The Ultimate Ranking Of Store-Bought Steak Sauces

Somewhere along the way, humans started spicing up their meat with the help of sweet and savory condiments. By the time the 19th century rolled around, beef steaks were becoming all the rage, and there were sauces at the ready to pour all over them. Nowadays, steak sauces are familiar sights on dining room tables, restaurants, and grocery store shelves. These sauces have adapted to changing tastes, a wider range of diets, and even to being used for a variety of purposes. There are literally hundreds of options — in truth, it's a little difficult to know where to start. That's where we come in.

We grabbed 10 different bottles of steak sauce from the grocery store shelf to see which ones excel, and which aren't worth bothering with. The answers were delicious — and surprising. Without further ado, here is the ultimate ranking of store-bought steak sauces. Napkins not included, and neither is the steak.

If you're looking for a steak sauce that checks a lot of healthy boxes, then Primal Kitchen Organic Steak Sauce will stand out to you. This paleo and keto-friendly sauce is also plant-based and vegan. Every single ingredient, outside of water and sea salt, has the adjective "organic" listed before it. The sauce boasts plenty of tomato puree, and a double dip of vinegars — balsamic and distilled. It's also tricked out with tons of flavors, including tamarind concentrate, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard flour, dried sage, black pepper, allspice, cloves, and celery seed.

Twisting off the white cap and leaning in for whiff, I was immediately put off by its odor. It ran the gamut from cinnamon to cola, and even something soapy — it was kind of like walking into a Bath & Body Works store. This was not a great first impression. The fiery, dark orange sauce was rather loose and drippy as it made its way to my plate. Tasting it revealed a pungency that engulfed my mouth, but not at all in a good way. It was hard to place the actual flavor of this steak sauce; it was almost like a bottle of Worcestershire sauce that had become sour. This sauce couldn't stand on its own, and wasn't at all helped when added to steak. It is not recommended for meats, or really anything edible.

Stonewall Kitchen has been making delicious jams and jellied products since 1991. It also has a wide array of grill sauces and marinades. Its Roadhouse Steak Sauce, housed in the tallest of all the bottles tested, is made up of tomatoes, water, green chilies, Dijon mustard, raisins, molasses, red wine vinegar, roasted garlic, tomato paste, brown sugar, pure cane sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, balsamic vinegar, and various other spices. That sounds like the makings of a pretty straightforward steak sauce, but the truth proved to be much more complicated.

This sauce's smell ran very sweet. Notes of cinnamon, chipotle, and even chimichurri announced themselves on multiple inhales. As it flowed from the bottle, the sauce had an unexpected chunkiness to it, almost like a salsa. Then, when it got to tasting, the flavor was off-putting. It seemed more fit for an Indian restaurant than a classic steakhouse. The chunkiness added texture to the sauce, but what seemed like peppercorns and slivers of fruit became something more distracting than delicious. If a mild chutney is what you're looking to use to spice up your steaks and other meats, then give this a go. For the rest of you, go ahead and pass on this one.

Father and son Ed and Steve Shtafman have been crafting sauces since 1972 under their Steve & Ed's label. Like their other products, the Original Steakhouse sauce features their cartoony, smiling faces. Does the sauce live up to this sense of fun? Sort of. This shiny, dark brown sauce pours slowly from the bottle. It has a balsamic aroma to it, although that ingredient is absent from the label. Vinegar, tomato concentrate, raisin paste, crushed oranges, corn syrup, lemon juice powder, onion, tamarind extract, garlic, and celery are among the included ingredients, though. While several of these flavors are clearly at play, the sauce basically amounted to a peppery vinegar.

While Steve & Ed's Original Steak Sauce ranks low on this list, it's still one I'd recommend. It's essentially a more mild and approachable version of A.1. Original Sauce. Moreover, while price doesn't have to play into a sauce's appeal, Steve's & Ed's was on the inexpensive side of things, making it perfect for any frugal gourmet.

When you think of steak sauce, A.1. Original Sauce is probably the first that comes to mind. Invented by King George IV's chef in the 1820s, the sauce has topped many a steak over two centuries, but its use on other foods led Kraft Foods Group to drop the word "steak" from its name in 2014. This sauce is so popular and ubiquitous, it's one of the few on this list sold in multiple flavors and sizes. Here, though, we're only focusing on the "original" original.

Its thin bottle, adorned with the classic red, white, and blue label, instructs the user to shake well. After doing so, I was confronted by a strong smell that could probably clear any sort of sinus issue. Be careful with your pour — this super-liquid-y reddish-brown sauce escapes the bottle rather quickly. The ingredients are pretty simple: tomato puree, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, raisin paste, crushed orange purée, spices, dried garlic, caramel color, and dried onion. The A.1. ingredient working the most magic seems to be the crushed orange purée. The sauce didn't have an overtly fruity bent to it, but the citrus made it a tangy, zesty, and potent experience. There's a reason why A.1. has endured for so long, with many imitators following in its brown footsteps — it's pretty darn good. However, many of these imitators have improved on the original, and since surpassed it.

This steak sauce, which comes from ShopRite's Bowl & Basket product line, is a very basic condiment.  This is indicated by its unflashy labeling, which wraps around the only plastic bottle I handled for this ranking. Said bottle actually turned out to be an added bonus, as it made it easier to pour its contents — I found glass bottles to be unpredictable in output.

It's interesting to compare this sauce to that of steak sauce giant A.1.; its ingredients line up one-to-one, down the inclusion of crushed orange purée. Yet while Bowl & Basket Steak Sauce is a copycat recipe, it was able to make a name for itself in this ranking, and even stand out from the original. It had a slightly thicker consistency, which made for less of a mess, and a lighter, more appealing color. The flavor boasted its own sharp tang; vinegar added a real zing to the tail end. All in all, Bowl & Basket's take on this sauce was a milder — and better — take on the original A.1. formula. Don't let the low price and plastic bottle keep you from picking it up.

Ira "Guy" Hughes, aka G Hughes, is an award-winning pitmaster who tapped his family's secret recipes for a line of G Hughes sugar-free sauces. Like Steve and Ed, G Hughes' bottles proudly sport his face, which makes them stand out on the shelf. The words "Sugar Free," in large font, also make a mark; this is one of this sauce's main selling points. Thus, this ingredient list includes sucralose instead of corn syrup, alongside such elements as tomato purée, plum puree, cider vinegar, salt, onion, garlic powder, onion powder, tamari soy sauce, and hickory smoke.

As it comes from the mind of a pitmaster, it's no surprise this steak sauce tastes a bit more like a conventional barbecue sauce. The resemblance started with the rounded bottle and continued once the top was popped off, allowing a whiff of this attractively sweet concoction to flow forth. This steak sauce even poured like a barbecue sauce: smooth and a wee bit gloopy. For a sugar-free sauce, it still hit a sweet spot (much like any good hickory BBQ sauce would). It also had a nice look and mouthfeel to it, with flecks of spices being both attractive and detectable on the tongue. It was a tad spicy which might be a major plus for some diners. Finally, this sauce lingered pleasantly in the mouth. If you're down for a barbecue-style sauce, this is a winner.

Heinz Hot 57 Sauce is a relative newcomer to the steak sauce section of the shelf: This spicy variation on Heinz's classic condiment debuted in 2023. The label showcases the fact that it's made with real jalapeños, which are finished off with white vinegar, tomato purée, high fructose corn syrup, malt vinegar, salt, raisin juice concentrate, mustard flour, turmeric, apple purée, dried garlic, and dried onion, among other ingredients.

While its make-up is similar to the regular Heinz 57 Sauce, this hot variant is very much a different beast. It smelled like spiced apple cider vinegar, and even had an autumn-esque caramel brown hue that wouldn't look out of place on candy apples. The heat this sauce packed was both peppery and smooth, reminiscent of a thicker version of 100-year-old Crystal Hot Sauce. It won't unbearably flood your mouth with heat, but it still leaves quite an afterburner effect, making it the spiciest of the 10 sauces taste-tested. In truth, this perky sauce may actually be an improvement on the original Heinz 57 Sauce, but some will definitely find its stark taste too dominant to slather on their steak. Still, it's a winner. If you're willing to look beyond steak, it'd be a perfect way to spice up a plate of eggs and breakfast meats.

Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors has been around for over a century. This steak sauce taps into that background in an impressive way. According to the company website, the original Pat LaFrieda saved the best cuts for his family, known as "butcher's reserve." When he hauled them home, "Grandmother was already simmering caramelized onions in a balsamic reduction with a dash of brown sugar and savory herbs." Now that sauce has been bottled for all to enjoy. Alongside the aforementioned balsamic vinegar and onion, this condiment includes Worcestershire sauce, honey, tomato, plum puree, molasses, and dehydrated garlic.

Upon removing the cap, I noticed that this sauce didn't smell all that dissimilar from A.1. Original Sauce. It practically sauntered out of the bottle, though, looking like plum sauce with a noticeable chunky texture. Those chunks fully revealed themselves when they hit my tongue as excellently caramelized onions. I wasn't an immediate fan of the sauce, but I rapidly grew to love it upon repeat tastes. It's like a barbeque ketchup, sweetened by molasses, then punctuated by onions and garlic. So many tastes in a single sauce makes it absolutely sensational.

The number 57 is a lucky one for the Heinz brand; it's the made-up number of sauce varities the company once claimed it had. It also headlines the name of a condiment once known as Beefsteak Sauce, described in 1915 as "made from choice tropical and domestic fruits, vegetables and spices skilfully blended and mellowed with age" (via The Times Record). Those "choice" ingredients include tomato puree, distilled white vinegar, malt vinegar, salt, raisin juice concentrate, mustard flour, soybean oil, turmeric, spices, apple puree, garlic powder, and onion powder.

On the surface, Heinz 57 Sauce doesn't exactly scream "steak sauce." With its bright red cap, cool yellow label, and shapely bottle containing a rusty liquid, it appears to be some kind of yesteryear elixir sold out of the back of a wagon. Its smell doesn't fit the typical profile either. Vinegar takes a back seat to a gorgeous aroma akin to a spiced-up honey mustard. Trying to decipher its full flavor proved to be an impossible task: Sometimes it tasted like a vinegary applesauce, sometimes a smoky mustard, and sometimes a Tabasco sauce doused with turmeric. This flavor mystery made it more appealing, though. I imagine this bottle doesn't last long on most shelves. Calling Heinz 57 a steak sauce is actually demeaning, in my opinion, as it's a perfect sauce for anything.

Peter Luger Steak House is revered as one of America's best steakhouses. While the steaks don't really require any condiments, that hasn't stopped diners from pouring the spot's Old Fashioned Steak Sauce all over its cuts of meats, burgers, and even tomatoes. Many of its ingredients are familiar: tomatoes, distilled grain vinegar, cider vinegar, sugar, salt, water, onion, garlic, and molasses. However, there are several others included that certainly make it stand out from the rest, including grated horseradish roots, eschalots, anchovies, and tamarind.

This grooved bottle can't be found on a shelf in your local grocery store, but in a refrigerator, right next to the raw cuts of beef. This particularity pays off: It easily turned out to be the best steak sauce among the 10 candidates. It's unlike any other steak sauce on the market, being perfectly flavorful, excellently textured, and uniquely zingy. The horseradish and anchovies are worth the price of admission alone. This steak sauce could even work as the perfect Bloody Mary mix — it just needs some vodka and a celery stalk to complete it.

This ranking examines 10 different types of steak sauces, which were all available for purchase at a single grocery store: a ShopRite in Rio Grande, New Jersey. I gathered a group of 10 taste testers, who ranged in age from 4 to 75. As a group, we assessed the strengths and weaknesses of each steak sauce, based on taste, smell, flavor, texture, lovability, and how well it played with steak and other meats. I personally tested each sauce, with and without meat, a handful of times. The opinions of the taste-testers were taken into consideration, though the final ranking was decided by myself.