Hot sauce is a surprisingly Keto-friendly condiment. Most hot sauces are made with a simple combination of water, chile peppers, spices, garlic and vinegar. Each of those ingredients brings minimal carbohydrates and when no sugar is added, hot sauce is a perfect Keto condiment. The only thing holding you back is the heat itself.
Be careful, though, there are some options that have added sugars and hidden carbohydrates. It’s always important to read the ingredient list and check the nutrition label to confirm that a hot sauce is in fact safe to eat on the Ketogenic Diet.
Rest assured, we've researched all the best hot sauce brands to bring you the ultimate list of the best Keto hot sauces.
1. Franks’ Redhot® Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce
Frank’s is one of the leaders in the hot sauce world. The Original Cayenne is made with a premium blend of aged cayenne peppers. There is no added sugar, which makes this an excellent no carb hot sauce. Franks’ Redhot goes great with chicken wings.
Ingredients: Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, and Garlic Powder.
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Frank’s Red Hot Keto? Yes, Frank’s Redhot is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Low
Scoville Scale: 450 SHU
Shop: Franks’ Redhot® Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce
2. Tia Lupita Hot Sauce
Tia Lupita handcrafts hot sauces from a family recipe. The signature hot sauce delivers incredible richness with just seven simple ingredients. The complex, rich flavor comes from red chile peppers, toasted spices, and vinegar. It’s an excellent addition to all kinds of Keto dishes.
Tia Lupita Hot Sauce is all-natural, made with no binders or preservatives, non-GMO, and gluten free. The best part? No added sugar and minimal salt.
Ingredients: Red jalapeños, water, organic distilled vinegar, salt, garlic, oregano, black pepper cumin.
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Tia Lupita Hot Sauce Keto-friendly? Yes, Tia Lupita Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Moderate
Scoville Scale: 1200 SHU
Shop: Tia Lupita Hot Sauce
3. Tabasco Original Red Sauce
One of the original and most popular hot sauces on the market, Tabasco has been manufactured with just three simple ingredients—aged red peppers, salt, and distilled vinegar—since 1868. Tabasco offers a pungent flavor that pairs well with a variety of Keto meals and dishes.
Tabasco is completely sugar free. Tabasco is gluten free, has zero calories, and features less sodium than other pepper sauces.
Ingredients: Aged red peppers, salt, distilled vinegar
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Tabasco Keto? Yes, Tabasco is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Medium
Scoville Scale: 2,500 - 5,000 SHU
Shop: Tabasco Original Red Sauce
4. Tapatio Salsa Picante Hot Sauce
Tapatio was started in California in 1971 and can be found in Mexican restaurants around the world. Tapatio has a medium heat profile with strong acidity. It’s a great option for Mexican Keto recipes as well as scrambled eggs. We love it on our Keto breakfast recipe — Machaca con Huevos.
Ingredients: Water, red pepper, salt, spices, garlic, acetic acid, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate.
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Tapatio Keto? Yes, Tapatio is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Medium
Scoville Scale: 3,000 SHU
Shop: Tapatio Salsa Picante Hot Sauce
5. Louisiana Hot Sauce
This is a great everyday hot sauce that can complement any Keto meal. A pop of spice and zing of vinegar, this is a hot sauce that never gets old. The Louisiana-style hot sauce is vinegar forward blend so it brings a lot of acidity to any low carb dish.
Ingredients: Aged Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Salt
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Louisiana Hot Sauce Keto? Yes, Louisiana Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Mild
Scoville Scale: 3,450 SHU
Shop: Louisiana Hot Sauce
6. Cholula Original Hot Sauce
Cholula Original Hot Sauce is crafted from a generations-old recipe that features arbol and piquin peppers, plus signature spices. It’s one of our favorite Mexican hot sauce options. It goes perfectly on the Machaca Con Huevos Egg Bites, a great Keto snack recipe.
Ingredients: Water, Peppers (Arbol and Piquin), Salt, Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Spices, Xanthan Gum.
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Cholula Keto? Yes, Cholula is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Moderate
Scoville Scale: 1,000 - 2,000 SHU
Shop: Cholula Original Hot Sauce
7. Crystal Hot Sauce
This is another Louisiana favorite. Made with freshly ground cayenne peppers, the mild to moderate heat level maintains the focus on the flavor rather than pure heat. It’s a classic in the South and should be on your list of Keto hot sauces.
Ingredients: Aged red cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar & salt
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Crystal Hot Sauce Keto? Yes, Crystal Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Medium
Scoville Scale: 4,000 SHU
Shop: Crystal Hot Sauce
8. Valentina Hot Sauce
Valentina is a thicker hot sauce, known to be more pourable, than traditional hot sauces. It is also less vinegary than the other Mexican hot sauces on this list. The thicker texture makes it a good option if you’re looking for a sauce to adhere to the surface of a dish.
Ingredients: Water, Chile Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Sodium Benzoate
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Valentina Hot Sauce Keto? Yes, Valentina Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Mild
Scoville Scale: 900 SHU
Shop: Valentina Hot Sauce
9. Bravado Spice Company Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce
Bravado Spice Company is a new entrant to the hot sauce market. Their goal is to craft food that is “undeniably bold and delicious.” They have a wide range of fun and creative flavors.
Made in Texas, the Bravado Spice Company makes hot sauce that is vegan, gluten free, and all natural.
Ingredients: Blueberry, white wine vinegar, ghost pepper, sea salt, black pepper
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Bravado Spice Company Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce Keto? Yes, Bravado Spice Company Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Very Hot
Scoville Scale: 50,000 - 250,000 SHU
Shop: Bravado Spice Company Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce
10. Dave’s Gourmet Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce
We’ve saved one of the hottest hot sauces for last. Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce features the Red Savina habanero. This will blow your mind and your taste buds. Recommended for chicken wings, red meat, and anything you enjoy with hot sauce.
Ingredients: Red habaneros, hot pepper extract, red chilies, tomato paste, salt, onions, cane vinegar, acetic acid, garlic, vegetable oil, xanthan gum, citric acid.
Calories: 0, Fat: 0, Carb: 0, Protein: 0, Sugar: 0
Is Dave’s Gourmet Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce Keto? Yes, Dave’s Gourmet Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce is Keto-friendly with 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Heat: Very Hot
Scoville Scale: 250,000 SHU
Shop: Dave’s Gourmet Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce
How to Enjoy Keto-Friendly Hot Sauce
Creativity is the name of the game when it comes to keeping things fresh on the Keto Diet. A Keto hot sauce is a great way to spice things up. Pouring hot sauce directly onto your food is always a great option, but here are a few other ideas to get you started.
- Mix with Keto-Friendly mayonnaise for some delicious Spicy Mayo.
- Toss with wings to make buffalo wings and enjoy with Keto-Friendly Ranch.
- Mix into a marinade for your favorite meats and vegetables
- Slather onto scrambled eggs for a Keto breakfast
Bottom Line
Let’s get one thing straight. Condiments, sauces, and snacks make or break a diet. Just because you have to watch what you eat, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your food. This is especially true for heat lovers. The good news is that most hot sauces are keto-friendly.
But it doesn’t stop with hot sauce.
We handcraft some seriously hot beef jerky options that are low carb and perfect for the Keto Diet. Our Nashville Hot Beef Jerky is our hottest beef jerky, and at just 3g carbs per serving, it’s the hottest Keto beef jerky on the market.
You have to try it to believe it.
Nashville Hot is FIRE
Was definitely hot like the name implies. I have high expectations from the People’s Choice Beef Jerky and they delivered with this flavor. HOT, HOT, HOT. They won with this flavor. 5/5 would order again.
Jeffrey D.
