Recipe: Fermented Banana Hot Sauce

It took us way too long to think to put bananas in a hot sauce, but now that we have, there's no going back. This fermented banana hot sauce is packed with tropical fruit flavor, perfectly complemented by the high heat of habaneros. It also comes out a gorgeous yellow color. 

And because bananas are so dense, they act as a stabilizer when all the ingredients in this recipe are blended together, yielding a tremendously creamy consistency. The finished hot sauce is just begging to be added to tacos, eggs, pizza—anything that would benefit from added spice and complexity. 

To turn down the heat on this hot sauce, feel free to swap in Fresno peppers instead of habaneros. Or, simply decrease the number of habaneros you add in. 

How to make fermented banana hot sauce

This fermented banana hot sauce comes together using just a handful of ingredients: bananas, habanero peppers, a sweet bell pepper, small onion, garlic, Kosher salt, and water. The bananas should be ripe, but not overripe. A few brown spots on the peel are great. If it's brown on the inside, save it for banana bread instead of hot sauce. 

Start by chopping up your sweet bell pepper (we use an orange one so that everything comes out the same color), small onion, and two cloves of garlic. Slicing the bell pepper and small onion into roughly 1" pieces works just fine. Peel the garlic cloves and slice those too, so all that flavor gets released during the ferment. 

Peel and chop the bananas next. The shape of the pieces doesn't matter, so long as they are all roughly the same size. Set aside for now. 

Now it's time to process your peppers. With habaneros, we slice off the top and stem before removing some of the ribbing and seeds. We do this mostly to improve the consistency of the hot sauce, but this step also reduces the heat just slightly. If you're in the market for a supremely spicy hot sauce, keep those seeds in. 

To make your brine, add 2.5 tablespoons of Kosher salt to 1 quart of water (4 cups) and stir until completely dissolved. 

Layer the chopped banana, habaneros, bell pepper, onion, and garlic into a 1/2 gallon glass fermentation jar. Keep layering in the ingredients until the fermenter is full and top with a glass fermentation weight. Pour the brine over everything, ensuring all the ingredients are fully submerged. 

Seal your fermentation jar with the lid and airlock. Ferment in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks. 

Once your ferment is ready, transfer all of the solid ingredients to a blender (we typically use a slotted spoon for this step). You'll want to save 1 cup of fermented brine to add to the blender as well. Finally, add 1 cup of white vinegar and blend until smooth. 

Transfer your vibrant yellow hot sauce to bottles or jars. This fermented banana hot sauce will keep for months stored in the fridge.