Recently made famous by KFC Nashville Hot Chicken, Nashville Hot Sauce is the sauce used on the regional dish that has been around way longer than KFC has been selling it.
Nashville Hot Sauce Ingredients
The main ingredients of this Nashville hot sauce can more than likely be found in your pantry or spice cabinet. If not, you can easily find them at a local grocery store. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Butter – If you can, clarified butter is preferred. But definitely make sure to use unsalted butter. That way you can control the amount of salt that goes into the sauce.
- Cayenne pepper- This is the key ingredient to this hot sauce recipe. The amount of cayenne pepper is really up to you- use the suggested amount the first time you make it, then do a taste test to check the heat level. You can always add more if you want more of a spicy kick.
- Brown sugar – To balance out the heat, we need a little bit of sugar. Brown sugar not only adds a touch of sweetness, but also a bold flavor too.
- Salt and pepper – I like to use coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can add them to taste, whatever satisfies your taste buds.
- Garlic powder – Rather than fresh garlic that makes this hot sauce chunky, we just use garlic powder. If you don’t mind the texture, you can use minced garlic.
- Smoked paprika – I love the smoky flavor that smoked paprika adds to this sauce, but you can use regular paprika if you’d like.
- Honey – For another dose of sweetness, we add a bit of honey. If you’re not a fan, you can omit the honey or substitute it with agave nectar.
How to Whip it Up
Making this Nashville hot sauce might be easier than you think! Just follow these simple stpes.
- Combine ingredients. Combine the butter, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and honey in a heavy bottom saucepan.
- Cook over low heat until combined. Stir over low heat until combined. Mixture will not be smooth.
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I used coarse kosher salt to bring out the other flavors of this nashville hot sauce. If using a different salt, keep in mind they measure differently.
- Seasonings – Cayenne pepper is what gives the heat to this hot sauce. Feel free to add crushed red pepper flakes if you want to take the heat up a notch.
- Swaps – You can swap the honey for agave nectar or even pure maple syrup if you want to change up the flavor a bit. Swap the garlic powder for minced garlic for even more of a flavor punch.
- Senses – Nashville hot sauce is fiery and bold. Its deep red hue glistens with heat, while the sharp scent of cayenne, paprika, and sizzling oil hits your nose with a spicy kick. The first taste scorches in the best way—smoky, tangy, and lip-tingling—leaving a slow, satisfying burn that lingers long after the bite.
Perfect Pairings
Traditional Nashville Fried Chicken is served on white bread with pickles. However, I wanted something a little more hearty and sweet to compliment my Nashville Hot Sauce, so I opted for buttermilk biscuits. Who doesn’t love biscuits?
Also served with dill pickles, I used my honey habanero pickles. You can use it as a dip for french fries, pour it over grilled chicken pieces, coat fried chicken wings in it, use it on sweet potatoes, add it to potato salad or any other way you can think of to make the perfect meal.
Anything that uses hot sauce can be swapped with this spicy sauce. Here are some examples
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Popcorn Chicken
- Oven Fried Chicken
- Nashville Hot Sauce Sliders
- Sandwiches like burgers
- Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings
- Hush Puppies
- Mac and cheese
- Meatballs
- Chicken tenders
Storage & Freezing
How to Store
If fresh with butter, store in the fridge for up to 1 month. If using ghee or clarified butter, it is shelf stable without refrigeration. SHAKE WELL BETWEEN EACH USE. The ingredients will settle and need to be redistributed.
Can I Freeze Nashville Hot Sauce?
You can also freeze your Nashville Hot Sauce! Simply put it in an airtight container or plastic bag with as little air as possible. Freeze it for 3-4 months. Make a double batch!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nashville Hot Sauce is a regional hot sauce made from cayenne pepper, other spices and brown sugar. Served on fried chicken to make Nashville Hot Chicken.
Each recipe might be slightly different, but this one calls for unsalted butter, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, coarse kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and honey. A lot of recipes also call for chili powder.
Both Nashville and regular hot sauce have a base of butter with heat from cayenne pepper. However, Nashville hot sauce is a bit on the sweeter side with the addition of honey.
The great thing about homemade hot sauces is that you can make them as spicy or mild as you’d like to. If you’d like yours to be more mild, simply add less cayenne pepper.
Ghee is pantry stable clarified butter that doesn’t require refrigeration. You can find it in the International aisle near Indian foods. This also means you won’t have to store it in the fridge and you won’t need to let it come to room temperature every time you use it.
All butter sold in the United States must contain a minimum of 80% milkfat, the white, frothy stuff that comes up when it is heated.
Grades, ranging from the best grade AA to grade B, are based on flavor, body, color and salt and water content. European butter will have more fat content and also more flavor with a darker yellow hue. Cultured butter has active cultures and will give it more of a tang, like buttermilk or yogurt.
More Spicy Food
If you’re like me and you like a little spice in your life, you are going to love my favorite spicy recipes!
Nashville Hot Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , clarified prefered
- 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper , more or less to taste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon honey , optional
Instructions
- Combine the 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and honey in a heavy bottom saucepan. Stir over low heat until combined. Mixture will not be smooth.
- Make sure to come back and let us know how you liked this recipe. We love comments and ratings!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Flavor is good but My sauce turned out LUMPY that affected the texture of the Food. Quite different compared to the Nashville kfc chicken. Your pic shows a much smoother consistency.
Hi Will, thanks for stopping back through! I’ve never had KFCs version of Nashville Hot Sauce, so I’m not quite sure what the consistency is like. Nashville Hot Sauce in Nashville is in fact, a thick, lumpy type of sauce. Not thin, very thick. You can almost feel the grains of the spices. I’ll have to stop by a KFC to try theirs and compare.
This looks wonderful!
I am such a huge fan of nashville hot sauce so this is right up my alley! THanks for an awesome recipe so I can replicate a favorite at home. yummy.
So good thank you. I added a tablespoon of honey as well to get more of a glaze and it helped with stabalizing the spicesin the butter. I served home fried chicken smothered in nashville hot sauce on ciabatta rolls.
Reminds me of a American version of hot chilli oil for Chinese dumplings. My new favorite way to eat chicken. Might try it on dumplings too
Hi Jeff! Honey is a great addition and thank YOU so much for taking time to come back and let us know.
I love chili oil for dumplings too, that is a great idea. Now I’m hungry for chicken and dumplings (Get it? My attempt at a joke 🙂 )
While it tastes exactly like what I’ve before in Nashville (loved Hattie B’s) it never really combined. It was a glob of spices sitting below flavored butter. I’ll have to see how well it combines with a chicken recipe.
It is certainly thick and needs to be stirred RIGHT before using. It will settle when it sits.
Also be mindful of the type of butter you use, a good clarified European butter works best.
And if you want a more traditional, you can substitute oil for butter, it will give the more traditional texture.
Hope you enjoy!
I love your recipes. When I press the print button underneath the photo it doesn’t show a printer friendly version of your recipe. Can you help me out?
Hi Julian,
Sure! I am about to email you. It might be because you have popups blocked, it might block the popup to approve the print format.
Jessica
Can this be canned via the water bath method and stored?
It sure can!
Nashville Hot Sauce is one of my all-time favorites, I never thought about making it at home before but I love this recipe!
I HAVE to try this recipe. I love any sauce with butter and a little kick!
I can’t speak to whether or not this tastes like authentic Nashville hot sauce, but I wanted to try it, and to me, the butter flavor was overwhelming. I couldn’t eat the chicken, because it literally tasted like it was covered in melted butter with cayenne pepper. The mixture separates into melted butter at the top and a glob of spices on the bottom. Maybe that’s what Nashville hot sauce is, but I’ll just use Tabasco sauce next time.
Hi Chris, Nashville Hot Sauce is pretty globby and thick by nature. It is either made with butter or vegetable oil and the type of butter you use can make a world of difference. You do need to stir it well before using and generally not use as much or as a dipping sauce like you would with Frank’s or another hot sauce. It isn’t for everyone. Thank you for the feedback!