We Tested Over 30 BBQ Sauces and this Surprisingly Affordable Pick Was a Staff Favorite
Your guests’ minds will be blown when you bring this sweet sauce to your summertime barbecues.
There’s something so special about hosting a gathering and grilling in the sunny outdoors. The weather is amazing, the company is heartwarming and the snacks are even better. But what good is that food without the right sauce pairing? Our panel of Food Network editors and Test Kitchen staff tried over 30 BBQ sauces ahead of summertime grilling. And after dipping, marinating and trying plain spoonfuls of each one, there was one sauce that became a crowd favorite amongst our entire staff — Sweet Baby Ray’s.
Since Sweet Baby Ray’s was founded in 1985, the brand has held a consistent motto: “The Sauce is the Boss.” And that couldn’t be truer for the sauces we tried. The brand has been leading the flavor game for 40 years and now offers 32 sauces — including BBQ, wing sauces, hot sauces, marinades and dips that enhance every craving and gathering. From their award-winning Original barbecue sauce to their latest launch, Buff-a-Cue (a strong barbecue-buffalo hybrid), Sweet Baby Ray’s is a pantry staple for good reason.
Every foodie knows that sauce makes the meal (think: what’s a buffalo chicken sandwich without buffalo sauce?) It’s this approach that is at the forefront of Sweet Baby Ray’s, and how they bottle up condiments that turn basic meals into crave-worthy creations. And, they’re incredibly affordable. What makes food better than something that’s both cheap and delicious?
How We Tested
Photo By: Julia Morlino
Photo By: Julia Morlino
Photo By: Julia Morlino
To find the best barbecue sauces, our testers rated 36 contenders from various regions and blends on four factors: texture, flavor, aroma and overall look. The evaluation started by eating spoonfuls of each sauce, followed by dipping them with chicken or bread to gauge whether or not the sauce clashed with the food or enhanced the taste. No surprise, Sweet Baby Ray's was one of the top picks for all four factors, delivering that classic BBQ thickness and flavor you think of when a meal calls for a BBQ add-on. "Summer camp BBQ sauce" was one adjective a tester used to describe the taste.
We tested the Original and Sweet N’ Spicy varieties, and one common theme stood true for each — nostalgia. Most of today’s sauce selection has lost the heart of what makes a true, classic condiment, but Sweet Baby Ray’s nailed that flavor down. Both the Original and Sweet N’ Spicy sauces are well-balanced, perfectly smoky and have that true BBQ sweetness. One tester said that the sauce reminds them of their childhood grills, sticky fingers awaiting them, which is shown in our top picks below.
This is a sauce you can never go wrong with — it's a fantastic tried-and-true and what our testers described as a "classic" BBQ flavor. It tastes exactly like what people think of when they're ready to get their grill started to smoke a rack of ribs.
There's no doubt that sweet and spicy are one of the best flavor combos. Our panel of testers proclaimed this sauce as the perfect balance between sugar and heat. Ultra thick, peppery and smoky, this sauce will be a great addition to your outdoor parties for the guests who appreciate a little kick.
While this new sauce wasn't a part of our testing, reviews say this barbeque-buffalo combo is the ultimate hybrid. The unique flavor profile packs the definite heat that you'd associate with buffalo sauce while swooping in some barbeque sweetness in the back (a deadly combo). Check out the Sweet Baby Ray's site to find out where you can snag this one of a kind flavor.
