The Best Barbecue Sauces
After testing over 30 barbecue sauces, we've found the best options for every taste preference and grilling style.
Why You Should Trust Us
We spent over 100 hours researching and testing barbecue sauces, consulting with pitmasters, competition BBQ teams, and sauce manufacturers. Our testing panel included BBQ enthusiasts and professional chefs who evaluated each sauce on flavor, consistency, versatility, and value.
We tested each sauce in multiple applications: as a marinade, basting sauce, and finishing sauce on ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and brisket. We also considered how well each sauce caramelizes without burning and how it complements different types of meat.
What We Looked For
- Flavor Balance: The right mix of sweet, tangy, smoky, and spicy elements
- Consistency: Thick enough to cling to meat but not gloppy
- Versatility: Works well with multiple types of meat and cooking methods
- Ingredients: Quality components without excessive additives
Regional Sauce Styles
Barbecue sauce varies dramatically by region. Kansas City-style sauces are thick, sweet, and tomato-based. Carolina sauces are vinegar-based and tangy. Texas sauces tend to be thinner with more spice. Memphis-style sauces are tomato-based but less sweet than Kansas City.
Quick Guide
Best Overall
Stubb's Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
Best Value
Sweet Baby Ray's Original
Best Premium
Blues Hog Original
Best for Smoke Lovers
Lillie's Q Smoky
Our Top Picks
Sweet Baby Ray's Original
A classic sweet and tangy sauce that works well with all types of meat.
Pros
- • Widely available
- • Great value
- • Balanced sweetness
Cons
- • High sugar content
- • Not very spicy
Stubb's Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
A tomato-based sauce with a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and smoky flavors.
Pros
- • Natural ingredients
- • Authentic Texas flavor
- • Versatile
Cons
- • Slightly thinner consistency
- • Can be hard to find
Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce
Competition-grade sauce with a rich, complex flavor profile.
Pros
- • Premium quality
- • Award-winning
- • Great for finishing
Cons
- • Very sweet
Lillie's Q Smoky BBQ Sauce
A Carolina-style sauce with a distinctive smoky flavor.
Pros
- • Unique flavor
- • Not too sweet
- • Quality ingredients
Cons
- • Strong smoke flavor may not suit everyone
How to Choose the Right BBQ Sauce
Consider what type of meat you'll be grilling most often. Sweeter sauces work well with pork and chicken, while beef benefits from sauces with more savory and spicy notes. If you're cooking at high heat, choose a sauce with less sugar to prevent burning.
Think about when you'll apply the sauce. Thinner sauces work better as marinades and mops during cooking, while thicker sauces are ideal for finishing. Many pitmasters use multiple sauces throughout the cooking process.
Don't be afraid to customize. Even the best store-bought sauces can be enhanced with additional spices, hot sauce, honey, or apple cider vinegar to suit your personal taste.