Learn how to make the best sweet chili sauce at home! This easy chili sauce recipe requires just 8 ingredients and less than 40 minutes to prepare! Use it as a dipping sauce with egg rolls and nuggets, or in marinades, sauces, soups, and more!
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Looking for an easy, 8-ingredient sauce to spice up your dishes?
I have exactly what you need! This sweet and spicy chili sauce is perfect for dipping but also great to drizzle on top of anything. Egg rolls, spring rolls, potato fries, steamed veggies, rice, noodles, and more! Let's make chili sauce!
⭐️ Why You Should Try this Recipe
- It tastes so much better than store-bought. That's right, this homemade version has a fresh, more natural flavor.
- It's easy to make and takes less than 1 hour. The process to make this sauce is very simple and relies on just a handful of ingredients you can find easily. Plus this sauce keeps very well in the refrigerator.
- It's naturally sweetened. While most store-bought sauces contain a lot of refined sugars, this sauce is made using maple syrup.
- It's customizable. You can easily adjust the spiciness, the amount of garlic, and even the consistency of the sauce to your liking.
📘 What is Sweet Chili Sauce
Sweet chili sauce is a condiment that is made from puréed chilies, sugar, and sometimes garlic and tomatoes. Sweet chili sauce can be found in many Asian countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, although each version is slightly different.
This sweet chili sauce is inspired by a Vietnamese condiment called Tương ớt. It's basically Vietnamese ketchup as it can be found on pretty much every table. This sauce is quite spicy, sweet, and just a little bit sour. Compared to sriracha, it is much sweeter and less garlicky.
🧄 Ingredient Notes
Preparing this sauce will take you about 40 minutes from start to finish. Here are the ingredients you will need (full measurements in the recipe card):
- Chili Peppers - We will be using two types of chili peppers: Goat horn chili peppers, which are mildly spicy, and Bird's eye chili peppers (also called Thai chili peppers) which are much spicier. This helps create a balanced spiciness.
- Garlic - Use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Maple syrup - To keep this sauce refined sugar-free, I went with maple syrup. You can also use agave syrup if that's what you have on hand.
- Vinegar - For a tangy flavor. I used apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar or rice vinegar will work as well.
- Tomato - The addition of tomatoes helps tone down the spiciness of the sauce.
- Cornstarch - To thicken the sauce.
🥣 How to Make Sweet Chili Sauce
Making this sauce is super easy! Here is the process:
- Place the chopped chilis, garlic, water, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or nut milk bag. This step is essential to get a silky smooth sauce.
Tip: Do not discard the chili pulp and save it to use in stir-fries, marinades, or even pasta sauces to add spiciness!
- Next, transfer the strained juice to a saucepan or skillet and let simmer for about 10 minutes to get rid of the raw chili flavor.
- Finally, to thicken the sauce put it back on the stove, add cornstarch, and whisk until it thickens. Done!
You can then transfer the sauce to a bottle and use it immediately!
🍕 Where to Use It
You can use this sweet chili sauce in so many dishes! It's perfect to:
- Drizzle on roasted veggies, fritters, pizza, etc.
- Stir into rice, noodles, or quinoa to add some heat and sweetness.
- Use it as a dip for egg rolls, roasted potatoes, nuggets, or basically anything that needs some extra spiciness! You can even mix it with vegan mayo to create a milder and creamier dipping sauce!
📔 Tips
- You can adjust the spiciness level by playing with the ratio of goat horn chili peppers to Thai chilies. I went with 5 Thai chilies, and I found the sauce to be already quite spicy. If you want it spicier: add more Thai chilies. If you want a milder chili sauce: Only use 2 Thai chilies.
- The thinner your sieve, the smoother your sauce will be. I tried straining the sauce using a fine sieve mesh, as well as a nut milk bag. The nut milk bag way yielded the best consistency, but the sauce tends to dye the bag, so be aware of that.
- To make it easier to use, feel free to transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle.
💬 FAQ
Is this recipe authentic?
This recipe is based on authentic Asian recipes, more particularly Vietnamese ones. It has a flavor very similar to the Cholimex brand.
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes, this sweet chili sauce should be kept in the refrigerator.
How long does this sauce keep?
This sauce will keep for up to 10 days stored in the refrigerator.
How spicy is this sweet chili sauce?
If using the recommended amounts of chilies, this sauce is mildly spicy. Check out the Tips section above to see how you can adjust the spiciness level.
Is sweet chili sauce the same as sweet and sour sauce?
No, sweet chili sauce is usually spicier and not as tangy/sour. I have a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce, so feel free to check it out!
If you ever wondered how to make sweet chili sauce from scratch, you are going to love this recipe!
🥫 More Spicy Condiments
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Update November 2022: Post has been updated with more content and new photos.
📖 Recipe
Easy Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 goat horn chili peppers
- 10 Thai chilies also called bird's eye chili
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 6 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup water
- 1 medium tomato
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch diluted in 1 tablespoon water, add more for a thicker sauce
Instructions
- Using gloves, cut off the stems of the chili peppers (both kinds) and remove the seeds. Transfer to a blender. Add the garlic, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, oil, salt, and water. Add the tomato as well. Blend on high speed for 10-20 seconds, or until smooth.
- Strain the juice through a fine sieve to remove the chili seeds and skins. Note: You can discard the pulp or use it in stir-fries or marinades to add spiciness.
- Transfer the strained juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer uncovered for 7-10 minutes, or until it has slightly thickened and doesn't smell like raw peppers anymore. It will also get a slightly deeper red color.
- Stir in the diluted cornstarch, and whisk until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and transfer to a clean jar. You can also let it cool completely and then transfer it to a squeeze bottle.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Use this sweet chili sauce as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, potato fries, and steamed veggies, or drizzle it on rice, noodles, spring rolls, pizza, and more!
Video
Notes
- You can adjust the spiciness level by playing with the ratio of goat horn chili peppers to Thai chilies. I went with 5 Thai chilies, and I found the sauce to be already quite spicy. If you want it spicier: add more Thai chilies. If you want a milder chili sauce: Only use 2 Thai chilies.
- The thinner your sieve, the smoother your sauce will be. I tried straining the sauce using a fine sieve mesh, as well as a nut milk bag. The nut milk bag way yielded the best consistency, but the sauce tends to dye the bag, so be aware of that.
- To make it easier to use, feel free to transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle.
Ça a l’air d’être bien bon !
Félicitations.
Merci papa! 🙂
Thomas, I don´t have sometimes the chance to tell how much I enjoy your web site! I have been following you for a while now. I think your recipes are fantastic and delicious! Yours is one of the best vegan web sites around. Thank you very much for offering us such carefully crafted dishes! Big hello from Asia!
Thank you so much for your kind words Santiago 😉 I really appreciate it!
Just tried your chili sauce recipe. Excellent!
Thank you.
Glad you liked it Emy!
Thanks for your feedback 🙂