This is our version of spicy Kebab Shop Chilli Sauce.
Serve it up with our Takeaway Chicken Kebab recipe, but it can be used to spice up other dishes too!
We love chilli sauce on our kebab, every kebab shop you go to seems to have a different recipe?
Simple & Quick to make, ready to serve in 15 minutes!
How many chilli peppers should I use?
Adjust the number of chillies to use in your chilli sauce, to suit your taste.
We used medium spiced Morrocan chilli peppers from Morrisons as that was all they had there!
There are so many different types of chilli peppers, it's hard to tell you how many to use because everyone has a different sensitivity to heat, but below is a rough guide!
Medium Chilli Pepper 🌶️🌶️
Extra hot-3 large chillies.
Hot- 2 large Chilies
Medium- 1 large Chilli
Mild- 1 small Chilli
Mild Chilli
Pepper 🌶️
Extra hot- 4 Chillies.
Hot- 3 Chilies
Medium- 2 Chillies
Mild- 1 Chilli
Should I remove seeds in chilli peppers?
I always remove the seeds and white pith from the chilli peppers, once again, that is optional!
The white flesh between the seeds and the pepper is the spiciest part so many choose to leave it in, it is a matter of personal taste!
click the button below to make our brilliant kebab shop chilli Sauce.
How to make a chilli sauce like a kebab shop?
To make a chilli sauce, start by blending the red onion, shallots and chilli pepper, together in a mini food processor to make a paste.
Next, fry the chilli paste with Sundried Tomato Puree and chopped tomatoes in a large cast-iron pan.
Add garlic, sugar, and a squeeze of lemon (don't add too much lemon, you can always add more later if needed). Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Finally, turn off the heat, add in the olive oil, parsley & season with salt & pepper.
Your Kebab Shop style Chilli Sauce is ready!
What to serve chilli sauce with?
As you can see, you now have a delicious Chilli Sauce, just like you get from a kebab shop/ kebab van! Perfect served up with grilled chicken or lamb.
We filled up a pitta bread with grilled chicken, salad & a generous dollop of our Kebab shop Chilli Sauce. Perfection!
Also tastes fabulous with our Takeaway Lamb Shish Kebab recipe and why not make your own Shredded Red Cabbage – Turkish Kebab Salad too!
How to store Chilli Sauce?
This recipe serves 8 people, however, if you have leftovers it can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for 5 days.
Or can be frozen and defrosted until next time you need some chilli sauce!
Another alternative is to serve with rice and salad.
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Kebab Shop Chilli Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Red Onion
- 2 Shallots - or 1 small onion
- 2 Chilli Peppers - please see notes below for help with choosing chillies and how many to use
- 2 tablespoon Sundried Tomato puree - or 4 tablespoon regular tomato puree
- 1 tin Chopped tomatoes
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice - you can add more at the end if needed?
- 1 tbsp Sugar - or sweetener
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper - to taste
- Parsley - a handful of chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut the chillies in half and remove seeds (optional) Place red onion, shallots and chillies in a mini food processor and blitz to make a lump-free paste.1 Red Onion, 2 Chilli Peppers, 2 Shallots
- Fry the chilli paste with Sundried Tomato Puree (or Tomato Puree) and chopped tomatoes in a large pan until heated through.2 tablespoon Sundried Tomato puree, 1 tin Chopped tomatoes
- Add garlic, sugar, and a squeeze of lemon (don’t add too much lemon, you can always add more later if needed). Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.2 cloves Garlic, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Sugar
- Turn off the heat, add in Olive oil, parsley, salt & pepper to taste. If you want to add more lemon now you can.Serve up warm or cold!3 tablespoon olive oil, Parsley, salt and pepper
Video
Notes
Medium Chilli Pepper 🌶️🌶️
Extra hot-3 large chillies.Hot- 2 large Chilies
Medium- 1 large Chilli
Mild- 1 small Chilli
Mild Chilli
Pepper 🌶️
Extra hot- 4 Chillies.Hot- 3 Chilies
Medium- 2 Chillies
Mild- 1 Chilli
Nutrition
Kebab shop chilli sauce is perfect served up with all types of grilled fish meat or poultry.
More Takeaway Style Recipes
Crave something different; check out more of our easy to follow takeaway recipes. From Chinese chicken wings, Chicken Pathia Curry, Indian balti curry, Turkish lamb shish kebab.
To pad Thai, American spicy chicken burger, British pie mash and liquor and more, we've got all the classics covered.
Adil Mughal says
Made this yesterday and OMG it was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!!! I didn't add any sugar though, as I didn't feel it needed it. Will definitely be making this many more times!
Luke and Kay says
Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! 😊 We're thrilled to hear you loved the kebab chilli sauce! Skipping the sugar is a great idea if you prefer it a bit more savory. It's all about making it just the way you like it. We're so glad to know it's going to be a repeat recipe for you. Enjoy making it many more times.
Amy Sherlock says
Thank you for the kebab chili recipe. I'm in the U.S., but was born in Germany. I love the Doner Kebab. I knew how to make and/or prepare the "garlicky sauce," meat, and other ingredients, but wanted to make the chili to add to the kebab. This recipe is very good. I used two serrano chiles and it has a kick. Serrano peppers are hotter than jalapenos and caribe peppers and will knock your socks off. I recommend them if you like heat. Once again, many thanks.
Luke and Kay says
Hi Amy!
Thank you for taking the time to review our kebab chilli sauce recipe. We are thrilled to hear that it reminded you of Doner Kebabs from Germany, and we are so glad you enjoyed making it at home using our recipe.
We love a bit of heat in our sauces, too, so we're glad you chose to use serrano chillies for an extra kick! Be sure to check out our website for more delicious recipes involving our chilli sauce, and thank you again for sharing your experience with us.
Happy cooking! 🙂
Dom Robinson says
Just made this, doubled up on ingredients to make a big batch, absolutely love it, just like my local take away :):)
Luke and Kay says
Dom, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback here and for enjoying our Kebab Shop Chilli Sauce! We're happy to hear that it tasted like your local take away! 🙂
lee says
I've tried making this a couple of times now and everytime it tastes really bitter.
Any suggestions why?
Sian says
I found it really bitter too, am wondering if the garlic needs to be added earlier and cooked out a bit before adding the other ingredients
Amy Sherlock says
I put the garlic in with the onion, chiles, and shallots. I cook more Hispanic foods (being in the U.S.) and generally garlic and onion go hand in hand in the created dishes. Moreover, adding the garlic to the first step worked out better than adding it later. Another way to take the bitterness out of the garlic is to roast it beforehand. It adds another level of flavor to the already wonderful flavors of this sauce without the bitterness. There's really no right or wrong way and I like to improvise at times.
Maggie says
Lovely chilli sauce, plenty left over to freeze in an ice cube tray for later. Slightly sweeter than I expected so would maybe cut the sugar down next time but that’s just my personal taste. Lemon and salt at the end balanced it. I used 4 Birdseye chillies with seeds to give it a real kick.
Luke and Kay says
Thank you for trying our kebab shop chilli sauce, Maggie. It sounds like it was a successful experience in your kitchen! We're delighted to hear that you liked the lemon and salt finish and had plenty of kick; 4 Birdseye chillies are sure to provide some warmth!
It's great to hear that there was enough leftover for you to freeze. We understand that everyone has different preferences when it comes to flavour, so if you wanted to reduce the sugar next time, we'd suggest adding what feels comfortable for you and tasting as you go.
Thanks again for the review – we wish you all the best with your future dishes! 🙂
Maddie says
I can't wait to make it! What type of chilis do you recommend?
Luke and Kay says
Hi Maddie
We used two large mild chillis for our sauce, but if you like it hot, you could use two small birdseye chillies or for extra hot, you could use one scotch bonnet, which is very hot 🙂
Enjoy
Karolina says
Looks good but the recipe is missing when to add Canned tomatoes. I can figure it out by pics but it's not stated anywhere in the recipe instruction when to add it.
Kay says
Thanks, Karolina, for the comment
Looking at the instructions, it states on step 2 in the recipe card to add the chopped tomatoes to a large pan which will be your tinned/canned tomatoes.
I've also updated measurements on each step which might make it easier for you.
I hope this helps with the confusion 🙂
Cathy says
This is absolutely delectable! I was uncertain as it looked too simple to have depth of flavour but I was so wrong. I’ve got 35 people coming for koftas & kebabs etc on Sunday so prepared s big batch and I’m delighted. I did let it simmer for 35 minutes as I forgot it! However we’ve had it on omelettes tonight! 😆😆 I think it’s going to be a real family favourite. Thank you! 😘
Kay says
Thank you for trying our Chilli Sauce Recipe, Cathy! We're so glad you enjoyed it and that it will become a family favourite. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Tracey says
Absolutely loved this homemade chilli sauce. We had it with homemade chicken shish kebabs but my daughter had it with nachos and it was equally as good. Very simple to make and looked so authentic. A lot of our kebab shops now unfortunately seem to be using shop bought sweet chilli sauce, which tastes awful and it spoils the kebab. Will look forward to making this again guys, thank you!
Kay says
Thank you so much for that great comment and rating, Tracey 🙂
It's so lovely to hear you loved our Homemade chilli sauce, our family loved this recipe also with our Takeaway Chicken Kebab Recipe and Shredded Red Cabbage - Turkish Kebab Salad on the side its delicious 😉
If you manage to cook this recipe, let us know your thoughts?
Eric Bubb says
My local Kebab shop has started using the tinned chillies they serve with the salad to make their chili sauce. I have never like the tinned chillies.
Now I am making my own chilli Sauce.
Luke says
Thanks, Eric, so glad you like our chilli sauce recipe, you can't beat homemade 🙂
Enjoy!!
Caro says
This is a really good recipe :-). I'm in the UK and our kebab shop chilli sauces are less sweet, so I only added a small amount of sugar. I also added a teaspoon of mint sauce. Otherwise, just following the recipe produced a very flavourful chilli sauce - actually better than a lot of kebab shop ones!
Kay says
Thank you so much Caro for that great comment 🙂
Really nice to hear you love our kebab shop chilli sauce recipe and to hear you think that it's better to than takeaway shop is superb 😉
This sauce always goes well with our Takeaway Lamb Shish Kebab it's lush!!
Enjoy!!
Rex says
Great chilli sauce recipe. Easy to follow and tastes exactly like kebab shop chilli sauce
Kay says
Thank you so much, Rex 🙂
Glad you like our chilli sauce recipe 😉
Erin says
Give me all the chili sauce and make it spicy! This is great with grilled beef or chicken.
Kay says
Thanks, Erin
Never had this with grilled beef but I can imagine it amazing 🙂
Enjoy!!
Gavin Sutherland says
This sauce is EPIC - tastes exactly like a kebab shop sauce and worked great with our grilled chicken skewers and veg over the weekend
Kay says
Thank you so much Gavin for that great comment 🙂
So glad you enjoyed our chilli sauce, like you said it goes perfect with grilled chicken!!
Always a good side sauce for a BBQ 😉