Easy Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe with 3 Variations

Although I can’t tolerate a lot of heat, my husband loves hot sauce! This easy fermented hot sauce recipe is what I fill the pantry with every year! The fermentation process increases the flavor and nutrition of the hot sauce, adding beneficial probiotics and preserving natural enzymes that would be destroyed in canning. It’s also easier than canning!

Since it isn’t canned, the finished product should be stored somewhere cool. I store mine in an unheated basement that runs from the low 50’s to low 60’s throughout the year. It can also be stored in the refrigerator.

(As a side note, you could can the finished product after fermenting to make it shelf stable if desired!)

 

Hot Sauce Ingredients

Disclaimer: this page contains affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

 

The basic ingredient for hot sauce is hot peppers, but you can mix it up with different kinds of hot peppers, as well as a variety of other ingredients.

Adding a sweet ingredient such as carrots or sweet peppers can add a lot to your hot sauce.

The basic recipe I will share below is a blend of hot peppers with carrots, garlic and hibiscus.

I like to use 3-4 main ingredients in each of my recipes to give a blend of different flavors.

For the fermentation process to work, you’ll need to start out with a natural, additive free salt such as Himalayan salt or pure sea salt. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of salt. Much of it will be strained out after the initial fermentation. The salt works to preserve the food until the good bacteria can multiply and take over the job.
Hibiscus is added to my basic recipe below to add a beautiful red color and fruity flavor. It’s totally optional and I don’t include it in my other colors of hot sauce.

Finally, the water you use should be untreated. If you have city water with added fluoride or chlorine, you’ll definitely want to filter it or buy some pure water for this project.

 

Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe

Makes about 2 1/2 cups of hot sauce

• 2 cups red and orange hot peppers
• 1 1/2 cups carrot chunks
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp hibiscus
• 1 1/2 T salt
• Water, untreated
• Optional: lime juice

How to Make Hot Sauce

Wearing gloves, remove the stems and seeds from the hot peppers. Chop the carrots into 1″ or smaller chunks. Crush the garlic.

Place the peppers, garlic and carrots in a quart sized jar with the hibiscus. Dissolve the salt in 1/2 cup warm water. Add it to the jar and fill the jar the rest of the way with pure water.

Screw the lid on tightly and shake to mix the salt in. Loosen the lid and leave on the counter to ferment. The sauce should be fermented for a minimum of 1 week at room temperature, and up to 2 1/2 weeks is fine. Every day, tighten the lid, shake the jar, and loosen the lid back up.

The shaking helps to prevent mold from growing. To avoid the daily shaking, you can instead use a fermenting weight to keep all the ingredients completely submerged.

 

 

If you do see any mold begin to form, just spoon it off the top. Mold is common and won’t ruin your ferment as long is it is removed in a timely manner!

After 1-2 weeks, strain the liquid out into a separate container and place the peppers and other ingredients in a blender. Add in 1/2 cup of the liquid brine and blend until smooth. If the hot sauce is too thick for your liking, add more of the brine until it is the consistency you prefer. If you would like to add a splash of lime juice, you can add it now.

Now the hot sauce should be bottled and stored in a cool place such a refrigerator, root cellar, or unheated basement. As mentioned earlier, it can also be canned at this point, but you will loose the health benefits of the raw fermentation process, as well as the beautiful bright colors.

You can buy cute bottles online for your fermented hot sauce, use recycled ones, or just keep your hot sauce in mason jars!

 

What to Do with the Leftover Brine

 

The leftover brine from fermented hot sauce makes a great spicy marinade for chicken or other meat. It could also be added to homemade broth as a seasoning.

 

Color Coordinating Hot Sauce Ingredients

 

To avoid ending up with a murky brown hot sauce, try to color coordinate your ingredients. This will create a beautiful, natural color that is appealing to the palate!

My basic recipe has all orange and red ingredients except for the garlic.

The purple hot sauce above has purple Beuna Mulata and Hungarian Black peppers with purple Black Nebula Carrots and garlic.

The green hot sauce below has a mix of nadapenos and several other green hot peppers, along with onions and garlic.

 

 

The finished orange hot sauce below is a new combo we tried this year, and it turned out fantastic! It has an assortment of red and orange hot peppers, yellow Queen of Malinalco tomatillos, and garlic.

 

 

Have fun making fermented hot sauce and coming up with your own new combinations!