Southern Pepper Sauce Recipe

221 Comments

4.87 from 22 votes
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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.

Canning jars of Southern Pepper Sauce with green and red peppers.

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.

Glass jars hold pepper sauce with colorful peppers inside.

Here’s our family pepper sauce recipe. This recipe is for a one-pint jar.

Southern Pepper Sauce Recipe

4.87 from 22 votes
This pepper sauce recipe is a Southern family favorite. Perfect to serve with cornbread, greens or peas, this pepper sauce recipe is one you’ll turn to again and again.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 32 tablespoons

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

Makes 1 pint.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 tablespoon | Calories: 21kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

4.87 from 22 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Review




221 Comments

  1. Linda says:

    What kind of peppers? I have hot banana peppers, green peppers and jalapeños. What do you use?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      The peppers used were jalapeño and Serrano in this photo but you can use other peppers such as your hot banana peppers. Enjoy!

  2. Carol Epperson says:

    Lovely southern ideas. Looking forward to making Southern Pepper Sauce. Peppers growing now in backyard.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      I hope you enjoy, Carol!

  3. Wallace says:

    My wife is making some pepper sauce now for first time from peppers we grew in our flower bed I love hot pepper sauce. Looking forward to trying it with my turnip greens and corn bread. Thanks for the recipe

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      You are very welcome, Wallace. I hope you and your wife enjoy the pepper sauce. I love it with my turnip greens and cornbread.

  4. Sheila P says:

    How long should it sit before you can eat?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Sheila, you can eat the pepper sauce after the 12 hours needed for the jars to seal. Hope you enjoy.

  5. Yvette Ruffin says:

    Why did my jalapeño peppers float to the top after preserving? I had filled the jars completely but maybe after I put them in refrigerator they will settle

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Yvette, the peppers float because of the air in them. You can make slits in the whole peppers so the brine will allow the air escape. I don’t slit mine. Just make sure your peppers are packed tightly next to each other and remove any air bubbles before adding the lids and processing. They usually will settle.

  6. Ryan Smith says:

    What’s the type of peppers that you use to make this sauce I’m really interested in wanting to make this sauce because I love pepper sauce just not sure what kind of peppers to use please let me know as soon as possible so I can go get the seeds and start growing the peppers in my garden this year thanks a bunch in advance!!! Ps Ryan Smith

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      The peppers used were jalapeño and Serrano in this photo, Ryan. Good luck with your garden.

  7. Gayle Kane says:

    Good morning 🌞
    Your recipe looks delicious and what I would call “pickled peppers.” I’m thinking the difference in how I would title it must be a regional thing? I recently saw a video where another southern gal made hers like you do and also called it ‘sauce.’ When using it do you chop up the peppers along with the liquid? Or use just the liquid as your sauce? How long do you let it sit in the jar with the solution before it takes on the pepper flavor? Thank you so much for your time and clarifying for me!!!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Gayle, I guess it is a regional thing. It has always been called pepper sauce in my area. I don’t chop the peppers. I use small whole peppers to make this but you can slice them if you prefer. You can use the sauce immediately but I prefer to wait about 24 hours.

  8. Loretta Carter says:

    Good morning, do you sell homemade pepper sauce?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      No, Loretta, I don’t make this pepper sauce to sell. You can make your own with this recipe, though.

  9. Daniel Young says:

    Thanks for the recipe! I have two (red & yellow) Mini pepper plants. Can they be used in the recipe?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      The red and yellow peppers should be fine in the pepper sauce, Daniel. If these are bell peppers, you may want to add some hot peppers, too. Hope you enjoy!

  10. Fred says:

    what if I blend up the pepper mix I have, then pulse up the vinegar solution into the pepper mix so I have more of a sauce style pepper sauce? I think this is just the vinegar solution sauce?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Fred, this is the pickled peppers style sauce and not the hot sauce style you are describing.