We Found the 5 Most Authentic Mexican Hot Sauce Brands to Spice Up Your Cooking

Mexican cuisine takes its spices seriously. The spicy element in Mexican food could come from cooking with chile, making a fresh salsa, or adding a dash of bottled hot sauce right at the table.

Hot sauce is typically used when the food that’s being served doesn’t have an element of heat cooked already into the dish. If a food is savory but not spicy, it’s a perfect candidate for hot sauce! The other common way to use hot sauce is to serve it with fresh fruits and vegetables—like on a salad, or with slices of raw fruits or vegetables. The water from the fresh fruits and vegetables helps cool down the heat from the chiles, making for an irresistible combination.

Hot sauce is also useful because it lets each person decide how much spice to add to their own plate, making room for different taste preferences. It also adds an extra flavor dimension to meals and snacks.

It may feel like all Mexican hot sauces have the same main flavor: spicy! While it’s true that most popular Mexican hot sauces have two main ingredients: chile and vinegar, don’t let that fool you. There is also a lot of variety between hot sauces, and each type of hot sauce has its own unique flavor and best food pairing.

Meet the best Mexican hot sauce brands to shop now, plus more about their flavor profiles and suggested food pairings.