This habanero hot sauce recipe is the perfect mix of fire and flavor with Caribbean red habaneros, carrot, shallot, garlic, and a blend of spices.
Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
It's hot sauce making time in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen, my friends. I know you love a good hot sauce.
There are many, many wonderful artisan hot sauces on the market today, and I enjoy so many of them. However, there's something about a good homemade hot sauce that really stands out.
When you make your own hot sauce at home, you control everything that goes into it - the peppers, the spices, the flavor additions, the preservatives - and you can really build that flavor and heat you prefer.
Today I'm making a fiery Habanero Hot Sauce, which focuses on the flavor of habanero peppers, with their excellent mix of fruitiness and warming heat.
Habaneros are ideal for spicy food lovers, as they push the heat factor to the edge without crossing the incendiary heat threshold of the superhots.
There are many ways to make a habanero hot sauce, but this particular recipe incorporates the flavor building additions of garlic, shallot and carrot, along with vinegar and spices to really round out the flavor.
I think you'll love this one, though it's very easy to adjust to really make it your own.
Let's talk about how to make habanero hot sauce, shall we?
Habanero Hot Sauce Ingredients
- Habanero Peppers. I'm using Caribbean red habanero peppers, but you can use orange habaneros or other variety.
- Carrot. Carrot adds body and sweetness to your final hot sauce.
- Garlic.
- Shallot.
- Vinegar. I'm using distilled white vinegar for this recipe.
- Spices. Sweet paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
How to Make Habanero Hot Sauce - the Recipe Method
Gather Your Ingredients. Add all of the ingredients (carrots, onions, habaneros, garlic, vinegar, spices) to a small pot or sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Simmer the Ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are softened.
Blend the Ingredients. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Adjust the Hot Sauce. Taste and adjust for salt and spices. For a thinner consistency, add water 1 tablespoon at a time and process to your desired thickness.
Bottle and serve. Makes about 1 cup hot sauce.
Boom! Done! Your habanero hot sauce is ready to serve. Such a great recipe with great flavor and heat. I hope you love it as much as I do! Time to make some hot sauce.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Let the hot sauce mingle and mellow out for a day or 2 before using. You can use it right away, but the flavor gets better over time.
- Heat Factor: Medium-Hot. You can up the heat factor with more habaneros or hotter peppers. Reduce the heat to medium heat by replacing some of the habaneros with milder peppers like bell peppers.
- Can't find habanero peppers? Scotch bonnets are a great replacement with their fiery, fruity flavor.
- Strain your hot sauce for a thinner consistency. You can also add more vinegar to thin it out. Save the leftover pulp for use in soups, stews, or other sauces, or dehydrate it to use as a dry seasoning.
- Consider this a starter recipe. Feel free to vary up the ratios and ingredients. Use apple cider vinegar for a tangy addition, add citrus like lemon or lime juice, and switch up the spices to really make this your own.
How Hot is Habanero Hot Sauce?
Habanero peppers are considered very hot peppers, ranging from 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on the Scoville Scale. Some types can even reach up to 600,000 SHU, which is quite hot.
Compare this to an average jalapeno pepper, which measures 5,000 SHU, and you'll see that habaneros can reach 70 to 120 times hotter. This is approaching peppers like the Ghost Pepper, which is extremely hot.
However, because we're using other ingredients to dilute the overall habanero pepper content, the hot sauce will not be as hot as a raw habanero. This particular hot sauce is more of a Medium-Hot hot sauce.
Storage
This hot sauce will last for many months in a sealed bottle or container because of the vinegar content. Keep refrigerated for longer keeping.
If you'd like to make it shelf stable, measure the pH and adjust to 3.5 or lower for home processing, then process in a water bath. Be sure your bottles are sterilized or very clean before bottling.
See my post on "Does Hot Sauce Need to be Refrigerated?"
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this habanero hot sauce recipe. I love this recipe. Let me know if you make it and how you decided to change it up.
Tools Used For This Recipe
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends!
Ninja Food Processor. I use this like crazy to make hot sauces and other sauces, and quick and easy purees.
Hot Sauce Bottles. 5 ounce woozy bottles. I have to buy these in bulk because I keep giving hot sauce away!
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
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.
Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounces chopped habanero peppers seeds/innards included
- 1 ounce chopped carrot
- 1 ounce chopped garlic
- .5 ounce chopped shallot
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are softened.
- Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Taste and adjust for salt and spices. For a thinner consistency, add water 1 tablespoon at a time and process to your desired thickness.
- Bottle and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Jiashira says
Can I add sugar or honey to this recipe to make it less spicier?
Mike Hultquist says
You sure can, Jiashira. You can also sub in some milder peppers for some of the habaneros to bring the heat down. Enjoy!
Sebastian says
great recipe, i've made this both with habaneros and scotch bonnets (over the winter when I could not find habaneros at my local farmer's market) and it came out great both times. everyone who tried it loved it as well!
Mike Hultquist says
Glad to hear it, Sebastian. Yes, this is a very versatile recipe. PERFECT with Scotch Bonnets. Thanks!
Rita says
I made this with last years yield of habaneros. At work, we are having hot sauce tastings and this is the one which is loved, for the freshness. Can't wait to make more! Can this be made with the peppers I froze?
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Rita! Nice and simple is usually best! Yes, you can make this frozen peppers, or dried as well. For frozen, just thaw and use per the recipe. Enjoy!
Andy says
Excellent hot sauce. Just made it with my 9 year old son who also loves it. We didn't have Habanero's available so used scotch bonnet. Amazing flavour. Thanks for the recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
That's great, Andy. Perfect activity to do with your kids. He's a chilihead in the making! I love it.
John Leov says
G’day from Aus Mike, great base to this sauce. I put a little twist with a little more carrot, half a yellow bell pepper, and a dash of liquid smoke. It’s a ripper!
Mike Hultquist says
G'day, John! Yes, I love that. Hot sauces are just right for tweaking to make your own. Sounds wonderful to me.
qwertyuio says
great sauce I loved it!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellentn!
Chris Dubose says
Excited to try this out, looks amazing! Question regarding sterilization, I did boil the bottles but not the caps. Just to be safe, would putting the filled and capped bottles in a sous vide bath of 195 degrees for 30 minutes ensure sterilization? Would that work even if I hadn't boiled the bottles? I've looked around this and various sites and can't find this specific answer.
Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Chris, the bottles should be fine, and you really don't need to boil them before bottling if they are very clean with hot water. I believe you can sous vide them that long, as the sauce is already cooked anyway. You don't really need that water bath processing if you're going to consume it within a few months or refrigerate. There is plenty of acidity even out of the fridge. But for long term shelf storage, you'll want to process. Enjoy.
Stephanie Collins says
I am cooking it in my pressure cooker right now. I added a bit of Honey.
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Stephanie!
Capsaicin Crockett says
Excellent recipe. I've been looking forward all year to making it again. I just picked my habaneros yesterday and will make it this weekend.
Thank you so much for sharing your love of chilis and your expertise.
Mike Hultquist says
Hey, thanks. I really appreciate it. Always glad to be helpful.
Heather says
I made this last night, and WOW! I made a few adjustments, bc that's what I do, haha! I added 1/4 each of ground ginger and tumeric, and used red onion instead of shallots, bc that's what I had on hand. this turned out amazing! even my nine year old son liked it! Thanks for sharing, I love your site!!!!
Mike Hultquist says
Nice!! I love it, Heather! Glad you both enjoyed it!
Scott says
Thank you Mike - a recipe using weight for the solid ingredients is sooo much easier to get a consistent result... My 10 Habaneros could be weigh (lol) different to yours!
Made almost exactly, with a combo and red and orange habs cause that's what I grew. I didn't have any shallot so replaced with same weight of sweet onion, but other than that, as is.
I think limiting the watering of my habaneros has given them an extra kick this year. This sauce has some heat and I love the consistency!
I'm sure to be making more!
I know you have a pineapple habanero recipe, but what do you think about adding half a pineapple to this recipe?
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Scott! I think pineapple would be a GREAT addition to this recipe, though I'd have to play with the amounts. Half a pineapple might be too much. I'd probably start with 1 ounce then adjust from there.
Troy says
About how many habanero is 3.5 oz?
Mike Hultquist says
There are roughly 3 average sized habanero peppers per ounce, but note that sizes vary. It is best to get a kitchen scale. Enjoy, Troy!