This African pepper sauce is a spicy sauce that will transform any dish from just okay to amazingly delicious! It is so easy to make with only 1 net carb per serving.
It is very spicy so you only need to add a little bit to your food. I use anywhere from one teaspoon to one tablespoon depending on how spicy I want my food to be.
This African pepper sauce does not disappoint! I make it very often because not everyone in my household loves spicy dishes.
And I happen to be one of those people that don’t feel satisfied till I’ve had something spicy. But my husband and kids don’t always share that sentiment.
This pepper sauce is just perfect because I can make the same soups or stews for the whole household and completely transform my own serving with just a little bit of this pepper sauce.
And it’s really versatile too, you can make it just a little spicy or you can go overboard with the spiciness, as long as you can handle it!
Ingredients used in making African Pepper Sauce
Vegetables: Tomatoes, habanero peppers, bell pepper. This is all you need to give the sauce its rich red color and spiciness!
Seasoning and herbs: salt, bouillon powder, parsley, garlic, ginger. You can use your favorite spices here but you don’t need a lot of spices because this sauce will take on the flavor of whatever dish it’s being added to.
Olive oil: This provides a liquid base for the sauce.
How to make African Pepper Sauce
Prepare the vegetables by removing the seeds from the bell peppers and the stem of the habanero peppers.
If you want to tone down the heat, you can also de-seed the habanero peppers too. But I don’t do this, because I like mine very spicy.
Chop the tomatoes and bell pepper into large pieces. You don’t have to do this if you have a very powerful blender.
Add all the ingredients and spices together, including the olive oil, into a blender. Blend on high till its pureed. I don’t blend mine till it’s very smooth, I like it a bit coarse.
Pour the blended mix into a pot and let it cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring intermittently. Towards the end, you will notice the oil begins to float to the top.
When most of the liquid has been evaporated, the olive oil will actually begin to fry the mixture and at this point, you will begin to notice the pleasant and wonderful aroma of this sauce!
Let it cool down for a few minutes and transfer to a container. I like to use small acrylic containers with locking clamps because it keeps my pepper sauce tasting very fresh for up to 5 days.
This recipe contains 8 servings with 1 net carb per serving. A serving is approximately a tablespoon so if you use a teaspoon instead, you should get about 16 servings.
I put this sauce in everything so it only lasts a few days for me. You can add it to any dish you make. I like to add it to cauliflower rice dishes, shirataki noodles dishes, and sometimes use as a dipping sauce for baked chicken.
Tips for making African pepper sauce
To tone down the heat, blend one more tomato or reduce the habanero peppers used.
Another way to tone down the heat is to de-seed the habanero peppers before you blend them.
If you want more heat, increase the habanero pepper, one at a time till it gets to your desired level.
You don’t have to blend it very smoothly. You can coarsely blend it if you wish.
The oil will float to the top when it's stored. You can mix it back in or drain it out when you want to use it.
Enjoy these other low carb stews!
Efo Riro (Nigerian Spinach Stew)
African Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes
- 4 habanero peppers
- 1 small red bell pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ tsp crushed ginger
- 1 tsp bouillon powder
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- De-seed the bell peppers and chop into large pieces.
- Remove the stems from the habanero peppers.
- Chop the tomatoes into very large pieces.
- Add all ingredients and spices to a blender and blend till smooth.
- Pour the blended mix into a pot and let cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring intermittently.
- Store in an airtight container when done.
Notes
- To tone down the heat, blend one more tomato or reduce the habanero peppers used.
- Another way to tone down the heat is to de-seed the habanero peppers before you blend them.
- If you want more heat, increase the habanero pepper, one at a time till it gets to your desired level.
- The oil will float to the top when stored. You can mix it back in or drain it out when you want to use it.
Nutrition
Check out these low carb sauces and condiments!
Sweet Homemade Mayonnaise Dressing
Tried this recipe yesterday with little tweaks, turned out so good especially with freshly made breadsticks. It did turn out very spicy but so flavourful, whole family loved it. Thank you
I'm so glad your family loved it, Natasha!
When you say crushed ginger, do you mean dried/powdered ginger, or do you mean to say that we should use a microplane or something with fresh ginger?
Yes, I am referring to fresh ginger root. You can crush it using a small mortar and pestle, or a rolling pin.
Oh wow, this looks amazing! I’m glowing to the store first thing tomorrow. I can taste it in my head already.
Let me know how it turns out, Emily!
Would it be possible to freeze this?
Yes, you can. To use the next day, let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
Thanks soo much! Really love your recipes I am addicted to the lamb curry and zucchini with ground beef.
Thank you for the lovely feedback Habiba! The zucchini with ground beef is a favorite in my house too.
Hello Tayo,
Thank you for this. i want to try this tomorrow, but i am abit concerned about how to store it?
Can we store in the fridge?
Hi Habiba, yes I store it in the fridge and it keeps well for about a week.
Delicious - Thank you!!
You're welcome Reb 🙂