Trader Joe’s Hot Sauce

Cholula Original Hot Sauce

Cholula is the baseline hot sauce I judged everything else around. This is a great all-around hot sauce that has a base flavor or vinegar and tomatoes and is slightly hot without being too much. This is the must-have basic hot sauce in my fridge, and I think this is a step up flavor-wise from other big-brand hot sauces like Texas Pete or Louisiana. Shake a few dashes onto tacos, jambalaya, or pizza to add some heat without compromising the flavor of the original dish.

Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce $249

Upon discovering this sauce at the Trader Joes sample station, where it was being served as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries by an angel in a Hawaiian shirt, I immediately bought two jars. This sauce is a dressed-up mustard, with a hint of sweetness and a slight spicy kick. It will replace the regular variety in your condiment cupboard as you bring it into steady rotation for weeknight meals.

Try it out: While the aioli garlic mustard sauce was made for upgrading sandwiches, I like it best as an easy marinade for chicken: Keep the meat overnight in the fridge so it absorbs all the flavors, before taking to the grill for a foolproof dinner.

Green Dragon Hot Sauce $299

I am not alone in my admiration for this product: In a recent podcast episode, Trader Joes employees named the spicy sauce as an all-time favorite. If you find yourself pouring hot sauce on almost all your meals, you need to try this its super-versatile and a great way to literally spice up any dish. Its also not too hot, which is great if youre like me and have a low heat tolerance.

Try it out: This little bottle will be making regular appearances at your brunch table. Use it on scrambled eggs and breakfast burritos: Mix in diced tomatoes, sharp Cheddar, and bell peppers with the hot sauce for a hearty start to your day.

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Yellowbird Habanero Hot Sauce

Anything with “habanero” in the sauce name is going to be spicy, and the Yellow Bird Habanero hot sauce fits the bill. The sauce packs a punch of spice without completely blowing your palette. It also has a slight sweetness from the addition of carrots and tangerine juice in the concoction. This is a must-get for anyone who likes really spicy foods.

Crispy Crunchy Spicy Mochi Rice Nuggets

Sloan and Miller, who “obviously are not as strong in spicy shape as David is,” according to Miller, think these are h-o-t hot. But in the best way.

“So good. I mean, it’s like, you want to just jump right into that bag,” Sloan says.

They’re made with a wide variety of spice-boosting ingredients, including black pepper, white pepper, chipotle pepper, habanero pepper, red chili pepper and Sancho peppers.

“I would actually rate spicier also, especially because you can just keep eating them. And the more you do, the more that that does develop, like in the back of the throat, on the cheeks. That’s a fantastic one,” David says.

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Trader Joes Jalapeo Pepper Sauce

Jalapeño hot hot. This one is a couple steps up on the heat level, but it wont kill you. Trader Joes has a whole lot of great stuff, and this is one of the best. This hot sauce tastes amazing with chicken, steak, pasta, or mixed in any sort of meat marinade. Like most things at Trader Joes, its minimally processed, so it consists only of red ripened jalapeño peppers and distilled vinegar. It will most definitely spice up your life.

Looking For This In Myfitnesspal

If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find Romesco Sauce

1 serving : 5 grams Carbs | 3 grams Fat | 2 grams Protein

NOTE: the nutrition label to the right is auto-generated and often does not include specific brands or types of ingredients. Example: fat free milk vs. whole milk, chicken breast vs. chicken thigh, etc.

**Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.

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We Found The Spiciest

I grew up in Southern China with all sorts of spicy food, so heat plays a key role in my meals. Whenever I visit a new place, I immediately search for local groceries selling hot sauces. Perhaps needless to say, the Walmart near my old apartment in Missouri was a disappointment, with only a few truly hot sauces. When I moved to DC, I discovered that Trader Joes sells a variety of fiery condiments. Theyre fairly cheap, and one of them is actually spicy.

After scouring the shelves at the Foggy Bottom Trader Joes, and tasting them all, here are the best .

Iguana Habanero Pepper Sauce

Much different than the heat of the last two jalapeño hot sauces, this habanero sauce invented the word hot. Jalapeños range between 2,500 and 8,000 on the Scoville Unit Scale, and our new friend the Habanero pepper ranges between 100,000 and 350,000 #spiiicy. So, you see my point. You can try it with pretty much anything, but you dont want to overdo this one. I think the pretty damn hot notice on the label gives a fair warning.

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Reviews For Trader Joes Habanero Hot Sauce Reviews

Bar Taco Hot Sauces: Habanero Jalapeo And Roja

These three hot sauces are unreal paired with Mexican food. Bar Taco only has 10 locations nationally, but luckily for us, they sell these sauces on their website. If you ever find yourself in Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, Connecticut, Port Chester, or Reston, you must visit a Bar Taco restaurant.

The Habanero sauce is for those looking to add major heat to their guac and tacos. The Jalapeño sauce comes in at a close second. It is my personal favorite I put it on everything I get from Bar Taco, but find it best paired with with a chicken rice bowl. The Roja sauce is the most mild, which is great to add a little kick to your taco, corn, guac, or pretty much anything you could order from a Mexican restaurant.

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Best Salsa: Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde

âYou can do more than just dip chips into this salsa verde, which is why it should definitely be on your Trader Joeâs grocery list,â says Maggie Michalczyk, MS, RD. Made with simple ingredients like tomatillos, water, garlic, and salt, itâs pretty pure in terms of high-quality ingredients while staying relatively low in sodium and sugar. âUse it as a marinade for chicken or fish for taco Tuesday or use at the seasoning for a healthy chicken enchilada casserole,â she says.

Hot Hot Crispy Habanero Peppers In Olive Oil

Firmly ranking as the “spicy-EST” in David’s perspective, this fiery food was so popular, it’s currently sold out at most stores.

“People who are excited by this product have just been so taken with it and so in love with it, which makes me so nervous because we sold out, we ran out so quickly,” Sloan says. “I know that the grocery team is working hard to get more back in stock.”

It’s David’s #1 favorite and has a place of honor in his fridgewhen he can score some.

“It’s super hot. I put that on everything that I can. I made a vegan chili the other day and just put like ¼ teaspoon of that into it, and it totally changed the whole thing. It’s rather extreme,” David says.

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Trader Joe’s Jalapeo Pepper Hot Sauce

Rating:

Trader Joes is a favorite grocery store of mine here in Chicago. They are many places but if youve never had the chance to check one out, most of their food is generic in that they put their name on a product from someone else. They search the world for really good food items and curate a very nice collection. They have a few great hot sauces and I wanted to started with an expected favorite.

Trader Joes Jalapeño Pepper Hot Sauce is very tasty. It isnt super hot but has some good heat and a sharp acidic bite that I really like. This hot sauce is unique because I actually use it more as a marinade than I do a condiment.

Believe it or not, Ill pour it over chicken, beef, or a porkchop in the morning for grilling, roasting, or pan frying at dinner. Many hot sauces will burn and char but this hot sauce holds up really well. The flavor is very bold: the acidic bite is coupled with a nice saltiness and a hint of bitter. The heat is a good tingle and is supported with a very fine touch of smokinessI might even suggest it is aged in a wood barrel prior to bottling. Also note, it only has three ingredients.

Flavor: 5, Salty, spicy, smokey, and acidic.

Versatility: 3, I use it more specifically as mentioned above. Ill give it a 3 , on the scale.

Uniqueness: 5, It is really unlike any Ive had elsewhere. If Trader Joes does outsource all their items just for rebranding, I dont know who made this hot sauce in the beginning.

How Does Trader Joes Green Dragon Hot Sauce Taste

This is an absolutely delightful green hot sauce! The jalapeno and habanero peppers pack some serious heat that lit me mouth up. Ona spiciness level I would rate this as a 6.5 out of 10. This is just spicy enough to add some zip and zing but not so much as to burn your taste buds off.

The tomatillos, sugar, vinegar and cilantro add layers of flavor so this sauce is much more than heat.

I started out putting this sauce on some chicken tacos and thought it was perfect.

The sauce has also been excellent of scrambled eggs, Mahi Mahi burgers, and assorted lettuce wraps. The beautiful part of using this sauce on scrambled eggs is that the hot coffee that goes with breakfast gives the sauce an afterburner effect that takes the spice level up a notch or two.

Green Dragon is an excellent hot sauce and is worth a special trip to Trader Joes as soon as I start to run low. This is going to be a standard issue condiment in my house along with the Cholula hot sauce I get at Costco.

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Best Hot Sauce: Trader Joe’s Organic Spicy Taco Sauce

Want to bring the heat? Pour some of this sauce on tacos for some extra flavor thatâs naturally good for you! âIt tastes like homemade hot sauce from your favorite Mexican restaurant and you can literally use it on anything to give it a spicy little kick,â Michalczyk says. âI like that tomato puree is the main ingredient and it’s perfect for adding to your tacos or quesadillas,â she says. You donât need to just stick with classic tacos, either. You can use it for any type of southwestern meal, like a black bean soup or a southwestern omelet to give it some added heat.

Looking for more dietitian-approved picks from Trader Joe’s? Here’s what You Versus Food host Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, always buys there:

Torchy’s Tacos Diablo Hot Sauce

The only restaurant branded hot sauce to make the cut is Torchy’s Tacos Diablo Hot Sauce. The thick sauce has a medium-to-hot spice level, with flavors of tomato, garlic, and vinegar. If you don’t have a Torchy’s Tacos near you then you might be able to find the hot sauce online or at Whole Foods. Add this hot sauce to anything you want to jazz up with big flavors and a decent amount of spice.

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Eating Healthy Should Still Be Delicious

Put down whatever it is youre doing , and get thee to a Trader Joes and sweep up all of the Yuzu Hot Sauce that you can find. Its that good. Im SERIOUS. Just dont buy all of it if you happen to live near Birmingham, Alabama. Because I already did or will have by the time you read this.

A post shared by @ lady_rylee on Feb 1, 2017 at 12:35pm PST

A little Internet sleuthing taught me that Im late to the TJs Yuzu Hot Sauce game . I dont care. Its the spicy, citrusy, kicky, tart, acidic, vinegary wonder ingredient that truly has bowled me over. I havent felt this way since I discovered cooking with miso.

To be more precise, theres heat, yes, but that isnt the first thing you noticethe first, overwhelming taste is of vinegar and fruit, and an abrupt sweetness. The spice comes along later. Its subtle but interesting, like a polite dinner guest.

Put it on cold leftover pad Thai, and youll wish all pad Thai was cold and leftover. I had a cold the weekend, and I discovered this miracle sauce is delicious doused over chicken soup. Add it to a margarita for a spicy kick, or sprinkle a few drops on top of your avocado toast.

Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips

Falling under “spicier,” these chips are great to add to taco salads instead of the full tortilla shell or perfect to dunk into guac or salsa.

“These, I would actually rank spicier. And part of that has to do with how actually citric they are, it really primes your tongue,” David says. “The more you eat them, the more like it just builds and builds until you’re eventually sweating. It’s great.”

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No 4 Green Dragon Sauce

? A little bit spicy

The packaging for this sauce makes it look like a green version of Sriracha , but the ingredients recall a Mexican salsa verde with tomatillos, jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro . The heat level is medium-spicy, but fresher than othersalmost like chewing just-picked jalapeños and herbs. Its perfect for adding an herbaceous punch to dishes.

How To Make This Copycat Romesco Sauce From Trader Joe’s

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A Frame Datil Pepper Sauce

St. Augustine, Florida is home to the datil pepper, a super-spicy pepper similar to a scotch bonnet. One of my favorite hot sauces that features the datil pepper is the A Frame Datil Pepper Sauce. The sweet and spicy hot sauce can be used in a variety of ways. Think of it as an alternative to hot honey, with a thick honey-like consistency, but with little flecks of datil pepper throughout. If you think a sweet and spicy kick is what your favorite meal needs then this is the right sauce.

Cholula Chili Lime Hot Sauce

Im sure you all know the original Cholula hot sauce, and its pretty delicious. Its great on burgers, chicken, steak, and my personal favorite, pizza. However, the chili lime flavor may be your new best friend. It ranks between 300-600 on the Scoville Unit Scale, and if youre into seafood this is the hot sauce for you. Its mild heat and hint of lime compliment fish very well, but it also goes great with eggs and other sorts of breakfast foods.

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Move Over Trader Joe’s

I am completely OBSESSED with the Romesco Dip from Trader Joes. It’s a vegan dip made with almonds, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes that is seasoned to absolute perfection with traditional Spanish flavors. It also doubles as a sauce, making it an incredibly versatile item to have in your refrigerator!

However, it’s a seasonal item. For those of you unfamiliar with Trader Joe’s, this means that’s it’s only available for part of the year. Once I realized this, I knew I had to recreate it so I can enjoy it all year long! And personally, I think it tastes even better!

Thankfully, it’s SO easy. All you need to do is gather the ingredients, prep them by washing and/or dicing them, and blend them in a high speed blender. That’s it!

I love to enjoy this homemade Romesco Dip hot or cold. I’ll use it as a delicious pasta sauce and pair that with some protein or dunk in pieces of bread, crackers, and fresh veggies. You could even spread it on top of your burger. You’ve got to try!