Eight Recommended Spicy Sauces from Trader Joe’s

The holiday time of year is upon us and you will be seeing plenty of those generic hot sauce gift sets in big box stores and specialty shops calling out to you. But if you know somebody who likes spicy food and you are looking to buy them a gift, do them a favor and pass those by (as I discuss in more detail here). Instead, buy something with better quality and taste, and if you have a Trader Joe’s market near you then you will have plenty of selections to choose from.

That company describes itself as “a national chain of neighborhood grocery stores”, and even though that sounds self-contradictory, they offer quality products to their customers with a home town feel. TJ’s is also a good place to find spicy stuff that you can package together into a nice little gift basket, and I have several suggestions below (expanded from the list I put up last year). Now I should note that I don’t get paid to promote any of TJ’s products.  (Hey Trader Joe’s, if you want to pay me to promote your products, I’m all ears).  But I am more than willing to recommend them because they put out some really good stuff that spicy food lovers will enjoy.

1. Habanero Hot Sauce: This spicy bottle of goodness is one that typically surprises people. If you aren’t aware that TJ’s is a good place to find foods that bring the heat, you might pass it on by. But once you have sampled the sauce, it is going to become a staple in your pantry. It delivers that distinct habanero flavor along with a nice sweetness and an immediate kick. There is also some tang from the sauce, though not too much, and it has a slight garlicky finish that rounds out the taste experience quite nicely. And along with all that, this sauce really brings quite a kick, going above Hot on my scale and approaching Fiery. I always have a bottle of it around, and I recommend that you get one as a gift and one to keep. (Read my full review of the sauce here.)

2. Bird’s Eye Chili Hot Sauce: I believe this one is a new addition to the Trader Joe’s shelves, and I certainly hope it sticks around.  As the name informs, it is made from the bird’s eye chili peppers, and those certainly pack some heat.  The sauce has an immediate tang that is reminiscent of pickles, and that makes sense seeing as it is made from pickled bird’s eye chilis. It is balanced by a nice sweetness that is not cloying and gives it a nice finish. There is also a hint of garlic in there and just the right prick of salt. The flavors come together to make this a nice, bright sauce that can go well with a lot of things. Heat-wise, it gets above Medium on my scale and is approaching hot, and it builds up the more you eat.

3. Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce: This is another sauce that I discovered at TJ’s which has since become a regular in my pantry. It has good red pepper taste from the Calabrian chilis along with just a bit of sweetness. It also has hints of olives, likely coming from the extra virgin olive oil and maybe also from the fermentation of the peppers. There is also a bit of a tang that probably comes from the citric acid. The sauce has some heat, but it is not what I would call super hot, closer to the Medium on my scale. But I can’t eat Italian food without it anymore, and I always add a little bit of it to my spaghetti sauce. (You can read my full review here.)

4. Salsa Taquera: This salsa is another new item at Trader Joe’s and another that I hope becomes a fixture on the TJ’s shelves. It has a good tomatoey tang along with a nice freshness to it. There is just a little bit of sweetness, but it is enough to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. There is also a peppery kick along with the taste onions, though not overpowering on the latter. A hint of garlic is in the background, and that seems to bring everything together. It is not real spicy, just above Mild on my scale and approaching Medium, but it has a nice kick that lingers for a bit. And the flavor is so good that this has become one of my go-to jarred salsas now.

5. Green Dragon Sauce: This sauce is made with jalapenos and tomatillos but it has a slight Asian tinge to it as well. There must be something hidden in the spices because I don’t see any ingredients that suggest that cuisine, but it is definitely there. It has the tartness you expect from tomatillos, and it has the tang from the vinegar along with some sweetness to balance that out. The jalapenos give it a kick, though it is not too hot as it is only slightly above Mild level. But taste-wise this is quite good and it pairs up very well with Asian food while also working well with other cuisines. (You can read my full review of both this and TJ’s Sriracha sauce here.)

6. Jalapeno Sauce: This is one that I discovered a while back and it has turned into another TJ’s regular for me. It is a creamy jalapeno sauce, but it has no dairy (it actually counts as vegan and the creaminess comes from the oil used). It has that good, rich jalapeno taste with a hint of roast chilis as well. And it has a kick that brings it to the Medium heal level and maybe beyond. They suggest that you use it as an enchilada sauce (those are going to be some spicy enchiladas!), but it is also really good on breakfast tacos/burritos and it would make a good (and spicy) substitute for mayonnaise. Note that they also have a red jalapeno sauce, but that is more like a Louisiana sauce and I consider the green version much better.

7. Taco Sauce: This is an old standard from Trader Joe’s and certainly one worth picking up. It has an earthiness to it with a strong taste of chili powder and cumin. It is very similar to the medium Taco Bell sauce, but it does not take over the flavor like that one does. It is a more subtle sauce the enhances rather that dominates. It will not set your mouth on fire, with the heat a little above Mild on my scale despite having “spicy” in its title, but it certainly delivers a nice kick along with good taste. Not only would this be good over tacos, it also be a great ingredient to add to chili, taco meat, enchilada sauce, and more.

8. Chili Pepper Sauce: Not to be confused with TJ’s Red Jalapeno Sauce I mentioned above (which looks similar in the bottle), this one is also made from the scarlet pods but it has a heavy dose of chili powder. In fact, it tastes similar to a red enchilada sauce, though more intense. It also brings a notable tang from the vinegar. This would go particularly well with Mexican food or it could give a boost to a pot of chili con carne. Heat-wise it is a little below Medium-level, but it does have a kick to go along with its good taste.

And you need not stop with just the hot sauces. Trader Joe’s has quite a number of spicy snacks (like the Crispy Thai Chilies & Sesame Seeds, more on those here), oils (like the Chili Sesame Oil), seasonings (like the Smoked Ghost Chili Flakes), and more that you could add into a gift basket.  The sauces are a good place to start, and be sure to get a bottle of each for yourself.  And whoever is on the receiving end of this gift will certainly appreciate it more than one of those generic hot sauce sets.