Mango Habanero Sauce
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Sweet, spicy, and delicious, this Mango Habanero Sauce recipe brings the heat and the flavor! Made with fresh mango, spicy habaneros, and sweet honey, it’s perfect for tossing with chicken wings, brushing over grilled meats, or adding to any recipe that needs a bold flavor boost. Ready in just 10 minutes, this homemade hot sauce is the perfect combo of tropical sweetness and fiery kick!
I love the “swicy” trend that’s happening right now. If you’re not familiar, it’s the combination of sweet and spicy flavors. I’m pretty sure it started with the popularity of hot honey. As someone that doesn’t like things that are too sweet, I love adding a little heat to a sweet sauce to balance out the flavors.
After making a delicious copycat recipe of Buffalo Wild Wings garlic parmesan sauce, I decided to pick up a few other bottles of their sauces to make more copycat recipes at home.
I was super excited about the mango habanero sauce because of my love of the sweet and spicy combo of flavors. I opened the bottle, poured some on a spoon and gave it a try. Immediate tears flowing from my eyes as I rush to the fridge to grab a carton of milk and start chugging. As my friend from Minnesota would say, “holy buckets it was hot”!!
I knew that I had to make a copycat version that wouldn’t make you immediately cry!
The mango habanero sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings is estimated to have a scoville heat unit rating between 50,000 and 70,000. In comparison, a jalapeno has a rating between 2,500 and 8,000. This sauce is fiery hot!!
In my homemade copycat version, I toned down the heat level, so it still has a spicy kick but won’t burn your lips off. Of course, the choice is up to you. Add as many habaneros as you want to make it as spicy as you’d like!
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this mango habanero sauce recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Mango – if they’re in season, I like to use fresh mango. But sometimes they’re hard to find ripe at the grocery store, and if you don’t feel like peeling and dicing up a fresh mango, use frozen mango chunks. Simply place the frozen mango in a fine mesh strainer and run it under cold water in the sink for about a minute. This will quickly defrost it so you can use it in the sauce.
- Habaneros – these tiny little orange peppers are spicy, they have a scoville heat unit rating between 100,000 and 350,000. This is almost 100 times hotter than a jalapeno! I recommend using 3 in this recipe for a spicy hot sauce. Use 1 or 2 for less heat. Or fire it up by using 4 or 5 for a spice level similar to that of Buffalo Wild Wings.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Garlic powder, onion powder and salt – to season the sauce.
If you just want to make a deliciously sticky sweet mango sauce without any heat, you can leave out the habanero peppers in this recipe.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Simmer the sauce. Remove the stems and seeds from the habanero peppers, mince them up, then add them to a sauce pan. Add diced mango, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic powder, onion powder and salt to the saucepan with the minced peppers. Place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir everything together them bring the mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Blend the sauce. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour everything into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Use the sauce immediately as a glaze on grilled meats, or to toss with chicken wings. Or transfer the sauce to an airtight container with a lid and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Ways to use it
- Toss it with chicken wings – originally inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings, of course my favorite use for this mango habanero hot sauce is to toss it with chicken wings. Use these recipes for air fryer chicken wings, smoked chicken wings, or grilled chicken wings, then toss the cooked wings with this sweet and spicy sauce.
- Use it as a glaze on grilled or smoked meats – it’s delicious brushed on this smoked pork tenderloin or tossed with this garlic lime grilled shrimp after it comes off the grill. It’s also great as a glaze on grilled chicken or salmon.
- Use it as a jerk chicken marinade – add 1 cup of the sauce and 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning to a large zipper bag with up to two pounds of chicken thighs or chicken breasts. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours before grilling the chicken.
- Drizzle it over tacos – it’s delicious on these salmon tacos, grilled shrimp tacos, or pork tacos.
Recipe tips
I highly recommend using food-safe gloves when mincing up the habanero peppers. They’re super spicy and if you rub your eyes after touching these peppers, you’ll be in pain!
I also recommend starting with two habanero peppers and tasting the sauce. You can always mince up the third pepper and toss it in, but once you’ve made the sauce, if it’s too spicy, you can’t change it!
More sauce recipes
Try these other popular homemade sauce recipes to amp up the flavor of your next meal!
Mango Habanero Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced mango, fresh or frozen
- 3 habaneros, see notes below
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- If using frozen mango chunks, place them in a fine mesh strainer and run them under cold water in the sink for about a minute. This will quickly defrost them.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the habanero peppers and mince them up. I highly recommend using food-safe gloves for this.
- Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Stir, then bring the ingredients to a simmer. Once simmering, let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and transfer everything to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Heat-level: using three habanero peppers, this sauce is spicy! If you’d like to make it super spicy, use 4-5 habaneros. If you’d like to tone down the spice, use 1-2, or to make a sticky sweet mango sauce with no spice, omit the habanero peppers.
Nutrition Facts
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