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Pepper fans, rejoice!
There are plenty of ways to add that Tabasco tang to your recipes without actually using Tabasco sauce. So if you don’t have Tabasco on hand, worry less!
Don’t let the lack of Tabasco sauce stop you from making your favorite meal as you can always reach out for either ketchup, Cholula, chili oil, Asian chili garlic sauce, Sriracha Sauce, Texas pete, or worcestershire sauce as an alternative to tabasco sauce.
Join us as we explore some of the best tabasco sauce substitutes that will help you miss tabasco less and how to use them!
What Is Tabasco sauce?
Tabasco sauce is a spicy sauce made with vinegar, salt, and tabasco peppers. Other ingredients may be added to tabasco sauce, depending on the manufacturer. Tabasco sauce is named for the Mexican state of Tabasco, where it was created.
It can be used in various ways: as a condiment, to add flavor to food, or as an ingredient in sauces and marinades.
Whether it is salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, French fries, cheese fries, or even mashed potatoes, Tabasco sauce adds that delicious fiery.
The tangy flavor of Tabasco sauce makes it a popular addition to many dishes, and the heat of the pepper itself makes the food more flavorful and satisfying.
Best Tabasco Sauce Substitutes
1. Texas Pete
Texas Pete can work as a substitute for Tabasco sauce in many cases. But it’s not always perfect. Texas Pete is an excellent choice if you want your dish to be spicier than if you used regular Tabasco sauce.
The Scoville rating of Texas Pete is much higher than that of traditional Tabasco, so you’ll probably want to use less of it than you would of Tabasco.
This makes it suitable for people who like spicy food but maybe don’t want as much heat as you’d get from tabasco. When not to use Texas, Pete is where you’re using your hot sauce in chili.
2. Cholula
Cholula hot sauce and Tabasco sauce are like the difference between a jalapeño and a habanero: both are peppers, but one will set your mouth on fire.
Tabasco has a Scoville scale rating of about 2,500 to 5,000 heat units, while Cholula’s is only 1,000 to 2,000 — meaning it’s a bit milder.
So if you want your food to have some kick without burning off your tastebuds, Cholula might be the better choice.
Furthermore, Tabasco sauce tends to have a more vinegary taste and is often used to add a kick of spice to cocktails, whereas Cholula uses red and brown peppers to offer more flavor than just heat.
Cholula offers garlic, oregano, and salt hints that give your food a more exciting flavor.
It’s delicious on just about anything — a real treat for any palate!
3. Chili Oil
Chili oil is made from crushed red pepper flakes steeped in vegetable oil or sesame oil.
The process is much quicker than the fermentation required for tabasco sauce.
Chili oil and Tabasco sauce can be used interchangeably in some recipes, but they will taste very different if you substitute one for another.
You can use chili oil as a condiment for Asian dishes or stir it into cooked foods like noodles or fried rice right before serving.
4. Ketchup
Many red sauces go well with eggs, pizza, and burgers. However, which one is the best for each?
Tabasco sauce is an incredible hot sauce, but when it comes to ketchup vs Tabasco sauce, ketchup wins hands down as the best condiment for almost any dish because it has:
- Thicker consistency than Tabasco
- Natural sugar instead of added sugar (you can’t say that about Tabasco!)
- A richer tomato flavor than Tabasco
- A healthier balance of acidity and sweetness than Tabasco
It will be a suitable alternative for your recipes whenever you are out of tabasco sauce.
5. Sriracha Sauce
Are you sick of using Tabasco sauce?
You might just find that Sriracha Sauce will make all your dishes taste better — and bring more life to your dinner table.
With Sriracha Sauce, you can get many of the same benefits of Tabasco sauce, but in a fun and exciting new way.
Sure, you may be thinking: “But I like Tabasco sauce. Why should I change?” Well, here are a few reasons:
- Sriracha sauce is made with fresher ingredients than Tabasco sauce
- It has more health benefits than Tabasco sauce
- Sriracha sauce has more flavor variety than Tabasco sauce
- Sriracha sauce is more environmentally conscious than Tabasco Sauce
Sriracha tastes good on everything from pizza to ice cream, while Tabasco has a very narrow flavor profile (it’s almost exclusively good in savory applications).
6. Asian Chili Garlic Sauce
If you want to spice up your cooking with extra flavor, consider Asian Chili Garlic Sauce your best friend.
Tabasco sauce lacks the depth of flavor that Asian Chili Garlic Sauce can provide.
Asian Chili Garlic Sauce has a much more complex flavor profile that’ll leave your taste buds on fire and make your breath smell like the pits of hell excitingly – unlike the awful aftereffects of most hot sauces.
you can use this garlic sauce to replace tabasco in all recipes.
7. Worcestershire Sauce
Whether you’re a cooking pro or just in the mood for more flavor and fun, Worcestershire sauce saves the day.
While it may be tempting to go for the tried and true, tabasco sauce can’t hold a candle to Worcestershire sauce’s pure flavor and versatility.
Worcestershire sauce is a great alternative to Tabasco sauce because it’s got all the flavor you need, with just the right amount of heat.
Worcestershire sauce will add a kick to your favorite recipes while also providing a healthy dose of umami.
Worcestershire sauce also comes in tons of different flavors and varieties, so you can spice up your kitchen counter with various brands and bottles or even make your own at home!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Hottest Sauce?
The hottest sauce on the planet is the Mad Dog, with a rating of 9 Million SHU. There are other sauces out there that would like you to think they’re hot, but they couldn’t even compare — they’re just posers in disguise.
Is Tabasco Sauce The Same As Cayenne Pepper Sauce?
No! Tabasco sauce is made by fermenting peppers, salt, and vinegar concoction. Cayenne pepper sauce is made by drying out cayenne peppers and then placing them in a vinegar solution. Tabasco sauce has a milder flavor than cayenne pepper sauce.
However, If you’re looking for something similar to Tabasco but with an even hotter flavor, try sriracha or chili garlic sauce.
Can You Substitute Tabasco For Cayenne Pepper?
You can use Tabasco to substitute for cayenne pepper, but you should be aware of the differences in taste and heat level before committing. Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper are both made from red chili peppers. The difference lies solely in how they were made.
Is Sriracha Hot Sauce?
Most definitely. Sriracha is undeniably a red condiment. Sriracha might not be the hottest hot sauce, but it is fire-packed. A single tablespoon of sriracha contains 1,000-2,200 Scoville heat units (SHU). That’s enough heat to give your taste buds a little kick—but it’s about 20 times milder than tabasco sauce.
Conclusion
There’s a reason why tabasco is always sold out when you’re in a rush. There is a lot of order every single day. So you don’t expect it to always be in stock, so having a backup should be your next.
The best Tabasco substitute would be another hot sauce similar in flavor and heat. And from what we have here, many hot sauces match this description. While you have several options for a Tabasco copycat, I’d recommend the Miraculous Spice Co in Sacramento.
They make a great product — a fine substitute for the real thing. It’s next to impossible to tell the difference between this and the stuff that comes out of the bottle.
