Discover the Most Popular Hot Sauce in Your State

Instacart, last month, unveiled new findings for National Hot Sauce Day, which is on January 22. An insight into the data suggests the nation has a favorite hot sauce to relish irrespective of the similarity, but there is some variety when taking it to the state-by-state level."Be it the extra zip on your wings or morning eggs with some hot sauce, the stats are our findings on how hot sauce utilization is getting common in kitchens far and wide, thus, making food more appetizing and leaving a delicious zing in the mouth of any dish," the company said in a press release.


Frank's RedHot, Huy Fong Foods, and Sriracha were numbers one, two, and three, respectively, in the list of hot sauces that were people's favorites in the US, for which the app provided the information in 2024. Cholula and Burman's Hot Sauce then came in third and fourth place, respectively. Besides, despite Instacart mentioning that last year was a "standout year" for Taco Bell when they were talking about the report of a rise in the brand's sales, the company reported that the chain's hot sauce was not the only one making good profit, as some smaller hot sauce brands reported good business, too.


"The most fascinating aspect of this report is the differences in hot sauce preferences from region to region. It was surprising to see how different localities have special cravings for different hot sauces, as they choose, like 505 Southwestern in New Mexico, Tapatio in California, and Tabasco in Hawaii. Toscanini and Aldrich, customers in New York, also like frequenting the polls," Alex Orellana, who is Instacart's trends analyst, was relating the report when he appeared on Food & Wine.


"It's equally captivating to witness the growing trends of niche products like Yellowbird and Momofuku in our top-growing hot sauces, both of which are made of ingredients like carrots and sesame seeds that are unavailable elsewhere. This is the reflection of a customer-adapted taste, as consumers show a penchant for taste by looking for new flavors in their spice cabinets, which may be a change in people's eating habits. The spicy food scene is moving up because spicy food is in tandem with the entire culinary industry that's going for the risky, diverse tastes.


The 2025 Flavorful Food Forecast report also showed that international flavors were mostly in people's diets, meaning food is no longer merely a means to provide nutrients but also a way to get people to experiment with new exotic flavors when preparing the foods they like, says Orellana. Social media is one of the elements that give hot sauce the fame that it has today. Shows like Hot Ones are gaining huge popularity because of their out-of-the-box and tongue-numbing flavors; the heat challenge also attracts viewers who want to test the limits of their endurance."


At a finer level, the company, Instacart, revealed that Texas Pete was the top choice for the Carolinas and Virginia in the South, while the Texas Pete that comes from Louisiana was the favorite in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The rest of the nation, besides such states as California, New Mexico, and Hawaii, was split between Frank's RedHot and Burman's.


The spiciest of all the Torres was New Mexico, ordering the most, 31.9 ounces, for a New Mexican, followed by the next highest state, Alaska, to order 29.2 ounces, then 27.2 ounces. Colorado and the nonglobalized state, Alabama, were the least spicy, ordering only 16.6 ounces. -If you read from Alabama, give it a touch more spice or two, so the whole state will be moved up on the list.