6 Best Horseradish Sauces We Tasted

I like it when food tries to fight me. I like meals that make me grab the person next to me or pound the table in squeamish delight. I want hot sauce that gives me the hiccups, and I adore big bites of wasabi, chili oil, and spicy Thai broths. I prefer to sweat and slurp dinner while having fluids drip from my eyes and nose. Sometimes, you just want food that pushes you out of an airplane.

Horseradish sauce isn’t as harsh or daring as pure horseradish root, but it should still pack that same fiery kick. For this taste test, we looked for horseradish sauce with bite and creaminess. That creaminess doesn’t necessarily have to be from a dairy product, though; it can come from eggs or oil, too, so long as there’s something that cuts the prominent bite of horseradish root. Good horseradish sauce plays by the rules of sauce: There should be at least three to four different ingredients working together to make sauce. Bonus points if it’s an “emulsion.” We love to say the word emulsion around the Sporked office. Go ahead and give it a try. Emulsion! Fun, right? Anyway, here are some good horseradish sauces.

Best of The Best

Sandwich Pal sounds like the name of a podcast hosted by two white dudes, and it’s also a great name for horseradish sauce. The texture is creamy (it’s made with egg yolks), slightly sweet (add in corn syrup), and has plenty of spicy horseradish bite. “The texture is so smooth and delicious,” said staff writer Jordan Myrick. “It stings the back of your tongue. I’m going to fight to take this home.” We all put our hands up and slowly backed away when she said that. Put Woeber’s Sandwich Pal Horseradish Sauce on any sandwich to add some creamy and zesty zip.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best with Sausage

What does pub style mean? Near as I can tell, it means it has a mustard base. Most of the horseradish sauces on this list don’t feature mustard seed, but Boar’s Head does. The result is a honey mustard-like tang with a bit of horseradish kick and some sugar to tame the bright flavors. It would go great with any protein, but I mostly envision this on a sausage sandwich. The sweet tang and spice will balance out the fattiness of pork quite nicely. Picture any good brat, kielbasa, or longaniza with Boar’s Head Pub Style horseradish. 

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best with Steak

Morehouse has an unstoppable tang that doesn’t get too bogged down by other flavor enhancers or dairy. This is creamy heat that’s best used on prime rib, steak, or roast beef. Morehouse is spicy, but not so hot that it ruins things completely. If you’ve got a cut of meat or a sandwich that’s super rich and fatty, use Morehouse to cut through that decadence and brighten things up. Morehouse, in all of its tangy, spicy glory, feels like the best accompaniment to a simply prepared steak.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Subtle Heat

Beaver makes great honey mustard, and they make a heater of a horseradish sauce, too. “It really creeps up on you,” Jordan said as her right eye started to twitch a little bit. Personally, I love a good horseradish that makes you slap the table and yell, “Oooooh, wee!” like a rodeo rider hanging on to a bucking bronco. Beaver delivers on that front. It’s subtle, but like death itself, it will get you in the end. The burn here is gentle, though, and there’s a slight bit of fruitiness that comes through as well. Way to tame the heat, Beaver.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best with Fish

Bubbies has a really nice balance of flavor. It’s salty, tangy, a little sweet, and has just enough horseradish kick without completely clearing out your sinuses. Bubbies uses mustard oil in their horseradish, so there’s a pungent, concentrated mustard flavor that permeates every bite of sauce. The ingredients are simple and excellent: horseradish, cane sugar, white vinegar, mustard oil, water, and salt, so the result here is something fresh and bright. Enjoy it with meat or put it on broiled fish. Or, if you want to spice up a crispy fried fish sandwich, use Bubbies there, too.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Basic

This horseradish comes in a big plastic jug, kitchen-retail-style, and unadorned, so it reminds me of my days working in a seafood restaurant. It’s blended with just enough oil that it does technically sneak into the sauce category, but don’t expect too much creaminess here. This is just pure horseradish root, vinegar, salt, soybean oil, and some stabilizers. Still, taking a big bite of this made me scream “mama!” and react like a cowboy robbing a train in a Western. I love when horseradish does that. Buy First Street Prepared Horseradish to serve alongside a big prime rib or with some fresh oysters. Also, if you like fresh seafood with horseradish and lemon, this will work well there, too.

Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

The rest of what we tasted: Beano’s Heavenly Horseradish Sauce, Silver Spring Fresh Ground Horseradish, Bookbinder’s Prepared Horseradish, Inglehoffer Cream Style Horseradish, Kraft Horseradish Sauce, Gold’s Prepared Horseradish, Dietz & Watson Horseradish Sauce, Captain Toady’s Hardy Horseradish Sauce, Stonewall Kitchen Horseradish Sauce

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