Hot sauce is one of the only foods that seems to function just as effectively as a novelty gift as it does food. Melinda’s, a company that makes it’s fiery sauces in South America, has embodied that narrative, producing hot sauces that make great gifts but never lack in flavor.
Melinda’s sauces were inspired by (perhaps even more than inspired by) Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce, which is my personal favorite hot sauce. That was all I needed to hear. I tried 10 different varieties, noting Melinda’s own heat rating and ranking them from best to worst.
Prices and availability are subject to change.
Related: We Tried 20 Popular Hot Sauces. This Is the Best
Best: Xxxtra Hot
$5.98 from Amazon
Heat Rating: 3/5
I absolutely love this. Sweetness, acidity, fire — the gang’s all here. It’s spicy as can be; similar to Buffalo wing sauce, but less focused on vinegar and more focused on crushed hot chili peppers. I’d get a little of this activated in any slow-cooker situation.
Related: Why These Collectible Hot Sauces Cost Hundreds of Dollars
2. Ghost Pepper Wing Sauce
$4.54 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 5/5
While I don’t think this is as hot as the Fire Roasted Garlic Habanero, I like it a lot more. This is thinner and more vinegary, rounded out by carrot and fragrant ghost pepper (no Carolina Reapers here, luckily). What a delightful balance of flavor and heat. There is legitimate, complex flavor going on.
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3. Fire Roasted Garlic & Habanero
$10.91 from Amazon
Heat Rating: 4/5
This is a hot one, alright! Star rating be damned: In my opinion, this is the hottest hot sauce Melinda has. It’s even spicier than the Ghost Pepper sauce, which has a heat rating of 5. I’d attribute this to the chunky, seedy nature of the habanero hot sauce. It’s a thick boy, full of garlic, lime juice, and even some passionfruit pulp. So spicy. So delicious.
4. Pizza Hot Sauce
$8.38 from Amazon
Heat Rating: 1/5
I love the idea here. As somebody who almost always puts hot sauce on pizza, this is a great call. It’s as vinegary as Tabasco sauce, which I imagine will play wonderfully with cheese and meat toppings. I’ll absolutely get this going the next time I have pizza.
5. Habanero Honey Mustard
$4.54 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 3/5
I’d use this in place of any honey mustard from any chain restaurant. The natural sweetness that comes from habanero pepper sauce is a beauty with honey mustard. The next time I bring home Wingstop, it’s so on.
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6. Mexicana
$3.98 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 2/5
Melinda gave this one the Cholula/Tapatio treatment. This tastes like one of those, blasted with white vinegar. If you’re out of salsa at home, hit your tortilla chips with a few squeezes of Melinda’s Mexicana. It works.
7. Black Truffle
$4.54 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 2/5
Mass-produced truffle products are never great, but this is tasty. My main issue is that it’s very creamy; with all the truffle, it honestly doesn’t taste too far off from pasta sauce. I’d absolutely take a squirt of this on some penne. It’s not that spicy though, and I feel like turning the heat level up a bit would help balance out the decadence of the cream and the truffle.
8. Cayenne
$3.98 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 1/5
Louisiana-style cayenne pepper sauce will always be a great love of mine. Melinda’s has done a bang-up job here, but if I am to speak my truth, there is no room in my heart for any Louisiana inspirations besides Red Rooster or Crystal. It’s a respectable attempt, but sometimes you can’t beat the masters.
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9. Green Sauce
$4.54 from Walmart
Heat Rating: 1/5
This might be the most unique sauce of the bunch. Get ready for an explosion of cilantro; if that’s your jam, you’re in luck. There’s more herbaceous flavor here than spiciness, so while it’s a tasty condiment, I wouldn’t reach for it as a hot sauce. Maybe on some tacos.
10. Thai Sweet Chili
$4.99 from Target
Heat Rating: 1/5
This is tasty, but I’d call this a 0/5 on the scale. There’s simply no fire to it. I like the flavor, but I’m buying hot sauce for some spice. This contains none.
