Justine Sterling
What defines a Mexican hot sauce? You might think Cholula or Tapatio or Valentina are the end-all, be-all of Mexican hot sauces if you’ve only encountered Mexican hot sauces in hipster Brooklyn taco restaurants. But I promise you, there are many, many, many styles of Mexican hot sauce. Our only constraint in our search for the best Mexican hot sauce? It had to be made in Mexico and we had to be able to get it in Los Angeles.
How we tasted the Mexican hot sauces
I sat down to 20 different Mexican hot sauces alongside my colleague and hot sauce enthusiast, Jordan Myrick. We tried each hot sauce straight off a spoon, with saltines as chasers when things got a bit too heated.
What we looked for in the best Mexican hot sauce
We wanted a balance of heat and flavor. So many hot sauces these days are pure heat. They’re just spice with no real character. Mexican hot sauces are characteristically packed with flavor, though.
We wanted to find the best Mexican hot sauce with a maximum amount of chili pepper flavor and actual seasoning, along with whatever level of spice it promised. We also took viscosity into account. Personally, I prefer a thicker Mexican hot sauce that will really cling to a taco or burrito or coat some mariscos.
Honestly, every single one of the Mexican hot sauces we tried would be welcome on our tables. But these are the real best of the best Mexican hot sauces, whether you’re looking for the best green hot sauce, the best hot sauce for tacos, the best hot sauce for burritos, or something totally new and different.
Best Mexican hot sauces, ranked
- Cholula Green Pepper
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There’s a better green hot sauce on this list, but it’s hot, hot, hot. So, if you can’t handle a ton of heat and are looking for the best Mexican hot sauce of the verde variety, stick with the green Cholulua. Made with jalapenos and poblanos, it leans into the sweeter flavors of those chili peppers. It’s on the thicker side, so it has a good cling factor. And it’s even a little bit creamy. Like the red Cholula (which we’ll talk more about later), this is a great bottle of Mexican hot sauce to have on the table at all times. I think it’d be particularly good on chilaquiles or in a white bean chili.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Salsa Culichi Negra
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This is unlike any hot sauce I’ve ever had. Made with chiltepin chili peppers, it’s extremely savory and rich with umami. It’s almost like a spicy version of Worcestershire sauce. And the texture is smooth and just slightly thick—like balsamic vinegar. The brand touts this sauce as being particularly good with seafood, but I’m also excited about using it in sauces and salad dressings and Bloody Marys as a quick way to add some spicy depth. This won’t replace your go-to Mexican hot sauce but it’s definitely one of the best Mexican hot sauces to add to your collection.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Mexico Lindo Salsa Picante Negra
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This black hot sauce is made with arbol chilis, and it has a surprisingly fruity, tropical flavor. It’s spicy, but not crazy hot. And though it doesn’t tout it as much as Culichi, I think this is the best Mexican hot sauce for seafood. Dash it onto some grilled scallops or flaky white fish or add it to ceviche.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Cholula Chili Garlic
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This garlicky take on the classic Cholula hot sauce really blew my hair back. It’s shockingly good. It has this rich, fresh garlic flavor that is so perfectly balanced with the tang and heat of the hot sauce. It doesn’t taste fake or even like garlic powder. I’ll be using this stuff on wings instead of Frank’s. It’s that good. If you’re a garlic fiend or just want to ward away some Draculas, this is the best Mexican hot sauce to buy.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- El Yucateco Salsa Picante Verde
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If you read through our take on the green Cholula sauce and thought, nah, gimme the real spice, then this is the best Mexican hot sauce to buy. El Yucateco’s verde sauce is so, so spicy. But it tastes so good you can’t help but come back for more (that’s a common occurrence with El Yucateco hot sauces). Made with fresh green habanero peppers, it’s thick and almost chunky—there’s real evidence of pureed peppers. This stuff will stick to your food and give it a burst of savory seasoning and spice.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Bufalo Red Jalapeno Mexican Hot Sauce
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What a revelation. This Mexican hot sauce may say it’s made with red jalapenos, but it tastes like it’s made with pickled jalapenos. It’s not too spicy, so go ahead and really pour it on. I’m thinking this is the best Mexican hot sauce for pizza or shrimp, but it’d also be great for dipping a vegetable-forward burrito. And a dash of this in your Bloody Maria? Heck yeah.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- El Yucateco Chile Habanero Black Label Reserve
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This black-hued hot sauce is made with roasted habanero peppers—and you can tell they’re roasted, for sure. This is a toasty, charred Mexican hot sauce that is truly unique. I’d use this for anything grilled to amp up that fire-kissed flavor. I love a good char if I’m grilling, but not everyone wants their food a little bit burnt. This is the best Mexican hot sauce to grab for a shortcut to that summertime flavor.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Cholula Hot Sauce Original
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Cholula may be in the process of becoming a lifestyle brand with the sheer amount of product they’re launching (seriously, they’re even making chile crisp), but the classic, original Cholula hot sauce will always be iconic. It’s spicy (but not mouth-burningly so). It’s tangy. It’s medium bodied for those of you who don’t want their hot sauces to be thicc. No one will be disappointed if you have a bottle of Cholula on the table.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Valentina Salsa Picante
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This ultra creamy Mexican hot sauce has to be the sauce upon which all Taco Bell hot sauces were based. Seriously, it tastes just like a packet of medium Taco Bell hot sauce—only better quality. While you can use Ms. Valentina however you see fit (no matter what Reddit says), I think this is the best Mexican hot sauce to pair with fruit like mango or pineapple. And, since it’s so thick, it’s also great to use as a dip.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Tapatio
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Okay, here’s the thing about Tapatio: It’s not technically a Mexican hot sauce. It’s made in California. But it was started by Jose-Luis Saavedra, a Mexican immigrant. And the company is still owned by the Saavedra family to this day. And we just couldn’t leave it out. It’s too good! It’s thick and salty and spicier than either Valentina or Cholula. This, to me, is the best hot sauce for eggs, for sure. It adds flavor and heat and won’t drip out of your breakfast burrito. It’s not the best Mexican hot sauce because it’s not actually from Mexico. But if you’re looking for the best hot sauce for breakfast burritos that’s a Mexican style hot sauce, look no further than Tapatio.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- El Yucateco Chile Habenero Hot Sauce
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El Yucateco really wowed us during this taste test. The brand has such a command over the balance of heat and flavor. Their red hot sauce has a bright, tangy flavor (there’s tomato in the mix along with habanero peppers, spices, and seasonings). And it’s seriously hot. It really tastes like a craft hot sauce—something you might find at a hot sauce expo made by a hot sauce dad who makes his hot sauce in his garage. (If you can’t tell, I’m speaking from experience.) It’s a great everyday hot sauce and the best Mexican hot sauce if you’re looking for that modern hot sauce flavor that goes with pretty much anything.
Credit: Merc / Target
- Yucateco Kutbil-Ik XXXtra Hot Habanero Sauce
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I love this Mexican hot sauce. It’s dark and earthy and roasty toasty and it will make you sweat. Inspired by Mayan cooking (kutbil-ik is Mayan for crushed chili), this habanero hot sauce is really, really spicy—as you might expect from the three x’s in the name. But, I promise you, it’s worth the burn. And even though the spice is powerful, it’s not painful. I am sensitive to burning lips and my lips were just fine. It’s more of a throat burn. And it’s delightful. This is the best Mexican hot sauce—it’s truly delicious. Buy it ASAP.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
Best Mild(ish) Green Sauce
Best for Cooking
Best Hot Sauce for Seafood
Best Garlicky Hot Sauce
Best Green Hot Sauce
Best Tangy Sauce
Best Black Hot Sauce
Best Everyday Hot Sauce
Best Hot Sauce for Tacos
Best Hot Sauce for Eggs
Best Red Sauce
Best of the Best
Other Mexican hot sauces we tried:
La Botanera, Herdez Avocado Hot Sauce, La Victoria, Bufalo Classic, Bufalo Chipotle, Salsa Huichol, Culichi, Mexico Lindo XXX
Jordan Myrick
Gwynedd Stuart
