Thanks to our fellow spicy food fan Curtis Farmer for this delicious-looking fermented mango habanero hot sauce recipe. The fermentation process adds a special tanginess here and allows the recipe to reduce the overall amount of vinegar often used. The result? The other delicious ingredients aren’t hidden behind that typical vinegar tang. There’s a lot of flavor depth hereโtropical and sweet, fiery, and exotic. The inclusion of ginger, allspice, and cumin also adds a lot to the experience.

Obviously, the fermentation process takes a lot of time. If you don’t have fourteen days to wait you can try this unfermented mango habanero hot sauce instead. It’s ready in twenty minutes and uses both curry and chili powders to add a little extra something to the eating experience. In both cases, take care with the habanero peppers. They are very hot (100,000 to 350,000 Scoville heat units). Use kitchen gloves and know how to combat chili burn.
This fermented mango habanero sauce recipe makes a bunch (10 cups or 2 to 3 quarts) which we recommend doing given the time needed to complete. You’ll want to make a big batch. The bottle will keep in the refrigerator for many months. It’s also a fun sauce to gift to friends who love more extreme eats.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Homemade Louisiana Hot Sauce: Like bold fiery tang? It just takes three ingredients.
- Simple Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce: We let the natural fruity sweetness of the scotch bonnet shine in this sauce.
- Homemade Sriracha Powder: Turn that rooster sauce in your cupboard into a flavorful dry seasoning blend.
Fermented Mango Habanero Sauce
Ingredients
Fermentation:
- 1 1/2 pounds habaneros
- 5 cloves garlic
- canning salt
- water
To be added after fermentation:
- 1/2 onion medium-sized
- 2 mangos peeled and diced
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice approximately the juice of 2 limes
- 24 ounces pineapple juice
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 tablespoon allspice
- 1/4 tablespoon cumin
- 1/4 tablespoon ground clove
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger
Instructions
Fermentation:
- Remove outside layer of garlic cloves and smash them.
- De-stem and roughly chop the habaneros.
- Add garlic and habaneros to a Mason jar.
- Next step is the 3.5% salt water brine. Find a vessel that can hold roughly 3 cups of water and zero it out on a kitchen scale.
- Add water to the vessel.
- In grams, multiply the weight of the water by .035. Once figured, zero your scale again.
- Add that amount of salt to water.
- Once fully dissolved, add the water to the Mason jar. Ensure everything is covered and there is still headspace.
- If you don't own a fermentation airlock, rubber band a baggy over the top. *Do not screw on a canning lid.
- Ferment for at least two weeks in a cool dark space.
Make the sauce:
- Save a cup of the pepper brine from the Mason jar and discard the rest of the brine.
- Combine all ingredients (except for 1 cup of pepper brine) in blender.
- Blend sauce until smooth.
- Add sauce to pot and simmer covered on low for 20 minutes.
- If the sauce is too thick at this point, add pepper brine until desired consistency is reached.
- Optional: Pass the sauce through a fine mesh strainer (but it's not necessary.)
- Cool then refrigerate overnight before using to allow the spices to meld.
Can you use a cheesecloth instead of a fermantation air lock lid during fermantation in the fridge?
Any idea if this can be waterbath canned to improve shelf life?
I made the mango/habanero hot sauce and it was fantastic. I have seen that most hot sauce recipes do not use the cooking option. Do you think that cooking can be used with other recipes?
This hot sauce is really, really good. I fermented for about two and a half weeks and used half red peppers to cut down the heat. The sauce is hot but it’s still approachable for non pepper heads. It does indeed make a lot of sauce, my blender was completely full! The only problem I have is that it’s too good! I ended up with thirteen 5 ounce bottles and everyone is asking for more. I’m planning on trying this with some berries instead of Mango the next time.
Can you add the mangos to the peppers in the fermentation
Thanks
Hi! Doesn’t cooking the sauce then kill all the probiotics made by the fermentation?