Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Make your own homemade cayenne pepper sauce with fresh chili peppers! It's easy and you control the heat level and sodium. Homemade hot sauce is a great way to use up those garden peppers.

Course Sauces, Dips & Toppings

Cuisine North American

Diet Diabetic, Gluten Free

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings tablespoons

Calories 4kcal

Author Colleen Milne

Equipment

Ingredients

6 oz fresh cayenne peppers stems removed
¼ red onion
4 garlic cloves
1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Add all ingredients except the vinegar to a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is finely chopped.
6 oz fresh cayenne peppers, ¼ red onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt
Transfer the pepper mixture to a deep saucepan. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
1 cup white vinegar
Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Return it to the food processor and process until smooth.
Pour the sauce into glass jars or bottles with lids. Store in the fridge.

Notes

Safety: When handling hot chili peppers, it's a good idea to wear latex gloves or rubber gloves to avoid burning your skin. Be careful not to touch your face, especially your eyes.
Make it hotter: If you like a spicy sauce, you can increase the heat level by leaving all the membrane and seeds (which is where most of the heat comes from). Or, by adding a very hot pepper like a habanero, scotch bonnet pepper, or even, if you're very brave, a ghost pepper. Just be sure to add it in small amounts and taste after each addition.
Make it less hot: Remove all or some of the seeds and membrane from the cayenne peppers to reduce the heat level. Or try substituting one or more of the cayennes for a milder pepper like a jalapeno.
Consistency: If you like a thicker or thinner hot sauce, its easy to achieve your desired consistency. Strain your hot sauce though a fine sieve for a thinner sauce, or add more vinegar.
Yield: This recipe should yield approximately 8 fl oz. This is an estimate and you could end up with more or less cayenne sauce.
Storage: Store your hot sauce, tightly capped, in a glass jar in the fridge. The vinegar, salt, and the capsicum in the peppers help to protect the sauce from bacteria. Your cayenne pepper sauce should keep for months, or more. To be safe, use a kitchen PH meter. The PH of your hot sauce should be less than 4.6.

Nutrition