This page contains some affiliate links. Please review my disclosure policy.
Make your own hot sauce with this JalapeƱo Hot Sauce Recipe! This homemade hot sauce recipe is made with fresh jalapeƱos and lasts several months in the fridge so you can add a spicy kick to all your meals.
One of the veggies that thrived in our garden last year was our jalapeƱos. We planted them without really knowing what to expect and they ended up absolutely thriving. So much so we had no idea what to do with them all! I frozen some (yes you can freeze jalapeƱos) and ended up making several batches of this jalapeƱo hot sauce recipe. What’s great about this jalapeƱo hot sauce is that it lasts several months in the fridge so we enjoyed this hot sauce recipe all through the winter! In the early postpartum days we basically slathered these breakfast burritos with them. In the dead of winter, it was a very necessary reminder that summer is such a wonderful (and fruitful!) season and that we had so much to look forward to.
So when we were planning out this year’s garden we knew we wanted to plant jalapeƱos again. We also planted a few other hot peppers to experiment but no surprise our jalapeƱos are already thriving. I’ve started to make a few batches of this jalapeƱo hot sauce and C suggested I share my secret recipe with you guys. So without further ado here is my favorite jalapeƱo hot sauce recipe!
What You Need to Make Green Hot Sauce
- JalapeƱo Peppers – You could also replace with roughly 1 lb of another spicy pepper.
- Olive oil – for cooking
- White onion – thinly sliced
- Garlic cloves – peeled and roughly chopped (no need to mince)
- Water – for boiling down the jalapeƱos
- White Vinegar – grab the distilled kind
- Lime juice – helps with flavor and to maintain freshness
- Salt – I recommend kosher salt but feel free to reduce if you’re watching sodium levels
How to Make JalapeƱo Hot Sauce
STEP 1: COOK VEGGIES
Heat a stainless steel pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add your jalapeno peppers, white onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes or until jalapeƱos have browned slightly.
STEP 2: SIMMER
Pour your water over top your jalapeƱo mixture and bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
STEP 3: BLEND
Add jalapeƱo mixture to a blender or food processor and process until a thick paste is formed. Pour in vinegar, lime juice and salt and blend until smooth or desired consistency is reached.
STEP 4: STORE
Store in a sterilized jar with a lid for 1 week to allow flavors to meld before using. See instructions below for long-term storage.
How Long does this JalapeƱo Hot Sauce Last?
This hot sauce recipe will last up to 6 months in the fridge. To ensure it maintains it’s freshness and quality, ensure you are storing your jalapeƱo hot sauce in a sterilized jar (either for hot sauce or a mason jar) and that it is sealed tightly. The high levels of acid from the vinegar and lime should prevent mold or any other growth. Try not to leave your hot sauce out of the fridge for too long.
How Spicy Is This Green Hot Sauce?Ā
It depends! JalapeƱos vary in their level of spiciness so if you happen to have very spicy jalapeƱos then you’ll have a spicier hot sauce. That being said, the longer this jalapeƱo hot sauce sits, the less spicy its taste will be. It losses it’s spiciness over time so if you know you plan to enjoy this over several months you can make it a bit spicier. To adjust spiciness you can decide how many seeds you want to keep in the jalapeƱos. I happen to have very spicy jalapeƱos so I remove about half of the seeds before cooking.
How to Use Jalapeno Hot Sauce
You can use this JalapeƱo Hot Sauce Recipe on just about anything but here are some recipes that make for a perfect pairing!
- Freezer Breakfast Burritos
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Instant Pot Chicken Taquitos
- Quinoa Tacos Casserole
- One-Pan Enchilada Turkey Meatballs
Like this recipe? Here are some others you might enjoy:
- How to Make Zhug (Yemeni Hot Sauce)
- How to Make Enchilada Sauce from Scratch
- How to Make Green Salsa
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
JalapeƱo Hot Sauce Recipe
Make your own hot sauce with thisĀ JalapeƱo Hot Sauce Recipe! This homemade hot sauce recipe is made with fresh jalapeƱos and lasts several months in the fridge so you can add a spicy kick to all your meals.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 lb jalapenos (roughly 10)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Wearing gloves, remove tops from jalapenos and slice in half. Remove seeds as desired (our jalapenos are spicy so we remove about half of the seeds) and roughly chop.
- Heat a stainless steel pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil.
- Add your jalapeƱos, white onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes or until jalapeƱos have browned slightly.
- Pour your water over top your jalapeƱo mixture and bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Add jalapeƱo mixture to a blender or food processor and process until a thick paste is formed. Pour in vinegar, lime juice and salt and blend until smooth or desired consistency is reached.
- Store in a sterilized jar for 1 week to allow flavors to meld.
- Will keep in refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Hello! I’m thinking about making a few batches of this. Do you think it would freeze well to use later in the year? Thanks! It sounds delicious.
absolutely! It will keep for several months in the fridge but if you’d like to keep for longer feel free to freeze!
Hi! Love the simplicity of this recipe and looking forward to trying it out. Can the hot sauce be hot processed in canning jars in order to store it for longer periods of time?
Thanks! Heather š
Absolutely!