Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce

This Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce is not for beginners. I'm serious. This hot sauce is way hot. Delicious but way hot. You've been warned!

I was going to make my super popular Pineapple Sauce for Ham to go with our Christmas Ham this year but decided to try this Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce instead. I also considered some sort of hot mustard but it's almost a law to have pineapple with ham.

As with all recipes that use Jalapeños, you can control the heat by adjusting the number of seeds you include. I wanted mine to be especially spicy to offset the sourness of the pineapple so I kept all of the seeds.

I will warn you up front and hopefully, you are reading this before you make this hot sauce. As the name implies, this hot sauce is HOT. Like very hot. Unless you really love hot sauce, you might want to move on to one of my other recipes.

After serving it at Christmas dinner, I would probably advise you to remove the seeds of one of the Jalapeños before adding it to the blender. While I can handle the seeds from both, it's so hot that it takes away from the flavors of everything else. Again, experiment to suit your needs.

If you like spicy but prefer mustard with your ham, then give my Jalapeño Mustard a try. The same rules apply. The seeds will control the heat! The Jalapeño Mustard will be less hot than this recipe.

You don't have to use a real pineapple for this recipe. It's fine to use canned pineapples as long as you use the unsweetened kind. I personally like to drain the pineapple juices before putting them in the food processor.

Since you are going to puree the mixture, it makes no difference what kind you use (i.e. Chunky vs. Crushed vs. Slices). That being said, reserving some of the pineapple juice might help you "tone" down the heat a bit. You will need to experiment a bit to find the right balance for you.

As you can see from the pictures, I did not process until "smooth" as indicated on the recipe card. I wanted more of a salsa or relish consistency this time around. You can process the mixture to whatever consistency you need or want. It's that easy!

🌶 How to Handle Hot Peppers

The capsaicin in hot peppers is what makes peppers hot. If you handle hot peppers gloveless, it’s a guarantee that you’re in for a nasty case of chili burn, both on your fingers and anywhere you rub. Like your face. Ouch!

Even if you wear disposable gloves, be careful about what you touch. The gloves are going to protect your fingers, but touching any part of your body with the gloves after you’ve handled hot peppers can lead to severe chili burn. Resist the temptation to rub your eyes. Wait until you’ve removed your gloves and washed your hands thoroughly with soap.

🔪 Equipment Needed

You will need a food processor to make this Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce recipe.

The Scoville Scale is the measurement that tells you the spiciness of a given type of pepper.

Pepper Type	Scoville Rating (Heat)
Bell Pepper	0-0
Banana Pepper	0-500
Poblano Pepper	1000-1500
Jalapeño Pepper	2500-8000
Serrano Peppers	10,000-25,000
Manzano Pepper	12,000-30,000
Tabasco & Cayenne	30,000-50,000
Habanero Pepper	100,000-300,000
Ghost Pepper	855,000-1,000,000
Carolina Reaper	1,500,000-2,300,000

📋 Gather your Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make this Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce recipe (see recipe card for quantities): Pineapple, White Onion, Jalapeños, Garlic Cloves, Tomatoes, Fresh Cilantro, Fresh Lime, Apple Cider Vinegar and Salt & Pepper.

🥣 How to make Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
Put the mixture in a saucepan and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Let the pineapple mixture cool before placing it in a jar.