9 Of The Absolute Best All-Purpose Hot Sauces On Store Shelves

When it comes to hot sauce, there's an almost endless amount of different variations — one for every kind of meal and consumer imaginable. These range anywhere from simple buffalo wings and taco sauces to extra hot and truffle-flavored options. After all, spice is relative, and everyone likes each dish at a different level of heat. But what about those who like their hot sauce on everything?

Digging through the myriad of different brands, sauces, peppers, and flavors can be a daunting task when looking at the hot sauce landscape as a whole. Then again, each brand has its own traditional or classic style variety that's meant to be universal, rather than specifically tailored to any one dish.

With that in mind, here are nine of the absolute best all-purpose hot sauces on store shelves, and what sets each of them apart as worth giving a try. As mentioned, this list is composed of sauces that aren't intended for any one food or dish, but meant to be applied generously to a wide variety of foods (and can be purchased relatively cheaply).

Kicking off our list of all-purpose sauces is Frank's Hot Sauce, with the appropriate slogan: "I put that $#!t on everything!" With the first bottles (produced and distributed out of Cincinnati, Ohio) hitting store shelves in 1920, Frank's has been an American hot sauce staple for over a century now. 

Using primarily aged cayenne red peppers, distilled vinegar, water, salt, and garlic powder, this sauce hits multiple satisfying taste nodes. First, the spiciness of the peppers hits your lips, before the sweet tanginess of the vinegar balances it out to create a harmony of flavors that pairs well with almost anything.

Despite the numerous varieties offered by Frank's, its original is simply the best. As far as hot sauces go, Frank's is far from the hottest option out there. Sure, it may be bursting with flavor, but that doesn't mean it'll be causing anyone to break into a sweat. Still, its approachability and universally-applicable flavor profile make it the quintessential go-to hot sauce.

Having started production in the late 1860s and selling across the U.S. and Europe by the 1870s, Tabasco Red Pepper sauce is a favorite among many consumers across the globe. Using a simple yet effective mix of distilled vinegar, aged red pepper, and salt, this no-frills sauce has one of the most iconic flavors of any hot sauce. Both the vinegar and the red peppers create a smoky-spicy flavor that works extremely well with pizza, rice, chicken, chili, tacos, or virtually anything savory, as the basic list of ingredients is anything but when it comes to pairing options.

While the ingredient list may be rather short, the distillation process for this sauce is certainly not. All Tabasco sauces are made on Avery Island, Louisiana, and the pepper mash spends (in some cases) three years in white-oak barrels in a process that has been with the company since its founding.

Although Cholula Classic hot sauce is typically paired with Hispanic foods, its bold flavor profile makes it extremely adaptable for almost any dish, from wings and burgers to soups and shawarma. This sauce uses water, abrol and piquin peppers, vinegar, and garlic powder (plus a few preservatives); consequently, this has a mouth and lip burn similar to cayenne pepper-based sauces, but with a hint of almost fruity sweetness that sets it apart.

Its bottles are immediately recognizable by the large spherical wooden caps, although the color of these caps may depend on the type of sauce. Cholula offers a large variety of other products, including cooking sauces and marinades, salsas and chips, seasoning mixes, and frozen meals (and flavors such as lime, habanero, chipotle, and garlic). But its classic hot sauce is not to be missed, as it's one of the absolute best and most universally-applicable hot sauces currently available on store shelves.

Founded in 1928 out of (surprise) Louisiana, Louisiana Hot Sauce is as classic as classic gets. Made with a simple mix of aged peppers, vinegar, and salt, this unassuming combination has been warming American stomachs for the better part of a century and is even partnered with Popeyes and served in its restaurants. While the vinegar adds a slight tanginess, and the sauce gets some sweetness from the peppers, the heat is the primary driver here (despite it being far from the hottest sauce available).

With its smoky heat, Louisiana Hot Sauce pairs well with countless foods, and its accessibility (both in its availability for purchase and milder heat) has ensured it's a favorite among many for its signature flavor. Even though the Louisiana Hot Sauce company offers a large number of sauces, from taco to buffalo wing to Cajun-tailored variations, its original is an essential that (even if you prefer more spice) will tickle your taste buds and offer an easy way to spice up any meal.

Hoy Fung Food's Sriracha hot pepper sauce is uniquely delicious, and its longstanding presence on American shelves is a testament to its taste. Originating in Vietnam in the mid-1970s before working its way into America by the end of the decade, this pureed pepper paste is made with primarily chilis, sugar, garlic, and distilled vinegar. It tastes of fresh hot peppers and will easily liven up any dish as it's one of the spiciest sauces on this list.

Although it started as a condiment for pho, the company was quick to notice (and heavily lean into) the versatility of the sauce. A simple Google will yield you countless recipes of sriracha-based dishes, as it's not only widely applicable but also extremely accessible. Sriracha (specifically Hoy Fung Food produced but also countless other brands, as where trailblazers go, imitators follow) can be found almost anywhere condiments or hot sauces or sold. 

For those who enjoy Frank's but want a little more spice and zing, Crystal Hot Sauce is the perfect choice. Using a simple mix of aged cayenne red peppers, distilled vinegar, and salt, this sauce's flavor is bold and delicious without being offensive or overly complex, making it the perfect pairing for any dish that needs something extra. Although it is spicier than sauces such as Frank's or Cholula, it's still at a level that makes it approachable to a very wide consumer base.

Founded in New Orleans in 1929 when the new-owner of Mill's Fruit Products (Alvin Baumer) accidentally stumbled upon a leftover hot sauce recipe, Crystal is the quintessential pick when it comes to unique Louisiana-style hot sauces (primarily made with cayenne peppers and vinegar). This sauce has the perfect balance of heat and sweetness from the cayenne peppers, while still carrying a distinct tang that sets it apart. There are various kinds of sauces available from the Crystal brand, but its original sauce is like the city of New Orleans itself: unapologetically bold and not to be missed.

Although it originates from North Carolina and has no ties to the state it's named after, Texas Pete Hot Sauce has been an American staple since the 1930s. Born out of the depression era, Texas Pete has perfected its implementation of vinegar, aged peppers, and water to create its signature and unique flavor. This sauce is on the spicier side of this list, but far from being the most so. It does, however, have some of the most kick to it as the vinegar is more prominent than any of the other sauces.

While there are several different Texas Pete sauces and products (including but not limited to salsa, BBQ sauce, wing sauces, mustards, dips, clothes, and phone accessories), its original sauce is hands down its most universal. Delicious on anything from fried chicken and breakfast to cocktails and desserts, Texas Pete Hot Sauce works as an instant way to upgrade your meals with a spicy, vinegar-laden tang.

Another sauce that's typically paired with Hispanic foods, Tapatio is one of the more underutilized sauces on the market. It's simple mix of water, red peppers, and garlic gives it a bold and smoky flavor, and makes it one of the spiciest of this bunch. While it works phenomenally as a red sauce in dishes like tacos or burritos (and can instantly improve a bowl of salsa when a healthy portion of this sauce is added), it can be applied to a wide variety of other foods, too.

It pairs particularly well with meats like beef, chicken, and pork, but it's also tasty on pizza, potato skins, and pasta (there's even a Tapatio-flavored ramen soup). Widely available, extremely easy to find, and offering many different flavors and variations, a bottle of original Tapatio should make its way into your everyday rotation of condiments; it'll quickly become a favorite.

Melinda's Louisiana Red Cayenne Hot Sauce is another cayenne-based sauce, but with a flavor different enough to establish itself as uniquely delicious. Made with red cayenne peppers, white vinegar, salt, and garlic powder, this sauce gets its distinct taste from its inclusion of cane vinegar and sugar.

This is by far the sweetest sauce on this list (and on the lower end of spiciness, per the company's own assessment), but that doesn't take away from the quality of the product. After all, because of its low heat and sweet taste, this sauce pairs well with an extremely wide range of foods and consumers' palates.

Melinda's has a seemingly endless supply of products, as well, ranging from hot honey and ranch to Polynesian and wing sauces. It also has hot sauces based on numerous different peppers (including a particularly spicy habanero variation), though the red cayenne flavor is easily the most universally applicable. With its smooth melody of sweet heat, it can take almost any meal up a notch.

In order to be considered for this list, a sauce had to meet a couple of qualifications. First, it had to have a flavor palette that can pair with a wide variety of foods, and not be specifically associated with any single item. This means no buffalo wing, taco, BBQ, or any other targeted sauces. Of course, most (or all) of the sauces on this list could be used for any one of these kinds of foods, but none of the sauces on this list were made for that purpose. 

Additionally, each of these sauces had to be easily accessible, attainable, and approachable. If a sauce was only available in a specific region or difficult to find, it wasn't accessible to a large enough audience for this list. Similarly, these sauces had to be available at reasonable price points, and could not be "extra hot" or spicy past the (relative) point of enjoyment for the average consumer.