This homemade sweet chilli sauce will become a staple in your home since it’s so easy to make! It’s perfectly sweet, spicy, with a hint of tang -and honestly much better than the bottled stuff.

Why make it from scratch?

I mean, the bottled brands of sweet chilli sauce are so convenient, why bother going through the extra work? That’s totally valid, I actually have a bottle sitting in my fridge right now!

But what really sets it apart from the bottled brands is that it’s super versatile when you make it from scratch. I find some of the bottled brands to either be too sweet for my tastes, or just plain bland altogether (where’s the spiceness??).

With this recipe, I’ve made a general ratio of the ingredients to make it as tasty as possible, with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy that’s not over powering when you eventually use it. The best part? You actually know what’s going inside this sauce! No additives, no preservatives, none of that.

Ingredients

2-4 Thai Chillies
3 mild red peppers
3 cloves garlic
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp salt
Cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water)
Optional: 1/4 tsp annatto powder, paprika, or red food coloring

Instructions

Finely mince the thai chillies, red peppers, and garlic.
Place the minced chillies, peppers, and garlic into a saucepan. Add in the sugar, rice vinegar, water, and salt.
Bring this mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 10 mins with a lid on.
After 10 mins, prepare the cornstarch slurry mixture. In a separate bowl, dissolve the 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of cold water. Pour this mixture into the pot to thicken the chilli sauce, stirring constantly. Add in the annatto powder or paprika and stir to combine.
Once the sauce is thick and bubbly, transfer to a separate container to cool.

Do I have to use coloring?

In short: no, you do not have to add coloring if you don’t want to! It’s purely for aesthetic reasons since without the coloring, the sauce does end up looking a bit more pale and translucent than the striking red sauce we’re used to seeing in the bottles.

That being said, if you’re like me who eats with their eyes, adding about 1/4 tsp of coloring is perfect to achieve that deep red color we’re looking for. I like using annatto powder as a natural food coloring without altering the taste of the sauce too much. You can also use paprika to achieve the same effect, but if all else fails, using a couple drops of coloring works as well!