Fermented Chilli Hot Sauce
A tangy, fruity hot sauce built on a week of fermenting red chillies, garlic and sweet pepper. Pours like the bottles you buy.
- Time30 min plus 7 days fermenting
- LevelMedium
- Costabout £0.11 a head
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Wear gloves, and do not touch your eyes. Roughly chop the chillies (keep the seeds for more heat). Stir the salt into the cooled water until dissolved.
- 2
Pack the chillies, red pepper and garlic into a clean 750 ml jar, leaving 4 cm free at the top. Pour in the brine to cover, then weigh down with a small zip bag of brine so nothing floats.
- 3
Cover loosely and keep at 18 to 22C out of direct sun for 7 days. After 2 days it should bubble and smell pleasantly sour. Open the lid briefly once a day to let gas out, and press the vegetables back under the brine.
- 4
Drain, keeping the brine. Tip the chillies, pepper and garlic into a blender with the vinegar and 100 ml of the brine. Blend for 2 minutes until very smooth, adding more brine for a thinner sauce.
- 5
Taste, and add a little more salt or vinegar if you want a sharper edge. For a smoother sauce, push through a sieve.
- 6
Pour into a clean bottle or jar. Store in the fridge, where it keeps for 3 months. Because it is fermented and not cooked, always keep it chilled, and throw it away if it gets fuzzy mould or smells rotten.
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.
