7 Grocery Store Cocktail Sauce Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Seafood is delicious on its own, but admittedly, it's at its best when dipped in and drizzled with sauces. There's creamy tartar sauce, of course, which is ideal for all things fried. But what about other popular types of seafood? That's where cocktail sauce comes in. The tomato- and horseradish-based sauce is a favorite among many seafood lovers — especially those who love the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and umami flavors with just a touch of spice. Of course, you can always make your own cocktail sauce at home, but if you're busy preparing seafood, you may not have time to whip up sauces from scratch.

That's when you may want to consider a store-bought cocktail sauce. There's a plethora of brands out there, so you have plenty of options to choose from. But like most products, not all cocktail sauce brands offer the same quality. Some cocktail sauces are better than others, and you want to make sure you're getting the right one for your seafood night.

That's why I've selected seven popular cocktail sauce brands to taste-test and then rank, starting with the worst and working up to the best of the bunch. I tried these sauces cold both on their own on a spoon as well as with cold, cooked shrimp. These are the results.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly cocktail sauce to pair with your seafood, look no further than Signature Select's cocktail sauce. Although the sauce may be one of the cheaper options on this list at $2.49 for a 12-ounce bottle, that doesn't mean it's worth the money you're going to spend on it. The main issue with this sauce is the fact that it's so, so sweet. Made with high-fructose corn syrup, it's significantly sweeter than any of the other sauces on this list. Although it has a distinct tang to it, that acidity is not pronounced enough to compete with the cloying sweetness in every bite.

This sauce is on the thinner side, although it's not the thinnest sauce on this list. If you happen to have some lemon juice and a bit of extra horseradish (here's how to prep fresh horseradish), it's possible to upgrade this sauce slightly. However, if you have other options at your disposal, you'll probably be happier choosing one of them.

With Primal Kitchen's long list of organic ingredients, you might assume that you're going to get a top-notch cocktail sauce. An 8.5-ounce bottle costs $8.39. However, it certainly wasn't one of our favorites. The last ingredient listed is cinnamon, which seems like a strange addition to a cocktail sauce, but we didn't want to judge before trying it. Upon tasting the sauce, though, it became clear that this small amount of cinnamon was very pronounced — so pronounced, in fact, that it overwhelmed all the other complex flavors going on here.

If you like that odd cinnamon flavor, though, you might like the Primal Kitchen cocktail sauce. Other than the addition of baking spices, the sweetness and acidity are nicely balanced here. It's worth noting this sauce has no added sugar. This cocktail sauce is also quite thick, which means it stands up well to the shrimp. There are certainly worse cocktail sauces you can choose from, but it's hard to level with that touch of unneeded cinnamon.

Go to the seafood section of your local grocery store, and you may just encounter Waterfront Bistro cocktail sauce. A 10-ounce bottle costs $2.50. This brand of sauce comes in a convenient squeeze bottle, which makes serving the sauce easy, even if you only want to dish out small quantities of it. But although it's not the worst sauce on this list, it's still far from the best option you'll encounter in the condiment aisle.

Let's start with the texture. The downside of this sauce is the fact that it's just so watery. You know how when you squeeze sauce out of a new bottle, you sometimes get that watery discharge before the actual, well-integrated sauce starts to come out? Well, that's pretty much the consistency of this entire sauce. It's thin and watery, which makes it difficult to scoop up much sauce when you dip your shrimp into a bowl of it. A check of the label shows water as the primary ingredient in this sauce.

On the flavor front, though, this sauce isn't bad. It doesn't contain as much horseradish as it maybe should, but it has a lovely tanginess that's not too overpowering. We also love that it's not as sweet as some of the other options on this list.

Heinz is one of the most popular and well-known condiment brands out there — check out our review of its new limited Every Sauce that combines many popular sauces into one product — so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Heinz carries its own cocktail sauce. The best part of this Heinz cocktail sauce is the fact that it's spicier than most of the other sauces on this list, with plenty of horseradish to deliver that kick of flavor that cocktail sauce is known for. Don't worry — the horseradish isn't so strong that it'll knock you over if you're not normally a fan of it, but it definitely won't make for a boring seafood night either.

Another benefit of using this brand of cocktail sauce over the others is the fact that the texture is so thick. This makes for easier scooping, and it won't leave a watery ring on your plate that will render your other foods wet and soggy. A 12-ounce bottle costs $3.79. Plus, since this brand is pretty widely available, chances are you'll see it at your grocery store.

If you're not generally a fan of cocktail sauce — or you just want something that tastes different than the norm — then you may want to check out Backyard Food Co.'s cocktail sauce, which costs $6.29 for an 8.8-ounce bottle. If you could buy a sauce that's a mix between cocktail sauce and barbecue sauce, this would definitely be it. This version has a smokier flavor to it that you won't find in other cocktail sauces. It also has a weight and richness to it that makes it more flavorful than the average sauce. In fact, this would make the perfect condiment for grilled shrimp if you want to imbue them with a more interesting, complex sauce that still mirrors the traditional cocktail sauce you're used to.

If you're someone who likes a sauce with a lot of tang, you're in luck here — this brand definitely delivers. It doesn't have much sweetness, though, so if you tend toward that end of the sauce spectrum, you may be slightly disappointed. We wish there was a bit more horseradish in the mix for more of a punch, but we can't complain too much when this sauce already tastes so good.

A lot of times, savory sauces that have a lot of sweetness to them can overpower the food they're flavoring, but that's not the case here. The S&F cocktail sauce is definitely one of the sweetest-tasting varieties in this lineup, but it seriously works, making it the second-best sauce in our ranking. That's because there's just so much flavor going on. That sweetness is tempered by a strong acidity that will make your nose wrinkle (in the best possible way). There's also plenty of horseradish here — it definitely delivers on the spiciness front. In fact, just looking at this sauce, you can see how much more horseradish-y it is than other varieties. Horseradish is listed first on the sauce's ingredient label.

An 8-ounce bottle costs $4.79. An extra bonus is that this S&F cocktail sauce has plenty of texture. That extra horseradish plays a role here as does the thickness of the sauce. This interesting textural element makes this sauce taste more like a homemade cocktail sauce than the average store-bought brand.

Whole Foods' 365 brand is known for its use of organic ingredients, but what this cocktail sauce should be known for is its beautiful, complex flavor and thus, the top ranking on our list. Out of all the cocktail sauces I tasted, this brand had the richest flavor, with a distinctly umami note that none of the other sauces can compare to. While some other brands are pretty one-note, that's definitely not the case with 365's version of the classic sauce. The horseradish is also nicely balanced — technically, it probably could've used a little more to appeal to those who have palates that really favor spice, but the mildness of the horseradish in this sauce probably has a wider appeal.

The texture of this sauce is also ideal, offering the perfect scoopability for your shrimp, lobster, or whatever other seafood you're eating. A 10-ounce bottle costs $3.29. Basically, if you don't want to make your own cocktail sauce from scratch, this is the brand you should be seeking out if you live near a Whole Foods Market.

I chose these cocktail sauce brands based on availability at my local grocery stores. The prices listed are current but may vary for you depending on where and when you buy them. I tasted all of the cocktail sauces both on their own on a spoon as well as on cold cooked shrimp to understand how they perform for their intended purpose. There were a few different criteria I used for ranking. The most important factor was the flavor of each sauce — specifically, the balance of different flavors. Sauces that were well-balanced in terms of sweetness and acidity scored the highest. Additionally, I evaluated the horseradish to tomato paste ratio, with cocktails with more horseradish flavor scoring the highest. I also took texture into account, prioritizing the sauces that were thicker.