This Fan-Favorite Really Is The Hands-Down Best Taco Bell Sauce

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

There are countless ways to customize an order from Taco Bell, from mixing up your proteins to getting your order "fresco style" to make things a bit lighter. But one aspect that doesn't always get the same amount of thought is the sauce. It's always the question at the end of the order, and it seems like unless you're specific about what you want, you usually just end up with a random handful of different packets in the bag. It pays to be particular, though; otherwise you may find yourself and your dining partners scrambling to make sure that you each get your share of the very best sauce on the menu: Taco Bell's signature Fire Sauce.

We set out to rank 15 different Taco Bell sauces from best to worst, and Fire Sauce was the clear winner. Our assessment of the chain's many sauces — Taco Bell is one of the chains with the most sauces — involved tasting the sauces both alone and on a tortilla chip so as to ensure that the ratings weren't skewed by any other ingredients. What we found in this careful analysis was that Fire Sauce featured an excellent balance. It delivered just the right amount of heat, enough to get your mouth tingling, but not so much that it blows your whole palate out. But the Fire Sauce is about more than just the perfect amount of heat; it also features a layered flavor that serves as a perfect complement to the entire Taco Bell menu.

If you take a gander across social media and message boards, you will find no shortage of Taco Bell sauce rankings, and this opinion — that Fire Sauce is the clear best — seems to be pretty universal. Customers value that Fire Sauce actually brings some heat to the table, unlike the Hot Sauce offering. Mild is, of course, mild, but it is also delicious. You might even see some Reddit users touting the fact that Fire Sauce "is literally a spicier mild, and that's why it is great."

There is one variety of Taco Bell sauce that was specifically made to top the heat in the Fire Sauce, but customers generally have a bad taste in their mouth for the Diablo Sauce. The issue is, well, the taste that it leaves in their mouths. While the extra dose of heat is appreciated, many say that there is a certain artificial, chemical taste to it. That said, Diablo Sauce did hold down the number two spot in our official ranking, and many keyboard connoisseurs have also placed it near the top of their own lists as well.

If all of this talk has you hankering for a taste of Fire Sauce, you don't have to run all the way to Taco Bell and beg for extra packets. You can buy a bottle of Taco Bell's Fire Sauce at the grocery store. Though, be warned, the store-bought Taco Bell sauce does differ from the packets, as it's made with a slightly different list of ingredients. The bottle might scratch the itch, but there's nothing quite like the handful of packets in the bottom of that brown paper bag.