The 25 Best Hot Sauces of All Time – Enthusiast Top Picks

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We have a hot sauce problem. Well, it isn’t really a problem in my opinion. We can stop whenever we want, okay?!

The point is, we’ve tried a lot of hot sauces. Our refrigerator has an entire door shelf dedicated to our ever-shifting hot sauce collection. That, plus a kitchen cabinet constantly filled with newly-added unopened bottles.

Today we are listing the very best hot sauces that we have tried to date. These hot sauces are listed in no particular order, because some sauces on the list are super spicy, while others are mild and flavorful.

I’ve included heat level, how to use them, and an overview of the flavor profile for each hot sauce. While your favorite sauce may not have made the list, keep in mind these are our favorites! Of course, feel free to share your top picks in the comments below.

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Karma Sauce Carnival

Gene from Karma Sauce is known as a mad scientist in the kitchen. His creations often use unique ingredients and flavors, such as cherries or butternut squash.

In the case of Carnival hot sauce, the hot peppers are the star of the show. Scotch bonnets, fatalii, and yellow moruga scorpion peppers all boast serious heat and flavor. This means that Carnival is not for the faint of heart.

Add in some lime, tangy green mango and ginger and the result is absolutely delicious. The name of the sauce says it all – it’s a bright, vibrant and explosive experience on the palate.

Fun fact: Carnival sits near the very top of my personal all-time favorite hot sauces!

Dawson’s Original Hot

Dawson’s Original hot sauce brings incredible flavor for so few ingredients. The focus here is all about bringing the floral flavor of habanero peppers to the front.

Delicious, fresh habaneros mixed with cane sugar, garlic, vinegar, salt and a touch of olive oil make this sauce smooth and timeless. We also like the elegant and unique packaging with a fancy wax seal.

Considering the higher heat level and the bold flavor, the price is easily justified. Dawson’s also makes several other unique sauces in their lineup.

Marie Sharp’s Habanero

Marie Sharp’s Habanero Pepper Sauce is a classic. This sauce uses simple ingredients, including habaneros, onions, carrots, garlic and lime juice. There are funky notes from fermentation, and the heat level is respectable.

If you don’t like your sauces sweet, and prefer them savory instead, try this classic Belizean style sauce. Thankfully, you can easily find it in stores or online.

Los Calientes Rojo

Another marvel from the kitchen’s of Karma Sauce comes Los Calientes Rojo. Branded under the Hot Ones name, this sauce is tropical hot sauce bliss.

Special ingredients bring this sauce to life like culantro (not a spelling mistake for cilantro as we thought at first), apricot and tomatillo. The result is amazing.

We have gone through several bottles and we have backups on hand. If you’re looking for similar flavor and less heat, try the original Los Calientes.

Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp

Fly By Jing has brought us some truly unique and flavorful sauces. Their classic Sichuan chili crisp is a show stopper. While this is more of a chili oil than a hot sauce, it still deserves a spot on this list.

Stir it up and drizzle it over stir fried noodles, ramen noodles, or dunk some dumplings in it. The combination of chili peppers, ginger, garlic, and other aromatic spices is unlike anything else on this list! Shop on their beautiful website for a unique shopping experience.

Cholula Hot Sauce

As far as grocery store hot sauces go, Cholula is a solid choice. For just a few dollars, you can pick up this simple hot sauce from almost any retailer.

The smooth, rich texture is satisfying, and the unique pepper and vinegar forward flavor is addictive. Paired with the noteworthy wooden cap and the built in dasher top, we always keep a bottle of Cholula on hand in our pantry.

Not only is it delicious, but the story behind the hot sauce is intriguing. Read more about Cholula hot sauce in our article here.

Hot Ones: The Last Dab Chile De Árbol

The original ‘Last Dab’ was a scorching hot sauce, among the spiciest we have tried. It was somewhat of a shame too, since the flavor was actually very good, but the heat level made it inaccessible to many.

Then, the Hot Ones team dropped The Last Dab: Chili de Árbol Edition, replacing the fiery hot peppers with Chili de Árbol peppers. This reduced the heat to a mild level, but maintained a similar flavor (though it is different).

I was excited to try it, and was not disappointed. The flavor is savory, with notes of cumin and fresh chilies. If you want a new, unique sauce, try this one now.

High River Tears of the Sun

Steve Seabury, creator of High River Sauces, is a true pepper nerd. This sauce uses one of our favorite specialty peppers, the Peach ghost scorpion, as a main ingredient!

Don’t let the name of the pepper scare you though, because this sauce is the perfect heat level for me at around 70,000 SHUs. It also has amazing tropical flavors with mango, papaya, and pineapple.

Melinda’s Original Habanero Garlic

Melinda’s sauces are a staple in many households. Their hot sauces range from mango to scotch bonnet and so much more. I love the simplicity of their sauces and the focus on different pepper varieties.

The Original Habanero Garlic pepper sauce is one of the best hot sauces you can buy. If you love garlic and heat, this sauce will not disappoint. I love the savory balance of habaneros, garlic, onions and carrots for the perfect everyday hot sauce.

Arizona Gunslinger Jalapeño

This is the simplest hot sauce on this list, and still manages to be one of the best. With just 3 ingredients (jalapeños, vinegar, and salt), Arizona Gunslinger manages some seriously bold flavor!

Undoubtedly this is thanks to fermentation. Fermented jalapeños are so much more flavorful than fresh, so there’s no question this sauce is fermented before bottling. The same is true of some of the world’s most popular sauces, like Frank’s and Tabasco. Learn how to make a fermented mash yourself here.

If you want to try something new that could easily become your favorite all-around hot sauce, this could be it. We have at least a dozen hot sauces opened and in the fridge, but this one always goes faster than most. The perfect heat level, too!

Shaquanda’s Hot Pepper Sauce

Shaquanda’s makes some simple yet surprisingly tasty hot sauces. From the delightful West Indian Curry to this, their original Hot Pepper Sauce. All are good, but this one is our favorite.

This sauce has fresh pepper flavor, a zingy vinegar bite, and a strong presence of horseradish. This makes the sauce spicy in multiple ways, and makes it perfect for slathering on prime rib or pork.

Tabasco Scorpion

Tabasco isn’t messing around with this one. The classic hot sauce brand brings serious heat to their Scorpion sauce. Not only that, but the flavor is also out of this world! Not only does it have scorpions, one of the hottest peppers on Earth, but also pineapple and guava – yum.

If you can handle superhot peppers, then this little hot sauce bottle will be your best friend. We reviewed it, and it is genuinely one of the more flavor-packed sauces on the market. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, it’s a real scorcher!

Karma Sauce Cosmic Dumpling

It should be no surprise that another entry from Karma Sauce is on our list of the best hot sauces. Gene O. knows his flavors, and when we saw he was tackling a dumping sauce, we were super excited to try it.

And we were not disappointed. Cosmic Dumpling stars with rice vinegar, and blends together jalapenos, tamari, brown sugar, orange juice and sesame oil into a delightful dumpling dipping sauce.

But it isn’t just good for dumplings. It can improve almost any food, from pizza to salmon to pork and more. Karma Sauce offers some of the best sweet and tangy sauces out there, and Cosmic Dumpling is near the top of our favorites.

Chilli Chump Blazing Buffalo Extreme

From another online personality comes Chilli Chump’s Blazing Buffalo eXtreme. This simple and fermented hot sauce is a take on the classic buffalo style sauces (like Frank’s RedHot or Tabasco Brand sauce).

Shaun is from the UK and shares his sauce making experiences on YouTube. It is a special experience to taste a sauce that was created in a small batch by a passionate sauce maker.

I love the unique flavor of superhots, cayennes and white wine vinegar – it is certainly different from your typical Tabasco! The only drawback for US shoppers is shipping cost.

Pepper North Stargazer

This sauce offers a great smokey flavor with maple sweetness. It also packs a punch from jalapenos and scotch bonnet peppers.

Based out of Canada, Pepper North started with a simple passion for growing hot peppers. Stargazer hits all the right notes – sweet, great texture and respectable heat. A little goes a long way with this one, but the flavor is strong enough to back it up.

The price is fairly high, but the high heat level means a longer lasting sauce. Read our full review here.

Torchbearer Zombie Apocalypse

Intentionally delicious, unintentionally healthy – that is the motto of Torchbearer Sauces. We’ve never had a Torchbearer sauce we didn’t like.

Zombie Apocalypse is one of Crystalyn’s all-time most used hot sauces. The creamy texture, sweet carrot and fiery heat are all mouthwatering.

We also like the unique artwork that Torchbearer uses on all of their hot sauces. They stand out on the shelf and make the experience a bit more fun.

Dirty Dick’s Hot Pepper Sauce

Crass name aside, this sauce is exceptionally tasty. The raisins and banana may sound strange at first, but the flavors blend seamlessly for a truly unique taste.

If you don’t like sweet sauces, you may not enjoy this one. But if you do, you’ll go crazy for it! The heat level isn’t too intense, so you can enjoy this in larger quantities. We can’t make a bottle of this last longer than a couple weeks.

Read our full review of Dirty Dick’s here.

Yellowbird Organic Habanero

Certainly among our favorite habanero hot sauces, Yellowbird’s Organic Habanero is great on anything. The flavor is bright and tangy, with tangerine and carrot blending beautifully with fresh habanero peppers.

For a grocery store sauce, this one has a bite. We would put it around a 5/10 on the heat scale, which is much more than Frank’s or Cholula. The squeezable format meant a short life in our household!

Homemade Sriracha Sauce

Fermentation does wonders to a homemade hot sauce. If you have never tried making your own hot sauce, this is a great way to start. A 1 week ferment brings incredible flavor to our homemade sriracha recipe.

With only 7 ingredients, this sauce couldn’t be much simpler. If you grown your own jalapeños or Fresnos, and like sweet and complex flavors, this hot sauce recipe is perfect for you.

Dragon’s Blood Elixir Garlic Paprikash

Based out of CT, Dragon’s Blood Elixir is always stirring up something new from fresh hot peppers. Well known in the New England area, Doug is a master of flavor and heat.

As the title suggests, garlic and paprika make up some of the ingredient list, but it also contains peach puree and smoked serranos.

We highly recommend checking out the ever-changing variety of specialty hot sauces on Dragon’s Blood Elixir here.

Mellow Habanero Yuzu Heaven

Of all the sauces we have tried, Yuzu Heaven may just be one of the very best. While the flavor of yuzu may be polarizing, it is perfectly paired with delicious habaneros, rice vinegar, and mango.

If you like Japanese food, this sauce will make a good companion for many dishes. The only drawback? It is one of the most expensive sauces we have tried thus far.

Dawson’s Cremini Habanero

Dawson’s makes some of the more elegant sauces out there. This creamy mushroom hot sauce has a velvety smooth texture, and a mushroomy aroma and flavor that are fungi heaven.

This sauce is targeted to mushroom lovers, so if you’re not a fan of earthy flavor, move right along. But if you do enjoy the occasional pasta with mushrooms, this hot sauce will bring those meals to the next level.

With habaneros, balsamic vinegar and of course, cremini mushrooms, this decadent sauce stands out in our collection as something truly special.

Tabasco Habanero Hot Sauce

Another common grocery store hot sauce, Tabasco makes a surprisingly wide variety of hot sauce flavors. The original hot sauce is a true classic, but their Habanero hot sauce is a real flavor bomb, with extra heat.

We should say, this sauce tastes nothing like the original Tabasco brand hot sauce. It has a variety of tropical ingredients, including mango, banana, and papaya. They even use Tabasco original as an ingredient.

This sauce is perfect for dashing on top of bland food to bring it sweet, tangy and spicy flavor. Read our full review of this hot sauce here.

Queen Majesty Habanero & Coffee

Boasting some of the most beautiful label artwork, Queen Majesty hot sauce makes some of our favorites. The flavor combinations in all of their sauces are unique, and they often don’t sound like they will work together.

But they do. This red habanero and black coffee hot sauce sounds strange, but the flavor is immediately likable and versatile. It does wonderful things to fresh homemade tacos.

We have enjoyed all of the Queen Majesty sauces we have tried, so we highly recommend trying their 3-pack sampler from Amazon.

Mad Dog 357 Gold

Officially the hottest sauce we have tried to date, Mad Dog 357 Gold edition is meant to shock. You know a sauce is serious when it comes with a fake bullet (that hides a tiny tasting spoon inside).

The heat, however, was not the most surprising thing, it was the flavor. Mad Dog was able to curb the flavor of pepper extract and actually make a good tasting sauce. It has fresh onion and garlic, lime juice and of course super hot peppers.

The only issue is that the heat level will scare most people away from using it more than once. However, if you know someone who is crazy about superhot peppers and sauces, this would make a great gift.

Read our full review (and video taste test) in our article here.

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Or, try making your own hot sauces with fresh peppers from the garden or store. Our different recipes give you options to get the right heat level and flavor for your tastes.

I hope you enjoyed our list of the best hot sauces money can buy. Let us know any new sauces you have tried and loved so we can try them, too.