This fermented passion fruit habanero hot sauce is a wonderful spin on the traditional hot sauce. It is tangy and very spicy. The recipe is straightforward and a great way to learn about fermentation. This sauce can be enjoyed with tacos, burritos, rice dishes, grilled meats, steamed fish, chips or any time you want to add a tangy and spicy kick to your meal.
Try my Fermented Pineapple Jalapeno Hot Sauce and Mango Habanero Hot Sauce.
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A Note on Fermented Hot Sauce
This recipe includes a fermentation step where the chile peppers (and other ingredients) are submerged in a brine solution for a period of time before being processed into a sauce.
This recipe is based on my standard Fermented Hot Sauce recipe, with some modifications to account for the added fruit. If you are interested in learning more about fermentation, I encourage you to check out my Lacto-Fermentation primer.
You can also find more spicy Fermentation Recipes like my Sambal Oelek (Indonesian Chile Paste) and Shattah (Middle Eastern Chile Paste).
Ingredients
This passion fruit habanero sauce recipe is pretty straightforward and uses standard pantry and fridge ingredients. I recommend choosing the freshest possible produce, and organic is always best when fermenting.
- Fruit: This recipe uses fresh passion fruit pulp, but you can totally use frozen puree or pulp. If you want to try another fruit, you can use another tropical fruit like pineapple or even mango. Make sure to also try my Fermented Pineapple Jalapeno Hot Sauce and Mango Habanero Hot Sauce.
- Peppers: Habanero peppers are very spicy! I don't recommend using more than a couple. And you may want to consider removing the seeds! Balance them out by adding sweet bell pepper. Use yellow or orange bell pepper to complement the color of the habanero and passion fruit.
- Seasonings: Ground cumin and ground coriander round out the flavor of this sauce. You can use more or less, or none at all.
- Acid: I like adding both lime juice and white wine vinegar to this recipe once the fermentation step is complete. It helps round out the flavor and preserve the color and freshness of the sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Fermented Passion Fruit Habanero Hot Sauce
1. Make Brine. In a measuring cup, combine the water and kosher salt, pickling salt, or sea salt. Wisk to combine. The salt should be completely dissolved (Image 1).
2. Pack jar. Add the garlic and the white onion to the bottom of a mason jar. Carefully pack the habanero and bell peppers into the jar, pressing down firmly as you fill it (Image 2).
3. Weigh down. Apply fermenting weight, if using (Image 3).
4. Add Brine. Pour the salt brine into the mason jar and cover the peppers. Tap the jar a few times to release any air bubbles. Discard any leftover brine (Image 4).
5. Ferment. Apply the fermenting lid (Image 5). Ferment on the counter for 3–5 days (Image 6). The longer you ferment, the tangier the sauce will be. The brine may get cloudy, and that’s completely normal.
6. Strain. Strain the contents of the mason jar, reserving the brine (Image 7).
7. Passion Fruit. If using fresh passion fruits, cut them open and scoop out the flesh (Image 8).
8. Blend. Transfer the peppers, onion and garlic to a blender along with the passion fruit. Add the lime juice, vinegar, cumin and coriander (Image 9). Blend until smooth (or your desired consistency is reached). You can add a splash of the brine to help loosen the sauce if needed (Image 10).
9. Sieve. If you are using fresh passion fruit, you will need to strain out the seeds. Run the sauce through a sieve set over a bowl, and press down with a spatula or spoon to make sure you extract all the sauce leaving behind the seeds (Image 11).
10. Bottle. Transfer the strained sauce to a squeeze bottle or glass jar (Image 12). Refrigerate and use within 2-3 weeks.
You can use a standard lid and unscrew it once or twice a day to let any built-up air escape and quickly reseal. This option is not ideal as it can allow oxygen back in.
Glass fermentation weights (affiliate link). These are versatile and help keep the peppers submerged in the brine.
Expert Tips
- Wear gloves! Handling hot chile peppers and then touching your face or another part of your body is asking for trouble! When preparing the hot peppers, use latex or nitrile gloves to protect yourself.
- Use glass jars only during the fermentation process. Avoid using any plastic or metal containers as those may react with the acid in this recipe. Glass mason jars are ideal in my opinion.
- Keep it clean. Sterilize your jars and utensils before using them to prevent unwanted bacterial growth. You can sterilize jars and tools by washing them in hot soapy water and then boiling them for 5 minutes.
- Safety first. Make sure to refrigerate your final product in the fridge. Don’t leave it out on the counter.
- When you make homemade hot sauce, it will separate in the fridge (the solids will sink and the liquids will rise to the top of the bottle or jar). This isn’t a big deal, you can just shake the sauce before using it to reincorporate everything. You can use a small amount of xanthan gum in the blending process to help keep the sauce homogeneous. For a homemade hot sauce recipe, I wouldn’t bother adding stabilizers.
- A cloudy brine in fermentation is common and usually not a cause for concern. It could be due to yeast or microbial activity, or simply starches and proteins from the breaking down of the fruits and vegetables. Always trust your senses; if something looks or smells off, it's best to err on the side of caution and discard the ferment. When in doubt, throw it out.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, but it won’t have the same depth of flavor. Simply blend the passion fruit, habanero, bell pepper, onion, garlic, spices, vinegar and lime juice. You will need to season the sauce with salt and may need to add water to reach your desired consistency.
During fermentation, store the jar at room temperature on a counter away from direct sunlight. Once the sauce is finished and blended, it must be stored in the fridge.
As this recipe includes fruit, I recommend using the sauce within 2-3 weeks.
I do not recommend freezing this sauce. It will change the flavor and consistency. However, if you made a large batch, you can freeze it in small deli containers. Use it within 6 months.
If you make this Fermented Passion Fruit Habanero Hot Sauce or any other fermentation recipe on Urban Farm and Kitchen, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe.
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Recipe Card
Fermented Passion Fruit Habanero Hot Sauce
Equipment
- ¾ quart mason jar (24 fl oz mason jar)
- Fermentation weight - Optional but recommended
- Fermentation lid or airlock - Optional but recommended
Ingredients
Brine
- 2 cups Unchlorinated water - Bottled, spring or filtered water is fine (473ml)
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt, sea salt or pickling salt - 17 grams
Fermentation Ingredients
- 2-3 Garlic cloves
- ½ White onion
- 1 Yellow or orange bell pepper - Seeded and cut into chunks
- 1-2 Fresh Habanero peppers - Chopped into chunks
Seasoning (after fermentation)
- 3-4 Fresh passion fruits - About ¼-½ cup of passion fruit pulp or puree
- 2 tablespoon White vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Ground coriander
Instructions
- Make Brine. In a measuring cup, combine the water and kosher salt, pickling salt, or sea salt. Wisk to combine. The salt should be completely dissolved.
- Pack jar. Add the garlic and the white onion half to the bottom of a mason jar. Carefully pack the sweet peppers and habanero peppers into the jar, pressing down firmly as you fill it.
- Weigh down. Apply fermenting weight, if using. See Note.
- Add Brine. Pour the salt brine into the mason jar and cover everything. Tap the jar a few times to release any air bubbles. Discard any leftover brine.
- Ferment. Apply the fermenting lid. Ferment on the counter for 3–5 days. The longer you ferment, the tangier the sauce will be. The brine may get cloudy, and that’s completely normal.
- Strain. Strain the contents of the mason jar, reserving the brine.
- Passion Fruit. If using fresh passion fruits, cut them open and scoop out the flesh.
- Blend. Transfer the peppers, onion and garlic to a blender along with the passion fruit. Add the vinegar, lime juice, cumin and coriander. Blend until smooth (or your desired consistency is reached). You can add a splash of the brine to help loosen the sauce if needed.
- Sieve. If you used fresh passion fruit, you will want to strain out the seeds. Run the sauce through a sieve set over a bowl, press down with a spatula or spoon to make sure you extract all the sauce leaving behind the seeds.
- Bottle. Transfer the strained sauce to a squeeze bottle or glass jar. Refrigerate and use within 2-3 weeks.
Notes
- Fruit: This recipe uses fresh, sweet passion fruit pulp. You can also use frozen puree if that's all you have access to.
- Peppers: Habanero peppers are very spicy! I don't recommend using more than a couple. Balance them out by adding sweet bell pepper. Use yellow or orange bell pepper to complement the color of the habanero and passion fruit.
- Seasonings: Ground cumin and ground coriander round out the flavor of this sauce. You can use more or less, or none at all.
- Acid: I like adding both lime juice and white wine vinegar to this recipe once the fermentation step is complete. It helps round out the flavor and preserve the color and freshness of the sauce.
- Wear gloves! Handling hot peppers and then touching your face or other part of your body is asking for trouble! When preparing the hot peppers, use latex or nitrile gloves to protect yourself.
- Keep it clean. Sterilize your jars and utensils before using them to prevent unwanted bacterial growth. You can sterilize jars and tools by washing them in hot soapy water and then boiling them for 5 minutes.
- Safety first. Make sure to refrigerate your final finished hot sauce in the fridge. Don’t leave it out on the counter after you fermented and blended it.
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