Chili peppers (of many types) and tropical fruit are delicious pairings. And that exotic sweet heat comes together perfectly in this simple pineapple hot sauce. Its fruity flavor works well atop chicken, fish, or even salads. Or simply use it as a dipper with crackers or tortilla chips. The saltiness there really brings the tropical fruit flavor to life even more.
There’s a surprising thickness to this sauce, due to the consistency of pineapple. Even after you blend it down, the sauce will still have a bit of texture to it. Some love that. Some don’t. If you’re the latter, run the sauce through a sieve to get a smoother end-result. You can also use a cheesecloth and leave the sauce soaking through for a few hours to get an even thinner consistency.
As for the heat, we use a mix of red serrano pepper (10,000 to 23,000 Scoville heat units) and cayenne powder (30,000 to 50,000 SHU) in our pineapple hot sauce recipe here. Together, they supply a medium level of spiciness here to the sauce. And the red serranos have a natural sweetness that pairs reasonably well with pineapple.
But feel free to experiment. If you’d prefer an extra-hot sauce, a great alternative would be either habanero or scotch bonnet chilies. Both of these chilies are a major step up in spiciness (100,000 to 350,000 SHU) and they both provide more of a tropical fruitiness to than the sweetness of that serrano. These chilies are a terrific fit, just be ready for that substantial increase in spiciness. You may want to omit the cayenne pepper powder if you go here.
See it being made:
Like this hot sauce recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Mango Habanero Hot Sauce: Another recipe big on tropical flavor, and here we go right for the habanero.
- Homemade Louisiana Hot Sauce: Want to try making a vinegar-forward dasher sauce at home? It takes just three ingredients.
- Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce: Some hot sauce ingredients compliment each other, some act as interesting culinary foils. Garlic and habanero don’t immediately come to mind together, but it works!
Pineapple Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ pineapple
- 1 red serrano chili
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1 cup vinegar
Instructions
- Remove the skin from the pineapple and cut it into cubes.
- Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the pineapple and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid sticking.
- Add the chopped serrano pepper to the pan along with salt, sugar, cayenne pepper powder, and vinegar.
- Turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, then cool for a further 10 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- You can enjoy the sauce with a little texture, or you can strain it for a smooth light sauce.
I made it today. I used a ghost pepper, but then doubled the pineapple. I used it as a marinade for chicken, and it was excellent. I’d make this again with any type of chili.