Every Hot Sauce At Trader Joe's, Ranked Worst To Best

Step into a Trader Joe's and you're sure to find all of the sauces you could ever want (and some you definitely don't) on their shelves. But when it comes to hot sauce selection, you really can't go wrong at the friendly neighborhood market — they've truly got the good stuff. And, as I've found out, no matter their ranking, all of the current Trader Joe's hot sauces are flavorful and worthy of your pantry, be it a seasonal option or year-round staple.

Sure, you could cook your own hot sauce, but why bother when the Trader Joe's down the street sells these ones? There's truly something for everyone. And while none of them are "bad," there is still a hierarchy. The following hot sauces have been ranked by taste, amount of flavor, and overall versatility. (It should be noted that, as much as I love hot sauce, I prefer my spice moderate rather than extreme, so that's also a factor in this ranking system.)

Here's how every hot sauce at Trader Joe's ranks, from "worst" (but not really) to best.

Trader Joe's Sweet Potato Habanero Hot Sauce is a new limited hot sauce with two flavors not usually paired together — sweet potato and habanero. It's an autumnal hot sauce meant for Fall foods, and for this, I can see it being fantastic. That said, I went in blind and was extremely confused as to why a hot sauce tasted like pumpkin.

It has a very smoky taste while also being quite sweet. It's not very spicy, which is surprising for a habanero-based sauce. This condiment is simply living in its own world, and that world is crisply cool and covered in pretty Fall leaves. It would be the perfect sort-of-spicy addition to a chili or autumn-inspired soup. That said, it's a slightly confusing flavor to taste in all of the other months, and for this reason alone, it's at the bottom of the ranking. It's good ... seasonally, anyway.

Trader Joe's claims their Peri Peri Sauce is good on everything and they're not wrong about that. You can truly pair this sauce with anything and it will bring out the flavor and make everything more delicious. However, there is a caveat. This hot sauce, on its own, is terrifyingly spicy — like, oh my goodness, what-is-happening-to-my-mouth level spicy. The lemon juice is very prominent and only heightens the spice, which makes it a little difficult to use it by itself.

I always mix Trader Joe's Peri Peri Sauce with something to dilute the heat. That way, I'm able to enjoy how flavorful and unique it is (minus all the mouth pain). It's a perfect addition to soy sauce for dipping potstickers, dumplings, or sushi into. But unless you're into extreme heat, this one is best when added to another sauce, and for this reason alone, it's lower on the list. (Though, if you are into setting your mouth on fire, Peri Peri is a great sauce to try with wings).

According to Trader Joe's, their Habanero Hot Sauce is an 11 on a scale of 1-10. I was prepared for it to burn my head off and pair best with Pepcid AC, but, upon tasting it, it's safe to say it's definitely not as spicy as other habanero hot sauces out there. That said, it's still very, very spicy, while at the same time being very flavorful — so flavorful that it makes you want to increase your spice tolerance to better enjoy it.

This hot sauce certainly isn't anything fancy, but it's a solid choice if you like extreme heat and no frills. It's plain, but not in a bad way. It even has a bit of a fruity floral twinge to it, if you're able to get past how excruciating the inside of your mouth feels. I can handle it in very small doses, and it's much better taste-wise than the sweet potato version. For flavor alone, this hot sauce comes in at number six — it's good, just a bit too extreme for my non-extreme mouth.

Trader Joe's describes its Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce as a hot sauce that "builds heat bite by bite." I would wholeheartedly disagree with that. The heat does not build bite by bite but instead tries to explode your whole mouth immediately upon entering it. This sauce is so ungodly spicy that it caused me to immediately have a sneezing fit. That said, it's still good — just so hot I thought I was dying. (Although it should be noted that I ate it on its own).

It tastes a bit like the ground pepper that comes with pizza you had delivered, but like you're eating 10 packets at once and it's wet for some reason. Undoubtedly, Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce would also be amazing on pizza because the bread (and other ingredients) would absorb some of that heat for a less spicy experience. It would also pair well with many of Trader Joe's Italian-imported products. However, compared to the other hot sauces on this list, it's definitely less versatile, and for this (and the whole "feel like I'm dying" thing), it's ranked lower. No offense, Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce. You're still a fine hot sauce choice.

Trader Joe's Jalapeño Sauce is described as being "hot without being overwhelmingly spicy," and despite being made of 50% jalapeños, this is actually true. The spiciness hits the tongue hard but quickly dissipates to a mild piquancy, allowing you to enjoy the flavor. This hot sauce has a bright and sweet jalapeño taste and is very creamy — and, shockingly, it's also vegan, despite tasting like it has dairy in it.

It's more caloric than any of the other hot sauces from Trader Joe's, with 90 calories per two tablespoons, but it's so tasty that it doesn't matter to me. It would be great to drizzle on, well, actually anything (burrito bowls, roasted vegetables, and eggs were the first things I salivated at the thought of), but I could also see it being used as a dip (or added to a dip) for fries or other fried things you typically dip in stuff. The incredible taste paired with just the right amount of heat makes it the number four hot sauce from Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's Sriracha Sauce doesn't taste like regular Sriracha (or original Sriracha, for that matter, not like most of us would know what that tastes like), but that's not a bad thing, just different. It's nowhere near as spicy as regular Sriracha, but does have a little kick after lingering on your tastebuds for a moment (and a bit of a tang, as well). I've always compared the taste to pasta sauce. It's got a slightly spicy marinara sort of flavor to it, while also being a tad sweet and garlicky.

This hot sauce ranks third because it's a mild yet flavorful take on classic Sriracha. As a longtime Sriracha fanatic, I love both of them equally like they were my very different children. If Sriracha has historically been a little too hot for you, this one might just be perfect. Plus, it's great on everything — and I do mean everything (probably not dessert, though).

Chunky Garlic & Jalapeño Hot Sauce is not your average hot sauce — it has chunks of garlic and jalapeño in it. This was a new one for me, and it did not disappoint. I was sort of shocked at how flavorful it was.The garlic and the jalapeño are a perfect pairing. On its own, it's very, very hot, but the heat dissipates quickly and you can enjoy the burst of flavor. When eaten on a chip, however, it's not as hot, understandably, and much easier to eat. I wouldn't necessarily pour this onto something (it's pretty salty), but I would skimp on how much I add either.

The chunks of garlic make for an interesting texture and set it apart from other, less viscous hot sauces. I will say it is a seriously chunky hot sauce, and the pieces of garlic offset the heat a little bit (or at least your brain tricks you into thinking that as you eat it as a defense mechanism — either way, you win). It's not as creamy as traditional jalapeño sauce, and more flavorful. The uniqueness of this hot sauce, along with its fantastic overall flavor, made it soar to the top of this ranking (but not all the way).

The Green Dragon Hot Sauce from Trader Joe's is pleasantly spicy, a little sweet, and completely unlike any hot sauce out there. The mixture of its most prominent ingredients, jalapeño pepper and tomatillo puree, make for a surprisingly complex verde sauce that is truly great on everything. It also contains spinach puree and cilantro puree, which you don't find typically in many hot sauces, so that might have something to do with its overall uniqueness.

It's much more mild than the other hot sauces — this one won't burn your face off (although there is a slight kick to it that is very pleasant and subtle). Green Dragon Hot Sauce is all about the flavor. This is great because you can truly just pour it on and enjoy the taste. You could even use this as a salsa or dip in that sense — it's in a squeeze bottle for a reason, after all. It's been my personal favorite hot sauce, generally, from anywhere, for over a decade, and there's no hot sauce that can dethrone it. Although, that Chunky Garlic and Jalapeño Hot Sauce sure came close.

These hot sauces were chosen based on availability at Trader Joe's and primarily ranked by individual taste without complementing food. They're all around the same price, so value for money isn't a factor — it's all about the flavor here. I've been a huge hot sauce person my whole life, but I prefer it when flavor and heat are balanced. Extreme heat isn't my thing, so that did affect the rankings.