Easy Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe: How to Ferment Peppers

Need a little extra spice in your life, or a fun way to preserve homegrown peppers? Come learn how to make fermented hot sauce with this simple step-by-step guide!

Even if you aren’t a huge fan of hot sauce or spicy foods, or haven’t dabbled with fermentation much in the past, don’t worry. This fermented pepper hot sauce recipe is easy make, and easy to tailor to your taste buds using any variety of peppers you wish to use. We often combine a mix of both hot chilis and sweet peppers to create a nice balance of flavors.

Honestly, I never liked hot sauce before… or spicy foods for that matter. Now, homemade fermented hot sauce is one of my go-to condiments. It’s fantastic with tacos, tostadas, eggs, veggie burgers and more. It makes also makes a fun gift for the hot sauce lovers in your life!

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RELATED: Looking for more ways to use and preserve peppers? Don’t miss our popular cowboy candy recipe (aka candied jalapeños), easy refrigerator pickled peppers, homemade chili powder recipe, or this fermented jalapeño hot honey.

What’s the difference between fermented hot sauce and regular hot sauce?

Fermented hot sauce is made by combining peppers, onions, and spices in a mild salt water brine – not vinegar. As the peppers soak in salt water for a week or longer, beneficial lactic acid bacteria naturally present on the peppers multiply and lower the pH of the brine. Thus, the lacto-fermentation process effectively preserves the hot sauce AND introduces gut-healthy probiotics, making this fermented hot sauce recipe more nutritious than regular hot sauce.

In contrast, traditional (unfermented) hot sauce that is preserved with vinegar is devoid of probiotics. It also tends to have an overwhelmingly hot and single-note vinegary flavor. Instead, the fermentation process transforms the sharp, hot, often overpowering flavor profile of chili peppers into something far more mild, complex, flavorful, tangy and tasty than any other hot sauce you’ve ever tried!

Should I add vinegar to fermented hot sauce?

Some folks wonder if they should add vinegar to homemade fermented hot sauce once it’s done fermenting, as some recipes suggest to do this to potentially extend the shelf life. However, I don’t find it necessary. Naturally lacto-fermented hot sauce without vinegar already has an incredibly long shelf life: well over a year when stored in the refrigerator.

Plus, adding too much vinegar will halt the fermentation process and kill the beneficial probiotics you worked so hard to create! That defeats much of the purpose, if you ask me. Instead, we add a small splash of fresh lime juice at the end of our fermented hot sauce recipe – which gives it a nice tart little zing, but isn’t strong enough to kill the beneficial bacteria.

Ingredients

The following ingredient list fills a one-quart mason jar for fermenting, and makes about 16 ounces of finished hot sauce at the end. Scale up or down as needed, keeping the proportions similar. We routinely double the recipe and make a half-gallon!

• Peppers of choice – approximately 1 pound. We like to use about half (or just over) hot chilies such as serranos, jalapeños, gochugaru, Hungarian wax peppers, habaneros, or cayenne peppers, along with half sweet or mild peppers such as banana peppers or bell peppers. 
• Fresh cilantro (optional) – 1/3 to 1/2 cup, loosely packed 
• One small onion, or 1/2 medium to large onion. We prefer to use sweet yellow onions for our fermented hot sauce, though white or red can also be used. 
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice – which you won’t need until the end of the fermentation process, a week later.
• Sea salt, pickling salt, or kosher salt – not iodized table salt!
• Filtered water – chlorinated water may interfere with the fermentation process

Adding other vegetables to fermented hot sauce

We’ve made many fun variations of this fermented hot sauce recipe over the years, using other vegetables in addition to peppers. Adding different vegetables creates even more complex and interesting flavors, so feel free to experiment! For example, we have added carrots or tomatillos from the garden.

To do so, simply stick with the same ratio (1 pound of veggies/peppers) per the other listed ingredients. For example, half a pound of hot peppers plus half a pound of chopped carrots. I suggest cutting tomatillos in half or quarters. Everything will get blended together later.

Supplies Needed

• A container for fermenting, such as a pint, quart, or even half-gallon mason jar
• Fermentation air-lock lid and weight. We use an all-in-one Kraut Source fermentation device, or this all-in-one ferment lid from Ball. Another option is to use a ceramic or glass ferment weight plus a separate airlock lid. 
• Fine strainer (or cheese cloth) & bowl, used after fermentation
• Blender, used after fermentation
• Glass bottles or jars for storage of the finished fermented hot sauce

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Peppers and Onions

Wash your peppers of choice. When preparing them, keep in mind that the goal is to fit as much vegetable matter into the jar as possible, so I suggest to cut the peppers into pieces or rings (depending on the size/shape of your peppers) instead of leaving them whole. Next, peel and dice the onion into small pieces as well. 

To make your fermented hot sauce more mild, you can also core the peppers to remove most of the seeds and white inner membrane. I also highly suggest wearing gloves while working with hot chili peppers! 

Step 2: Pack the Jar

• In the bottom of a clean jar (or other fermentation vessel of choice) add a small handful of cilantro – about ¼ cup loose. Wash it first, but it does not need to be cut up or de-stemmed. Save a similar small handful of cilantro to layer into the jar later. 
  
• Next, add 2 to 3 lightly crushed peeled cloves of garlic to the jar, followed by the diced onion. Lightly press the contents down to pack.  The jar should only be about a quarter full or less at this time. The remaining space is for peppers!
  
• Now start adding cut pepper pieces to the jar, lightly packing them down as you go – reducing empty air space. I generally mix hot and sweet peppers together in layers.
  
• Once the jar is one-half to two-thirds full, add that last little bit of cilantro.
  
• Continue layering and packing peppers until the jar is nearly full, about an inch below the rim. (Note: You may need a little extra space at the top of the jar if you’re using a thick glass fermentation weight.)

Step 3: Make and Add Salt Water Brine

On the stove top, combine 2 cups of filtered water with 1 tablespoon of sea salt in a pot to create a simple salt water brine. The salt is what encourages a safe fermentation process and beneficial bacteria, while inhibiting the growth of harmful pathogens.

Gently heat the water until the salt dissolves, but avoid overheating it. The brine needs to be room temperature or barely lukewarm by the time you add it to the jar. (That said, you could also do this step prior to the veggie prep, allowing extra time for it to cool.) 

Once the brine has cooled to the desired temperature, pour it into the fermenting vessel until the peppers are completely covered with liquid. Gently tap and wiggle the jar or push down on the peppers to release air pockets. Top off with more brine as needed after settling occurs.

Step 4: Cover with an Airlock Lid

When fermenting foods, it is important to keep the veggies (peppers, in this case) submerged below the brine. This helps prevent the development of mold. As the peppers ferment, they will release gasses that need to escape from the jar. Ideally, those gases should be allowed to escape without disrupting the fermentation process or introducing new air. This is where your weight and airlock lid comes in handy!

Cover the fermentation vessel with your weight and airlock lid system of choice. The stainless steel Kraut Source ferment device we use has a spring and plate that serve as a weight to keep the peppers submerged, along with a moat system on the top of the lid that creates an airlock. This all-in-one ferment lid from Ball accomplishes the same.

Alternatively, you can use a separate fermentation weight like these glass weights made for wide-mouth jars, ceramic versions, or even boiled stones. Then, add a separate airlock lid on top.

Step 5: Ferment

How long should hot sauce ferment? How do I tell when it’s done?

Now it’s time to let the peppers and lactobacillus do their thing! Set the fermentation vessel in a temperate location to ferment for 7 to 14 days. (See more temperature notes below.) Dark or light – doesn’t matter! Ours usually lives on the kitchen counter.

The shorter the ferment, the less “developed” and complex the flavor profile will be. However, the longer the ferment – the more chance there is to develop kahm yeast (also explained below) and get a little funky, especially in warmer conditions.

As the peppers ferment, the brine will change from clear to cloudy, the peppers colors will become more muted, things will compact under your weight, and will likely produce bubbles.

Some fermentation vessels bubble so much that they overflow from the container. Therefore, we always set ours on a plate to catch any runoff. Also note that ferments usually smell a bit funky, but don’t worry – they taste better than they smell! I promise.

What temperature should I ferment my hot sauce?

The ideal fermentation temperature for peppers and fermented hot sauce is about 68 to 73°F. Other ferments do okay with temperatures slightly warmer, up to the 80 to 85 degree range, but peppers are more finicky and prone to growing kahm yeast. Therefore, do your best to find a location in the preferred range.

A note about kahm yeast

In too warm of conditions, the peppers in fermented hot sauce are prone to developing something called kahm yeast. Though not harmful, kahm yeast can create an off-putting odor and flavor. It will appear as a thick white layer of sediment on the bottom of the jar, on the peppers themselves, or floating on the surface. A small amount of white sediment or film in totally normal in any ferment. In contrast, too cold of temperatures can lead to improper fermentation and mold development. 

Step 6: Strain and Blend into Hot Sauce

After 7-14 days have passed, it is time to turn those fermented veggie chunks into fermented hot sauce! To do so, place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Yes, over a bowl – not the sink! Next, open and remove the lid and weight from your ferment vessel and dump the contents of the container into the strainer. Keep the collected brine that is in the bowl below!

Transfer the fermented peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro into a blender. Next, add one tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lime juice, along with ¼ cup of the reserved ferment brine. Blend, and check the consistency.

Continue to add small amounts of the brine, little by little and blending as you go, until the fermented hot sauce has reached your desired thickness. Some like it thin, some like it thick! That is totally up to you. Give it a little taste-test too, and add another squeeze of lime if you’d like.

Step 7: Bottle and Enjoy

Once blended, transfer the finished fermented hot sauce into a storage container. Ideally, something that is glass and has an airtight lid. We like to store ours in these classic 5-ounce hot sauce bottles (especially for gifting), fun swing top bottles, or in small mason jars.

Now you get to enjoy your very own tangy, sweet and spicy fermented hot sauce! We enjoy drizzling this sauce over, eggs, frittata, veggies with rice and beans, fiesta-style stuffed squash, lentils… the list goes on. Aaron likes to eat it with chips like salsa, or even add a dash to his soup!

How long does fermented hot sauce last?

Fermented hot sauce stays good for up to a year in the refrigerator (or longer) which is where it should be stored. We’ve eaten fermented hot sauce that was over two years old before! Shake to mix before use, because some separation is normal. Discard if mold or off-flavors develop.

In all, I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you need any tips on growing your own peppers and chilis, learn more here. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, share this post, and if you do make it – report back with a review!

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