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    Home » Classic Southern Recipes

    Published: Dec 25, 2014 · Modified: Sep 26, 2021 by Sara

    Homemade Pepper Sauce

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    Homemade pepper sauce brings back memories of the days when a bottle sat on every table in the south. It gives a vinegary kick to vegetables like peas, butter beans, and all kinds of greens.

    homemade pepper sauce

    Exactly what is pepper sauce?

    For those of you not familiar, pepper sauce is a marvelous thing. Not to be confused with hot sauce, this spicy, vinegary sauce is most commonly used on cooked veggies to add extra flavor.

    Basically, it is the liquid from a bottle of peppers which have been pickled in a vinegar solution. The type of peppers most commonly used to make it are very young, green cayenne peppers. But, any type will work, and each will give their own unique flavor to the sauce.

    The pepper sauce you see in the photos here is made with jalapeno's so it will naturally have a good spicy kick. You could make it with a milder variety like a banana pepper, and the resulting sauce would be much more "gentle".

    What else goes in it?

    Besides the vinegar most people add a little bit of sugar (not enough to sweeten, but to balance) and some salt.

    We like to add whole pepper corns to ours and a clove of garlic, but it's entirely a matter of choice. We also use these flavors in our Quick Pickled Green Beans.

    homemade pepper sauce

    This is one of those recipes that is really more method than recipe (like our Southern Style Creamed Corn). Like so many other southern food traditions it was born from using what you had on hand and stretching it as far as possible.

    How to make pepper sauce:

    It's really as easy as this: Wash the peppers and put them whole in a bottle. Heat white or apple cider vinegar until it's just about to the boiling point.

    Add the sugar and salt, if desired and stir to dissolve, then pour the vinegar solution over the peppers. If you want to add peppercorns or garlic they can be done before or after the vinegar goes in.

    That's it! Seal the bottle up tight and set it aside for a few days.

    If you use up your pepper sauce pretty quickly you can replenish the whole thing by refilling with hot vinegar again. Each time you do that the flavor will be diminished somewhat, but still good.

    pepper sauce in bottle

    If the sauce is too spicy for you it can always be divided and diluted with more vinegar. It will then have more manageable heat.

    Pepper Sauce is perfect for collard greens

    We love collard greens around here. If you do too, you'll want to check out these recipes that use them:

    • Cheesy Collard Greens Dip (like a spinach dip, only better!
    • Italian Sausage Soup with veggies
    • A complete collection of collard green recipes - traditional & creative
    • How to Cut and Clean Collard Greens

    Be sure to read about more southern food traditions, including the history and origin of the ingredients. Southern Food: Then & Now also takes a peek into the future of our favorite cuisine.

    📖 Recipe

    homemade pepper sauce in bottle.

    Homemade Pepper Sauce

    Sara
    How to make homemade pepper sauce in just a few quick steps.
    4 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Sauce
    Cuisine Southern
    Servings 12
    Calories 15 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups small peppers, any variety washed and dried
    • 1½ cups white or apple cider vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 2 cloves garlic peeled and left whole, optional
    • 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns optional

    Instructions
     

    • Place clean peppers in small bottles.
    • Bring vinegar to a boil and then stir in sugar and salt until it dissolves.
    • Add peppercorns and garlic to bottles, if desired.
    • Pour hot vinegar over peppers.
    • Close up tightly and let peppers "pickle" for 5-7 days before using pepper sauce.

    Notes

    This is about enough to make two small bottles of pepper sauce, but can easily be cut in half or doubled, depending on how many fresh peppers are available. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 15kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 390mgPotassium: 72mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 166IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Sauce
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ivory says

      October 08, 2017 at 10:54 am

      You just stole my heart, and brought back memories of when my mom, too, use to make this. She kept it on the kitchen table, and we would pour it on top of our greens. The best! Thank you for bringing back a beautiful memory. You rock!

      Reply
      • Pam says

        October 09, 2017 at 6:42 pm

        Aw, thanks Ivory! Us, too. But introducing the younger generation to these old traditions is great, too. My grandson, Beau, (and Sara's nephew) loves "Aunt Sara's pepper sauce" on all of his veggies now.

        Reply
    2. Dannii says

      July 03, 2020 at 1:34 pm

      This pepper sauce sounds amazing. I can just imagine how it can bring greens to life.

      Reply
      • Pam says

        July 03, 2020 at 1:56 pm

        It really does. Thank you, Dannii!

        Reply
    3. Emily Liao says

      July 03, 2020 at 2:38 pm

      I loved this pepper sauce! It was so easy to make too.

      Reply
      • Pam says

        July 04, 2020 at 12:36 pm

        Thanks, Emily!

        Reply
    4. Jenn says

      July 03, 2020 at 2:50 pm

      I love this recipe - it's so simple and adds sooo much flavor. I have to make another batch already!

      Reply
      • Pam says

        July 04, 2020 at 12:37 pm

        Thank you, Jenn!

        Reply
    5. Anjali says

      July 03, 2020 at 2:58 pm

      I had never tried pepper sauce before but your recipe was super easy to make and so flavorful! I'll be using this on a regular basis now!

      Reply
      • Pam says

        July 04, 2020 at 12:35 pm

        That's awesome! Thank you, Anjali!

        Reply
    6. Michelle says

      July 03, 2020 at 11:52 pm

      I've never heard of this before, but it sounds so good! q

      Reply
      • Pam says

        July 04, 2020 at 12:34 pm

        Thanks, Michelle!

        Reply

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