We don’t make it a secret at PepperScale that there’s a favorite hot pepper in-house. The scotch bonnet has been top-of-the-list for us for nearly two decades of chili pepper eating. Its kick of heat (comparable to a habanero) along with its subtle tropical sweetness really perk up your taste buds. There are lots of great scotch bonnet hot sauces out on the market, but if you’re adventurous, you can also make your own. Here’s a simple scotch bonnet hot sauce recipe to get you started.
The chili is the real star here, without a lot of the mangoes, papayas, and other tropical fruits that you find in other scotch bonnet recipes. Still, there’s a slight tropical sweetness, and the simplicity allows the pepper heat to really come to life. Note – this is a very hot sauce, so plan accordingly. Serious spicy food fans will love it, but those with milder tastes will not.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Peach Habanero Sauce: Peaches and habaneros are simply delicious together.
- Basic Jalapeño Hot Sauce: Scotch bonnets too spicy? Try this simple jalapeño hot sauce recipe. It’s a great base from which to experiment.
- Scotch Bonnet Salsa: Like with this hot sauce recipe, we don’t turn to tropical flavors. Instead, we let the scotch bonnet’s natural tropical sweetness star with common salsa flavors.
Explore the Scoville scale through our Up The Scale spice set, featuring medium heat jalapeño, extra-hot habanero, and fiery super-hot ghost powders.
Simple Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 Scotch bonnet peppers diced
- 6 cloves garlic diced
- 5 carrots diced (medium-sized carrots)
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1 white onion diced
- 1/2 cup lime juice equivalent to about 4 squeezed limes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Cook the diced carrots and onion over medium heat for five minutes.
- Mix in the garlic and continue cooking until all vegetables have softened (about another three to four minutes).
- Place the vegetable mix into a food processor and add the Scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, lime juice, vinegar, water, and salt. Blend all the ingredients together until you reach a smooth sauce texture.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool to room temperature before bottling or serving.
Can I assume that I could substitute a different pepper and still make a great hot sauce? I grow a LOT of jalapenos and this would be a good thing to do with some of them…
How long does this hot sauce keep? Does it need to be stores in the fridge?
Do you leave the seeds in with the chilli’s?