Scotch Bonnet Pepper Hot Sauce
This Scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce will blow your mind—and your taste buds! It’s absolutely worth making your own hot sauce at home when it tastes this good.
What Are Scotch Bonnet Peppers?
Scotch bonnet peppers are a type of chili pepper popular in Caribbean and West African cuisine and named for their resemblance to the Scottish tam o’shanter bonnet. They’re related to habanero peppers and like habaneros, they’re fiery hot—40 times hotter than jalapeño peppers on the Scoville scale, in fact! They have a little hint of sweetness to them too, which sets them apart from habeneros.
We Jamaicans love Scotch bonnet peppers in Jamaican rice and peas and jerk dishes, like my jerk tofu, so naturally, they were my pepper of choice when I wanted to try to make my own hot sauce. Which is how this Scotch bonnet pepper sauce came to be!
Why You’ll Love This Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce Recipe
- Layers of flavour. Some hot sauce recipes are one-note, and that note is HOT. What I love most about this Scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce is that it has a little more nuance thanks to the roasted garlic and carrots.
- Surprisingly easy to make. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been making your own hot sauce all along when you see how simple it is!
- Versatile. This hot sauce goes well with practically everything, from Mexican dishes to Jamaican and beyond.
- No preservatives or additives. Store-bought hot sauces may contain preservatives and additives to extend their shelf life, but you can leave those out when you’re making it yourself.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Garlic – You can leave the skin on the cloves.
- Carrots – This not only adds some flavour to the hot sauce, it also gives it a nice consistency.
- Scotch bonnet peppers – You can also use habanero peppers, which are the same heat level of scotch bonnet peppers, or even mix.
- Onion
- Cane sugar – Brown sugar, organic white sugar or coconut sugar also work.
- Sea salt
- White vinegar – Hot sauces aren’t just spicy, they’re also tangy! That’s thanks to the vinegar.
- Water
- Lime juice
How to Make Scotch Bonnet Hot Pepper Sauce
- Roast the garlic. Add the garlic to a skillet and cook until both sides are blackened. Remove the skins and add the peeled cloves back to the skillet.
- Simmer. Add all of the other ingredients except the lime juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Blend. Transfer the mixture to your blender with the lime juice. Blend until smooth.
- Store. Pour the Scotch bonnet hot pepper sauce into a jar with a lid. You can use it immediately, but I think it’s best after a day or two in the refrigerator to let the flavours meld together!
Tips for Success
- Adjust the consistency. If you’d like a thinner Scotch bonnet hot pepper sauce, you can add more lime juice when blending.
- Wear gloves. When handling hot peppers, it’s best to wear gloves to avoid any burning on your skin. Pepper burns hurt and it takes a while for the pain to go away!
- Blend carefully. Be careful when blending hot ingredients as the steam can cause pressure to build up in the blender. I recommend letting the mixture cool down a bit and leaving a crack open for the steam to vent. (You can place a kitchen towel over the lid to keep hot sauce from escaping through the crack.)
My Favourite Ways to Use This Hot Sauce
- Tofu scrambles. Jazz up your next tofu scramble breakfast with a few dashes of Scotch bonnet hot pepper sauce. Trust me, it’s a game changer..
- Mix into dips. Add a tablespoon or two to guacamole, hummus, or even spinach artichoke dip for an extra kick of flavour.
- Add to soups, curries, and stews. This hot sauce pairs well with vegetable soups and hearty stews, giving them an extra layer of depth and heat. We love it in this chickpea curry!
- Flavour your favourite proteins. From vegan chicken to marinated tofu, you can use this hot sauce to give any protein an instant upgrade.
How to Store
Store Scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Give it a shake or stir before using.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Yes, if you can’t use this sauce within 2 weeks, you can freeze it! Store it in a small freezer bag or airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
More Spicy Recipes
- Spicy Shakshuka with Vegan Feta
- Buffalo Cauliflower Wings (10 Ingredients)
- Jalapeño Cornbread Waffles with Roasted Garlic & Rosemary (Vegan + Gluten Free)
- Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (Easy & Vegan)
Enjoy friends! If you make this Scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Scotch Bonnet Pepper Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- 7 garlic cloves, with the skins still on
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 11 scotch bonnet peppers or habanero peppers, stems removed and sliced in half
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1.5 tablespoons cane sugar, or brown sugar, organic white sugar or coconut sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cups water
- 1 large lime, juiced
Instructions
- In a skillet (I use a cast iron skillet) add the garlic, with the skins still on, and allow to blacken on both sides (flipping in between) until roasted, about 10 minutes.
- Once blackened, remove from skillet and peel the skins off the cloves. Add the (now peeled) cloves back to skillet and add all the other ingredients except the lime.
- Stir together. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes, stir infrequently.
- Remove from heat and pour into your blender. Squeeze in the lime juice. Blend together in a high powered blender for 3 minutes, or in a regular blender until very, very smooth. If you’d like your sauce thinner, feel free to add more lime juice to thin out and blend again. I liked mine spoonable and not thin.
- Pour into a clean, sterilized jar and screw tight. You can use it immediately, but after 2 days the flavours meld together wonderfully. Add to anything and enjoy!!
Notes
- Recipe adapted (portions) from Happyolks Carrot Habanero Hot Sauce (website no longer exists)
- To store: Store Scotch bonnet pepper hot sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Give it a shake or stir before using.
- To freeze: Store in a small freezer bag or airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Those peppers are so adorable and I should grow one this year! The sauce sounds really great.
Thanks Angie!! They are so flavourful it’s crazy. The sauce is too!!
1.5 tbsp of salt!!!!
Yes, that’s correct. It’s not a lot of salt given the volume of everything else in the recipe. 🙂
This recipe was easy and so tasty! I bought a small tray of Scotch Bonnets (maybe 30) and used them all and roasted 1/2 a pineapple and used the juice as part of the 1 cup of water. This added a little more fruity sweetness to balance the heat.
It’s already so good, I’m sure a couple of days sitting will make it even better!
What is the shelf life of this sauce? I bottled it is woozy bottles but did not water bath them? Also do I need to refrigerate? Gannette@tampabay.re.com
Hey Gigi,
Well we finished it in two weeks, and it was still amazing and fresh by then! Homemade hot sauce tends to last up to a month since the vinegar and salt are great preservatives. Hope that helps! I’ll definitely test it out!
Hi! I’ll be making it soon but I can handle too much heat and feel like it’d be a waste if I didn’t try to preserve it somehow. Do
*do you think it’s possible to can the fished product?
Hey Wiktoria,
Yes you can! You can follow the standard canning procedures you’d normally use for this!
Can you use regular sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Hi Krista,
Definitely!!
Hi : I made your scotch bonnet pepper sauce. It certainly is mind blowing. Turned out excellent. I have a question… what is the self life?
Thank you
Susan
Hi Susan,
Aww thank you and I’m so happy to hear! If you can it properly, it should last at least a month!
Did you remove the seeds or is it fine to leave them in?
Hi Omari we didn’t remove the seeds, but if you want it less spicy removing the seeds are recommended. I hope this helps!
Looks delicious! How many 1/2 pint jars did this recipe make?
Hi James,
I’m not sure but it makes 2 ½ cups – I hope that helps!
Hey,
I tried to make the sauce with your recipe but I guess I did something wrong. For some reason it tastes a lot like vinegar even though I am sure I used the right amount. Anyways, to save the sauce I was thinking to do the same amount of sauce again but this time completely without vinegar and mix it with the one I messed up. Now I am wondering how important the right amount of vinegar is for the shelf life of the sauce. If I understood right that’s what the vinegar is for right?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Regards,
Tobi
Based on your recipe and the various reviews, I decided to make a double batch last night. I couldn’t find Scotch Bonnet peppers, so I used Habaneros. I love Scotch Bonnets, so I plan to locate some for a future batch. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I diced sweet dried coconut strips (from Trader Joes). Roasting the garlic in their skins made the house smell great and the soft flesh with charring will add to the sauce. After blending and prior to the addition of the lime juice and zest, I tried some of the warm sauce on tortilla chips. Outstanding! I ended up flaming my mouth because the heat snuck up on me. The lime juice and zest made it even better. I ended up making Eight half-pint jars of the sauce. I’m going to wait Two days before I break into the sauce to compare. Great recipe! Thank you. I think I may warm the sauce up and have it as a chip dip.
First off glen we love scotch bonnet peppers too! We’re glad that you enjoyed this, thank you so much for reading and trying our recipe.