8 Store-Bought Stir-Fry Sauces, Ranked Worst To Best

Stir-fry is a pretty open-ended term these days, as dozens of cultures around the world have explored the simple concept, but it originated in China at least 1,500 years ago. While the dish has evolved and been adapted by the Western world, traditionally it's made in a sizzling wok, often with rice, veggies, and protein. Cooking foods at record speed isn't just about making a quick meal either. High heat helps keep veggies nice and crispy, while evenly distributing the seasonings. This heating technique is an ancient cooking secret, but the stir-fry sauces you use can really make the meal.

There are dozens of options when it comes to saucing up a stir-fry, with recipes originating from a plethora of Asian countries, and others that were only popularized in the States. While variations include anything from chilis to raw garlic, they all share a similar sweet and savory equilibrium. Regardless of the title, most stir-fry sauces contain the same core ingredients, with the most critical being soy sauce and sugar. That duo kicks off the signature savory-sweet flavor profile we often find in a quality stir-fry recipe. A good stir-fry sauce is umami forward with a thick syrupy consistency, perfect for coating veggies and livening up rice. 

I went to popular markets to find affordable and delicious stir-fry sauces that allow home cooks to recreate the mouthwatering dish at home. Prices mentioned are accurate as of October 2024 depending on location. Here's how they fared, ranked worst to best.

Whole Foods' in-house brand, 365, has pretty much tackled every product imaginable, from curry cashews to pseudo Oreos. We can now add a standard stir-fry sauce to the list. This petite 9.5-ounce bottle is made with organic ingredients you can pronounce at a competitive price. It's hard to beat $4 for an organic product, but the flavor falls short. At first whiff, there's a sugary punch, notably sweeter than the other sauces. The aroma has hints of honey and a touch of ginger, but that doesn't really come through on the palate.

The flavor matches the sugary smell, and it's by far the sweetest option on the list. It's pretty light to the tongue with a smooth mouthfeel, but I found it much too cloying. There is a nice spicy kick that sneaks up in the lingering aftertaste, which is almost a flavor savior, but the sugary notes still take over. The consistency of a stir-fry sauce can be just as important as the flavor. Being thinner, this still has a nice pour, but it's not enough to make up for the lack of flavor. Despite its bottom of the barrel ranking, this sauce could still find its place in a lighter stir-fry begging for some contrasting sweetness.

Asian Pantry's stir-fry sauce is teriyaki based, and it doesn't take the label to figure that out. The flavor is very potent with a bit of depth to balance it. There's nothing negative about this teriyaki stir-fry sauce, but there aren't too many strengths either. It's definitely a great flavor bomb for a bland dish and the incredibly thick consistency gives rice a nice coating, but the soy flavors seem to take over.
 
Teriyaki sauce typically contains mirin and sake, but Asian Pantry's sauce gets its slight tang from its first listed ingredient, sherry cooking wine. While the seasoning is a bit lacking, this sauce can still serve a purpose. As a standalone it's pretty basic, but it's so rich and gummy that it's almost more of a paste. This texture would make it a great base for a more complex sauce, and given the 14.5-ounce bottle is easy on the wallet at less than $5, Asian Pantry's teriyaki sauce could be a longstanding fridge companion.

House of Tsang produces a handful of bold sauces and marinades, but I chose the "stir-fry classic." It has a deep brown color that pours like molasses, and the smell is rather mild but with a sharp sweetness that almost stings the nose. That lively aroma prepared me for a tangy punch, but it never came through in the taste. What does come through are strong notes of pepper, with real bits of peppercorn visible in the gooey sauce.

House of Tsang has found the perfect balance between sweet and savory here, and if there was a more potent zestiness to the sauce it would rank higher. The best way to describe it is peppery sweet, which is still a valuable addition to a variety of dishes like a spicy beef stir-fry or a stir-fried bok choy. The flavor is deliciously complex, but it could also use a bit of heat to make it a triple threat of sweet, savory, and spicy. Given the peppery honey-like characteristic, it would really complement a dish loaded with hot peppers. It's $5 for a generous 11.5-ounce bottle that will serve up a tasty stir-fry. Maybe not the best, but it does the trick nonetheless.

Kikkoman is one of the more commonly found Japanese brands in the condiment and marinade aisle. It stands out with its bright green sticker wrapped around the neck of the bottle, reading "Simply pour & stir." The brand's original stir-fry sauce has a deep brown coloring with the texture of caramel. The taste doesn't share the same piercing sweetness as some of the previous contenders, and it seems like the bottle's sugar content adds to the consistency more than anything else. It certainly won't provide much heat to your stir-fry, but it will add zesty flavor. At a bit over $3.50 for a 12.1-ounce bottle, Kikkoman's stir-fry sauce is a popular pantry staple, and finally, one with the right amount of tang.

The smell is delicate, leading with soy sauce and some other subtleties, but the taste is far from it. It's sweet and tangy with notes of teriyaki similar to Asian Pantry's, but with a distinct sourness that can completely overhaul a dish. The rather short list of ingredients features all the usual culprits — soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and wine — but with just enough garlic and a touch of oyster extract. If Kikkoman had chili or hot peppers topping that list it could easily reach the top three, but as a more subdued sauce, it sits at number five in the ranking.

If you want to make a copycat Panda Express recipe, you don't have to spend hours experimenting in the kitchen anymore. For just over $5, you can bring an 18.75-ounce bottle of the restaurant's Kung Pao sauce home with you. Panda Express' menu lists a spicy chili pepper next to the Kung Pao chicken, so I was eagerly anticipating some heat and was not let down. After the stretch of mild stir-fry sauces, Panda Express is a much-needed change, and as someone who adds hot sauce and more hot sauce to everything I consume, I can vouch for the spice level.

Before the taste test, all the characteristics seemed to align with the other stir-fry sauces on the list. It shares a deep brown color with a slightly sweet and very soy sauce forward aroma, but the distinct taste knocks the others out of the park. The fiery flavor doesn't overpower the palate like some lethal levels of spice can, but rather draws attention to the other notes, like pepper, sesame, and ginger. Another winning attribute is the sauce's richness and weight. It's so thick that it takes a few minutes to even escape the bottle. It's not totally clear when Panda Express started bottling its savory sauces, but the Chinese fast-food chain first opened in Glendale, California, back in 1983 and has since captured America's heart and stomach.

This stir-fry sauce definitely comes in the cutest bottle of the bunch, but I didn't let that impact my decision making process. KA-ME produces Asian sauces and condiments made with real ingredients that you can taste – no artificial flavored mumbo jumbo. This sauce is a much lighter tan shade than the rest, closer to Whole Foods' in color but not in taste. It's roughly the same price as the others at $5, but for a much smaller 7.1-ounce size. Despite the petite bottle, it's big in flavor.

It has a strong umami scent, almost as if you're standing in a mushroom field, yet surprisingly mushrooms aren't a listed ingredient. The high-quality soy sauce and soybean paste likely help deliver that potency, which carries on into the strong earthy flavor. It has a peppery essence with real pieces of scallions throughout. The bottle requires a good shake first, but it's well worth the work out. KA-ME's extremely thick consistency is another selling point, as it won't get lost behind vibrant veggies in a stir-fry dish. This one really stands out among the rest. It has a totally different flavor profile that's sweet but not sugary or syrupy like some of the lower ranked sauces.

In second place we have San-J's spicy Szechuan sauce, which nearly earned the gold medal if not for its thinner consistency. Like Kikkoman and House of Tsang, San-J produces a handful of unique stir-fry sauces, but I reached for the spicy Szechuan which also doubles as a marinade. The heat is definitely present, and it proved to be the spiciest on the list, though it is closely tied with Panda Express' Kung Pao sauce.

The first taste had a slight sweetness which was followed by a peppery punch, and then straight to the heat. I would typically opt for a thicker sauce in fear of a thinner consistency leading to a flavorless dish, but that would be impossible with San-J. Plus, if a thicker sauce is desired, a pinch of cornstarch can always do the trick. Szechuan cuisine is known for its numbing qualities – kudos to Sichuan peppercorns — and this stir-fry sauce brings that sensation to the table. At $5.49 for 10 ounces, this is an affordable gluten and GMO-free option that doesn't skimp on quality. It's not my favorite consistency, but it's by far my favorite flavor.

Trader Joe's has done it again with its General Tsao sauce. It has everything I look for in a stir-fry sauce: tangy, sweet, spicy, and thick. While most of the sauces on this list are tasty enough to create a delicious stir-fry, this one is perfectly balanced and versatile. The gooey texture makes it double as a marinade or an unconventional dip, suitable for chicken wings or even french fries. The tangy kick is introduced immediately and complemented by a sweet slow burning heat.

Other than KA-ME, this is the only sauce with visible ingredients. Chili pieces can be spotted when pouring the thick sauce into the pan, and they don't disappear on the tongue either. The spice is powerful with a gentle numbing quality, reminiscent of San-J's sauce and Szechuan cuisine. Not only is this stir-fry sauce the tastiest, but it's wallet-friendly at $3.49 for 12.35 ounces of tantalizing flavor.

When selecting stir-fry sauces I focused on options that were readily available in major U.S. supermarkets, representing a mix of established Asian food brands (Kikkoman, KA-ME), popular grocery stores (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's), and restaurant brands (Panda Express). I also factored in price and value.

I first put a drop of each stir-fry sauce on a spoon to try it straight, and then I tried each mixed with a bit of leftover rice. I judged each sauce based on flavor, balance, and consistency. The top ranked sauces were complex with well-balanced flavor profiles while the lowest ranked ones were either too sweet or somewhat bland.