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We Tried New Pace Ghost Pepper Habanero Salsa to See if It’s Actually Spicy

Pace Ghost Pepper Habanero Salsa is the newest salsa on the Pace roster. We’re familiar with and generally like their work. In fact, two Pace salsas—Medium Chunky and Medium Restaurant Style—made our ranking of the best salsa to buy at the grocery store. We know they do mid-grade spice well—but how about hot? 

According to Pace , it’s made with habanero extract, which results in an “extra hot salsa.” I love spicy food and typically want my food as spicy as I can get it, so I was excited to try this new salsa to find out if it lives up to a spicy-food lover’s version of what “extra hot” actually means. And, just as importantly, does it taste good, too?

NEW PRODUCT

The moment this Pace Ghost Pepper Habanero Salsa hit my lips, I was shocked. The heat is real deal . This is a spicy salsa for spicy-food lovers. If you’re putting this out at a party, put it out with a caution sign. That being said, the flavor is just okay. I wish it had a little more complexity and wasn’t just heat for heat’s sake. I wish we got more of the tomato and onion, like in the classic versions of Pace salsa. It’s definitely not our favorite Pace salsa , but it is fun to try because of the spice level. I think this would be best utilized drizzled over nachos or tacos in place of hot sauce . If you can handle the heat, give Pace Ghost Pepper Habanero Salsa a try!

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

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I love it and I love anything hot good job pace you made my day

I liked the heat. But, as you stated, the flavor is weak. Way too sweet. Not a good salsa. Ago as additive ingredient

I’d probably mix this together with regular pace salsa so I get that heat plus the peppers and onions gunkiness that makes salsa so delicious I absolutely hate tomatoes but love bottled salsa.

fun with the frels

ghost pepper salsa

This is the story about how spicy food worked its way into my life and how I ended up with Ghost Pepper Salsa in my house.

I was that Midwestern kid who thought black pepper was hot. I lived in my happy bubble of butter and garlic salt and never questioned the outside world beyond.

Then I met Jason, a Texas guy whose motto seems to be: “if you’re not sweating, you’re not trying hard enough.”

You might say it was our only personality clash.

My lack of heat tolerance was simply unacceptable to Jason, seeing as the majority of his favorite foods involved some sort of pepper. So he set out to change my ways…stealthily.

Over the course of six months, unbeknownst to me, Jason began slowly and covertly incorporating peppers into our diet. I don’t remember anything being “off” during that time—except for the occasional “did some of your jalapenos make it into my food?!”—but I do remember the day when I eventually exclaimed out loud, “Oh man, this is pretty spicy!”

His response? “You know, you wouldn’t have even been able to eat that six months ago.”

And thus, the ruse was up and I started appreciating spice. Although I still refuse to sweat for it.

Flash forward to present day…

Jason has the kind of coworkers who send him home with homegrown produce. This is Colorado, after all. His boss is known to bring him spaghetti squash from her garden and Beth and Lyndsay are prone to sharing their newest canned concoctions. Let’s just say, they know he likes to eat.

His most recent bounty came from Lyndsay in the form of peppers plucked straight from her impressive urban homestead garden. There were three types of peppers to be exact: holy moles, habaneros, and ghost peppers [read: mild, super hot, and HOTTEST KNOWN PEPPER ON THE PLANET ].

She also sent him home with a jar of her Holy Matrimony Habanero Jam*. The story goes: when she was making the jam after her recent wedding, she donned what in the hazmat world is called Level C Personal Protective Equipment [ also known as an air purifying respirator and rubber gloves ]. And those weren’t even the hottest peppers in the bag!

The hottest peppers where most certainly the ghost peppers, which sit on the Scoville Heat Scale just below pepper spray. PEPPER SPRAY! To give you a sense of severity, Jalapenos usually boast between 2,500-8,000 SHU [Scoville Heat Units], while Habaneros run between 100,000 and 350,000 SHU. Ghost peppers? Oh, they have OVER A MILLION SHU.

So obviously, Jason had found his new toy.

He was determined to make salsa out of these bad boys. For what gain, I’m still not sure, but I have to admit, the results were surprisingly good. Even though I could only handle one chip’s worth.

THIS is a salsa to sweat over, and it is dedicated to all of Jason’s “spice adventurer” kindred spirits out there.

GHOST PEPPER SALSA

• ½ an onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 6 ghost peppers, seeded and stemmed [or use 2 if you want to lighten it up]
• 2 cans tomatoes [crushed, diced, or what have you]
• Handful of sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 to 3 T. red wine vinegar
• About 1/4 c. water
• About 1/3 c. olive oil

Instructions

• Chop your onion, red bell pepper, and garlic and place in saucepan.
• Don your rubber gloves and mask protective gear— trust us, you’re going to want them —and carefully de-seed and de-stem the ghost peppers. Make sure to get all of the seeds out. Feel free to rinse if necessary.**

3. After placing the peppers in the saucepan, add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, red wine vinegar, and enough water to cover the ingredients.

4. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for an hour. [ You will most likely need to open some windows and turn on the stove fan while you do this. I had to remove myself from the house entirely. ]

5. Once ready, transfer the mixture to a food processor to emulsify, a fancy word that basically means to slowly combine two normally unmixable substances. In this case: salsa and oil . To emulsify: turn on the food processor and add a few drops of oil. Let incorporate, then add a few drops more. Continue until you’re comfortable adding in a slow stream. [ The processes is similar in technique to tempering. ] This will help cut some of the heat and thicken it up.

Now serve up in a bowl and trick your sister into thinking it’s just normal salsa. She’ll hate you forever.

The salsa trio: Peach salsa, Mild salsa, Ghost pepper salsa

*  Holy Matrimony Habanero Jam is especially tasty basted on roasted or grilled pork tenderloin. ** The hot stuff in peppers is not water-soluble, but it is oil soluble. So if you accidentally get pepper juice on you, try using oil rather than water to get it off.

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Fresh Ghost Pepper Salsa

An easy recipe using fresh ghost peppers, tomatoes, onion, lime juice and cilantro. It’s time to Get Your Hot On !

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Fresh Ghost Peppers chopped
• 1 medium tomato, peeled and chopped
• 1 small white onion diced
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss everything together to combine it well.

CAUTION: USE GLOVES WHILE HANDLING GHOST PEPPERS TO AVOID CONTACT WITH SKIN.

The Veracious Vegan

a foodie perspective of vegan cuisine, chocolat, and vino

• Restaurant Reviews

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Ghost pepper salsa.

• Wear rubber gloves when slicing them. The capsaicin in peppers, which causes the heat, is easily transferred to your mouth and eyes causing severe pain.
• Wear a mask, if possible, when slicing them.
• To reiterate, do not touch them while slicing! 
• Do not eat the seeds. They will burn on the way out, if you know what I mean.

• 1-2 fresh ghost peppers
• 28-oz can chopped tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Juice of 3/4 of a lime
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin

20 comments:

This looks amazing. I have been wanting to try fresh ghost peppers for sooo long! Which farmers market in Philly did you get them? I will be there soon and want to check it out!

I found them at the Head House farmer's market. I can't wait to get more!

I grew 6 plants this summer in northern VA...I have hundreds of ghost peppers....ah the heat!!!

You need to share!

I just made a batch for a friend, smells yummy, I'm calling mine Satan's blood.

How many servings does this yeild?

I'm growing ghost peppers in South New Jersey. My oldest plant is 3 years old and it still produces a lot of peppers. I love growing them and plan on making your salsa with them. Ty for the instructions.

Awesome. I only wish I could get more locally. Does anyone know where to get them in DC?

I have a ghost pepper plant that has a bunch of peppers on it but they have yet to turn red. If you're interested I could meet you in Logan Circle or Dupont sometime if you're interested.

That would be amazing! Email me at angela [at] theveraciousvegan.com!

Wonderful recipe! I have a few ghost peppers from the garden to use up, and I made a big batch of this salsa for some of them. It turned out to be very good, thanks!

That is great to hear!

I assume you can substitute habaneros if ghost peppers are not be found?

We have Ghost Peppers here in Southern California. We planted 2 plants and they are going crazy. Making salsa next weekend with our first harvest. Wish us luck. Thank you for sharing.

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How hot is the salsa

It all depends on how many of the seeds you leave in. More seeds = more hot!

How long can you store the salsa? Also can you freeze it?

It should store well for a week and, yes, you can freeze it.

Is this recipe ok for canning? I am new to canning, we made this salsa last year and loved it and have already taken 2 ripe ghost peppers off the plant this year! we wan to try and can it to enjoy all year :) from what I've read online it might need vinegar added to it? possibly sugar to balance the vinegar?

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Some Like It Hot: TJ’s Habanero Ghost Pepper Salsa

It’s not just hot…it’s actually labeled “extra hot”. Unlike many products represented as spicy, this one really is muy caliente !

Do you like spicy food? The kind that leaves your lips tingling and a smile on your face? Me, too. But there’s a fine line between pleasantly hot and nuclear hot – the kind that burns off your tastebuds. I’ve had that kind of spicy food, too…and it doesn’t end well.

Trader Joe’s Extra Hot Habanero Ghost Pepper salsa is exactly what it says it is: very spicy salsa. Full of chunky tomato, it also contains several types of peppers, including: habanero, bell, poblano, serrano, (dried) japones, and smoked ghost pepper (powder). The spices and vegetables meld into a delightfully complex condiment that will add zip to chips and really perk up burritos.

As an added bonus, spicy food may offer health benefits, such as pain relief and calorie burning. I also like spicy food because it’s self-limiting: I can only eat so much if it’s really hot!

Often, I find myself trying salsas labeled “hot” only to discover that they’re more like a wimpy medium. A pleasant surprise, TJ’s Habanero Ghost Pepper salsa doesn’t disappoint…and a little goes a long way! This salsa brings the heat.

Learn more about the hot pepper (Scoville) heat scale, including where the type of peppers in this salsa rank, here .

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Ghost Pepper Salsa Recipe

hey it’s big game and this is my elevated pepper garden here I’ve been growing all summer and it’s time to do a little harvesting and make some well ghost pepper salsa first of all is over here mate now these are the ghost peppers right here if you can see they’re red and wrinkly and this is first time I’ve ever grown these and these are one of the hottest peppers on the planet so here we go we’ll get a few of those in there but now over here we’ve got habaneros they’re the orange ones and they’re not as hot as it goes pepper but they’re right up there and we’re going to get a few of those so I’m going to try to make the hottest salsa ever and then we’re going to eat it on the air these are some red habaneros back here the more peppers the merrier right let’s see a couple of banana peppers for some sweetness there’s a little bitty one there a couple of these are pretty big they’ll keep growing here for a while – that’s a good looking pepper right there look at that banana pepper that’s going to be good in the salsa and these right here these little fellows that are falling over those are another one of my favorites these are Tabasco peppers and they’re really good to add in there and they’re pretty hot too little hot salsa can be complete without some just some regular jalapenos but we’re going to go ahead and make some salsa there we go good mix of peppers to make some good homemade salsa with okay we’re in my kitchen now and we’re ready to make the ghost pepper salsa so as you see there what’s going to go in it is for habaneros three ghost peppers four tabasco’s two jalapenos one of those turn red three bananas one red jalapeno or one red habanero let’s chop off the devil Chile’s put another one in there so there we go so now and some basil so are we ready to do this first of all I like to use canned tomatoes diced tomatoes when I make my salsa all right so now what I do is I get a spoonful of garlic minced garlic cilantro and you just put the levy part in there some of that basil that I grew outside all right now the peppers first of all we’re going to put a big slab of onion in there now you get our banana peppers in there and those will just give it a little bit of sweetness and it’s get the habaneros in there jalapenos Tabasco here are the two red habaneros and finally what’s going to make it almost unbearable to eat the three ghost peppers all right so also add a couple of packets of Splenda that’s my little secret here we go [Music] and I think that ought to be sufficiently chopped up yeah oh man it smells hot whoo all right so we got the ghost pepper salsa here and I am going to fill this rascal up with it Thursday morning at 7:10 we all try this on the air it will not open until then

11 Comments

Literally my favorite salsa to eat us ghost pepper so I liked this shit before I even watched it yayuh BAM

Needs lime and cilantro

I before ate first time ghost pepper salsa an that weak I'm not hottest.

Stopped watching after i seen caned tomatoes

Learn to pick peppers!!!!

nice little garden and salsa. grow some roma tomato too!

Nice pepper garden!

Splenda is horrible for you!

Did he really just put Splenda in salsa??? SMH

Good stuff man

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Trader Joe’s Extra Hot Habanero Ghost Pepper Salsa Reviews

Extra Hot Habanero Ghost Pepper Salsa: 7.5/10

This #salsa is definitely on the hotter side (as shown on the pepper rating scale on the side of the container) and is a smoky tasting red salsa. This is definitely the spiciest salsa that I have tried so far from Trader Joe’s – while eating this with the sweet potato chips one afternoon, it had me in tears. Those habanero and ghost peppers will really get you! It’s smoky taste comes from the fire roasted red bell peppers, poblano peppers, and smoked ghost pepper powder which I really appreciated. Overall I liked this salsa, but I prefer my salsas to be brighter flavored than smokier. It is $3.29.

Have you tried it yet? What do you think?

24 thoughts on “Trader Joe’s Extra Hot Habanero Ghost Pepper Salsa Reviews”

I hate how much I love it bc it’s so spicy!

Looks incredible… just wish this was certified kosher 😢

@violetcrimes please try this! Gives me ms. renfro’s vibes 😍

@ademiacha31

Yes I dig this salsa. Def has a little kick 🔥

It’s the only salsa I can find that’s hot enough for me! I’ve been told by others they find it to be intense though haha.

@rachnp2010

Yes that’s our favorite!

I just bought this and love it! Definitely spicy but so good!!

Love this salsa

Mix it with the cauliflower jalapeño dip- LIFECHANGING! I swear

soooo good I love this salsa

Thank you for this awesome recommendation!! It’s rly is so spicy ! And I LOVE IT 🤩 so addicting

I use this to make a Mexican version of Mississippi pot roast, it turns out perfect every time!

This has to be their best salsa. Great on eggs & of course Mexican dishes

For all you spicy salsa lovers, this is a 10/10!

My favorite 😍

Delicious 💖

Next to homemade… one of my favorites

I love hot stuff and this was sooooo hot for me

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