Review: Hot Ones' New RAGÚ Pasta Sauces Are Not For The Faint Of Heart

When an iconic Italian sauce brand joins forces with an iconic celebrity talk show, magic happens. Welcome to the latest taste inspiration from RAGÚ x Hot Ones. This limited edition heat pack fuses some of the hottest chiles with the classic flavors of the sauce we all know and love.

We interviewed Megan Frank, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Mizkan America, Inc. about the creative process for this new line of sauces. "Taking inspiration from Hot Ones fan-favorite hot sauces, we sought to create the hottest, nationally available pasta sauces on the market. This delicious trio of co-branded sauces offers non-cooks and home cooks alike a selection of spicy, savory shortcuts that allows them to easily turn up the heat on their at-home meals and snacks." Frank adds, "All of the sauces start with a savory tomato base of RAGÚ pasta sauce and are infused with a blend of peppers and seasonings."

As fans of both RAGÚ and spicy food, we couldn't wait to get our hands on this limited edition trio of progressively hotter sauces, while supplies last. This trio of sauces is available at select Kroger family retailers, including Fry's and Fred Meyer, for $9.99. We had the chance to put our taste buds to the ultimate test, assessing the flavor, and our tolerance for spicy foods, so that you know what you are getting into. Read on for the full scoop.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

At the milder end of the spectrum is the RAGÚ x Hot Ones Limited Edition Fiery Garlic sauce. This sauce begins with a base of umami-rich tomatoes that are infused with guajillo and fresno chili peppers. Though garlic is definitely the star of this sauce, don't let this fool you. This is still a spicy sauce.

The aroma begins with pungent yet sweet garlic notes that are punctuated by the slightly acidic tomatoes and a hint of pepperiness that tickles your nose. The sauce itself is smooth, yet thick, giving it a dippable texture.

When it comes to flavor, this sauce is all kinds of complex. It has elements of a classic arrabbiata sauce, but with a bit more heat. The savory garlic leads on the palate, while the spicy chili peppers slowly creep up on you. The sauce has elements of sweetness to help balance out the heat. The acidity and salt are well-balanced and the whole thing is quite sophisticated.

This sauce is recommended for use in baked goat cheese, or as a topping for pizza and burgers. That said, as far as these sauces go, this is the only one I'd actually use atop pasta. It has a mild enough flavor that it won't overwhelm the noodles. It would also be fabulous as the base for a classic lasagna recipe if you want to skip the process of making sauce from-scratch.

The RAGÚ x Hot Ones Limited Edition Chipotle Blaze is the medium-hot sauce of the trio. This sauce fuses smoky chipotles and biting habanero peppers with robust tomatoes for a play on a classic sweet and savory barbecue sauce recipe.

Though perhaps slightly more complex, the aroma of this sauce straight out of the jar is similar to a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. The smoky chipotles dominate, with hints of acidity following slowly behind. The texture of this sauce was somewhat thinner than the Fiery Garlic one, making it more spreadable.

The flavor of this sauce is well-rounded and earthy, with the sweet tomatoes melding perfectly with the smoky chipotles. Though this sauce is notably spicier than the Fiery Garlic, it is not overwhelming. There is some subtlety that helps to mitigate any incendiary notes.

This sauce is intended for use with chicken or beef. It would work great with your favorite air fryer chicken wings recipe or as a kicked-up ingredient in a Buffalo chicken dip. You could also use it as an unusual marinade for skirt steak. Because it is somewhat spicier than the Fiery Garlic sauce, this one is just slightly less suitable for use on pasta, though that may be solely a matter of taste.

The spiciest sauce of this trio is the RAGÚ x Hot Ones Limited Edition Chile Inferno. As its moniker suggests, this is the sauce for heat lovers. This is most definitely not for those who have not built up a tolerance for spicy foods. It features habaneros and scorpion peppers, which are some of the hottest peppers around.

Don't let the aroma of this sauce fool you. It pretends to be mild, with a hint of tomatoey sweetness coming through. This is a smooth sauce that is on the thinner side, making it great for both dipping and dolloping as a condiment.

As advertised, this sauce is incendiary on the taste buds. Any sweetness or moderation is thrown out the window. The acidity and heat overwhelm you, burning your nose hairs, tongue, throat, and stomach. This sauce is more like a classic hot sauce than anything resembling a pasta sauce.

The folks at RAGÚ x Hot Ones knew this, and recommend this as a garnish for an "appetizer, dip or whatever else you dare to put it on." If you want to sample this trio, but are worried you won't be able to tolerate the heat of this sauce, you can tone down the fiery spiciness by adding a hint of lemon-lime soda to it. The sweetness of the soda can help mitigate some of the heat, making it more palatable.

When it comes to mash-ups, we often feel like "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." That is definitely not the case here. This collaboration between RAGÚ and Hot Ones is a match made in chili pepper heaven. Though these may not be well-suited to those who don't tolerate spicy food well, if you are even remotely titillated by heat, you will want to snag one of these trios while you still can.

What works is that each of these sauces is bold, yet distinct. They have unique flavors that can really enhance a wide cross-section of different dishes. Their diverse heat levels enable you to mix-and-match to your heart's — and taste bud's — content. While only the Fiery Garlic is really usable as a pasta sauce, at least for our palates, the potential is there for each sauce to shine in its own right.

To quote Megan Frank, "The world is your oyster — or in this case, your sauce! If you want to try these on your pasta, you certainly can, but there's a lot more you can do as well. We recommend trying the RAGÚ x Hot Ones Limited Edition on wings, barbecue, burgers or anywhere else that you're looking to add a fiery kick to your next delicious mouthful."