10 Store-Bought Burger Seasonings, Ranked Worst To Best

Picture this: You've got your pristinely-packed patties of ground beef ready to go, the grill is fired up, and you have an entire backyard full of hungry mouths counting on you to provide them with a flavorful meal. The only question now is, what burger seasoning are you choosing to assist you with this all-important mission?

It's a tough choice. The grocery store aisle is loaded with options, all presenting themselves as carefully crafted blends of spices and herbs — all-in-one medleys that allow you to bring just one bottle out to the barbecue instead of 10. They're built around convenience, but sometimes it feels like more trouble than it's worth to sift through the prospects and pick out the good from the bad. That's where a taste test like this can really come in handy.

From cowboy blends to classic all-purpose bottles to coarse rubs, I recently picked up a stampede of 10 different store-bought burger seasonings to test for myself. As I tried each one on my own mini beef burgers, I was on the hunt for a seasoning that delivers on the taste it promises with clean ingredients and an outstanding collaboration of flavors. Not only that, but it also needed to pair seamlessly with a juicy burger, bringing out those natural, beefy notes, rather than trampling them with an overload of salt or unnecessary spice. I ranked them all, ending with the most crowd-pleasing seasonings that you won't think twice about bringing to your next cookout.

This bottle embodies the phrase "everything is bigger in Texas." The Fire & Smoke Society brand is actually based out of Arkansas, but it channels its Southern neighbor with this jumbo-sized seasoning blend. It's known as the Thundering Longhorn, and with key notes of espresso coffee and ancho chile, it's meant to be the perfect match for both brisket and burgers.

I actually saved this bottle for last as I sampled all my sliders, expecting it to be one of the best. It had some big boots to fill, and it didn't quite rise to the occasion. This seasoning is defined by one core ingredient: salt. It's the first spice on the ingredient list, and it's the first spice you'll taste as you bite into your burger. The sodium level per serving tells the same story, sitting at around two to four times higher than many other brands. Beyond the saltiness, the most conspicuous elements are the warm flavors of cumin and chili powder, making the blend seem better suited for a pot of chili rather than a burger. I didn't get the richness that I originally expected from the coffee, and the mild spice is all but washed out by the rest. I also noticed a texture problem. It clumps a decent amount at the top, despite the addition of an anti-caking agent, making it hard to shake out of the lid, and even harder for me to give it a Texas-sized thumbs up.

This seasoning tastes like it just missed the exit to Flavortown. Instead, it's lost somewhere on the outskirts with a flavor that feels like it will never quite make it to its destination. I think the main problem I have with Guy Fieri's Burger Joint seasoning is the sense of artificiality I picked up on in each bite. It just has a stale, slightly off taste to it that I think can be traced back to the smoke flavor that's piped in. I would have rather seen smoked paprika or toasted spices thrown in the mix to achieve those off-the-grill notes, instead of something derived from essentially just sunflower oil, salt, and smoke flavor. The result is a seasoning that's undoubtedly smoky. It's not just a "touch of smoke" as the bottle notes, it's a full-blown smoke bomb that's overwhelming, and also tastes unnatural. 

The other ingredients include sugar, sea salt, dehydrated onion, garlic, and other spices. The garlic and onion aren't obvious, and the sweetness really only comes out right at the beginning before the smokiness takes over. So, really, that just leaves the big salt crystals to carry the rest of the flavor profile.

The blend doesn't taste especially inspired or creative, which is a bit surprising coming from someone as over-the-top as Guy Fieri. So even though it's less one-note than the Fire & Smoke blend, I don't think the Burger Joint bottle will be accompanying me at my next cookout.

I'm a big fan of Weber products. The brand has a few steak seasonings that will blow your socks off, and it offers a few burger-inspired blends in its lineup as well. I picked up two different options at the store, and was surprised when this bold variation ended up being my least favorite of the pair. It's not bad; it just doesn't live up to its big and bold expectations. I would even go so far as to say it's pretty boring overall — the only real chap-wearing leg it has to stand on is spice.

On paper, the cowboy seasoning actually sounds like a well-balanced blend. Umami notes from garlic and onion? Check. Sweetness from brown sugar? Check. Plenty of spice from various peppers? Check. The brand even doubles down on its nuanced flavor profile, noting that "savory onion and jalapeño heat ride shotgun" in the bottle. Once everything is thrown together and onto a beef patty, though, it comes across a bit more subdued. There's a little salt, a little onion, but nothing really grabs hold of your taste buds until that trio of cayenne, chili, and jalapeño finally kicks in. Maybe the magic comes from actually grilling your burgers on a Weber grill — which I didn't do — but prepared like this, it just didn't capture my attention. It's going to take more than a medium level of heat to really stand out.

Admittedly, I didn't expect much from this big, budget bottle. Even the look of it is painfully generic, with just a simple line drawing of a hamburger to signify its purpose. However, despite its unassuming and bare-bones appearance, this seasoning punches above its weight.

It's fairly coarse, and there seems to be quite a bit going on in the ingredient list. You have everything from the classic group of salt, onion, garlic, and black pepper, that tends to pair well with beef, to warm, smoky spices like paprika extract, red chili flakes, and cumin. Even oregano enters the mix. You really have to press the bits down into the burger patty to get it to stay during cooking, and afterwards, the surface remains rough and a little crunchy. But as for the flavor, it's far better than I anticipated. Pungent allium notes from the garlic and onion are at the top of the food chain in the mix, but they're supported by a hint of sugary sweetness and an earthiness from that medley of red spices. It's a grounded and well-rounded taste that works well for burgers, but that's versatile enough to extend into other meats or uses.

My one small qualm is that it does contain artificial flavors and caramel color. These add-ins seem unnecessary, and because there are other brands that provide a similar blend of ingredients and flavor, sans the artificial ingredients, Great Value only went so far.

Out of McCormick's endless arsenal of spices and cooking blends, I picked out this Grill Mates jar of hamburger seasoning. It's far from the only seasoning on the lineup that can work for burgers, and it's also essentially a dumbed-down version of Walmart's Great Value burger seasoning. The two look similar, shaking out of their respective bottles in shades of reddish-orange and in sizable flakes that are easily seen on the patty. The ingredients are also very similar. The difference is that McCormick simplifies things, and it works out for the better. 

Seven core ingredients make up the flavor here, but once again, toasted onion and garlic are at the helm. They set the tone with their savory, nutty notes. That doesn't mean that you don't get glimpses of sweet sugar, pops of brightness from the red bell pepper, and a little bit of bite from a combo of chili pepper and black pepper, though. It all joins together to form a very cohesive kind of flavor, and one that does a good job of dressing up ground beef. There's also nothing artificial in the ingredient list, just a touch of other natural flavors and sunflower oil for a grilled taste. It also doesn't note that it contains a bioengineered food ingredient (as Great Value's does). It's an affordable, everyday kind of seasoning. But there are others out there that are better equipped to give you that gourmet burger experience.

It doesn't claim to be overly bold or anything particularly special, like the brand's Cowboy Seasoning. But Weber's Flavor Bomb bottle impressed me with a quieter kind of confidence.

It differs from many of the previous options because it's pounded into a powdery pulp instead of remaining granular and visibly textured. This uniform consistency made me think that the taste would be overly simplified, but that's not the case at all. It wears multiple hats as a balance of salty, sweet, and smoky. At first, it's very heavy on the sweet notes. I guessed brown sugar was included in the blend before I even looked at the ingredient list, and that's what carries a great deal of that initial taste. Chunks of sea salt are also frequent, and a smokiness lingers. But hiding behind those, you also have traces of mustard, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper — though I will say the spice is still kept very mild.

I like how this one adheres so seamlessly to the meat. Just a few shakes and it was evenly coated, and rather than just sitting as a top layer, it melts into the patty as it cooks. It works well on the juicy beef, no doubt. But at the same time, it feels tailor-made for something like brisket or pork shoulder – something cooked slow, where that brown sugar sweetness can really caramelize and show off. This slight mismatch is what held it back a few spots in the rankings.

Just like Weber, Traeger is another brand that has expanded its business from peddling grills to building a full lineup of sauces, rubs, and other grilling accompaniments. It's essentially creating a whole hog barbecuing ecosystem. Its rubs cover everything from chicken and pork to prime rib and steak, and burgers aren't forgotten either. This was actually my first time trying any of Traeger's recipes, and it made a strong first impression.

Appearance-wise, the burger rub is just like sand you would find on the beach, that's partly fine and dusty but with larger bits sprinkled in. It's also very upfront about its main flavor notes, listing out onion, garlic, and cheese on the front of the bottle. The cheese threw me off, but I can confirm that this is the exact trio I tasted. It has almost a buttery cheesiness to it that's coupled with plenty of dehydrated garlic, a light onion-y sweetness, and a pinch of salt. There's also some zestiness hiding in the mix and a little bit of a kick, presumably from the flakes of chili pepper. It's an unexpected blend, but one that works better than expected.

My only hesitation is that the cheesiness does come off a tiny bit fabricated. It's almost like Cheez Whiz, but in powdered form, or better yet, it's similar to the dehydrated cheese blends you would sprinkle over popcorn. This is the main reason Traeger's seasoning lags behind other brands.

Who better to trust with your cookout needs than an award-winning pitmaster? Guy Hughes — known as G Hughes on his labels — is actually local to Ohio, which explains why his products were so easy for me to track down here in Columbus. He certainly knows his way around a grill, but has specifically built his brand around sauces and seasonings that are zero sugar and more nutritionally sound than other alternatives.

That approach is clear as day in his Steak Burger Spice Rub, which still delivers plenty of flavor despite its zero-sugar status. Present in sturdy bits, minced garlic and onion make the biggest impression, creating an almost caramelized crunch around the beef. Those are the flavors that first pulled me in, but they're only the first layer. It follows up with warm, earthy notes of chili powder and paprika. There's also a touch of smoke here, though it's not nearly as aggressive as it was in the Flavortown blend. This bottle also brought me back to McCormick's Grill Mates seasoning. There's a decent amount of overlap between the two, but this one tastes richer with a heartier spice thanks to the crushed red pepper — something I see as a positive.

One note is that while I can appreciate the chunkiness of this seasoning, it does hold it back a bit. It doesn't cling to the beef all that well, so I ended up with a few bare spots on the burger.

If you're a fan of black pepper and buttery notes, then you'll like this Kinder's seasoning (maybe even love it). It's not even marketed as one of the brand's butter-focused blends, like the Buttery Garlic & Herb or the Caramelized Onion Butter. But that smooth, savory taste manages to sneak in there, and who can resist a peppery, garlicky butter burger?

This seasoning is pretty different from the rest of the options in this taste test — there are no signs of any kind of red peppers, for starters. It probably has the most in common with the cheesy Traeger's bottle, but even that is a stretch. It's also remarkably straightforward. The powdery base is equal parts salty, garlicky, and buttery, with faint hints of sweet onion. And then the entire thing is dotted with sharp, crunchy fragments that taste like freshly cracked black peppercorns. Yes, it's more minimalistic than some of the other spice medleys here. But it feels like Kinder's is going for quality over quantity, and it nails it. The seasoning settled nicely onto my burger patty and even enhanced its juiciness and rich umami-filled profile. It doesn't try to completely reinvent the burger; it just makes it better. This seasoning won't let you down if you choose to use it on your burgers or even beyond. However, there is another blend that I clung to even more for its depth and unique personality.

This tastes closer to what I had envisioned for the Fire & Smoke Thundering Longhorn seasoning. And I'm keen to believe its authenticity comes from its true Texas roots. Four Sixes is a real-life cattle and horse ranch located in Guthrie, Texas, and it's now partially owned by the creator of the show "Yellowstone," Taylor Sheridan — a fact which only adds to the brand's cowboy credibility.

Four Sixes has taken what it's learned from over 150 years of ropin' and ridin' and bottled it up into seasonings and sauces. There are a handful to choose from, but the Cowboy Camp Burger blend specifically feels like a direct extension of its legacy. It's a seasoning that tastes wild and rugged, yet refined and composed at the same time.

Like Traeger's rub, it's a blend of both powdery and coarse, so it's easily applied to the beef, but also sears into a nice crust. What I like about it is that it doesn't rely too heavily on salt or garlic. It's rooted in a deep peppery flavor from a combination of cayenne, chili, and jalapeno. Paprika gives it even more of a smoky aroma, and it does carry some heat (so beware). It's then both rounded out and mellowed out by a subtle backbone of brown sugar, garlic, and salt. The best part is that it doesn't seem like it should be a better fit for chili or for slow-roasted pork; it's right at home on a big-mouth burger.

To find the best burger seasoning, I visited both my local Kroger and Walmart stores and picked up 10 different jars. I focused specifically on blends that are marketed as "burger" seasonings, skipping over any that could be used with ground beef, but serve broader purposes as well.

At home, I prepped 10 mini burger patties and coated each one with a different seasoning on both the top and bottom to ensure I was getting the full flavor from each blend. All of the patties were cooked on my stovetop in a cast-iron skillet and brought to a nice medium temperature. From there, I got to tasting. I tried each burger patty both on its own and on a bun to gather a good understanding of the seasoning's taste notes.

I looked at ingredients first and foremost, giving preference to blends made with clean, recognizable spices and herbs. I didn't love seeing artificial flavors, like in the Great Value seasoning, and even fabricated smoke flavors didn't come off quite right. I also wanted a well-rounded balance of salty, savory, smoky, and even slightly sweet notes. Some blends were simpler than others, but as long as they came together well and presented bold flavors, I was happy. And I was even happier when it adhered perfectly to the surface of a beef patty and perfectly matched its innately rich and juicy flavors.