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Sweet Chili Sauce

Jun 27, 2017 15 Comments

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This delicious sweet chili sauce recipe is made with honey instead of sugar. It is great for dipping or for flavoring your stir fries. It takes only 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to make. You will definitely love it!

A healthier sweet chili sauce recipe made with honey. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and it's great for stir fries or as a dipping sauce for appetizers!

One of my favorite dipping sauces is a Thai-style sweet chili sauce. Its sweet and spicy flavors pair perfectly with fried spring rolls or any kind of fried or grilled appetizer. For years, I kept a bottles of store-bought versions in the fridge. But as my cooking abilities improved over time, I started to make my own version, which, in my humble opinion, tastes better and is less sweet.

I developed this sweet chili sauce for one of my dumplings classes at the library. Everyone who tried it loved the sauce, so I thought I should share it on the blog, too! Besides dipping, the sweet chili sauce is good in stir fries or as a finishing sauce for baked salmon or meat. Once you make your own sweet chili sauce, you’ll never go back to the store for another bottle!

A healthier sweet chili sauce recipe made with honey. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and it's great for stir fries or as a dipping sauce for appetizers!

COOKING NOTES FOR THE SWEET CHILI SAUCE RECIPE

  • Use good honey: The quality of the honey affects the flavor of the sauce. Make sure to use the good stuff!
  • Using other starches: In one of my test batches, I replaced the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of tapioca starch and I found the consistency to be too viscous. If you want to use tapioca starch (or any other starch with this recipe), I would start with 1 teaspoon of it. Check to see if the thickness of the sauce is to your liking before adding any more starch.
  • Using other sweeteners: If you want to try variations on the sauce, you can use maple syrup, agave or sugar instead of the honey. Personally, I prefer the sauce when it’s made with my local honey.

USE THE SWEET CHILI SAUCE WITH THESE RECIPES:

  • Honey Chili Garlic Shrimp
  • Curried Potato Fried Dumplings
  • Vegetarian Potstickers
  • Rainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls
Print

Sweet Chili Sauce

A healthier sweet chili sauce made with honey. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and it's great for stir fries or as a dipping sauce for appetizers!

★★★★

4 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Lisa Lin
  • Prep Time: 4 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: About 3/4 cup 1x
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (170g) honey
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) water
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 minced garlic (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan. Stir everything until the cornstarch has dissolved.
  2. Bring the sauce to boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
  3. Let the sauce cool for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring it into a jar. Once the sauce reaches room temperature, seal the jar and place it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Amount For 1/10th of Recipe: Calories: 58, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Sodium: 60mg, Cholesterol: 0mg, Total Carbohydrate: 15.3g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 14g, Protein 0.2g

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A healthier sweet chili sauce made with honey. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and it's great for stir fries or as a dipping sauce for appetizers!

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Appetizers, Asian Food, Asian Pantry, Basics, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sauces & Dressings honey, pantry essentials

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. D. Sly says

    June 27, 2017 at 5:34 am

    Hi Lisa. This looks like a must try! Could you clarify your lessons learned comment, please? Do you mean tapioca starch as a substitute for, not in addition to, the cornstarch, right? Looking for a way to make the recipe paleo. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      June 27, 2017 at 7:09 am

      Great question! You are correct, I meant using tapioca starch instead of cornstarch (not in addition to cornstarch). I will clarify that in my notes.

      Reply
      • D. Sly says

        June 27, 2017 at 5:29 pm

        Awesome. Thanks!

        Reply
  2. Annie says

    December 6, 2017 at 6:38 am

    Hi Lisa,
    Can you suggest any alternative/substitute for Rice Vinegar?

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      December 6, 2017 at 3:40 pm

      Hi Annie, I’ve used white wine vinegar before, and I thought the sauce tasted fine. You could probably use apple cider vinegar as well, but ACV tends to be a bit more intense, so you might taste the vinegar flavor a little more. I hope this helps!

      Reply
      • Annie says

        December 6, 2017 at 6:29 pm

        Thanks Lisa!

        Reply
  3. Jamie J says

    October 14, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    My son requested sweet chili sauce and I found your recipe. Made this for chicken wings and it is delicious! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      October 17, 2018 at 11:03 am

      Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  4. Timothy Hanser says

    May 30, 2019 at 9:14 am

    we used apple cider vinegar and a splash of soy sauce. we drizzled it over Hawaiian pizza. yummy!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      May 31, 2019 at 8:56 am

      Thanks for trying the recipe, Timothy!

      Reply
  5. Leah Passler says

    May 8, 2020 at 10:38 am

    I just whipped up a (half batch) of this super easy and delicious sauce using local Manitoba honey. I was putting off buying chili sauce because of the sugar, and then I saw your recipe! Thanks very much.

    I only made a half batch, because your note says to keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. I don’t think there’ll be a problem going through it!

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      May 12, 2020 at 12:00 pm

      Thanks for making it, Leah!

      Reply
  6. Leona Desjardins says

    June 12, 2020 at 10:04 am

    Hi there.

    I am wondering if I could replace the shrimp for scallops in the Sweet Chilli Shrimp recipe. Thank you

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Yes!

      Reply
  7. Janet spence says

    January 12, 2021 at 10:12 am

    Love the sound of this sauce, can I use it as a marinate for chicken,or do I need to add anything else,trying to make my own marinate as my husband is diabetic.
    Thanks
    Janet

    Reply

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