The Best Store-Bought Barbecue Sauces Every Grill Master Needs to Try This Summer

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Get out your sauce mops and fire up the grill (or grill pan, or broiler, whatever you can make work!). We’re talkin’ barbecue and slow-smoked burnt end goodness today — and we’re sayin’ it with a Southern accent (because I’m from Texas and have no choice in the matter).

Yeah, great barbecue takes a spell to cook, but one time-saving tip is to invest in the best store-bought barbecue sauces for homemade flavor you can’t shake a stick at. (OK, I’ll stop with the Texanisms now. Probably.)

The sauces on this list represent the best of the best available at the grocery store.  We based our results on a combination of online reviews, input from our friends and personal preference. We’re for sure right, though.

1. Lillie’s Q Barbeque Sauce

Your slow-cooked ribs and tri-tip will get just the right amount of heat at the end from this smoky-sweet Memphis-style sauce. Get the two-pack – you’ll definitely end up using all of it.

2. Rufus Teague Honey Sweet Barbecue Sauce

The bold tang of this honeyed barbecue sauce is not too sweet and not too spicy.

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3. Bone Suckin’ Sauce

Bone Suckin’ Sauce has a vinegary kick that makes it an ideal pairing for fattier cuts of meat. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and non-GMO (also, it’s kosher), but it ain’t health food – the honey and molasses will keep you hooked if you like the sweet stuff.

4. Bootsies Delta Funk Hi-Tone White BBQ Sauce

Alabama white bbq sauce is usually used for chicken (or, you know, french fries or mozz sticks). But this tangy, creamy, spicy sauce is also great on turkey, pork, and even on top of burgers.

5. CaJohns Trinidad BBQ Sauce

This Trinidadian bbq sauce is not for the faint of heart. It’s made with scorpion peppers, which means it’s the spiciest sauce on this list. The fruity sweetness of the sauce balances it out, making for the complex flavor you’d hope for in a barbecue sauce.

6. Dreamland Bar-B-Que Sauce

Slather it on ribs and sop it up with a thick slice of white bread. This Tuscaloosa tradition is thin, sweet and vinegary — just like North Carolina intended.

7. Sonny’s BBQ Sweet Barbecue Sauce

Sonny’s brown sugar-sweetened sauce is a Southern favorite. Who knew Floridians could barbecue so well?

8. Palmetto Sauce Company Congaree Gold BBQ Sauce

Carolina-style mustard sauce is what you get when German settlers and a deep barbecue tradition combine to make culinary magic. It’s got a real kick and just a hint of sweetness, and tastes just as great on smoked and grilled meats as it does on soft pretzels.

9. Stubb’s Original Barbecue Sauce

Since 1968, Stubb’s has been a barbecue staple. It’s a balanced sweet and tangy Texas bbq sauce that’s got notes of tomato and molasses. This one earns a few bonus points because it’s also Ina Garten’s favorite.

10. Daddy Sam’s Bar-B-Que Sawce

Just slop it on is right! Molasses sweet with just enough mesquite, this West Texas original (shoutout, y’all!) puts the “sawce” in sauce. Get the three-pack and try each of their flavors.

11. Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce

Sweet Baby Ray’s is the perfect balance of sweetness, vinegar and spice, making it an all-around fave for the whole fam.