Delicious and easy to make, this Habanero Hot Sauce is a must-try! It's hot, spicy, zingy, and tangy with delicious balance, body, and depth of flavour from sweet red bell peppers, onion, garlic, & a hint of real maple syrup. You'll be wanting to drizzle it on everything!
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FEATURED COMMENT:
"Hey, crazy lady! Who puts maple syrup in a hot sauce?! I’ve been making my own sauces for years and never tried that, but we got a bumper crop of habaneros, and I found your recipe. No word of a lie, best sauce ever. Thanks for thinking out of the box. You're a genius!" - Dave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
If you're someone who likes to turn up the heat and add some spice to your life, then you and I belong to the same hot sauce-loving family. Hello and welcome. Let's make amazing hot sauce together!
My homemade Habanero Hot Sauce has been a reader favourite since 2016 with consistent 5-star reviews. It's spicy, fresh, and delicious with great depth of flavour thanks to the supporting cast of sweet red bell peppers, onion, garlic, and smoky, sweet maple syrup. They all work with the habaneros to balance the heat and add interest and depth.
This is a condiment that can give any meal or snack a good spicy kick! Top of my list are avocado toast, rice dishes like my One Pot Spicy Rice or Easy Savoury Rice, spicy cocktails, vegan scrambled eggs, bowl meals, burritos, tacos, pizza, and breakfast potatoes. Yum!
Mel x
Ingredient Notes
Here is what you need to make habanero hot sauce, along with some important notes & substitution ideas:
- Habaneros - You can use habaneros at any stage of ripeness, green, orange or red, but the colour of the sauce, heat level, sweetness, and flavour will change. I like to use red or orange for hot sauce that turns out a gorgeous colour! Other varieties of chili pepper, such as jalapeno, serrano, or Thai bird's eye chilies, also work well in this recipe.
- Red bell peppers - These add depth of flavour, natural sweetness and body to the sauce. My preference is red bell peppers because they make the colour of the sauce better and are quite sweet. You could also use yellow or orange bell peppers, but I don't recommend using green peppers as they can be slightly bitter and they will make your hot sauce a less attractive colour.
- Vinegar - You can use either distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar in this recipe. White vinegar is sharper and tangier; apple cider vinegar is sweeter and fruitier. Use whichever suits your tastes best.
- Onion & garlic - For flavour and to thicken. I use regular yellow onions, but you can use white or red if you prefer.
- Maple syrup - Many a great recipe has been ruined by someone using pancake syrup instead of maple syrup. Don't make that mistake here. You need to use real, natural maple syrup. The same amount of brown sugar makes a good alternative.
If you want to switch things up, some fresh mango, pineapple, cumin or lime juice added to the mix would also be fantastic!
Customize The Heat 🔥
If you prefer a milder hot sauce, reduce the amount of habanero peppers. You can also increase the quantity of bell pepper to mellow it further. If you like a very spicy hot sauce, go wild and add a few more habaneros!
Recipe FAQs
The heat of chili peppers is measured with the Scoville Heat Scale. Habaneros have a Scoville rating of between 100,000 - 350,000. They are up there with the wonderful Scotch Bonnets. Compare this to the very popular Jalapeño pepper, which has a Scoville rating of only 3,500-8,000.
However, although habaneros are very hot, in this hot sauce recipe they are cooked and diluted with the other ingredients for a good balance of both heat and flavour. I'd say this habanero hot sauce recipe is a medium-hot hot sauce.
You can customize the heat to suit your tastes/ heat tolerance, though. Just increase or decrease the ratio of habaneros to other ingredients.
If you want to learn more about the Scoville scale, I love this humorous article written by Anna Maria Barry-Jester called "Rating Chili Peppers On A Scale Of 1 To Oh Dear God I'm On Fire". It goes into a lot more depth about the whole subject and is a really good read.
I get asked this all the time - They are so cute! It came from a store called Canadian Tire and was really cheap. If you're in Canada, you can find them here. If you aren't in Canada, though, Amazon has some similar ones. 
White vinegar is stronger in flavour and will give you a tangier hot sauce. Apple cider vinegar will be slightly less tangy with a little more sweetness.
You can easily make it a little mellower. Roast an extra bell pepper or two, then blend them into the sauce, adding a little water to thin as necessary. This will dilute the spiciness.
Recipe
Habanero Hot Sauce
Author:Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil , any neutral-tasting oil such as light olive, vegetable, canola, sunflower oil.
- ½ medium onion , diced roughly
- 2 large red bell peppers , deseeded and cut into chunks
- 3 large cloves garlic , chopped roughly
- 6 habanero peppers (walnut in a shell kind of size) , tops removed and diced roughly (any other chili pepper variety also works well)
- ½ cup (120 ml) distilled white vinegar , or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- About ¾ cup (180 ml) water You might not need it all.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make sure you have a window or door open and an extractor fan on high to ventilate your kitchen. When the habaneros start cooking you will get strong chili pepper fumes. Sautéing on a grill outside is an option for a fume-free house.
- Over a medium heat warm a skillet with the oil, then sauté the onions and bell peppers for a few minutes until soft.
- Add the habaneros and sauté for a little while longer until soft and they and the bell peppers are slightly caramelized, then add the garlic. Turn off the heat and let the garlic cook in the residual heat of the pan.
- Turn off the heat and transfer to a blender. Add the vinegar, maple syrup and salt and blend until completely smooth.
- Open the blender and check the thickness. Add water to thin to the consistency you prefer, giving it a quick blend in between each addition.
- Decant into bottles or jars and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
NOTES
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marco pinto says
Where did you got that bottle from?
Melanie McDonald says
Canadian Tire
Cheryl says
I just made this recipe today, but I didn't make it vegan because I used a tsp of white sugar instead of maple syrup. I used 5 habaneros instead of 6, 1 red bell pepper, and 1 orange bell pepper. I love the caramelization method on the stove. I dissolved the sugar & salt in the apple cider vinegar first and then added it to the blender. I'm glad I checked the thickness before I added the water. I probably used about 1/4 cup of spring water which yielded 2-1/2 cups of hot sauce! I really enjoy the balance of the heat with the bell peppers and the slight sweetness from the sugar. Next time, I will use maple syrup. This recipe is a keeper! It tastes excellent on Caribbean dishes, such as rice & beans! I'm going to head to my local dollar store and buy the swing-top bottles. I believe they carry them.
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you are enjoying it and thank you for leaving a review!The maple syrup is used for its complex flavour in this recipe, not because it's vegan. I recommend trying the recipe with it next time you make it. It gives delicious depth!
(Also, white sugar can be vegan. It’s only in the U.S. it’s not and even they have some brands that are vegan).
Lucia says
This is the absolute best hot sauce ever! However, I skipped the garlic because I am allergic to it. And yes, it can be canned! I filled up the jars and boiled the closed jars for about 30 minutes. It lasted for over a year. This year I made (actually still ongoing right now) 5 portions but put more habaneros and selfmade apple vinegar. It is a delight and I can not thank you enough for this recipe! Greetings from Romania!
Kris Wallace says
I haven't made this yet (going to make it tomorrow), but from everything I've read from others, it sounds like it's perfect for me. When I say 'me', I don't mean to use it myself because I just can't handle any heat. I have a bunch of habanero peppers that were gifted to me and I want to make a sauce for my two adult kids who LOVE big heat.
I have a question. When your recipe says 6 habanero peppers, what volume should that be? The peppers I have are the size of a small egg - is that the expected size? If I use a typical garden red bell pepper, it would give me just about the same volume. Also, the gifted habaneros include a couple of green ones and a couple of orangish ones...can I use these or should I just use the red ones?
Sorry for all of the questions - I only intend to make this once - carefully - and I want to get it right ;-)
Thank you!
Kristine
A Virtual Vegan says
That's really kind of you. I'm sure they'll appreciate it!
My habaneros were about walnut-sized (in the shell walnuts). I just clarified that in the recipe to make it clearer. It doesn't need to be absolutely exact though. It's a very versatile recipe. You can use a little more if you want it extra hot, or less to make it slightly less hot.
And yes, a mix of green and orange is fine. And for future reference, any type of chilli pepper will work in this recipe, just in case you acquire some other types!
I hope that helps and that your sons enjoy it!
Phillip Zoeller says
Nicely balanced, not too hot. Great on fried chicken!
June Grey says
Thanks for the recipe! I just made this today and it's great but I think I might try it without the maple syrup next time. Has anyone made this but left out the maple syrup? It was a little sweet for what I usually like for hot sauce ! Thanks again!
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed it! It will be fine if you omit the maple syrup or reduce it to taste.
Kevin Coc says
Hi! This is awesome! Thank you so much! By the way, where can I buy the stopper bottle in the photo? Thanks in advance.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I bought the little bottle in a store called Canadian Tire. They are really cheap. Just a couple of dollars each. If you aren't in Canada though Amazon sells similar ones. Search for "swing top bottles".
Claudia says
Thank you! I don't really cook much, so I follow all instructions to the letter. The recipe was great! My family enjoyed it.
ron coleman says
Hello, I am Ron, this recipe is increidble. I picked my habanero peppers from my own garden, I used my own garlic, my bell peppers did not fair this year so I had to go to the market. I tripled your recipe and ended up with 4 16oz bottles. I will be making another batch tomorrow to use up all of my peppers. Ron Coleman
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really glad to hear you think so Ron. Enjoy eating it on all the things!
Jenna says
I’m new to making hot sauce and I’m wondering if you can can this? Recipe looks awesome, thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
I have no experience with canning so have never tried it but I think it should be fine!
Chris Logan says
What a simple and fantastic recipe. We grew Habaneros this year and needed to use em up. Only thing we added was some mango. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you Chris. I'm really pleased you are enjoying the recipe. Mango is a great addition! I bet pineapple would be good too.
Darren says
Just made this sauce and it tastes delicious. What would you recommend pairing it with?
Arwen says
I made this last year and loved it, but forgot to leave a comment. I just made it again (I have SO MANY RED HABANEROS omg). I went with seven. Glad I had the attic fan going, because hoooooboy is this a HOT batch. :-D
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really pleased you are enjoying the recipe! And wow, your new batch is going to be awesome. Enjoy!
Arwen says
...and I just made my third batch of the month yesterday! This year, I also have a bhut jolokia plant, so I took a risk and used two of those and four habaneros. Oh, sweet baby jeebus the sauce is *amazing.* I added it to my honey-garlic sauce for wings last night. Fantastic! (But my husband insisted that I put anything it touched into the dishwasher myself. Last week, he got a bit on his hands and still won't let me hear the end of it...)
Dave peppiatt says
Hey, crazy lady! Who puts maple syrup in a hot sauce?! I’ve been making my own sauces for years and never tried that, but we got a bumper crop of habaneros and I found your recipe. No word of a lie, best sauce ever. Thanks for thinking out of the box. You're a genius!
Melanie McDonald says
Hey, I live in Canada. I put maple syrup in everything! ;O) Ha ha! I'm really pleased you enjoyed it and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Chris Builder says
Just made this and went with 4 habs. Wish I had used all 6. I strained it also as I like to splash it on. Pretty hot and very sweet. I also used Anaheim peppers instead of red peppers so I got a light color.
Pamela says
I just came across this recipe today and it's delicious. Also just ordered your cookbook. Can’t wait for it.