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Stop buying fancy hot sauces at the store and make a batch of Pineapple Habanero Sauce at home! Fiery and tangy, but tempered with the sweetness of pineapple, you’ll want to keep some for yourself and make some for gifting.
I can never resist going into fancypants gourmet food stores when I see them, but it is getting easier to resist making purchases now that I know how simple it is to make things like dill pickle relish, blackberry syrup, and this pineapple habanero hot sauce at home.
Let me tell you—this sweet-and-spicy sauce blows store-bought versions out of the water. It’s also easy to customize, so if you want your hot sauce to be mild sauce, you can dial down the heat; if you want to make hot sauce so fiery you have to fight back tears as you eat it, that’s an option too, although I don’t advise it.
Important Ingredient Notes
A complete ingredient list is in the recipe card below, but here are a few highlights:
- White vinegar – While we focus on the heat of hot sauce, it’s not just hot—it’s also tangy. White vinegar adds a bright punch.
- Sugar – You’ll need white sugar and brown sugar, which adds caramel notes that pair fabulously with pineapple. Feel free to add more for a sweeter sauce.
- Habanero – You can use a bigger pepper (or two peppers) for more fiery sauce, or use a small pepper (or even half of one) to make it mild. The world is your
oysterpepper. - Pineapple – I use fresh, but frozen is absolutely fine too. I’d avoid canned pineapple; it will make the hot sauce too sweet. Unless it is home-canned pineapple in a light syrup!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your food processor or a blender. Process until completely smooth.
Pour the pineapple-habanero mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil and stir constantly for 1 minute.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce reduces and thickens. That’s it! Not everything in life has to be complicated.
How to Store
This homemade pineapple habanero hot sauce is not shelf-stable; you’ll need to store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container or bottle. It will keep for about 2 weeks.
My Favorite Ways to Use This Hot Sauce
Once you’ve got a bottle of pineapple habanero sauce ready to go, you can use it all the ways you’d use any other hot sauce:
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- As written, this pineapple habanero sauce is thick and dippable. To make it thinner—more like Tabasco—you can cut it with water or pineapple juice. Add a teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Turn on the stovetop vent while cooking and open some windows in your kitchen if you can. If you’ve ever been around pepper spray, making hot sauce can have a similar (but much milder! don’t worry!) effect. I once accidentally got pepper sprayed (that’s a story for another day), and I do not recommend it. 0 stars.
More Homemade Sauces to Try
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Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2 tbsp white vinegar, 1 tbsp white sugar, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 habanero pepper, 1 clove garlic, 1.5 cups pineapple, cut into small cubes/chunks, 1/2 tsp kosher salt
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Transfer the mixture to a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
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Bring to a boil, and stir constantly for 1 minute. Pro tip: use your stove vent during the cooking process.
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Reduce the stovetop temperature to medium and simmer, stirring often until the sauce is slightly reduced and has thickened (~10-15 minutes).
- Use disposable food prep gloves if you have them (if not, you can put one hand in a plastic bag to hold the pepper and use the other hand to hold the knife).
- Do not touch your eyes or mouth EVEN after washing your hands.
- Makes ~1.5-2 cups.
- You’ll need to store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container or bottle. It will keep for about 2 weeks.
Serving: 1tbspCalories: 9kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.02gSaturated Fat: 0.001gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gSodium: 49mgPotassium: 14mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.04mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
