The 12 Spiciest Fast Food Sauces, Ranked From Mild To Extreme
Everyone has a different palate. Some people appreciate a little zest to their food, while some appreciate plenty of spice. Many others enjoy flat-out heat. No matter where you stand on the taste spectrum, you will be delighted to know that your favorite fast-food chains have a little bit of everything for you to sink your teeth into. This applies where you're in the mood for tacos, burgers, chicken, or any other fast-food fare. If you're unsure about where you stand, it makes sense to start slow with milder options and then work your way up.
Duly warned — it's scorching at the top. Make sure that you have a cold beverage nearby when you work your way through the rankings. Each sauce on this list has lots of flavors and pairs well with the food sold at these fast-food restaurants. This guide of 12 spicy fast food sauces will start you off with beginner sauces as you work your way up to the fieriest.
12. Burger King's Zesty Sauce
Burger King's zesty sauce is a favorite topping that gets respect even from people who aren't big on fast food. The reason for this is that the sauce features enough spice and complex flavor to go well on any number of foods. This is a Burger King sauce that people use to dip their fries, onion rings, and other menu offerings. Fans once had to go without Burger King's zesty sauce for a while due to a shortage of its key ingredient — horseradish sauce. It's this that gives this Burger King favorite its undeniable kick.
While it's a thick and hearty sauce with plenty of kick, it isn't hot and potentially overbearing like you would find with certain wing sauces or other spicy sauces. Reviewers compare it to wasabi, in that the heat hits you in the nose, rather than the tongue. The zesty sauce consists of ingredients like cayenne, lemon juice, mustard, and vinegar, making it one of the most versatile sauces that you will find in any fast-food establishment. It's an entry-level spicy sauce that won't disappoint, but also won't scare you away.
11. Taco Bell's Mild Sauce
It's only right that Taco Bell's mild sauce ranks among the mildest of the bunch. This taco sauce has been around for years as the entry-level option for customers dining at Taco Bell. This sauce is the epitome of mild — it isn't too hot but delivers plenty of flavor. It's estimated that Taco Bell's mild sauce clocks in at between 500 and 1,000 Scoville heat units (SHUs), which is respectable but won't burn your tongue. This SHU rating puts mild sauce on par with banana peppers in terms of spiciness and heat.
It's a long-time favorite for people to drizzle on their tacos, nachos, and burritos. This is the type of sauce that you turn to when you'd like to enjoy some spice without having to sweat it out. It's palatable for people just dipping their toe in the water, and people who like it a little spicy still can appreciate the taste profile of Taco Bell's mild sauce.
10. Wendy's Ghost Pepper Ranch
Wendy's has taken the ghost pepper craze and run with it, unleashing an entire menu of items centered around this nuclear hot pepper. A ghost pepper has about 1 million SHUs, on average, easily making it one of the hottest in the world. While some of Wendy's ghost pepper sandwiches and menu items deliver serious heat, it doesn't really translate the same with the Ghost Pepper ranch sauce. This sauce packs some spice, but it's far more understated than the name would suggest.
When discussing the heat of the ghost pepper ranch sauce, reviewers have remarked that they expected more heat based on the title. What you get instead is a creamy, and quite tasty ranch sauce that adds some spice to your nuggets or any other menu item that you decide to pour it on. You'll appreciate the taste, but it's not the fast-food sauce that's going to challenge your will or have you running for ice water. This ranch sauce has enough zest and tanginess to stimulate your tastebuds — just don't go into your taste test expecting it to be as hot as the ghost pepper chicken sandwich.
9. Whataburger Spicy Ketchup
Spicy and ketchup aren't always two words that go together. This Texas burger chain had other ideas. Whataburger's spicy ketchup is so popular that the company sells it by the bottle online. It's a truly Texas take on fast-food ketchup, and one that you may find yourself mixing and matching with every food that you put ketchup on. The spicy ketchup became the stuff of legend when it was released in 2011. The centerpiece of Whataburger's spicy ketchup is the red jalapeno, which has between 2,500 and 10,000 SHUs. However, not all of the pure heat from the jalapenos carries over into this ketchup because it's made from a puree.
Reviewers note that the ketchup isn't overbearingly hot, but definitely packs enough heat to catch them by surprise. It also tastes different than the ketchup that you're used to eating. You'll notice that Whataburger spicy ketchup has earthy taste notes, and the flavor of vinegar really stands out. Though it's a ketchup, the taste also veers into salsa territory. This is a spicy take on ketchup that's worth trying whether you're pulling up to a drive-thru in Texas or deciding to order a bottle for your pantry.
8. Jack in the Box Frank's RedHot Sauce
Frank's RedHot has emerged as one of the most beloved hot sauces on the market today, and Jack in the Box took advantage and has started incorporating the brand and flavor into its menu. While you might not peg Jack in the Box as a place where you need Frank's RedHot, the sauce goes surprisingly well with many of the restaurant's food items. You can use it on everything from your breakfast burrito and tacos to the chicken strips. It's a popular buffalo-style hot sauce for a reason — the company took care to balance out the flavor profile and uses ingredients like aged cayenne and garlic powder.
The key difference between the Jack in the Box dipping sauce is that it's thicker than the Frank's RedHot sauce varieties that you'll find on store shelves. You'll be pleased to know that the flavor carries over. While Jack in the Box's Frank's RedHot is quite flavorful, it brings enough heat to add spice to your food, without becoming overbearing. It measures 450 SHUs, putting it on par with many strong hot sauce competitors.
7. Chick-fil-A Zesty Buffalo Sauce
Things start to heat up once you get to Chick-fil-A's zesty buffalo sauce, which is akin to the restaurant's spicy chicken sandwich, which added some heat and flavor to the recipe of the original chicken sandwich. Chick-fil-A sells its buffalo sauce in dippable packs to go with your meal, and it's a welcome addition to your chicken sandwich, nuggets, tenders, and other entrees. This buffalo sauce has plenty of spice but won't leave you in tears. It features potent doses of cayenne pepper, and the flavor is balanced out with ingredients like dehydrated garlic and distilled vinegar.
It measures 747 HSUs, ranking it hotter than some popular hot sauces on the market. Reviewers have remarked that even though Chick-fil-A's buffalo sauce doesn't have the creaminess or thickness that they are accustomed to with other sauces, it still sticks the landing when it comes to flavor. While it isn't one of the hotter options, this buffalo sauce is where people who are particularly sensitive to spicy foods might start running into a little bit of trouble.
6. McDonald's Hot Picante Sauce
McDonald's always finds a way to compete, so it's only right that it has a spicy sauce that deserves a slot in the rankings. The company came out with its hot picante sauce in 1989, and it's been a mainstay and a favorite ever since. It features a base of chipotle peppers and is spicy without being too offputting. The secret to the hot picante sauce's longevity is balance. It provides just enough heat to make you feel a kick but balances out the chipotle spice with ingredients like onion, garlic, and red peppers.
Foodies who review McDonald's hot picante sauce often compare it to hot salsa. The tomato and vinegar flavor profile really stands out, in addition to the spice. Perhaps this is why it's a favorite sauce that people use for McDonald's breakfast items like the bacon, egg, and cheese and breakfast burrito. The spice complements the eggs and breakfast meats quite nicely, adding plenty of spice to wake you up first thing in the morning.
5. Zaxby's Tongue Torch Sauce
If you'd like a hot sauce that has a bit of a kick without setting your world on fire, Zaxby's tongue torch has you covered. Though the restaurant advertises it with two flame emojis (and a name like tongue torch), this one is surprisingly palatable even if you're not the most adventurous when it comes to spicy foods. The spice is definitely enough to let you feel the heat, but you won't find yourself sweating it out while you eat. It's essentially the default sauce that you'll get in your bag if you don't ask for anything hotter.
The sauce features a combination of peppers, along with ingredients like vinegar, tomato paste, and garlic. It has a sweet side, which will pair well with your wings, tenders, or chicken sandwich. You will appreciate this pitstop up the ladder toward more extreme sauces, but won't find this one too intimidating to consider moving forward, despite the name.
4. Taco Bell Hot Sauce
It's only right that Taco Bell would occupy some spots on this list because of its spicy contributions to the fast-food world. Taco Bell's hot sauce clocks in at 2,500 to 3,000 SHUs, packing quite a kick by any metric. It's a hot sauce that delivers lots of flavor to go with the heat. This is the sauce that you would graduate to if mild sauce just isn't delivering the same level of spice that you enjoy with your tacos and burritos. The flavor is bold and can go head-to-head with hot sauces in and out of the fast-food world.
Like many fast-food sauces today, Taco Bell is so proud of its hot sauce recipe that the company sells it online. The heat will sneak up on you if you slather it on your food, but it's not so inherently hot that you'll have tears streaming down your face. It's the perfect hot sauce for many people, and typically the last stopping point before you begin to veer into the more extreme flavors.
3. Taco Bell Fire Sauce
Fire sauce is the Taco Bell topping that you turn to once you're ready to step it up a notch. This sauce has a SHU range between 4,000 and 5,000. It superseded the company's hot sauce in terms of spice and heat and isn't for the faint of heart. While other fast-food sauces focus on spice and zest, Taco Bell's fire sauce goes straight for the heat. It's a sauce that came out in the early 2000s and was long the standard-bearer for heat both for Taco Bell and the fast-food industry as a whole.
Taco Bell's fire sauce fits right in with menu items that the restaurant has been selling for years. If you revisit favorites like the Crunchwrap Supreme and hard and soft tacos, this time drenching them in fire sauce, you'll come away with a different impression of these items. Like other Taco Bell sauces, fire sauce doesn't blow your socks off without also enhancing your palate with delicious ingredients. In addition to jalapeno and chili peppers, your tongue will pick up hints of vinegar, tomato puree, and dried onions. This is the type of sauce that might be a beast at first, but once you get used to the heat, you wouldn't have it any other way.
2. Taco Bell Diablo Sauce
Taco Bell ranks again with yet another sauce offering that is simply next level. Diablo sauce is the topping that eventually supplanted even fire sauce. This is the granddaddy of them all as far as Taco Bell goes, and should only be consumed by true spice lovers. It's estimated that Diablo sauce has between 15,000 and 20,000 HSUs. This sauce contains a mixture of sweet Peruvian peppers, red jalapenos, and other spices. It isn't daunting in the way that ghost peppers or Carolina Reaper peppers are but stands heads and tails above most fast-food level sauces in terms of heat.
While fire sauce has more of a balance in flavor profile, Diablo hits you with the heat right away and doesn't offer any relief. Pairing this sauce with popular Taco Bell menu items is not only a smoke show, but it'll also accentuate the tomatoes, onions, and other toppings that you sink your teeth into. The heat index isn't lost on Taco Bell, as its Diablo sauce packets come with phrases like "Turn up the heat" and "You asked for it". It ranks well with other hot sauces inside and outside of the fast-food world.
1. Zaxby's Nuclear Sauce
You can look no further than your local Zaxby's once you're ready to go nuclear. This is one of the hottest sauces offered by the restaurant, and definitely a challenge. If you like hot wings that truly bring the heat, this is the sauce that you want to order. A glimpse at the menu lets you know what time it is, as the nuclear sauce has three flame emojis right beside it. Taking a bite into your wings cooked in Zaxby's nuclear sauce might make you feel like you're splitting atoms, as the heat takes hold of your tongue and is enough to clear your sinuses.
Heat aside, many rank Zaxby's Nuclear sauce as the best in the entire restaurant. The sauce gets major points for being so hot while still bringing out lots of flavor in the wings. It's not often that you get restaurant-quality wings at a drive-thru window, so it's an opportunity that you should definitely take advantage of.