How spicy is Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce?

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce is rated 5 out of 5 for heat — the maximum on the Funkee Foods scale. The scotch bonnet peppers deliver a slow-building, intense heat that takes 20–30 seconds to develo...

Is Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce vegan?

Yes — Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce is suitable for both vegans and vegetarians. It contains no animal-derived ingredients. It contains sulphites — if you have a sulphite sensitivity, check the bott...

What allergens does Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce contain?

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce contains sulphites. No other major UK allergens are declared. It does not contain gluten, milk, soya, or egg. It is produced in a kitchen that handles nuts. Always chec...

Why is it called the Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce?

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce is the first hot sauce Amanda ever created — the founding product of Funkee Foods. Made after a doctor's visit prompted Amanda to find a delicious way to eat more veget...

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce – The award-winning sauce that started it all

Stunningly sweet and spicy. The first sauce Amanda ever made — and it won a Great Taste Award.

Heat level
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 5/5

Very Hot

Slow-building scotch bonnet heat

Price
£6.50 | 150ml

UK shipping only

Flavour	Secondary notes	The character
Sweet tropical bell pepper	Garlic, Italian herbs, vinegar	Scotch bonnet slow burn

Buy Now – £6.50

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce is the foundation of everything Funkee Foods built — and you can taste exactly why. It opens with a clean, tropical sweetness from rescued sweet bell peppers: bright, fresh, and immediately inviting. The pepper sweetness is genuine and natural rather than sugary, giving the sauce a character that is both vibrant and honest.

Garlic and shallot provide the aromatic base, while Italian herbs, oregano, rosemary, and thyme add a rounded, savoury complexity. White wine vinegar and apple juice bring the brightness.

Then the scotch bonnet heat arrives — slow, fierce, and long-lasting. Customers describe it as having 'a great balance of hot and sweet.' The Great Taste Award judges clearly agreed.

fresh red bell peppers and a scotch bonn

Very Hot — Tied with the other hot sauces as maximum scotch bonnet heat. The sweet, tropical bell pepper opening is so clean and welcoming that when the scotch bonnet heat builds over 20–30 seconds, it arrives with particular intensity.

The natural sweetness of the peppers makes the heat feel more ferocious by comparison. A slow burn rather than an instant blast — the kind of heat that builds, peaks, and lingers.

Orange and red sweet hot peppers in a bowl

Sweet bell pepper (Red peppers) — rescued produce and the hero ingredient; delivers the tropical sweetness and vivid dark red colour that defines this sauce
Shallots & garlic — aromatic depth that anchors the sweetness and adds a savoury foundation
Scotch bonnet — the fierce, slow-building heat engine; rated 5/5
White wine vinegar & apple juice — the bright acidity that lifts the pepper sweetness and balances the heat
Mixed cloves, oregano, rosemary, thyme & cinnamon — a rounded herb and spice base that gives the sauce sophistication
Vegetable stock — a savoury depth in the base from the vegetable seasoning blend
Sugar — balances the natural pepper sweetness and gives body
Turmeric & rapeseed oil — warmth of colour and a light oil base
Maize, maltodextrin, potato flakes, onion powder, leek powder, carrot powder — the vegetable seasoning base
Yeast extract, parsley, lovage roots, white pepper, dextrose powder, savoury flavouring — depth and seasoning

Keep refrigerated before AND after opening — this sauce is made with all-natural preservatives and no artificial additives. Refrigeration is essential to maintain quality and flavour. Once opened: use within 3 months for the best flavour. Close the lid tightly after each use.

Serving suggestion: Shake the bottle well before use. Use 3–4 tablespoons per dish.
Marinade tip: Coat chicken, beef, lamb, or fish in 3–4 tablespoons and refrigerate for 2–4 hours. The bell pepper and herb base season the protein from the outside in.

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce different?

Great Taste Award 2022 winner — 1 star, judged blind by UK food experts at the Guild of Fine Food. The only product in the Funkee Foods range to carry this independent quality accreditation.

The original. The first sauce Amanda ever created — born from a doctor's visit, a commitment to eating more vegetables, and an instinct to make healthy eating genuinely delicious. Everything Funkee Foods has built since began here.

'Very flavoursome and had a great balance of hot and sweet' — the most consistent customer description of this sauce.

Amanda's Top 3 Dishes

Chicken

The classic pairing. The bell pepper sweetness complements chicken's natural flavour, the garlic and herbs season it from the outside, and the scotch bonnet heat builds through every bite.

Shrimp

Drizzled over sautéed or grilled shrimp, the sweet pepper base and the scotch bonnet heat create a perfect counterpoint. Excellent in a shrimp salad as both dressing and heat element.

Salad

Used as a dressing, the vinegar brightness and pepper sweetness replace any need for separate seasoning. The scotch bonnet heat adds a dimension no standard dressing can deliver.

Perfect pairings for Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce

Proteins

Chicken (top pairing)
Shrimp and seafood
Beef, lamb, eggs
Fish, tofu

Delicious meals

Chicken
Shrimp salad, rice dishes
Pizza, pasta, noodles, tacos
Dipping — chips, soups, wraps

Occasions

Everyday cooking
All seasons
BBQs and gatherings
Caribbean & West African

Quick recipe: Award-Winning Sweet Hot Pepper Chicken

Coat bone-in chicken thighs generously with Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce — 3–4 tablespoons per portion — getting it under the skin as well as over. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Roast at 200°C for 35–40 minutes, basting halfway through. The bell pepper caramelises against the skin, the herbs infuse into the meat, and the scotch bonnet heat builds through every bite. Serve with rice and a green salad. The sauce that earned an award, doing what it does best.

chicken thighs with rice and a green sal

The unexpected uses: Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce on doughnuts and puff puff

A light drizzle over a glazed doughnut creates a sweet-heat contrast that works because the sauce is itself so pepper-sweet to begin with. On puff puff — the soft West African fried dough — it is even more natural: the pepper sweetness and the dough's warmth are complementary, and the heat turns a familiar comfort food into something memorable. Start with a tiny amount.

Dietary information & Allergens

Dietary status	Allergens
✅ Vegan	Contains: Sulphites
✅ Vegetarian	Produced in a kitchen that handles nuts — check bottle label if you have a nut allergy
✅ No artificial colouring or preservatives	Always check the bottle label for the full and current allergen information

Frequently asked questions

Yes — Funkee Foods' Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce won a Great Taste Award in 2022, recognised with 1 star by the Guild of Fine Food. The Great Taste Award is the UK's most trusted independent food and drink accreditation, judged blind by over 500 food experts. Earning a star means the product was judged on taste alone. It is the only product in the Funkee Foods range to carry this recognition.

Made the Funkee way

Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce is not just the first sauce Amanda made — it is the reason Funkee Foods exists. After a visit to the doctor and advice to eat more vegetables, Amanda did what her 15+ years of professional catering experience and her upbringing helping in her mother's West African restaurant had trained her to do: she made something delicious. Sweet bell peppers — rescued, at peak ripeness — became a hot sauce that balanced heat and sweetness so naturally that it went on to win a Great Taste Award in 2022. That balance — the perfect harmony between scotch bonnet fire and genuine fruit sweetness — is what every product in the Funkee Foods range has been chasing since. This is where it all started. Bubbly, tropical, and stunningly good.

Ready to try Original Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce?

The Great Taste Award 2022 winner. The original. Stunningly sweet and spicy. If you love a classic sweet flavour with serious scotch bonnet heat — this is where the Funkee Foods story began, and it's still the best place to start.

Add to Basket – £6.50