Yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! It’s fall and that means Old fashioned Chili Sauce! The tangy, sweet, spicy condiment that makes pork, potato pancakes and chicken come ALIVE. Well, not technically “alive”. That would be quite scary.
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If you can chop vegetables, simmer something on the stove and happen to have a working nose you CAN make chili sauce. It’s full of chunky vegetables and wintery spices like cloves, brown sugar and cinnamon with the added heat of CAYENNE.
So about that nose thing … several years go I got sinusitis. One of the symptoms of it is not being able to smell anything. Great for walking through garbage juice puddles at the dump, but not so great when making chili sauce. The thing about creating great food is you need to taste as you go. Even if you’re using a recipe. And the thing about tasting is you need your sense of smell to get a good idea of how things taste. So I made my sinusitis chili sauce and had no idea how it tasted. I dragged it around for all of my friends and relatives to taste and got a unanimous decision.
It was gross.
Bland I believe was the actual word. I pulled the spice bag out too early. So as you make this and let it simmer don’t be afraid to adjust things. The inability to adjust is my main complaint about the stupid Instant Pot by the way. You can read my complete unbiased review of how much I don’t like the Instant Pot here.
Shot of a rare museum quality artifact – the recipe card.
What’s in Old Fashioned Chili Sauce
This isn’t the thin runny, condiment you see in the grocery storey. It’s a hearty, full of fruit and vegetables concoction that’s more like a chutney.
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Banana Peppers
- Red Peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Peaches
As far as spices and flavourings go you have brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
Honestly all you do is rough chop a bunch of vegetables, throw them in a pot and let ’em simmer. If you can’t manage that then I’m so sorry to hear you’re in a coma. Get well.
Ready for this old timey, vintage, sweet and spicy chili sauce recipe? Good. I’m proud you were able to shake yourself out of that coma.
Homemade Old Fashioned Chili Sauce
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 18 quarts tomatoes
- 2 bunches celery
- 3 quarts banana peppers
- 10 red peppers
- 12 onions
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup coarse salt
- 4 cups vinegar
- 4 peaches
- 2.5 lbs brown sugar
- 2 tsps. cayenne pepper
- 3 tsps. cloves
- 3 tsps. cinnamon
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- 10 whole cloves
Instructions
- Peel tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then plunging them into cold water. The skin will slide right off. If it doesn't, plunge them in the hot water again.
- Wrap all the whole spices in a little cheesecloth bag.
- Rough chop the remaining ingredients. Don't worry about it being pretty, just chop them up into pieces between 1/4" - 1/2".
- Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until thick and reduced by 1/3rd. This will take many hours. 5-10 hours depending on the type of tomatoes you use.
- Taste as you go! If after 3 hours you find you like the taste of it, then remove the spice bag and continue to simmer until thickened. I always leave my spice bag in until the end though.
Notes
- Prepare a water bath.
- Fill canning jars with hot chili sauce then put on sealer and band.
- Process for 20 minutes in water bath.
Nutrition
What to Eat Chili Sauce With
- Eggs
- Chicken
- Pork
- Fritters
- On potato pancakes. – which is my FAVOURITE way to eat it.
This recipe makes a HUGE batch so either half it or plan on preserving it.
Canning Chili Sauce
- Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Bring sauce to a boil if it isn’t already.
- Fill washed, hot pint jars with hot chili sauce, leaving 1/2″ head space.
- Wipe rims, put lids and screw rings on. Finger tighten the rings.
- Process in a hot water bath making sure they are submerged with at least 2″ of water over them.
- Process for 20 minutes. Start timing the 20 minutes once the water has returned to boiling after putting all your jars in.
- Remove jars from the water bath using a jar lifter and set on the counter undisturbed until you hear the satisfying “pop” of them sealing.
To make canning less of a pain (literally) get one of these cheap canning kits that have a jar lifter, a funnel, tongs and everything else you need for canning.
Pro tip? Do not attempt this while suffering from sinusitis.
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OOOh I’m gonna just buy a jar of Calabrian Chili sauce at Wegmans, and whirl it up in a blender. Way easier folks.
This recipe sounds great-
Like some others, I would like to make half the quantity. So, I have a few questions-
What would the weight be for some of the ingredients?–
18 quarts tomatoes is equivalent to ??? lbs. (if I have a choice, what type of tomato should I buy?)
Banana peppers–3 quarts is equivalent to ??? lbs (I have not seen banana peppers at our local farm market–can I use jalapenos???-they are very plentiful–would I use the same amount?
Celery–how much does a bunch weigh?
I imagine some of the quantities can be approximate. However, in making something the first time, it helps to have an idea of measurements.
The second time around, we can adjust to our personal preference
This looks so good, I imagine I will be making it many times in the future.
For right now, I hope to use some as an ingredient in sweet and sour meatballs and to freeze the rest.
Hope to hear from you soon so I can buy those tomatoes.
Thanks so much
PLEASE HELP! I woul dvery much like to make this recipe, but I live in France and have no idea how to convert a quart of tomato! How many grams (or kilos) of tomatoes makes up 18 quarts??? Or if that is too hard, how many “regular” sized tomatoes make 1 quart ?
I hope you will answer, despite the age of the post :):):)
A quart is .95 kilograms
Or 18 quarts is 17.03 kilograms.
How about cooking ingredients down in a pressure cooker than simmer to thicken do you think that would work
Hi Todd. It *might* work but I actually don’t think that you’d save any time because it’s the simmering to thicken (and meld the flavours) that really takes all those hours. So mainly you’d just be dirtying two things instead of one. :) ~ karen!
Ok your “rare museum quality artifact” (aka the recipe card) first says 3 quarts of tomatoes, then I see a 6 written above that. Then down on your printable recipe you have 18 quarts of tomatoes. What is the correct amount of tomatoes because I really want to make this and I still have tomatoes left from the garden :)
Yet again, something I cannot wait to make! Let me know if you ever start taking interns, I’ll be the first to apply, HA! Question – have you ever made in a crock-pot (ie apple-butter) for reduction? I love my gas stove, but it also likes to scald my concoctions that require simmering. It doesn’t know how to simmer. I cannot wait to make my house smell like spicy-spicy goodness!
Ok just saw the slow-cooker comment, did a search for the “crock,” didn’t find anything, so asked away. Dis-regard the cooking question, intern question still stands :)
Hey Karen, as soon as I read “chili sauce” my nose memories kicked into gear. I grew up in Winona with the E D Smith jam factory almost in our backyard. This time of year they made chili and the air was filled with the most glorious smells imaginable. Thanks for the happy thoughts…. my nose hairs are tingling! Lol.
LOL! Happy to help a girl’s nose out. ~ karen!
Did this ever exist in a smaller form. I love the taste image that the ingredients form but I only want a single jar (which would live forever in fridge with the condiment family )
I can do the math but sometimes w recipes, extreme reductions or multiplications have a dramatic effect on the outcome.
Do you think reducing this to single size would work?
Eek. I’m not sure Susan. That’s a big reduction. I can see halving the recipe as an O.K. way to go but I’m not sure a single serving would work. In fact I’m almost positive it won’t. It needs to simmer for a long time to both reduce and get the proper flavour from the spices. If you were to try to simmer one jars worth of it I think all the liquids and balances would be off. You could maybe make a half recipe and give the other jars away? Or freeze them if you’re worried about canning. ~ karen!
I was afraid of that. Perhaps its worth a “science experiment”, using chutney recipes but with these ingredients. They’re not hugely dissimilar.
Thanks for such a speedy response
YUM. I wish I still had tomatoes to make it! I feel the need to share something that I made with the 1 billion paprika peppers that I have (still) growing in my garden this year. It’s a fermented hot sauce but it’s much more of kind-of-hot sauce that I’ve been using as an ingredient rather than as a condiment. IT’S SO GOOD and I got it from one of @urbanfarmstead’s Instagram stories:
1 1/2 pounds your choice of not too spicy peppers (I used about 95% of my Leutschauer paprika peppers from Baker Creek and 5% habaneros), stemmed and cored
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend to a puree. Pour into a covered glass jar and ferment in a cool dark place for 1 week.
After fermentation, return to blender and add 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar.
IT IS SO GOOD. I doubled the recipe but didn’t feel like canning so I froze what I didn’t keep in the fridge. It made about a quart and a half?
Enjoy!
Karen
Sounds delicious. Any chance that the next time you make this you could weigh your ingredients for me? That way, I can cut the recipe (or multiply it) easily. Weights are so much easier to work with than volume measurements — for instance 18 quarts of tomatoes can be very different depending on their size.
I’d love to try this recipe out by making a smaller batch, but I am afraid I would get the proportions way off in trying to cut it down to one or two jars worth.
I realized this week that EVERY recipe l have tried of yours is the absolute best! Your rhubarb cake with coulis is a man tamer.I can’t wait to make this chili sauce….next year.
That mass quantity of ingredients and only 6 cloves of garlic??? Something must be wrong, that just doesn’t seem right…
18 quarts is rather subjective; do you have a weight? I make my own but I would like to try your recipe.
Yes, please convert to lbs fresh (and quantity of pre-canned as a substitute).
Looks too delish ….
Also: size of jars?
Instruction: 3. Fill washed, hot pint jars with hot chili sauce, leaving 1/2″ head space. (I need to try this stuff!)
Thx
Can u freeze this instead of canning?
Chili sauce is essential with meatloaf and mac & cheese, preferably together. Seriously, try it on baked mac & cheese, you will never go back to plain. I don’t use celery or peaches in mine but I might need to give it a whirl.
Sadly, my last bout of sinusitis resulted in a near total loss of smell and taste.
( as if that wasn’t enough I also smell odors that aren’t there. Gobs of fun)
All of this said I’m perfectly willing to accept a jar of yours to add pizzazz to meals that folks tell me are either too bland or over the top too whatever— garlicky, peppery, etc.
And you’ll get all the kudos, I promise.😉👍
Address on request.
Years ago I was in a bad slip-n-fall and crashed my face. One eye socket was smashed, sinuses were flattened, as was ear canal. My nose was obliterated. They said I had to heal for “a bit” before surgery…that bit ended up being about 9 years. Finally the surgery was done, healing was a minimum 10 weeks and it was amazing! I could breathe through my nose, I didn’t have constant sinus infections and my right ear worked! My hearing and balance was SO bad! And I got back part of my sense of taste and smell. What a difference!
Wow – that sounds awful! Glad you’re better than you were. Tasting and smelling things again must seem miraculous!
Thanks! I’d forgotten how bad it was until I could smell and taste again! I LOVE food!
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do you taste the peaches in this recipe? making it right nowth
Hi Cathy. How are you? You don’t taste the peaches. You don’t really taste any individual ingredient, it’s the combination of them all and the spices that makes the flavour. The peaches help to add the sweetness plus the pectin in them would aid a bit in the thickening of the chili sauce. ~ karen!
I make this chili sauce, too, but minus the peaches and banana peppers….hmmm….I Like peach salsa so might try it. My grandkids love it right out of the jar, use it like salsa, and I eat it on white beans with ham in them. Delish!! Oh, and I cheat now and use canned tomatoes. I’m lazy and the tomatoes grown around here aren’t that tasty any more. Plus, don’t have to cook it as long. Keeps in the fridge awhile, but I don’t make as much as you and it gets eaten before it goes bad. Oh, and I just put the hot sauce in jars and they seal themselves. Don’t put them in a water bath. I can’t imagine peeling that many tomatoes!!!!
I’ve really enjoyed reading about this chili sauce recipe. My mother made chili sauce frequently, and our whole family was addicted to it. Yes, it took most of the day, even if you cheat and use canned tomatoes, but it was usually a family project. My mom was an Okie, and I know my grandmother and great-aunt always had it on hand, too (all Okies) so I figured it was an Okie thing. My family was in New Mexico and every meal was centered around beans, usually pintos, but we ate chili sauce on the beans, whether pintos or limas or navy beans. If we had roast beef, we usually dolloped chili sauce on it, too. My family would easily go through a pint jar in a single meal because it was absolutely delicious and satisfying, and you can never get enough of it, so we had to make it a lot. My mother used the recipe from her old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from the 1950’s although I have seen it in some earlier versions, too. The whole house smells wonderful while it’s brewing in the big pot. My mouth waters just thinking about it–happy memories! –Robin
Hi Susan,
Yes, lol, the answers to all of your questions are in the post. You may have skipped over or skimmed the last paragraphs (underneath the recipe card). Everything you need to know is there. Good luck! ~ karen
Looks like a great recipe, and I was going to make it this weekend but got a little confused….. what measurement of pickling spice to you put in the cheesecloth?
Is this canned? Water bath or pressure canned? How long?
Are all these answers in the recipe, and I am making things difficult for myself? :)
Check my Instructable to get you to the thick tomato paste stage where you add the rest of the ingredients and you won’t need nearly 10 hours of cooking.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Vegetable-juice-and-tomato-sauce/
If you don’t have a juicer or food strainer maybe you can negotiate one in exchange for mentioning it.
One fall when our house was for sale I made chili sauce. The buyer’s offer stipulated that we leave two jars of chili sauce in the cupboard. Good selling tip!!
I just got into canning – made me some pickled shallots. And we go through chili sauce like it’s going out of style. I’ll have to ramp up the hotness and we can ditch the processed (but delicious) crap in my fridge. Now all I need is a how-to on building a cellar in a rented basement suite. I’m not good at sharing.
I’ve never done chili sauce….Looks good ….I always love the way you photograph your food….every time I take a photo for my blog I think “Now how would Karen take this photo”? Hmmmm she always either turns the dish a certain way or only photographs half of it or something or with a little sprinkle on the side….Anyway….that is always what I notice about your foodie posts!
Thanks Barbie! Often there’s a bite out of it. That could be what makes the shots special, LOL. ~ karen!
What did you say Mr. Stomach? Yes I know! I haven’t made chilli sauce in nearly 3 years! I guess it’s time to change that!
First we need to go to the grocery store and pick up a few red kidney beans, a package of mince meat, some cheddar cheese, a ripe green pepper, and a packet of chilli powder! Then it’s time to start the party over at the stove top!
Now, if it was me, I’d have gone with a pasta sauce today, just to get one more dig in after yesterday’s Facebook debacle, but I guess chili sauce is close enough. If you don’t want to make this post public on the blog, Karen, that’s fine with me. I was saying it more to you than anyone else, anyway. Keep strong.
So sweet you read my ramblings and responded … I’m triple blessed … got Canada backing me! Just so you know, my dear, grandpa Jeanne Pierre Comeau was born in Nova Scotia! Never got his American status cause only a midwife (long dead) could confirm his birth. So I’m kinda a Canadian! Well hell, I love it!
I seem to not know how to spell corderoy. Or “ex-boyfriend.”
Okay. So here’s my thing with chili sauce:
When I was kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s my mum had a boyfriend who canned his own chili sauce. He also carried around a man purse with all his newspapers in it, and his information for his various sports pools. He and my mum made matching caftans, and they sewed up a giant beenbag “snake” out of brown corderoi filled with those little bean bag beans that got everywhere.
He was an eccentric guy, who watched hockey, but also got me interested in the shows “Hill Street Blues” and “WKRP in Cincinatti.” I did and do think well of him.
He canned his own chili sauce. It was awesome. On scrambled eggs. (Note: I feel very strongly against ketchup on scrambled eggs–ugh.)
It is very unlikely that I will be making my own. I love your blog, Karen, but I know my own limitations. I will not be making chili sauce.
But boy, did your post get me thinking about my mum’s wonderful oex-boyfriend, and what a good almost step-dad he was, in all his eccentricities.
Your comment made me smile! He sounded like an interesting guy with a man purse.
Ps….I eat ketchup with everything….especially eggs! :X :D
Aww, so sweet, Wendy. I can hear the theme songs, feel the corduroy and oh look, there’s a styrofoam bean clinging to my shirt, damnit. Thanks for the story.
Tortiere, baby!
Tortiere is a GOOD idea. Or on samosas from the Samosa Lady at the farmers’ market. MMMMMMM.
Like Annie, I’m confused as to what all this chili sauce will be used for. I can see it being used in scrabbled eggs, on hamburgers, or hot dogs—but this will hardly use up the batch. Are you using this as a base for chili?
A side question. What kind of camera are you using? Your pictures are always great.
I’m glad I’m not the only one to ask – inquiring minds want to know…how do we use chili sauce? It looks delicious and I imagine using it on hot dogs, hamburgers…maybe steak? What else? Is there a common way to use it?
Good on hot dogs and burgers right?? It looks good anyway!
Do you think you could do this in a slow cooker? I have a fear of canning, so would just give away jars to people to be used ASAP. LOL
If you slow cooker can simmer with the lid off then you can slow cook it. You’d also need QUITE a large slow cooker. It’ll stay good in the fridge for at least a couple of months. ~ karen!
This sounds like a salsa recipe. I defintely will be trying it.
it sounds delicious. at the risk of sounding silly i want to ask, how do you use it other than whipping up a batch of chili? i mean as creative as you are, i’m sure you use it in a variety of ways. please share.
Thanks Karen. This recipe is safely ensconced in “The List”, my large recipe file on computer. Recently spent waaay too much time tweaking it. Many of your recipes are there, and thanks for that!
My tomato crop was miserable this year, so no sauce. Maybe someday….
Yummy! Forwarded your link to my sister……You never know, we might score some chili sauce for Christmas!
Hi Karen,
What the heck is Chili Sauce and what do you do with it? It looks like a condiment. Does it go IN things or ON things? I’m down here in Texas where Chili recipes abound but I’ve never heard of Chili Sauce. Is it a Canadian thing like Vegemite for the Australians?
Hi Edith – It *is* a condiment. It actually has nothing to do with chili, LOL. It can be used like a chutney with chicken or pork and is great on potato pancakes or eggs. ~ karen!
Dani, you keep what you’ll use, then make others happy by gifting the rest. I sure welcome these gifts.
I have never understood chili sauce. Can anyone explain?
Do you use it like ketchup? Or salsa? or just sauce?
How do you use chili sauce? Are there rules?
This recipe looks so tastey! I imagine having it with eggs. Is that weird? Ok hungry now.
Thanks Karen!
Ab
Nope, not weird at all! That’s how a lot of people use this chili sauce! ~ karen
This looks like a great gift. Anything that has to cook that long seems like a magical experiment, and to me that equals fun. If I were to put suggestions for how to use the sauce on a card for recipients, what would be your favorite suggestions? I suspect this would be best used on beef, poultry, or pork, but I’m one if those pescatarian types and didn’t use super spicy stuff back when I wasn’t, so some recommendations would be much appreciated.
Also, if we don’t fully can it, any idea how long it would last in the fridge once opened?
Thanks!
Adrienne! My favourite way to have this is on potato pancakes. It’s also great with chicken (like a chutney), pork or with eggs. My mother particularly loves it with eggs! No idea how long it would last in the fridge, but I know I’ve had some in my fridge for several months and still used it. i’m not sure if I should recommend doing that or not though, LOL. ~ karen
Marti has it in 1!
I love your recipe card for its little blotches, reminds me of that saying about an Italian kitchen-something about shouldn’t be too clean cos that’s a sign you don’t cook!
I just bottled a batch of tomato and vanilla chutney, sounds weird to me but recipe came from a reliable source. Suggests you eat it with ricotta.
“No need to be pretty about it. I mean, you can be pretty while you’re doing it…”
Loved this! Made me guffaw! Ok, maybe not guffaw. But definitely an audible chuckle.
This looks delicious. Not sure what I would do with 15 jars of chili sauce, but it’s better than having 35 jars of red pepper jelly which is what happened with my chili peppers last year. This might just be the year of the chili sauce in my house.
Karen, I just want you to know that you are the ONLY person I know who would start a blog post about homemade chili sauce by discussing her sinusitis.
And certainly the only person I know whose recipe post with such an enticing first line would I ever read.
I’m not even sure I like chili sauce, but I may try this recipe…in spite of both of us.
LOL. Wait’ll my next recipe post when I discuss my cat’s weepy eye.
lol!
Lord you make me laugh out loud … and proud I might add! I’m the South Carolina rattle snake lady. Guess good things come from bad times. Now it is confirmed I have friends in my neighborhood …. bless them, they check on me daily now! As a single “mature” woman, with kids grown and out of the nest, I kind of retreated into my big empty house. But, that damn rattler reunited me with people … my loving neighbors, who came with shovels and hoes in hand to protect me. Kinda like a scene from Frankenstein … without the torches … it was day time!
Neighbours can be as important as family Patti! Glad they circled around you. ~ karen!
I am going to give this a try ,thanks