10 Store-Bought Horseradish Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Horseradish may be a condiment that you don't think about often. Yes, most of us are aware that it is one of the key ingredients in cocktail sauce, but it's not something that you would eat straight. Rather, you'd probably blend it into a sauce or add it to your deviled eggs to give them a bold pop of flavor. However, there is so much more to this saucy little sauce, and it can be used on a wider range of foods than you might think.

Horseradish is a white root that has a strong, distinct taste and smell. It's been around for a very long time, used by ancient Egyptians, early Greeks,  and is a major part of the Passover Seder. The root is native to Eastern Europe and was mostly used for medicinal purposes before people started using it on their food.

Today, there are countless ways to use horseradish in cooking. Stores carry numerous brands that sell both prepared horseradish and horseradish sauces. You can add a dollop to your mashed potatoes for a good kick, slather it on your oysters, or add a zing to your steak. But if you're not sure which store-bought brand is best, we've got you. We tried 10 different horseradish brands and ranked them from worst to best.

Reese's Specialty Foods has been around since 1947. Started by Max H. Ries, who had immigrated from Munich, Germany, to Chicago, Illinois, the company began by importing food and condiments from other countries before creating its own. The brand currently sells canned artichokes, cooking wines, capers, olives, vinegar, water chestnuts, and jellies and sauces, along with horseradish.

Reese's Specialty Foods' prepared horseradish has low cholesterol and includes grated horseradish roots, water, distilled vinegar, salt, eggs, lemon juice, mustard seed, and more. It has a creamier consistency than some of the other options on the list, and at first sniff, the smell didn't overwhelm.

However, whatever positive thoughts I had quickly flew out the window once I tasted it. There was a nice little zing at first, but underneath that, a weird aftertaste spoiled the entire thing. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, but it dragged the whole flavor down. It was a bit sour and coated your tongue, making it hard to taste anything else. When tried with a piece of steak, the horseradish overwhelmed the meat, and once again, that off-putting flavor at the bottom of the palate was impossible to ignore. That alone is the main reason it's at the bottom of our list. No one wants their steak or chicken to taste off.

Inglehoffer horseradish has been around for a long time, made by Beaverton Foods. The company was started in 1929 by Italian immigrant Rose Biggi, who bottled horseradish in her cellar in Beaverton, Oregon. Today, it is a leading specialty condiment company, with more than 80 products, such as spicy tartar sauce and Chinese mustard. Inglehoffer Thick and Creamy is credited as the U.S.'s first non-refrigerated cream-style horseradish.

Ingredients include grated horseradish, soybean oil, white distilled corn syrup, eggs, sugar, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice, mustard seed, and spices. Inglehoffer also definitely lived up to its name and had a very nice consistency coming out of the little pot that it's packaged in. There was a good, strong horseradish aroma to it.

The first taste of Inglehoffer definitely kicks you in the pants, though thankfully it didn't make my eyes water. However, it does tend to take over your tastebuds, much like wasabi. (Though similar, there are definite ways to tell the difference between the two.) Inglehoffer has a very strong citrus flavor and is incredibly sharp — almost on the verge of too much. When paired with the steak, it definitely reached a point where tears began to form. While the overall flavor wasn't bad, it was a bit too strong for my tastes, which is why it's lower on the list.

Kraft is a brand that most of us are familiar with, whether it's their dressings or barbecue sauces. For over 120 years, they've been bringing us delicious toppings for our sandwiches, burgers, and salads. You can find it in most grocery stores in the United States. Now, this is a bit different than the other horseradish options on the list so far. The first two were prepared horseradish, while this is a horseradish sauce.

The difference can be seen in the ingredients and consistency. Kraft's sauce has dried horseradish rather than grated. It's also just one of many seasonings included, such as paprika, dried garlic, mustard, and more. At first, it looked like mayo in the bottle, though you do get a slight whiff of the horseradish when you open it.

Now, you can have too much flavor, but you can also have not enough. Kraft's horseradish sauce falls well within the realm of not enough. On its own, it tastes like mayo with a hint of tanginess, but it doesn't kick in right away, giving the sauce a bland flavor. In my opinion, if you're going to put a horseradish sauce on your sandwich or chicken, you want to have that punch of flavor. It did nothing when I put it on my steak, and it faded out so quickly, it was like I hadn't put any sauce on at all.

Our next entry takes us back to prepared horseradish, though this brand has an interesting history behind it. Bookbinders started as a prominent restaurant in Philadelphia in 1865, located on the Delaware River. It saw a lot of popularity over the years, with the doors staying open until 2008. The company launched a food division in the 1970s, making it so that customers could use some of their favorite foods and sauces from the restaurant in the comfort of their own homes, including Bookbinder's horseradish.

Bookbinders includes common ingredients, like horseradish, vinegar, water, corn syrup, salt, and more. It had a very nice, lemony scent once the bottle was opened, which got my hopes up. The aroma alone made me think this would be a great addition to a cocktail sauce, or even add a kick of heat to your chicken salad.

The first taste was delightfully citrusy, but not overwhelming. It has a nice burn that slowly spreads over your tongue rather than stabbing you instantly and making your eyes water. It has a very smooth aftertaste. It paired well with the steak, both working together rather than having the saltiness of the steak overwhelm the tang of the horseradish or vice versa. However, it was still more subtle compared to other options on our list. It's not necessarily bad, but it wasn't as good as others.

Our next entry, Woeber's Pure Horseradish, comes from another long-standing brand. The company started in 1905 when Carl Woeber moved from Germany to Springfield, Ohio, and opened Woeber's Mustard Company. At the time, he relied on family recipes to build his sauces, but as the company grew over the years, it started adding other condiments, including horseradish in 1925.

Woeber's grinds their horseradish and uses premium roots. They keep things simple when it comes to ingredients, only using horseradish, vinegar, and salt. Sometimes, keeping things simple is better. The horseradish had a nice aroma, though its consistency was a little watery compared to other options on our list. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as it pulls through with the flavor.

Woeber's definitely hit in the middle with the level of zing. It didn't burn your nose and make your eyes water, but you still had a good kick when you tasted it on its own. The vinegar wasn't overwhelming, and it had a nice, fresh citrus zing to it. This worried me a little bit, since it's not often that you eat horseradish straight. Typically, you're going to blend it in a sauce or use it to punch up the flavor of your protein. When I tried it on my steak, you did lose a bit of the flavor. But I think when used in larger amounts, it could be a great addition to your dish.

If you're from the U.S. — specifically the Midwest — then you know Arby's. It's been a staple in fast food since the '60s and has been bringing us delicious roast beef sandwiches and Arby's sauce ever since. It also brought us Horsey Sauce — a spin on horseradish that became a legend.

I have had my share of Arby's, though I will fully admit this was my first time trying Horsey Sauce. I'm very much an Arby's Sauce girl. As you've probably gathered, this is a sauce containing horseradish, rather than pure or prepared horseradish, so it includes a variety of other ingredients like egg yolks, mustard flavor, cornstarch, salt, vinegar, and more.

On its own, the sauce has a really nice flavor. It's not a powerful pop that you get with straight horseradish, but it does have a good burn to it, letting you know there's a bit of punch in there. When put on the steak, this sauce comes alive. It spreads across your tongue and down into your throat, giving you the same feeling you might get on a cold winter's night after eating a bowl of perfectly seasoned stew. That said, Horsey Sauce would probably do better on a sandwich than steak, since it was competing with stronger flavors — namely, my steak seasoning and the meat itself.

Silver Spring has been producing horseradish since 1929, when founder (and former traveling salesman) Ellis Huntsinger returned to farming and planted a half-acre of horseradish. It wasn't until later that he started making larger quantities and selling it, but it's from these humble starts that we have Silver Spring Prepared Horseradish.

The bottle that I got had a medium level zing, according to the packaging, and kept the ingredients on the simple side as well — horseradish, vinegar, water, salt, and a bit of natural flavors. All I have to say is that if this is medium zing, I'm not sure I could handle their stronger options — and I can handle zing. That first taste had both my eyes and nose running. However, it didn't stick around super long. It smacks you in the face and then retreats to its corner pretty quickly.

This is why it's higher on our list. Whether you're using it as part of a homemade cocktail sauce that's perfect in a pinch or to add a burst of flavor to your steak, you want horseradish that stands on its own. I used a pretty well-seasoned steak with this taste test, and both the condiment and the meat had amplified flavors that complemented each other and blended well. Yes, it had me crying like I read "Kingdom of Ash" by Sarah J. Maas for the first time on its own, but the protein evened out the flavor of the horseradish, creating a delicious combo.

These last three entries were hard to place because they were all really good, but this is the order I finally settled on. I love a good budget brand that exceeds expectations, especially when it's often hit or miss. In this case, Great Value's Horseradish Sauce was definitely a hit. (Great Value is Walmart's budget brand, so you'll likely only find it there.) As I always say, don't let the budget brand throw you off.

This is a sauce, but unlike some sauces on this list, Great Value used prepared horseradish rather than dried or grated horseradish, which I feel affects the flavor in a very good way. It wasn't super thick and definitely gave you a hit of horseradish when you opened the bottle. There was definitely more flavor in that first bite than in some of the other sauces, almost on par with the prepared horseradish. It had a good punch that didn't knock you down, but at the same time, held its own.

When put on the steak, it didn't lose any of that flavor. It didn't hide under the seasoning or the flavor of the meat itself, nor did it compete with it. Instead, it had a nice blend of the savoriness of the meat enhanced by the tangy zing of the horseradish. It was well-blended, and honestly, I would likely use this on sandwiches, steak, or other proteins, such as chicken. It was an all-around pleasantly warm sauce that would work well with a lot of dishes.

Our next entry is another brand from Beaverton Foods, like Inglehoffer. Beaver Brand Deli Horseradish Sauce is made with freshly grated horseradish roots, along with other ingredients such as mustard seed, white vinegar, and lemon juice. Since it's a sauce, the aroma is not as overwhelming as other entries, but it was still pleasant and gave you a good zing before you tasted it.

On its own, Beaver's sauce is deceptively subtle. You still get a good punch of vinegar and lemon, but it's blended out. Yes, you can taste the horseradish, but it takes a backseat to other flavors. To the point that I wasn't sure if it would hold its own when put on something like steak or a sandwich. I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it with my steak. The meat really brought out the horseradish flavor in a good way. It tingles on your tongue and livens things up.

I recommend this sauce for a variety of dishes, but especially if you want to amp up a sandwich. Get those perfect roast beef cuts, and then slather this on along with all your other favorite ingredients, and you'll have one mouthwatering sandwich.

Finally, we come to our top pick: Private Selection's Creamy Horseradish Sauce. Private Selections is a higher-end house brand put out by Kroger, so you'll only find it in their stores. We have the usual suspects on the ingredients list, but also have paprika and other spices, which really livens it up.

When I first opened the bottle, the aroma alone had my mouth watering. Yes, there was the horseradish, but the spices worked really well together and promised a nice, blended flavor. The initial taste of the sauce by itself was very rich in flavor. The first thing you taste is the lemon, followed by the horseradish, and then a hint of mustard. But, as I learned throughout this taste test, just because it tastes good on its own, doesn't necessarily mean it will be good when put on something.

As you've probably guessed, the reason Private Selection is at the top of the list is that it tasted even better when I put it on the steak. The flavors blend and build, working with the meat and seasoning, and it had a delicious warmth to it that spread as you chewed. I feel like this would work well as a sandwich sauce (you can build a better sandwich when you season your layers). But it would also work just as well when added to a grilled chicken breast or a good cut of beef.

Now, let's delve into how I determined the ranking for these various horseradish brands. A lot of it was based on taste, both on its own and when put on something. I had to sit down and really think about how to do this taste test, as horseradish is not something I commonly use in my own cooking, unless I'm adding it into some kind of sauce (usually cocktail sauce). After a bit of research, I decided the best way to test it on food was to try it on steak, which was both a common thing to put horseradish on and something I happened to already have on hand.

I used top sirloin, seasoned with salt, pepper, and Montreal steak seasoning (my go-to). I wanted to see how the horseradish blended with how I would normally make my steak, and if it would enhance the flavor or overpower it. This is ultimately how I decided my ranking.

A good horseradish, whether prepared or in a sauce, needs to build up the flavor of whatever you put it on or in. Brands that either disappeared or were too much were ranked lower, while those that had a distinct flavor that worked with the beef were ranked higher. I also focused on brands that could be easily found in many stores, offering a range of prices.