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
African Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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
Tips & Notes:
Tracy says
I always add fresh ginger, cilantro, and my own sundried tomatoes in olive oil, plus I use jalapeños because they’re less spicy but full of flavour. And a good dash of Bragg’s liquid aminos.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback
Joanne says
I have frozen it in small canning jars and it works great as gifts.
ImmaculateBites says
Nice.
Nicole Akers says
So simple and delicious! I only added one tomato, as I wanted to keep it spicy. However, one more would probably have been just right. I’m going to stir in some tomato paste to calm it down a bit.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback.
Alex says
Love it. Just made another batch, this time doubled the volumne.
John says
You list Maggi(Maggie?) as an ingredient, but when I went looking for it, I found that that is actually a brand name with several different types of sauces. Which one should I be using, specifically.
You also suggest bouillon as an alternative, but which type? Beef? Chicken? Vegetable?
Sorry, but I like to make new(to me) recipes exactly by the instructions the first time, and make my own changes, if any, in subsequent attempts.
Thanks!
JR
imma africanbites says
Hi, Maggi granules or cubes is an alternative to bouillon powder. Any type would work, but I usually use chicken.
Shanel says
Great sauce, left out the parsley and basil added a piece of ginger instead. Great flavour. Thanks for the recipe will definitely make it again
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks Shanel
Stephanie says
Can you can this for longer shelf stable storage or gift giving
ImmaculateBites says
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.
PaidaA says
So delicious! Made this today and it came out well.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! So glad it worked out well for you 🙂 !
Katherine says
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
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Katherine! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback 🙂 ! Glad it worked out well for you.
Anna says
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
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear Anna .Thanks .
Iyaniwura Omotolani says
This is a nice recipe, love it.
Fizza says
We don’t have Habenero peppers in our country. Can you recommend a substitute?
Toyin says
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.
ImmaculateBites says
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 ; ).
Ads says
I make loads of different styles of chilli sauce,I stumbled across this thanks to Google. Used Trinidad Scorpion chillies and rapeseed oil, was delicious shall definitely be making more like this. Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Sandra says
Loved it. I need a address for a recipe book or email.
Vernette says
This looks delicious! Any substitute for the peppers, something milder
ImmaculateBites says
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 .
malkit singh says
you can add yogourt,milk or cream to reduce the heat of chillis,but the sauce may not stay long. Fungi may develop. So try adding oil right up to the top
ImmaculateBites says
Agree. I usually add oil to fully cover the sauce .Thanks for the tip
Nawazish Awan says
African Pepper Sauce is delicious
bebe says
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.
john c says
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?
Maxine says
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.
Blessing says
Pls Imma is there no way i can add pepper and onion to the puff before frying?
imma africanbites says
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.
Jessica says
I made this for my family and they thought it was AMAZING!!!!
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Thanks for the feedback.
Courts says
I don’t have parsley, can i sub with cilantro?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes. if you like the taste of cilantro . If not leave it out completely