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.
This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS
Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 56.
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
Ali says
I have 9 times the peppers.
I intend to do them all .
do I use 9 cups of vinegar?
Mike H. says
Hey, Ali. When scaling up, it's not always necessary to use exactly 9 times the amount of vinegar as peppers. The amount of vinegar you use can depend on your taste preferences and the desired consistency of the sauce. So start by adding vinegar incrementally and take it from there.
suzanne says
do you recommend using apple cider vinegar with this recipe instead of regular white vinegar? also one step to avoid touching the peppers could you not just cut off the stem and cut it in a half with seeds and all and throw it in a pot? since you're going to be purée it anyway in the blender?
Mike Hultquist says
Suzanne, yes, you can use apple cider vinegar. It works with any vinegar, really. Adds a nice tang. Yes, you can just toss them in without cutting. Just stir them as needed to soften up all the sides. I hope you enjoy it!
Greig says
I have made this one many times and it is one of my top favorites. Perhaps it is because of the simplicity of it and how quick it is to whip up. This time I had no paprika on hand, but still delicious.
Mike H. says
Thank you for the feedback, Greig. Enjoy! =)
Pepe says
Ho mon dieu, je pense que je viens de créer un monstre ! Merci pour cette recette !Comment conserver la sauce?
Mike Hultquist says
Great, enjoy! You can store this in the refrigerator for 1 year or so, or 6 months out of the fridge in a cool, dry place.
Michael says
Would love to try this but I've already dried this year's chilies. Would I just rehydrate them in hot water first? Would the bottles be shelf stable?
Mike Hultquist says
Michael, you can use them. I have a post on that here: How To Make Hot Sauce From Dried Peppers
- https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce-from-dried-peppers/
Andrew Cossins says
I was given a bag of habaneros at the weekend so decided to make this with them. It tastes great to me but my wife is probably not going to eat much, if any of it. Is there a way I can rack down the heat level before I bottle it - I have already blended it.
Mike Hultquist says
Andrew, the best way is dilution, by adding other non-spicy ingredients.
Corey says
This is an awesome base recipe!
My home grown red habaneros ended up being quite hot, so for a more mild heat, I reduced the habaneros to about 1.5oz and removed the innards, subbing 2oz of orange bell pepper for the rest. The flavor was great.
I've used red bell peppers in the past and it added a bit too much sweet pepper flavor for my taste. The oranges worked much better.
Mike Hultquist says
Great! Thanks, Corey!
Andy says
Just tried your recipe, that turned out awesome! Very impressed!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Andy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Jen says
Best recipe ever for EVERYTHING. Amazing combination of flavor
Thank you for sharing
Mike Hultquist says
Yes!! Thanks, Jen! Glad you're enjoying it.
Tim H. says
Just made my closest version to your Habanero Sauce, Mike...But, since I had already used all the shallots from our garden, I used yellow onion instead. My wife had dried some Oregano, Rosemary & Thyme from our herb garden, and I mistakenly grabbed the Rosemary first before realizing my error, so my sauce had both Oregano + Rosemary in it. I also opted for Rice Vinegar rather than the White Vinegar - which I feel is a bit more mellow (especially with something as fiery as Habanero Peppers). My family appreciates thicker sauces, so I did not strain it either, and just ran it through our blender since that is the only type of processor that we have, but we (my daughter, son, and I) immediately applied it to some pizza last night, which complemented it so perfectly - especially with all of it's garlicky/oreganoey flavor! Thanks so much for sharing your hard-researched/worked recipes with us, Mike!!
Mike Hultquist says
I love it! Sounds great, Tim. Thanks for sharing!
Lisa says
hey there- do you see the peepers? I ended up using some seeds
Mike Hultquist says
I'm not sure what you mean, Lisa, but you can include the seeds. No problem.
Mike says
This a fantastic recipe, especially for someone like me who is a first time sauce maker! I ended up putting 5 home grown habeneros & 2 jalapenos - and you'd think this would burn your tongue off right? But, damn, the flavors mixed really well and is just the right kick for me! Mahalo for this!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent, Mike! Glad you enjoyed. Mahalo! Hoping to return to Hawaii early next year.
Ron says
Good morning - Have about from the garden to make this weekend - how do you feed about using onions ILO shallots - Looks loke a great recipe and plan on a large batch don't want to ruin it Ty
Mike Hultquist says
Hey, Ron. Yes, onions are GREAT for hot sauce. Let me know how it turns out for you! Enjoy!
Pete says
Recipe is simple and quick. Have been using the sauce for a few weeks now on many meals. Flavor and heat level are perfect. Thanks for posting.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Pete!