Add This Hot Sauce To Frozen Pizza For A Smoky Flavor Boost

There's no reason to eat your go-to frozen pizza they way it comes straight out of a cardboard box because there are many effortless ways to amp up its flavor (of course, you'll cook it in the oven first). Out of the many hacks to elevate a frozen pizza, there's a type of hot sauce that is a particularly good choice for those who appreciate a smoky and spicy element at the top of each bite. All it takes is a dash — or a few — of Tabasco's Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

Even a frozen supreme pizza loaded with vegetables and meats could benefit from both smoky and spicy flavors, especially if you like heat. Tabasco's Chipotle Pepper Sauce is a good solution because it's made of slow-smoked jalapeño peppers, which is where that smoky element stands out compared to plain hot sauces. It still ranks between 1,500 and 2,500 Scoville Heat Units, which is enough to satisfy that craving for heat too. Tabasco is a go-to brand of hot sauce, and the brand's chipotle variety certainly packs the heat for those with a relatively high heat tolerance. The smoky element is surely present, but it's not overwhelming like the flavor profile can sometimes be. Best of all, there's no prep work involved like other frozen pizza upgrades because all you have to do is shake the bottle on top of your slice (or pie) after it comes out of the oven.

A smoky hot sauce like Tabasco's Chipotle Pepper Sauce can work on basically any type of frozen pizza, but of course some options that reign supreme. If your go-to frozen pie has roasted vegetables like bell peppers, then the smoky hot sauce will complement the flavors of those ingredients quite well. Smoky chipotle peppers also pair well with meats like chicken, so add it to a BBQ chicken pizza to really impress those taste buds. Other meats like pepperoni or crumbled sausage also pair well with a smoky chipotle hot sauce. As controversial as it might be, if Hawaiian pizza is your preference, the hot sauce will balance the sweetness of the pineapple deliciously. 

To amp up a plain cheese pizza, lean into Mexican cuisine with roasted corn, jalapeños, or cotija cheese along with Tabasco's Chipotle Pepper Sauce. This hot sauce took the second spot on our ranking of Tabasco hot sauce flavors, but there are other options if you cannot snag a bottle. Try Cholula's Chipotle Hot Sauce that's made in Mexico and contains 450 Scoville Heat Units for milder heat. As a final option, try a dash of Tapatío, which is known to have a smoky flavor profile, too.