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    Home » Recipes » Sauces, Dips, Dressings

    Published: February 22, 2020 | Last Modified: February 16, 2021 by Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju | This post may contain affiliate links. 💬 - 2 Comments

    African Pepper Sauce

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    Super versatile African pepper sauce with bell peppers, habanero peppers, tomatoes and onions - parboiled to perfection. Use as pasta sauce, or salsa-style dip!
    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

    This super versatile African pepper sauce uses just four ingredients and comes together in under 30 minutes! Use as pasta sauce, or salsa-style dip!

    African Pepper Sauce

    This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you're in a rush, please use the "Jump to Recipe" link!

    This post might contain affiliate links. If you click on those and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to:
    • 💭 Why you'll love this recipe
    • 📋 Ingredients and notes
    • 📖 How do you make African pepper sauce?
    • Is the sauce super spicy? What if I want to tone it down?
    • 🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Pepper sauce was one of the first things I learned to make when I started dating my boyfriend. This African pepper sauce has bell peppers, tomatoes, habanero peppers and onions - and parboiled to a sauce like consistency. Called Ata Bin Bo, this pepper sauce forms the base of almost all the spicy dishes in Nigeria.

    💭 Why you'll love this recipe

    • Four ingredients and 30 minutes: This recipe uses easily available ingredients and comes together in no time!
    • Super versatile: I love using this as a base for pasta (e.g. my spicy alfredo sauce) or for my favorite Nigerian Jollof rice, or as fiery salsa replacement!

    📋 Ingredients and notes

    You'll need red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and habanero peppers for this recipe!

    African pepper sauce ingredients

    📖 How do you make African pepper sauce?

    Honestly, it's super simple - remove the stem and seeds, and chop four red bell peppers and a couple of habanero peppers (depending on your spice tolerance). Add a couple of tomatoes and half an onion and blend them with ¼ cup of water. Parboil this on low heat for about 20-30 minutes and you're done!

    Is the sauce super spicy? What if I want to tone it down?

    What I love about this African pepper sauce is that, despite it's name, it's actually super versatile. The blend that I used would probably end up being somewhere between medium and hot on a spicy scale. But it's so easy to adjust that to your preference.

    • To make it it spicier (and more true to the Nigerian pepper sauce) add more habanero peppers (or the original, Scotch Bonnet pepper if you get that in your area).
    • If you want to make a milder but still have a kick, just add one habanero
    • Finally, if you love the taste, but don't want it to be spicy, just use bell peppers!

    🍴 Serving and storage suggestions

    The possibilities are endless! I wrote a long post about making Nigerian jollof rice a while ago. I used the Nigerian version of the pepper sauce (with an extra habanero) as the base for that recipe. I've made a terrific alfredo with this sauce!

    Close up shot of a plate of spicy alfredo

    📖 Recipe

    African Pepper Sauce
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    African Pepper Sauce

    Super versatile African pepper sauce with bell peppers, habanero peppers, tomatoes and onions - parboiled to perfection. Use as pasta sauce, or salsa-style dip!
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Sauce
    Cuisine: African
    Diet: Vegan
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 27kcal
    Author: Shruthi Baskaran

    Ingredients

    • 4 red bell peppers
    • 3 habanero peppers
    • 3 Roma tomatoes
    • ½ yellow onion
    • ½ cup water , substitute with oil for the fried version of sauce

    Instructions

    • Remove the stems and remove the seeds of the bell peppers. Chop into quarters. Remove the stem of the habanero peppers. Add to a blender or food processor with 3 tomatoes, half a yellow onion, and either ½ cup of water or oil (depending on the type of sauce you want).
    • Blend or pulse to your desired consistency. Traditionally, the sauce is a bit coarse, so I pulse for a minute. If you want it smoother, you can also just blend it.
    • Transfer to a medium pot, and simmer on a low-medium flame for about 20-30 minutes. If you used oil, it will float to the top when its done cooking. If you just used water, the sauce will reduce by half to the desired consistency.
    • Turn off the stove when all the water has evaporated - store in an air tight container in a fridge and use for up to a week! If you want to store for longer, make sure to top off the sauce with oil so it avoids all contact with air.

    Notes

    • If you're just using water, the sauce is done when the top starts forming large bubbles that pop - this means that most of the water has evaporated. If you use oil, that will float to the top. 
    • I keep my sauce seasoning free so it can take on flavors best suited to the dish I make with the sauce (e.g. more bold curry-type flavors for jollof rice, or more Italian flavors for pasta) - you're welcome to add seasoning to the sauce after it parboils!
    • You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to a week regardless of whether you use water or oil in the base. If you want to store it for longer, I suggest using oil, and topping off the container with a thin layer of oil to make sure it avoids all contact with air. This way, it'll last 2-3 weeks. You can also freeze this sauce for up to 4 to 6 months! 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 27kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2092IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Tag @urbanfarmie or #urbanfarmie to let me know – I would LOVE to see your creations!

    Note: This recipe was originally published on February 22, 2020 and updated on January 31, 2021 with some additional notes and helpful tips.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Christiane

      February 27, 2020 at 2:37 pm

      5 stars
      I love this kind of sauce and will definitely make it!

      Reply
    2. Ágnes

      May 17, 2021 at 11:33 am

      5 stars
      Sounds like the right versatile sauce

      Reply

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    Shruthi Baskaran - Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, and Blogger at Urban Farmie

    I am Shruthi, the recipe developer, photographer and blogger behind Urban Farmie. I have two graduate degrees from Stanford, one focused on food systems. And I hope to bring you everything you need for healthy-ish, comforting, nourishing vegetarian cooking.

    Read more →

    Recipe Key

    Dairy free
    Gluten free
    Nut free
    Vegan
    Vegetarian

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