Homemade African Pepper Sauce that is primarily made with habanero, garlic, onion, basil and other spices. A versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component.
In West Africa, pepper sauce is an essential partner for puff-puff, grilled meat , fish and eggs or splendid with any food. There is just something about pepper sauce that takes a dish from bland, boring to flavorful and enjoyable. As you might have guessed pepper sauce is sparkingly hot because of the refreshing taste of the hot pepper used in the blend.
Although the ingredients varies with the cook one thing is constant, – Hot pepper .There are so many kinds of pepper you can use in this sauce; habenera, scotch bonnet, chili I do prefer scotch bonnet -if available, however , in my neck of the woods, habenera is a good replacement. one huge difference between hot sauce and pepper sauce ( African style).
Most authentic West African pepper sauce , I have had the pleasure of trying, contain very negligeable amount of vinegar- if any at all. The basic ingredients usually consists of pepper, salt, vegetable oil and or maggi , ranging from mild to ferocious with a thick structure . I am a wimp…so am in between .
In this sauce, I added extra tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil and parsley, to create a versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component. Adjust the tomatoes to suit your taste buds and spice tolerance or just omit them.
Watch How to Make It
Homemade African Pepper Sauce that is primarily made with habanero, garlic, onion, basil and other spices. A versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component.
- 10 peppers Habenero, scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon bouillon powder or Maggi
- 2 basil leaves
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 1-3 roma tomatoes adjust to for spiciness
- 1/2 -1 cup vegetable oil
- salt
- Coarsely chop the tomatoes, onions , and discard stems of the pepper. Then through the tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper, parsley basil, Maggie in the food processor along with as much oil as desired.
- Pour the pepper mixture into a small sauce pan bring to a boil and slowly simmer for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently to prevent burns. Adjust for salt
- Let it cool, pour in a mason jar or a container with a lid and store in a fridge for about a week or more. In order for your pepper sauce to last a long time make sure it is fully covered in oil
Another way to make pepper sauce is to boil the ingredient with a little of water , for about 15 minutes then blend with oil and serve.
Can you can this for longer shelf stable storage or gift giving
Hi Stephanie! Sorry, I haven’t tried making this with a longer shelf life in mind. This Pepper sauce should be stored in the fridge and it lasts for a week.
So delicious! Made this today and it came out well.
Awesome! So glad it worked out well for you 🙂 !
This was perfect and so convenient than the long process of the main method.
Tips: if you don’t have Maggie liquid, use soy sauce and add a pinch of Maggie to it. If you don’t have chicken stock you can use chicken broth from the store and add a pinch of Maggie
add Maggie and salt while combining everything (shrimp, liver, veggies, seasoning, and rice) for taste and if it’s still bland, add extra curry! If it’s still not quite there yet, then repeat the process of adding Maggie, salt and curry but don’t overdo the curry! Curry will deepen the flavors immensely. This tasted just like the one my mom makes without the extra hassle of cooking the rice during the process. I cooked over 6 cups probably 9 for my family of 4. Thank you so much. The pepper sauce is delicious. I used store bought basil and parsley in a container instead of fresh ones and it was still amazing
Hi Katherine! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback 🙂 ! Glad it worked out well for you.
Hi Imma, I made the pepper sauce and it was so delicious. The flavor goes with everything and it was easy to make.
I have tried many of your recipes and all of them were great. Thanks so much
Glad to hear Anna .Thanks .
This is a nice recipe, love it.
We don’t have Habenero peppers in our country. Can you recommend a substitute?
Hello! I am wondering why you blended oil and the bouillon with pepper. Can it be added while simmering or does it taste better if added that way. Just trying to know if there is a reason for doing it that way.
Hello Toyin. Usually, when using a blender, you would need to add some water to ease the blending process. But adding water to this recipe will lead to one having to cook the pepper sauce for a little longer and before you know it, you would have a coughing fit due to all hot fumes from the pepper sauce. Hence, it is better to use the oil when blending the other ingredients. Also, it is way easier to just throw everything into the blender and be over and done with ; ).
Loved it. I need a address for a recipe book or email.
This looks delicious! Any substitute for the peppers, something milder
Hello,
Cut back on the pepper. Put half or quarter of the required amount of pepper(depending on your heat tolerance) and add 1-2 more tomatoes. This will help .
African Pepper Sauce is delicious
So insomnia cooking and saw this African Pepper Sauce. So easy to throw together and prepare. Delicious result. Can’t stop putting this on everything. Next time i won’t remove seeds from all the habaneros as i was anticipating too much heat. Not the case. Love this site and Imma’s recipes. Next up Puff Puff.
UM, Why do u callhabanero – Haberana (a couple of times in this recipe)?
Also, how do we contact you to buy a cookbook and see what else you are up to?
Sensational! I tasted this in church and wanted to find a recipe for a novice. This is just that. Simple clear and best of all delicious.
Pls Imma is there no way i can add pepper and onion to the puff before frying?
Hi, Blessing. You can, actually. We have some of our readers who say that their version of puff puff has peppers and onions ( the savory one). Just omit the sugar if you’re trying to go with the savory version.
I made this for my family and they thought it was AMAZING!!!!
Great! Thanks for the feedback.
I don’t have parsley, can i sub with cilantro?
Yes. if you like the taste of cilantro . If not leave it out completely