How to Make the Best Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce

This homemade Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe is sweet, tangy, and just spicy enough from red chili to wake up dinner. If you've wondered how to make sweet chili sauce, this easy DIY version gives you that Asian dipping sauce flavor without grabbing a bottle. You'll get the best Thai sweet chili sauce recipe for chicken, shrimp, egg rolls, and weeknight bowls. Save this one so your next dinner has a sauce everyone reaches for.

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How to make the best homemade sweet chili sauce recipe. It is simple, quick, and easy to DIY and so tasty! It's sweet and spicy and you will love to put it on everything from chicken to shrimp to salmon and even french fries, kabobs, and stir fry!

Why this is the best Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce recipe

It's a simple recipe. This easy sweet chili sauce uses basic ingredients like red chili flakes, garlic, vinegar, sugar, water, and cornstarch, so everything is easy to find at your local grocery store.

It's very easy. All you have to do is simmer the sauce ingredients together, stir in the cornstarch mixture, and cook until the sauce thickens into a glossy, sweet, and spicy dipping sauce.

It tastes amazing! The sweet sugar, tangy vinegar, garlic, and red chili come together for a flavorful sauce that is a little sweet, a little spicy, and so much better than bottled sauce.

It's great for egg rolls, chicken, shrimp, spring rolls, meatballs, rice bowls, and easy appetizers. This homemade sweet chili sauce is quick to make, easy to serve, and adds big flavor to simple meals and snacks.

Sweet chili sauce is easy to customize. You can make it mild or spicy by adjusting the sambal oelek, add extra garlic or ginger for more flavor, and use it as a dipping sauce, glaze, marinade, or stir-fry sauce.

What you'll need to make the Best Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce

Equipment

• Microplane grater: This is for grating your fresh ginger. I don't know any way to use fresh ginger other than a microplane grater.
• Garlic press - This is to press the garlic. If you don't have a garlic press, you can smash the cloves with the wide edge of your chef knife, remove the papery skin, and then use the sharp side to mince it into tiny pieces.
• Small saucepan - The smaller the better.

Ingredients

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

• Water - This allows you to boil the sweet chili sauce in order to melt the sugar and blend the flavors. If you don't add water, you can't cook it.
• Rice vinegar - Seasoned or plain is fine.
• White sugar - Granulated sugar is best in this recipe.
• Freshly grated ginger - I like to keep a piece of ginger root in a freezer bag in the freezer, and I pull it out and grate a little whenever I need it and then pop it back in til next time. It will stay good forever in the freezer, but it does get weird if it thaws before grating, so don't do that.
• Fresh garlic - You will be sad if you use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
• Low sodium soy sauce - This gives an umami flavor to the chili sauce.
• Sambal oelek - This is where the heat comes from. It is an Asian staple made from ground red chili peppers in a vinegar sauce. We have grown to love it ever since using it in a General Tso's Chicken recipe last year. I think it's the perfect pepper source for this sauce. I have heard that you can find this at some bigger grocery stores and at Asian groceries, but we just buy ours on Amazon. It's not too expensive and very easy to find without driving around.
• Cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water - This is to thicken the sweet chili sauce.

How to make Thai sweet chili sauce recipe

1. Mix all ingredients except cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk together.
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2. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring frequently. When the sugar has all dissolved, stir in the cornstarch slurry. Stir until blended, then cook for 1-2 minutes more.
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3. Cool sauce to room temperature, then pour into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator up to a week.

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Substitutions & variations

You can adjust the heat. Use less sambal oelek for a milder sweet chili sauce, or add red chili flakes, fresh red chili, or a little sriracha if you want it spicier.

You can change the sweetness. Add a little more sugar for a sweeter dipping sauce, or reduce it slightly if you prefer a tangier sweet chili sauce with more vinegar flavor.

You can use it in different ways. Serve this sweet chili sauce as a dip for French fries, onion rings, egg rolls, spring rolls, chicken, shrimp, or meatballs, or brush it over grilled chicken, salmon, or roasted vegetables as a glaze. You can even toss wings in it.

Storing leftovers

Store leftover sweet chili sauce in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Let the sauce cool completely before storing, and give it a good stir before serving because it will thicken as it chills. You can reheat it gently in the microwave or on the stove if you want it warm, but most people use sweet chili sauce room temperature or cold.

Check out more delicious homemade sauces and dip recipes

• Cajun Remoulade Sauce - Loaded with cajun spice in a base of mayo and Miracle Whip (yes, both!)
• Tzatziki Sauce - Cucumber and garlic sauce in a Greek yogurt base
• Copycat Burger King Zesty Sauce - Horseradish in a mayonnaise base
• Lemon Garlic Aioli - Fresh lemon juice and garlic in a mayonnaise base
• Honey Sriracha Mayo - Just what the name says

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