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Turkish Kebab Shop Chilli Sauce

Learn how to make the best chilli sauce with my homemade recipe. It’s so easy to make and it’s packed full of flavour; you’re going to be pouring this sauce on everything!

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You can’t have a kebab without a dolloping of red chilli sauce, it’s not an official rule, but it’s definitely one that I live by! Having garlic sauce and this red chilli sauce will always be my go-to sauces of choice.

Not only is this recipe perfect for kebabs, but I also use it in so many different ways. A few of my favourite uses are as a dip, to drizzle over meats and to add it to noodle dishes (which you have to try!).

All you need is a few ingredients and one simple step, and you’ll be enjoying your own homemade hot chilli sauce without even going to the kebab shop!

Why You’ll Like This Recipe

It’s So Quick: This sauce is ready in just one big step; no, I’m not kidding. It really couldn’t get any easier than this, you can make this sauce whenever you want a quick hot chilli dip.

No Cooking Involved: This is a no-cook recipe, so there’s no cooking involved at all. All you need to do is blend all the ingredients together. You can simmer the mixture on a medium heat to thicken the mixture slightly, but this step is optional.

The Flavour: Just like many authentic Turkish recipes, it’s flavoured with garlic and spices like cumin.

It’s Homemade: You know exactly what’s in it because you made it.

Recipe Ingredients

Below are the few ingredients I used to make this recipe:

Chillies: I used 2 red chillies and half a scotch bonnet; you can use 1 to 3 chillies depending on how hot you like it.

Tin Tomatoes & Tomato Puree: I used chopped tin tomatoes. Tomato puree is also added, though you can use tomato ketchup instead of tomato puree, this will also add a slight sweetness.

Red Onion & Garlic: I roughly cut the onions and garlic before adding them to the blender as it blends more easily.

Wine Vinegar & Olive Oil: I used red wine vinegar, but you can use white wine vinegar or cider vinegar. This adds a hint of acidity to the red chilli sauce.

Flavourings: A mixture of salt, black pepper, fresh parsley and sugar are added to the chilli sauce. I added a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, but you can season the sauce to your taste.

How To Make Kebab Shop Red Chilli Sauce

Here’s a summary of how I make this homemade red chilli sauce. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

I place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor (though I mainly use my blender for this). To help the ingredients blend easily, I like to chop the onions into quarters, half the chillies and garlic before adding it to the blender.

I blitz everything together until I have reached my desired thickness. I used my Ninja blender and blitzed the ingredients for 12 seconds. Remember to close the lid properly and give the closed cup a shake to mix the ingredients together before blending.

Step Two: (Optional)

Lamb shish with Turkish red chilli sauce

If you would like to thicken the sauce slightly. Heat a pan over a medium heat and add the sauce to it, leave the sauce to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

My Top Tips

Though there are only 1 (or 2) steps to making this chilli sauce, below are a few of my top tips to make this recipe even easier:

Be careful when touching and cutting the chillies, you do not want to touch your eyes after! Be extra careful with hot chillies like scotch bonnet, wash your hands after touching it or wear gloves.

Add some mint sauce to the blender with the rest of the ingredients for even more flavour!

You can blend all the ingredients together leaving out the salt and pepper, then add it to the mixture once the sauce is made. Start off with a small amount then add more if needed. You don’t want to add too much at once, as it can easily get too salty that way.

How To Store Red Chilli Sauce

I store any leftover red chilli sauce in screw-top jars (like in my picture below) and in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze this sauce to use at a later date. To freeze, I simply place any leftovers in a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer.

How Many Chilli Peppers?

I used 2 red chillies and half a scotch bonnet; scotch bonnets are really hot so avoid using them if you’re quite sensitive to heat. That being said, this recipe is very versatile, so you can make this sauce as hot or mild as you like.

In general, using one red chilli will give you a mild sauce, two chillies will give you a medium sauce and 3 will give you a hot sauce. This is just my rough guide; this will differ depending on the type of chillies you use. If you’re using a scotch bonnet a whole chilli will be quite hot.

Keep The Seeds In Or Out?

Whether you leave the seeds in or take them out is completely optional. I sometimes take them out and at other times leave them in, depending on how I feel.

Contrary to popular belief, the hottest part of the chilli come from the pith and ribs of the pepper, not the seeds. So, you may choose to leave the seeds in if you wish. Though, if you prefer a smoother texture than leave it out.

What To Serve With Kebab Shop Chilli Sauce

The obvious serving would have to be a homemade doner kebab, and yes, I have a recipe for that!! A couple of my favourite serving ideas are also a lamb shish kebab, this chicken shish wraps or these lamb kofta wraps.

You could also serve this dish with some kebab shop salad, eating all of this together will create the ultimate Turkish takeaway feast.