All it takes is three ingredients. That’s the beauty of a traditional homemade Louisiana hot sauce. It’s so simple: chili peppers, vinegar, and salt. Hot, tangy, and salty. It’s the type of sauce that works well with wings, Cajun cuisine, fried foods, sandwiches, and salads. And don’t forget it’s use as a dasher for spicy cocktails, like a fiery Bloody Mary.

This is an easy recipe to pull together and tasty right away, but for optimal flavor, let this sauce age for a week or two in the fridge before using. That’ll give time for the flavors to fully mesh. You can use any red chili pepper you have around, whether cayenne, red jalapeño, Fresno pepper, or tabasco. Note – think it through with your heat tolerance. A homemade Louisiana hot sauce made with red jalapeño (2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units or SHU) is going to be a totally different experience than one made with cayenne or tabasco peppers (30,000 to 50,000 SHU).

Like this hot sauce? You’ll love these recipes too:

Homemade Sriracha: Love the rooster sauce? Try making some of your own.
Basic Jalapeño Hot Sauce: This recipe make a delicious sauce on its own, but it’s perfect to experiment with.
Fermented Mango Habanero Hot Sauce: The prep and cook time are shortcut this sauce needs 14 days fermentation. You’ll be ok with that for the results.

Shop Our Spicery On Etsy

Jalapeño and Chipotle "Yin and Yang" Set

A delicious duo of spicy, jalapeño and chipotle are two sides to the same coin. After all, chipotle is dried and smoked jalapeños. Enjoy the bright bite of green jalapeños with one chili powder and a smoky earthiness with the other. All natural, no additives.

Buy Now

Support PepperScale by purchasing our fiery spices. Subscribers get 15% off!

Homemade Louisiana Hot Sauce

4.25 from 20 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 6 kcal

Ingredients

1 pound fresh red chili peppers cayenne, red jalapeño, Fresno, tabasco
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt or to taste

Instructions

Cut the ends off the chilies, but do not remove the seeds.
Over high heat, add the chilies, vinegar, and salt into a large pot and bring the vinegar to a simmer.
Lower to medium heat and continue simmering for 5 minutes or until the chilies are soft.
Transfer the mix to a blender and blend until the mix is smooth. There will still be seeds.
Strain the sauce into a container and let it settle to room temperature.
Recommended: Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to use.

Notes

For optimal taste, refrigerate for a week or two prior to use.

Nutrition

Calories: 6kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 146mgPotassium: 30mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 90IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Cayenne Pepper, Fresno pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, Tabasco Pepper

Did you make this?Mention @PepperScale or tag #PepperScale so we can see what you made!