Southern Pepper Sauce Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This pepper sauce recipe is a Southern family favorite. Perfect for serving with cornbread, greens, or black eyed peas, this Southern Pepper Sauce is one you’ll turn to again and again.
Pepper Sauce is a favorite condiment for serving with any number of dishes in the south. It’s delicious with foods like black-eyed peas, pinto beans, collard greens, or turnip greens. Many even like a bit of it with their BBQ. A jar of this spicy sauce can just about always be found on the supper table, making it a staple item to make each year.
At the end of each summer, Daddy would gather peppers from his garden to make a good number of jars to use, keep in the pantry, and share with friends.
Here’s our family pepper sauce recipe. This recipe is for a one-pint jar.
Southern Pepper Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or pickling salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil, optional for extra hot pepper sauce
- about 30 small peppers
Instructions
- Clean jar, lid, and band and rinse well. Keep warm.
- Mix together sugar, salt, vinegar, and optional olive oil in a stainless steel saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat until it begins to boil.
- Fill jar with peppers and pour hot vinegar mixture over the peppers. Leave about 1 inch of headspace from the top of the jar
- Remove air bubbles in the jar by tilting jar slightly to allow bubbles to escape as press peppers against opposite side of the jar.
- Wipe jar rim to clean. Place lid on top of jar and tighten ring.
- Allow jars to seal by setting on countertop to cool with about 1 inch in between each.
- Test seal after about 12 hours by pressing finger to the center of the lid. If sealed, it will not pop back. If not sealed, refrigerate and use.
- Store in dark, cool cabinet or pantry for up to a year.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Hi Robyn,I plan to use your recipe to make a “pepper suce” with small chile peppers. Your recipe also sounds good for larger peppers to eat, like jalapeno. Do you recommend putting small slits in the larger peppers? thanks
Whichever you prefer, but I do not put slits in them. Thanks!
Do you mash them when done or just use the juice?
Hi Scott,
We just pour the juice from the pepper sauce over peas and such, but we also eat the peppers! So delicious! I hope you enjoy them if you get a chance to try them.
Thanks Robyn, there tobasco peppers, we’ll crack open the jar on Thanksgiving. And a happy Thanksgiving to you!
Hey Robyn, you know anything about ginger root? Esay way yo get the skin off without losing the whole veg? Beside the spoon? My son wants to make ginger tea. Help!
My aunt just use vinegar and peppers.
Why is a mixture of vinegar and water used, why boil the mixture?
What kind of vinegar is best used for this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Amanda,
I generally use distilled white vinegar.
Hi, so this pepper recipe does not have to be water processed to be shelf stable? I do it with pickles, just haven’t with peppers
Arleen, this pepper sauce is really a hot pepper vinegar and does not have to be water processed.
Can I use carolina reapers in this recipe?
I would use A LOT less than 30 peppers… Reapers clock in at 1.4 million Scoville units, whereas jalapenos barely push 10,000.
Just discovered your website. Excellent, and so is the recipe for the peppered vinegar sauce.
With the exception of the “super hots” (Fatalii, ghost pepper, Thai), my chile garden is starting to wind down and will use a variety of the last of the pods (cayenne, serrano, habanero) to make this vinegar.
“About 30 small peppers”
…or one Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Pepper).
🙂
HOW DO I KEEP MY PEPPERS SAUCE LOOKING Fresh in the jar.
Pet southern pepper sauce receipe. I want to try this receipe what type of peppers should I use
I did not have enough peppers to fill my jar. Will it still work?