We tried a dozen barbecue sauces—and 1 was far better than the rest

You can skip all the others.

There are as many styles of barbecue sauce as there are ways to spell it—barbecue, barbeque, BBQ, Bar-B-Q, even Bar-B-Que. That's precisely why sorting through the dozens (and dozens) of bottles on any grocery store shelf can be overwhelming. You reach for the one you have always used, because you can't risk buying one the family won't like, right?

That's a pain we feel entirely, which is why we decided to try as many as we could for you. We narrowed our selection to each brand's "original" style because many brands have more. The original style of most sauces is spicy-sweet with molasses, ketchup, and hickory flavors being the predominant notes. Still, every brand is different, as we found during this taste test process.

Our favorite barbecue sauce is what we're going to call an everyday style. It would be great for grilling, spread on baked pork tenderloin, or even used as a dipper for chicken strips. We know folks are partial to their regional styles—from Carolina Vinegar to Alabama White—and these certainly don't take the place of those sauces. But when you need a good one for weeknight meals, we think we can steer you in the right direction.

How We Tested

For this taste test, we poured each of the sauces into a bowl and hid the bottles so testers couldn't associate any sauce with their previous notions. Each editor scooped a bit of every barbecue sauce onto a plate, all arranged in a numbered system to maintain anonymity. Testers then tried the sauces by themselves to form their opinion on the taste, texture, and overall experience.

Editors ranked the barbecue sauces on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. After all the sauces were tested, each editor chose an overall favorite. The winners were selected by tallying scores.

The Contenders

• Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
• Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
• Stubb’s Original Legendary Barb-B-Q Sauce
• Great Value Original Barbecue Sauce (Walmart)
• TJ’s Organic Kansas-Style BBQ Sauce (Trader Joe’s)
• Burman’s Original Barbecue Sauce (ALDI)
• Kinder’s Original BBQ Sauce
• Blue Hog Champions Blend BBQ Sauce
• Open Pit Original Barbecue Sauce
• Good & Gather Original Barbecue Sauce
• Sonny’s BBQ Original BBQ Sauce
• Williams Bros. Original Bar-B-Q Sauce

How Each Brand Scored

Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce

Editors called this classic barbecue sauce "very thick and dark" with a "brown sugar-molasses flavor" that many said was sweet but not too sweet. A good tomato base lends good acidity and slight bitterness so the sweetness isn't overpowering. One taster wrote, "This would be good with pork or chicken," noting also that this sauce is closest to their preferred style.

Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce

This bottled sauce is widely available, so it's one many people reach for out of habit. But in our taste test, it did not fare as well as others. One editor wrote that it has a texture that is "too close to jelly" with a spiced flavor that some described as clove, anise, or nutmeg. One noted it was "quite peppery" and that it would be a good base sauce if you're one to add your own ingredients to a sauce. But by itself, no editors picked it as the best of the bunch.

Stubb’s Original Legendary Barb-B-Q Sauce

This iconic Texas sauce is beloved and used quite frequently by our Test Kitchen because its consistent flavor is great for many applications, from saucing pulled pork to creating a slow-cooker dinner with fewer ingredients. Our editors were divided on it, however. One editor who chose it as their favorite said, "You can see the spices in this sauce which is nice, and it tastes freshly made." Another editor said this would be good in a dish like Brunswick stew where the spicy-smoky balance is needed. Overall, it was well received, but only one editor picked it as the best.

Great Value Original Barbecue Sauce (Walmart)

If you've read our other taste tests, you know the Great Value brand punches above its price point quite often, and while editors liked this sauce, it didn't win any first-place votes. "This is thick, dark, and smooth; it would be great with any meat," one editor wrote. Another wrote that is has the "correct base flavor but a bit too much black pepper."

TJ’s Organic Kansas-Style BBQ Sauce (Trader Joe's)

If you're a dedicated Trader Joe's shopper, this sauce is usually the only one you can find it store. Testers didn't rate it as a favorite, however, with one editor writing, "It has too much chili powder." But they added it might be good when cooked. As a dipping sauce, however, it wasn't a favorite.

Burman's Original Barbecue Sauce (ALDI)

This store-brand sauce was described as "thick," "sweet," and "smokier." Editors noted good levels of acidity and hickory flavor, lending the sauce a natural "barbecued" flavor that you won't typically have without actually cooking something over a smoker or grill. However, a few editors noted it was too thick for their liking.

Kinder’s Original BBQ Sauce

For fans of a sauce with bit more vinegar bite, the Kinder's Original leans in that direction more than any other we tested. Not a true vinegar sauce, it is still plenty thick and saucey, but it was praised for being "smooth" and having a "good balance of sweet, savory, and spice." Two editors selected it as the overall best.

Blue Hog Champions Blend BBQ Sauce

Pitmaster Bill Arnold's barbecue is renowned, and he has a whole line of sauces to show for it. We tried the Champions Blend, which is described as having "competition-level flavor and a peppery backbone that brings serious depth to the table." The sauce was described by editors as a "thinner" option compared to some of the others (not a bad thing to many testers), and it has "a little heat with specks of pepper." One editor said, "This is definitely for the person who likes a sweet sauce," and said they suspect it will hold up well to grilling or smoking. No editors picked it as a favorite, however.

Open Pit Original Barbecue Sauce

This thinner sauce was praised for its "good level of heat" and "subtly warm spices," but it had just a bit too much vinegar bite for most testers. If you like vinegar sauces, this could be a good off-the-shelf option for you. One editor wrote, "My family would love this on chicken wings with white sauce for dipping."

Good & Gather Original Barbecue Sauce

Target's Good & Gather line promotes itself as an option for people who don't want synthetic colors, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and artificial flavors. It often does well in our taste tests, and it held its own in this one though no one selected it as the best. "This is very classic with a good balance of sweetness and spice," one editor wrote. "This isn't my favorite but it would be an all-purpose pick," another editor wrote.

Sonny’s BBQ Original BBQ Sauce

A few editors noted this sauce, which was described as "smooth" and "rich," would be an ideal pair for beef. Still others described it as sour, with one saying, "It has a strong molasses flavor but leaves a sour taste after each bite." It didn't get any first-place votes.

Williams Bros. Original Bar-B-Q Sauce

The Georgia barbecue spot has long lines and legions of fans, and Southerners can find their bottled sauces in local stores (we got ours at Publix). "This would make a good dipping sauce," one editor wrote, with another saying the sauce was "super peppery." Because it was a thinner sauce, another tester said it would be great for basting grilled meats.

The Runner-Up

Kinders has almost a dozen different barbecue sauces at the grocery store, so you can probably find a flavor to match your preferences, but we liked this Original style quite a bit. "This BBQ sauce is good and the closest to the Memphis profile I prefer," one editor wrote. "I think this would be great on brisket." Another said this would be their go-to sauce for dipping because it has the perfect balance of flavor, even without needing to cook it.

The Winner

Sweet Baby Ray's may not be a Southern original, but it has won the heart of many Southerners for decades. With five first-place votes, this sauce was the run-away winner in this taste test. "This tasted like the most traditional barbecue flavor. It's a little sweet, a little smoky, and has just enough heat," one editor wrote.