A recipe to make your own homemade cayenne pepper sauce in your own kitchen, with store bought or garden grown cayenne peppers, garlic, vinegar and salt. It's super easy and super flavorful.
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT20M
Total time: PT30M
Rating
4.9 stars (89 reviews)
Keywords
cayenne, condiment, hot sauce, spicy
Ingredients
10 ounces cayenne chili peppers
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine vinegar ((or more, as desired - use 1 cup for a thinner sauce))
1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
Categories
Main Course
Salsa
Cuisine
American
Steps
Chop up the cayenne peppers along with garlic cloves and add them to a pot with the vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt.
Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer everything for 20 minutes.
Cool the mixture slightly, then transfer it to a food processor or blender. Process it until the sauce is nice and smooth. Adjust to taste with more salt if desired
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve if you'd like a smoother sauce, or pour it into bottles as-is for a thicker sauce.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 32 kcal
Carbohydrates: 6 g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 164 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Reviews
Alan Ehmke on 2026-06-25 (5 stars): I used 35 grams dried Tabasco Cayenne peppers and reconstituted them in 12 oz boiling water and drained saving liquid. Pureed with emulsion blender and added vinegar and salt to taste. It was too thin for me. I tried emulsifying with vegetable oil. Not great.
Do you have any tricks to thicken a sauce?
Thank You
Alan
Kristian on 2025-11-08 (5 stars): This was such a simple hot sauce, and the flavor is fantastic! I used apple cider vinegar since thats a flavor profile I prefer over white wine vinegar…out side of that though, I followed directions for this delicious hot sauce! This would be a great gift to family if they like a little heat! 🌶️
Mike Lynch on 2025-09-17 (5 stars): I made this, hoping for a good Bloody Mary hotness, but it was good, but not hot enough. This time I'm adding 5 habaneros with innards... it's on the stove now. I am salivating with anticipation!
Katherine H. on 2025-09-07 (5 stars): This is one of my favorite hot sauce recipes! Question, though: the past couple times I’ve made this, the sauce has been very thick (almost like a puree). I’ve not changed anything and I strained the sauce. I’ve used 1 cup of vinegar and I like the taste so I’m afraid to add more to thin it out. Could it be due to where it is in the pepper season? Is there a way I can thin it out without more vinegar?
