site I wish I had found it sooner! Unfortunately I started with another site/recipe that instructed me to dry all my peppers prior to making a sauce. They have been drying for a few weeks now but are not rotting or anything like that. Can I rehydrate them and get the same results? Or just hole for a late season growth spur :). If rehydrating is not the way to go, do you have any suggestions? I'm more of a sauce guy than dried spices! Thanks! I really enjoy this site and the feedback given to others!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Tony. Yes, you can rehydrate your peppers for making this sauce. I did a whole post on this for How to Make Hot Sauce from Dried Peppers: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce-from-dried-peppers/. I hope this helps! Take care.
Todd says
Last year was first time I tried this recipe, and it came out AWESOME! So simple to do. I canned some of my peppers, and then used some of those to remake more of the hot sauce in late winter.
Just making some more if it this year, and can't wait. I usually don't strain it because I like it on the thicker side, sometimes add a little bit more vinegar if it comes out too thick. I've also made this with jalapenos, habaneros, and few other kinds, and/or mixes of different kinds. I've never had a bad result.
Thanks for the recipe, I highly recommend it.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Todd! Glad you enjoy it!!
Claire says
Greetings Mike!
This is my first year to grow hot cayenne. I just made the recipe with great success and added honey. I am planning to add it to shrimp and linguine for a Harissa like dish. A question I have, there are some peppers on my counter that have shriveled a bit because I was away on business, what can I do with them? I need a creative solution as I cannot stand to waste precious produce.
Thank!
Claire
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Greetings, Claire! If the peppers aren't rotting, you can chop off any shriveled edges and freeze them. Or, you can dry them in a dehydrator for making chili flakes or powders. If they are too soft and show signs of rotting, they should probably be tossed. I hope this helps.
Matt Hotle says
Mike,
First time I’ve made my own hot sauce, and I was really happy with your recipe. I did thin it out quite a bit with water and vinegar. The only thing I noticed that I didn’t like was a raw chili taste right at the start. Did I not cook the chilis long enough?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Matt. Yes, you can cook it longer or let the hot sauce sit and mellow, allow the flavors to mingle and develop a bit. That will definitely get rid of the raw flavor.
Kayla says
Gave this a try but added some jalapeño juice from some pickled ones I have. Great recipe and this came out hot and tasty.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Great addition, Kayla.
Mike K says
Hello Mike,
I'm a Fellow Chili Head myself. You seem to have a Great Recipe. Actually I've seen several Great Recipes and Tips. I'm loaded with a Variety of Chili Peppers right now and I plan to give this one a shot with a few modifications.
I don't like to Copy Cat Someone Else's recipes exactly. I like to put a twist on it and make it my own.
I just harvested the Hot Cayenne from 6 Plants, and Dragon Cayenne from 4 Plants. I plan on canning some and making Hot Sauce, and Dehydrating the rest.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Mike! Welcome! I love it.
Elias Tsoukalis says
Delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing. Only thing I changed was I added another 1/2 cup vinegar after I threw it in the vitamix to liquify it a bit more & threw in 2 tbsp cayenne powder to spice it up!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Love the changes, Elias! The FUN of cooking!
Steve says
Gave this a try using about 60% cayenne, and %40 poblanos. Turned out great! Somewhere in between Franks and Tabasco. Much better flavor than Tabasco, but not quite as hot. More like Franks with a kick. Definitely will make this again. The Cayenne peppers I had must’ve been a hotter variety. Glad I used the ratio that I did. Good stuff...get the wings out!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Steve!
Michael Miller says
Hi Mike - I really want to try this (and use as part of a marinade as well) but I can't find fresh cayenne peppers in my area. Next year, I will grow some!
In the meantime, do you have any sources for buying fresh online?
I tried ChiliPlants.com but no luck there.
MM
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Michael. Check out the "Resources" section of my site for chili pepper plants. Some of those places do sell fresh pods. Or, try some Facebook groups. There are a lot of growers out there who like to sell and trade. Good luck!
Scott Meneely says
I'm going to try this for my first time making home made hot sauce. I plan on canning it in little jars to give some away to neighbors and family. Thank you for the recipe, and thank you for the terrific website!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Scott! Glad to hear it. Let me know how it turns out for you. Exciting, isn't it? Enjoy.
Dave Roberts says
Hi Mike. I just put my cayenne's in brine this morning for making a fermented cayenne hot sauce. I was able to harvest a lot of seeds out of the trimmed stem ends. Question? Can I dehydrate the seeds for planting next spring and if so is there a preferred method? Love the site btw! Cheers from Ontario, Canada.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Dave. Check out my page on Saving Pepper Seeds for Growing. I think all of your questions will be answered there. Enjoy! https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/cooking-with-chili-peppers/saving-chili-pepper-seeds-for-growing-later/
Rea says
I was wondering if I could use this sauce as a cream sauce to go with chicken? Like after the sauce is made can I put it into a pan with some heavy cream and spoon it over chicken? Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Rea, you can. This is a very thin sauce, so you really would be mostly just flavoring the cream with it, unless you used a whole lot of it. Not sure if the vinegar content would make the cream curdle a bit. You might try using something like crema or sour cream for a thicker sauce. Let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy!
Lucia says
Hi Mike, it is the first time I am dealing with cayenne, although it is not my first pepper. I grew just one plant and turned out I have a bunch of peppers. Do you seed the cayenne peppers before cooking? Considering that the pepper is so mild that my child was able to eat a whole pepper, I wouldn't, but what did you do?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Lucia. I usually do not remove the seeds or innards of the peppers, as I don't mind seeds in my sauces. Some people find them slightly bitter or don't like the texture or appearance. You can always strain them out if you want. The heat is really in the whitish pepper innards, not the seeds, but remove the seeds usually removes those innards as well. So, I keep it all in for my own personal tastes. Enjoy!