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
Allison L Avery says
I have whole home grown cayennes in the freezer - can I use these to make the sauce? Or should I wait for all of my current crop to ripen fully?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Absolutely, Allison. Just thaw them out and use per the recipe. Enjoy!
Mike Verdolini says
I used Thai peppers primarily. But added some habaneros and serranos. It came out a bit thick to strain through a sieve so I added a little water and apple cider vinegar.
I canned it in 4 oz ball jars. The tastes was awesome!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Mike. Yes, very easy to adjust the thickness with a bit of water and vinegar.
Chris Zindorf says
Love it! Used my Nutri-Bullet to puree it. I'll be making a bigger batch, next time. Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome!!
Holly says
Will I loose any heat if I bag and freeze some of the sauce? I just cant use up all the sauce in 3-4 weeks! So, I need to preserve longer and I dont want to can the sauce... Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Holly, you won't lose heat, but the sauce will mellow over time. You really don't need to freeze it, as there is plenty of vinegar for it to keep for many months. You can refrigerate it. Freezing is not a big deal, though, and you certainly can do it without losing heat or flavor. Let me know how it goes.
Robert Piper says
Awesome recipe, Made this with Cayenne peppers from the garden and used white vinegar soaked for 1yr in Cayenne's . I use a Vitamix blender to emulsify it all, so I tripled the vinegar and it is still pretty thick. Next batch I am gonna add a few Habaneros from the garden
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it!
Margarita says
Can i water bath this recipe? If so, how long?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Margarita, yes, usually 10-15 minutes is sufficient, depending on your elevation.
Chris Hill says
Hi from Australia Mike. I made the Cayenne sauce from my home grown chilli bush and it is awesome. Thanks for your recipes.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Chris! I love to hear it!
Andy Tourist says
Made this with fresh cayennes from my plants. Like others mine ended up thick, more like a relish, and barely any liquid came through trying to strain it. That said I'm more than happy with the end result, going into it I was slightly worried that all the 'pulp' would go to waste but not so. Thanks for this recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Andy. You can add in more liquid if you'd like, and be sure to really puree it with a good food processor to get more out of it. Glad you are enjoying it.
Michelle says
Can you use normal chillies for your recipe? Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Michelle, do you mean OTHER chilies? If so, absolutely, you can use any peppers for this recipe.
Mel says
I have grown cayenne for the first time this year, I have got hundreds ! I have given some away, froze some and have 3 Ristras drying out in the kitchen. Stumbled on your recipe and I thought YUP!..On the "To do list" now..Thanks Mike.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I hope you enjoy it Mel.
Trina O. says
Hi Mike,
Thanks for sharing this with us.
I am an avid wing and wing sauce hobbyist and a couple of years ago wanted to get away from the big brand name red pepper sauce, such as Franks, and improve my craft by making my own. It's one thing I find extremely fun to continue to improve on and put smiles on my friend's and family's faces.
The problem I am running into is sourcing raw or dried cayenne peppers. I live in Colorado so growing them is practically impossible and I spent months and months looking for sources to ship here and came up empty handed. I know there are areas, especially in the south that can grow them, but find they are personal gardeners or farmers markets that won't ship out here.
Do you have any sources or suggestions on how to access purchasing cayenne peppers? If so, I would love to try out your recipe and add it to my wing arsenal 🙂
Thanks,
Trina O.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Trina. Thanks. So, I sometimes find them in grocery stores, but not very often. Honestly, look at Amazon. You'll find some good resources for dried pods. I get a lot that way. There are some great brands out there, too. I hope this helps! Try lots of different ones!
Kimberli says
I'm in zone 5a and grow Chiles every year - from early jalapeno to habanero. unless you're someplace high elevation that doesn't get long enough days above 40-50° at night, you could be able to grow cayenne in containers quite easily!
Mike H. says
Awesome, thanks for the comment!
DJ says
Can you use distilled vinegar instead of white wine? Sorry didn’t see the question asked already
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, you can, DJ. Enjoy!!
Jerry Palmer says
This stuff is amazing! Made a double batch last night using mainly cayenne peppers and also some hot cherry peppers. Killer! After straining/pressing out the liquid I decided to make a second run. For that I just added a bunch more vinegar and some water to the pulp, heated briefly and strained again. Slightly thinner, but basically the same heat and overall flavor. I'm drying the resulting pulp in my dehydrator as we speak, and holy smokes am I glad it's out in my garage! LOL
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Thanks, Jerry!