10 Top-Tested Hot Sauces That Will Bring the Heat This Summer

Mike's Hot Honey

This sauce should be a pantry staple in every home. Made by infusing quality honey with chili peppers, this sweet-yet-hot honey is perfect for drizzling over pizza, fried chicken, or even ice cream. Creator Mike Kurtz first tried a similar creation at a pizzeria while studying abroad in Brazil. Years later, he began making his own, which became an instant hit at the Brooklyn pizza restaurant, Paulie Gee's. Here they served a spicy soppressata pizza with Mike's Hot Honey drizzled overtop, which they coined "The Hellboy" pie. This unique sauce is made with a perfectly balanced blend of three simple ingredients: honey, chilies, and vinegar. Give your next meal a kick of this addicting sweet heat––you won't regret it.

Dave's Creamy Garlic Red Pepper Hot Sauce

This highly flavorful, not-too-overpowering hot sauce is perfect for adding dimension to your favorite foods like burgers, pizza, or pasta. It's a great option for those that are not fully on the hot sauce boat but want to add the slightest kick to their meal. This creamy sauce is the perfect blend of garlic, roasted peppers, spicy red chilies, and spices. It's gluten-free, vegan-friendly, has no preservatives, and is made in the USA. (If you're really looking to spice things up, try Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce, which was banned from the National Fiery Foods Show for its out-of-this-world heat with a mind-boggling 180,000 units on the Scoville scale.)

Pickapeppa Sauce

This tasty sauce is made with a blend of tomatoes, onions, sugar, cane vinegar, mangoes, raisins, peppers, and spices and is then aged in oak barrels for one year before bottling to develop the rich flavors of the ingredients. Since 1921, Pickapeppa Sauce has been used to make marinades, jerked meat, and is perfect for seasoning pulled chicken or burgers. The makers of this sauce also have created equally delicious variations of the original, such as Hot Pepper, Hot Mango, Spicy Mango and Gingery Mango.

The Pepper Plant Chunky Garlic

If garlic is your absolute favorite ingredient, this sauce is right up your alley. This tasty hot sauce adds the perfect zing to soups, sauces, eggs, pizzas, chicken wings, and more. Made with chunky pieces of garlic and jalapeño, this sauce adds spice and flavor without breaking you into a full-blown sweat. It is also dairy-free and vegan-friendly.

TRUFF White Truffle Hot Sauce

Looking to get a little fancy with your hot sauce? Look no further. As if the sleek and stylish packaging wasn't enough, this hot sauce is made with a high-quality, curated blend of ripe chili peppers, organic agave nectar, white truffle, and a hint of organic coriander. It's no wonder Truff's products have made it onto Oprah's coveted Favorite Things list two years in a row (2018 and 2019). Truff sauces make for the perfect gift for your fellow hot sauce aficionados and definitely stands out as the most unique and umami-rich condiment on the list.

Wing-Time Medium Buffalo Wing Sauce

If you're into the flavors of a classic buffalo wing sauce, this will be a match made in heaven. Indulge in the comforting flavors of classic buffalo wings with Wing-Time's medium sauce, that boasts a perfect blend of zestiness, heat, and vinegar. Wing-Time originated in Upstate New York, the home of the original buffalo wings and it definitely lives up to expectation. This medium-spiced sauce packs a reasonable amount of heat without overpowering the food, making resisting an entire tray of buffalo wings nearly impossible.

RELATED: Our Favorite Chicken Wings Recipes for Game Day (or Any Occasion)

Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce

Peri-Peri sauce is a traditional African sauce made from African bird's eye chilies. This tangy condiment is ideal for all types of meat, poultry, and seafood and is an excellent marinade for enhancing the flavors of your food. Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri sauce is medium heat and won't burn your tongue with every bite. Instead, it will offer a unique and distinct taste that will leave you craving for more.

Valentina Salsa Picante

This simple, tasty hot sauce is the perfect everyday condiment for bringing new life to bland food. Highly affordable and effective, Valentina Salsa Picante has been compared to sauces like Tobasco, but is said to boast a more powerful citrusy, chili flavor than its counterparts. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Valentina sources locally grown puya chilis from the Jalisco state and is widely used in Mexican cuisine. The sauce is perfect for topping tacos, quesadillas, and burritos.

RELATED: 36 Taco Recipes So Good You'll Never Want to Make Anything Else

Secret Aardvark

A cult-favorite, Secret Aardvark is a versatile hot sauce you'll want to put on just about everything. At about 5,000 Scoville units, this sauce packs a medium to medium-high amount of buildable spice that won't overpower your food. It has a smoky and sweet taste and is made with flavor-boosting ingredients such as fire roasted tomatoes, white wine vinegar, carrots, onion, and mustard. If ketchup and hot sauce had a baby, this would be it.

Yellowbird Habanero

To really thrill your taste buds, Yellowbird Habanero can reach between 15,580 to 54,530 Scoville units, making it undoubtedly the hottest of the bunch. This vibrant sauce is a harmonious blend of hot habanero peppers, garlic, carrots, and tangy tangerine juice. A dollop of this concoction goes a long way and is perfect for topping breakfast items like eggs, home fries, and sandwiches. You can also buy an adorable 2.2 ounce bottle, ideal for on-the-go saucing needs (P.S. it's TSA-approved). Throw it in your purse or take it with you camping for endless heat wherever you go.