Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The 10 Best Hot Sauces to Spice Up Your Life

hot sauce
Julien McRoberts/Getty images

Hot sauce is as essential a condiment as ketchup, mayo, or mustard. In addition to heating up anything it touches, the vinegar and pepper flavors often work to liven up other flavors in the dish you’re eating. At the very least, hot sauce makes us feel good on a biological level, thanks to the presence of capsaicin.

Not all hot sauces are created equal, though. Some are just too hot, created as a novelty more than anything, while others do not have a balanced flavor, resulting in unequal parts of heat and deliciousness.

Below, we’ve listed the 10 best hot sauces you can buy right now (which is faster than the other option, making your own). They vary in type of pepper and heat level, so there’s a little something for everyone.

Tabasco Raspberry Chipotle

Tabasco Raspberry Chipotle
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If there is a dessert hot sauce, this is it. While most of us know Tabasco from their iconic hot sauce, their Raspberry Chipotle is no sleeper. Smoky like their original Chipotle sauce, the raspberry adds a level of sweetness that, when combined, is reminiscent of a bar of fine dark chocolate. This hot sauce is great to brush on grilled meats, as a condiment straight from the bottle, and even as an ice cream topper!

Ghost Scream Vindaloo Curry

Ghost Scream Vindaloo Curry
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ghost Scream’s hot sauces ain’t nothing to mess with. No matter which type you buy, you are sure to get a flavorful and hot-as-hell sauce. Their Vindaloo Curry sauce is made with scorpion peppers, curry powder, and coconut oil, making it the perfect addition to many Indian or Caribbean dishes. Be careful with this one. Too much, and you’ll be breathing yellow fire long after you’ve finished eating. Its unique flavor profile is especially perfect to pair with shrimp, salmon, lamb, chicken, rice, and veggies.

Kumana Avocado Hot Sauce

Kumana Avocado Hot Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Avocado toast might prevent us from buying houses, but avocado hot sauce gives us everything we want from the alligator pear and then some. Somewhat creamy and with just enough of a kick, this hot sauce by Kumana will liven up any taco plate out there. Or better yet, seek out some Venezuelan food, where the avocado hot sauce is a staple. Sugar-free and low on carbs, this hot sauce is great for those on a paleo or keto diet. Combine it with ranch for a delightful dip, or pair it with marinated chicken, salads, eggs, and grilled steaks.

Moore’s Spicy Mustard Hot Sauce

Moore’s Spicy Mustard Hot Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Don’t go into this one expecting yellow mustard simply mixed with hot sauce. One of the many hot sauces made by Moore’s Marinades & Sauces, this sauce is more about accentuating flavors than it is about burning your taste buds off. Cayenne peppers give it heat, while turmeric and mustard bring a deeper flavor to a host of dishes. It can easily act as a dipping sauce as much as something you douse a hot dog, burger, or sandwich with.

Crystal Hot Sauce

Crystal Hot Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

An underrated hot sauce, Crystal is a Louisiana classic. Produced since 1923, Crystal is a bit softer in terms of heat than the other Louisiana staple, Tabasco, but to some is more flavorful. Made of only three ingredients, this is an everyday hot sauce if we’ve ever seen one and is great on everything — from soups and gravies to meat, seafood, and even cocktails.

Wuju Original Hot Sauce

Wuju Original Hot Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A sweet and tropical take on hot sauce, Wuju’s hot sauces are made with mango and habanero peppers, which create a sweet, somewhat mild heat from the moment it hits your lips until after you’ve swallowed your bite of food. Not your ordinary hot sauce, Wuju’s pepper notes mix well with the mango on a variety of dishes. If you want to amp it up, you can check out their extra-hot version of the sauce.

Torchbearer Slaughter Sauce

Torchbearer Slaughter Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This sauce makes the list because not only is it tasty, but it has an awesome name that matches a certain member of The Manual’s staff. Made with habanero peppers and other all-natural spices, this sauce is known for its slow burn. What starts out somewhat sweet heats up quickly, lasting for a good bit after you’ve swallowed. Torchbearer makes a variety of sauces, but this one ranks at the top for us.

Huy Fong Sambal Oelek

Huy Fong Sambal Oelek 
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sambal, an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, is a staple in cuisines all over Southeast Asia. Made from a variety of peppers (as well as other ingredients), you’re likely to find some kind of sambal just about everywhere. Sambal Oelek is one type of sambal, which uses raw chilis that are ground into a paste (ulek is the word for the crushing and twisting motion used). If the Huy Fong logo looks familiar, it’s because they also produce Sriracha (though our money is on sambal any day of the week).

Secret Aardvark Habanero Sauce

Secret Aardvark Habanero Sauce
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Taking the title of “Coolest Hot Sauce Name,” Secret Aardvark is more than just a cool-sounding name. Blending Tex-Mex and Caribbean flavors, Secret Aardvark’s sauce highlights the heat of habanero peppers by using the sweet and smoky flavor of roasted tomatoes. This sauce works better as a marinade to us because we love when the flavor is allowed time to penetrate a cut of meat.

Cholula Original Hot Sauce

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Transform any plain, boring meal into a hit in an instant with Cholula’s original hot sauce. This hot sauce levels up any dish with a perfect balance of flavor and heat, whether it be wings, pizza, burgers, pasta, or french fries. It’s made with premium piquin and arbol Mexican peppers along with other carefully-selected signature spices that will surely invigorate your taste buds. Vegan-friendly, sugar-free, and gluten-free, this hot sauce can be taken with any type of diet, including keto, low-carb, and paleo.

Editors' Recommendations

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
The best spiced rum cocktails to spice up your palate this fall
It's time to rethink spiced rum: The complex spirit is great in a number of fall-ready cocktails
Lava Roasted Manhattan cocktail.

It happens every year. As summer transitions into fall, it's time to say farewell to favorites such as pilsners, lighter wines, such as sauvignon blanc, and margaritas, and say what's up to Scotch whisky, cabernet sauvignon, and spiced rum cocktails.

That's right, it's time to transition to darker, heftier sippers to get us through the fall and winter. For rum drinkers, that means something aged longer and often hit with a complimentary batch of spices. You see, spiced rum can be a beautiful, complex, soothing drink when it is paired with just the right ratio of additives. Like a great gin, it can take on (or be infused with) a number of great aroma and flavor-building ingredients.

Read more
Plan your end-of-summer road trip: The 10 best beer cities to visit
Finish summer strong by visiting one of these 10 beer cities
A wheat beer and a pils are standing on a table in a beer garden

Sure, it’s great to spend time at home during the summer (and early fall) months. This is especially true if you have a nice back deck, patio, or pool (or all of the above) and a well-manicured lawn to play cornhole, ladder ball, or croquet. But, while it’s fun to be home on warm, sunny days, we believe summer deserves at least a few road trips. And while a day trip to a regional amusement park or to a state forest for a hike is great, we’d rather hop in our car and have the trip end with some liquid refreshment instead of nausea-inducing spinning teacups. Specifically, lagers, IPAs, and other thirst-quenching beers.

If you’re a beer fan and anything like us, you’ll want to take a day trip or vacation to a city that is chocked full of breweries, brewpubs, and other places to drink frosty brews. Luckily, since the U.S. is loaded with beer bars, brewpubs, and over 9,000 breweries, there are quite a few towns and cities well-worth hopping in your car and visiting.

Read more
Chefs reveal their best easy barbecue sauce recipes to up your grilling game
Perfect your meal with these great barbecue sauce recipes
Cherry bbq sauce on chicken.

 

Grilling season is upon us, and we’re stocking the pantry with things like dry rubs for barbecue and seasoning salts. And while we always love a good homemade meat glaze, there is no shame in going out and buying a bottle of barbecue sauce when you’re strapped for time. Or maybe you’re simply feeling a little bit lazy. Don’t worry, we’re not judging. There are plenty of top-notch bottled barbecue sauces on the market these days, many of which are made without high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. But making a grilling sauce from scratch doesn’t have to be a big production.

Read more