Guide · updated 2026-10-22
Best Sriracha (2026): 12 Brands Taste-Tested, Huy Fong Alternatives Ranked
When the Huy Fong shortage hit, we bought 12 bottles that might stand in for the rooster and tasted them side by side, straight from the bottle. Most of them didn’t come close. Three did, and each one suits a different kind of sriracha fan.
Which one is for you
Kroger Sriracha
Pick this if you want the classic Huy Fong taste for cheap.
The biggest surprise of the test and the closest match. Thick, vinegar-forward and chili-scented, with about half a step less heat than Huy Fong. We paid $3.19.
Kroger-family stores (we found it at Ralphs). Not on Amazon.
Sriraja Panich Strong Hot
Pick this if you want a Thai-style sriracha.
Thinner and sweeter up front, then the heat builds. It tastes authentically Thai, and it's barely vinegary. Not a Huy Fong clone, but the best-tasting bottle in its own lane.
We paid $2 at Grocery Outlet; check Asian markets first. Strong Hot isn't on Amazon right now, only the Medium Hot.
Kikkoman Sriracha
Pick this if you want the most heat.
Darker and saltier than the rest, and the spice hits at the end with a real kick. One of us called it a favorite. Some reviewers find it too vinegary; we think vinegar and chili are best friends.
Grocery stores, or Amazon (we paid $9.02 for the small bottle).
Amazon links are affiliate links: buying through them supports our taste tests at no extra cost to you. They never change our verdicts, and we tell you when a store price beats Amazon. Prices are what we paid in 2023.
Watch us taste all 12
All 12 bottles compared
| Bottle | Verdict | Heat | Sweetness | Texture | What we paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kroger Thai Inspirations | Closest to Huy Fong | Medium, a half step under Huy Fong | Slight | Thick | $3.19 (Ralphs) |
| Sriraja Panich Strong Hot | Best Thai-style | Builds as you eat | Sweet up front | Thinner | $2 (Grocery Outlet), $13.49 Amazon |
| Kikkoman | Most heat | Big kick at the end | Low, salty | Thick | $9.02 (Amazon) |
| Lee Kum Kee | Almost there | Good kick | Low | Thick, grainy | $5.49 (Ralphs), $15.76 Walmart online |
| Sky Valley | Fun, not a replacement | A tad | Tamarind-candy sweet | Thick, grainy | $5.22 (Walmart), $11.15 Amazon |
| Trader Joe’s | Not a replacement | Very mild | Ketchupy | Medium | $3.99 (Trader Joe’s) |
| Underwood Ranches | Unremarkable | Some | Low | Ketchup-thick | 3-pack $27 (their site), $44 Amazon |
| Underwood Ranches Premium | Not for us | Present | Low | Thick, grainy | Ordered from their site |
| Tabasco | Not comparable | Almost none | Very sweet | Thick | $3.74 (Walmart), $11.85 Amazon |
| Humble House Guajillo & Red Jalapeño | A hot sauce, not a sriracha | Mild | Sweet, tangy | Watery | $9.99 (Amazon) |
| Yellowbird Blue Agave | Too sweet | Mild | Very sweet | Chunky | $3.74 (Walmart), $13 Amazon |
| Three Mountains Yellow | Too sweet | None we could taste | Very sweet | Watery | $6.40 (Amazon) |
Our taste-test notes
Kroger Thai Inspirations Sriracha: closest to Huy Fong
There isn't much about this store-brand bottle online, and we didn't expect much from it. Then it turned out to be the closest match to Huy Fong of all 12. The color matches, it's thick, and it has a lot of vinegar with a chili smell. The only real difference is that Huy Fong has more punch. At about $3 it was our cheapest bottle, and our biggest surprise. Good job, Kroger.
Sriraja Panich Strong Hot: best Thai-style
The glass-bottle Thai original. It pours more liquid than Huy Fong and starts sweet, almost like a slightly spicy ketchup, before the heat builds. Reviewers say it has an authentic Thai flavor, and we agree. We wouldn't call it vinegary. If you like your sriracha on the spicier side, it's worth finding, but look in local stores before Amazon: we paid $2 at Grocery Outlet, and the same bottle listed for $13.49 online.
Medium Hot on Amazon (the Strong Hot we tested isn't listed right now)
Kikkoman Sriracha: most heat
A small squeeze bottle with a very dark sauce that looks more like barbecue sauce than sriracha. It's saltier than the others, and the spice comes at the end, properly spicy. One of us called it a favorite. It's not hot-sauce-challenge hot, a step below that, but it has a pretty big kick. Some people find it too vinegary, and we can see why. For us, that's part of the appeal.
Lee Kum Kee Sriracha Chili Sauce: almost there
We trust this brand (their Chiu Chow Chili Oil is a favorite), so we expected a lot. It has the same color and thickness as Huy Fong and a real kick, but it's grainy and has a weird aftertaste. It could use a tad more vinegar. Skip it if you want a smooth texture. Look for it at your local market: we paid $5.49 at Ralphs, and Walmart listed it at $15.76 online.
Sky Valley: fun, not a replacement
Looks thin until you shake it, then turns thick and grainy enough to chew. It tastes like tamarind candy, fun to eat on its own, but it needs vinegar and barely registers as spicy. We liked it. It's just not a Huy Fong replacement.
Sky Valley on Amazon (we paid $5.22 at Walmart)
Trader Joe's Sriracha: not a replacement
Pretty thick, a little runnier than Huy Fong. It smells and tastes like fish sauce, it's very mild, and it leans sugary and ketchupy. It could work in cooking, the way you'd add ketchup to spaghetti sauce, but we want more kick. $3.99 at Trader Joe's.
Underwood Ranches Sriracha: unremarkable
This was the bottle we were most excited about. Underwood Ranches grew Huy Fong's peppers until the 2016 split, and plenty of people online say it captures the old rooster flavor. The color matches, and you can taste the chili. But it has no garlic and not much vinegar, and it came out unremarkable. It's also pricey: a 3-pack ran $27 on their site and $44 on Amazon.
Underwood Ranches Premium: not for us
The redder bottle, made in Camarillo, California. It smells close to Huy Fong and has the same thickness, a little grainier, and the heat is there. But it tasted flat to us, like blended chili and water, and we couldn't taste the other ingredients. Reviews had us expecting something as good as Huy Fong or better. For us, this wasn't it.
Tabasco Sriracha: not comparable
Very sweet, very vinegary and light in flavor, with almost no kick. For $3.74 for a small bottle it's not bad, but it doesn't taste like Huy Fong.
Tabasco Sriracha on Amazon (we paid $3.74 at Walmart, Amazon was $11.85)
Humble House Guajillo & Red Jalapeño: a hot sauce, not a sriracha
Sold on Amazon as sriracha crossed with enchilada sauce, though the bottle never says sriracha. It's sweet, tangy and watery, and we couldn't taste the garlic. A good hot sauce in the general area of sriracha, more like Huy Fong's Mexican friend. Try it if you want something for enchiladas. $9.99.
Yellowbird Blue Agave: too sweet
The label says mellow hot, and it is. It's straight-up sweet from the agave, with chunks of chili you can bite on. If Huy Fong is too spicy for you, this could be your bottle. One of us will never eat it again.
Yellowbird on Amazon (3-pack; we paid $3.74 for one at Walmart)
Three Mountains Yellow Sriracha: too sweet
A yellow sriracha that looks like mustard and smells a little sweet and a little spicy. It tasted very sweet and watery, and we couldn't find any spice. Many critical reviews say it's too sweet compared to Huy Fong, and we agree. Fine if you like sweet sriracha; it's not an alternative. $6.40 on Amazon.
The Huy Fong story in 60 seconds
Sriracha isn’t a brand. It’s a sauce style from Si Racha, Thailand, and David Tran’s Huy Fong Foods made the American version iconic from LA. For 28 years, Underwood Ranches in Ventura County grew Huy Fong’s red jalapeños. Their partnership ended in 2016, lawsuits followed, and many long-time fans swear the rooster never tasted the same. We noticed too, and started buying less around then. Underwood now bottles its own, which is why so many people hope it tastes like the old Huy Fong. In our test, it didn’t.
The honest upgrade path
We moved on from sriracha partly because we fell for chili oil. If the shortage broke your routine anyway, chili crisp gives you more texture and more umami, with less vinegar and sugar. Start with our chili oil vs chili crisp explainer or jump straight to the best chili oils we’ve tested.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best sriracha alternative to Huy Fong?
It depends on what you loved about the rooster bottle. Kroger's Thai Inspirations Sriracha tasted closest to Huy Fong for us, at about half a step less heat and around $3. Sriraja Panich Strong Hot is the pick for a Thai-style sriracha, and Kikkoman Sriracha has the biggest kick of the bottles we tried.
Is Underwood Ranches sriracha the same as old Huy Fong?
Underwood Ranches grew Huy Fong's red jalapeños for 28 years before the two split in 2016, so we expected it to taste like the old rooster. It didn't for us. The regular bottle had little vinegar and no garlic and came out unremarkable, and the premium dragon bottle tasted flat, like blended chili and water.
Is Tabasco sriracha a good substitute for Huy Fong?
Not in our taste test. Tabasco's sriracha came out very sweet and very vinegary with almost no kick. It's an easy bottle to find, but it doesn't taste like Huy Fong.
Does all sriracha taste the same?
Not at all. Of the 12 bottles we tried, some were sweet enough to eat like candy (Yellowbird Blue Agave, Sky Valley), some tasted fishy or ketchupy (Trader Joe's), and only a few had the vinegar, garlic and heat balance that makes Huy Fong taste like Huy Fong.
Why did Huy Fong sriracha taste different after 2016?
In 2016 Huy Fong's partnership with Underwood Ranches, the California farm that had grown its red jalapeños for 28 years, ended, and lawsuits followed. Many fans, us included, noticed a flavor change once the pepper supply changed.
What's a good mild sriracha?
If Huy Fong is too hot for you, Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha is sweet and mellow, and Sky Valley tastes a little like tamarind candy with only a touch of heat. Neither tastes like Huy Fong, but both are easy to eat.
Who makes the original sriracha?
Sriracha comes from Si Racha, Thailand, and Sriraja Panich is widely considered the original Thai sriracha. Huy Fong's green-cap rooster bottle is the American icon, created by David Tran in Los Angeles in the 1980s.