Homemade Tabasco Sauce Recipe

Learn how to make tabasco hot sauce with this homemade tabasco sauce recipe, using garden grown tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt. Fermented and non-fermented versions.

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT15M

Rating

4.96 stars (110 reviews)

Keywords

fermented, hot sauce, recipe, spicy, tabasco

Ingredients

5 ounces tabasco peppers (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons sea salt ((.67ounce - 19 grams))
1 quart unchlorinated water
1 cup white wine vinegar (or more as desired)
5 ounces tabasco peppers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup white wine vinegar (or more as desired)

Cuisine

American

Steps

FOR THE FERMENTED VERSION
- Chop Peppers
- Brine
- Ferment
- 1-2 weeks
- Boil
- Process
- Strain
FOR THE NON-FERMENTED VERSION
- Pot
- Simmer
- Process
- Strain

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 2 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 10 mg
Sugar: 1 g

Reviews

Philippe Watel on 2026-05-28 (5 stars):
I used the same recipe with 100% carolina ripers the starter for the fermentation (1 week) was a brine from previous dried chilpotle pepper sauce so I had an extra smoky layer flavor I wanted to see how hot I could make a sauce, well I succeeded The nice thing is a few drop of vinegary liquid is enough, after very fine staining Thanks for your fantastic site!
Rob French on 2026-04-06 (5 stars):
Hi Mike, I had a bunch of cayenne I let go through to full red with the intention of making a fermented sauce. I have plenty of experience with fermentation, but never having made a Tabasco style sauce I went looking for advice and found your site thanks. The brine tip was very useful. I kickstarted mine with some appropriate culture. Normally I would use a teaspoon of sauerkraut juice or similar, but the kimchi I was saving for this purpose had mould, so I used a pinch of yoghurt culture I had in the freezer. Tonight is seven days of fermentation and I put it through the blender and will allow to ferment another week before I blend again and strain, however this will be the start. You mentioned that Mcilhenny age their product in oak. Now home brewers got past the oak barrel conundrum aeons ago by adding oak chips to their product while it stood, then they were removed before bottling. We can do the same with chilli sauce. Shops that sell home brew alcohol supplies often carry oak chips. Regards Rob
Heidi Attwood on 2026-03-09 (5 stars):
Today, I bottled my fermented sauce - used your suggestion to drain off the brine and cook in vinegar and extra water. I still find it harsh, but perhaps with time it will mellow out. (After all, it is only sprinkled on food, one doesn't consume it by the spoonful!) Cheers
Ken Webb on 2026-01-13 (5 stars):
I've used this recipe since 2020. I tweaked it a bit, trying different vinegars and peppers. I've also changed the fermentation period to 90 days. All in all a great recipe for me. Kudos.