Trader Joe’s Habanero Sauce Review

One of the chili pepper sauces that I have been loving as of late is Trader Joe’s Habanero Sauce. This simple, no-frills sauce is packed full of fruity, fiery peppers and really not much else. One look at the brief ingredients list and you’ll see that the company is letting the habaneros speak for themselves.

I’m a big fan of habaneros and their moderate-to-high levels of heat. When the wife first brought home one of these bottles, I wasn’t expecting much to be honest, but man, this one packs a punch. I put this stuff on just about everything — burgers, eggs, tacos or even just plain tortilla chips to enjoy the flavor and heat.

As you can see below Trader Joe’s Habanero Sauce pours thick and chunky with a healthy amount of pepper bits and seed. It’s got a great color and just plain looks good.

Fresh habanero peppers fill the nose with a fiery kick. Garlic takes a close second with each sniff as onion lingers in the background. I love that the company or whomever makes it for them has allowed the habaneros to speak for themselves and not hide behind a secondary ingredient.

The flavor is all habanero and garlic with a bit of that onion in the mix, but at a lesser level. I could have sworn I tasted some carrot in there, as well, but it’s not listed so maybe the sauce’s color is playing mind tricks on me.

The texture of this one, for me anyways, is spot on. It’s not runny or watery. Trader Joe’s Habanero Sauce is chunky and full on the palate — chewy even without accompanying food. You can feel the bits of pepper and seeds as you enjoy the sauce.

The burn on this one fully engulfs the tongue and inside of the lips. It builds smoothly to a moderately high level before fading slowly, leaving a fiery tingle in the chest. Like I said above, it surprised me at first as I wasn’t expecting that sort of punch from a habanero sauce, but I’ve grown accustomed to its warm embrace.

This product from Trader Joe’s has become a staple in my meager collection of hot sauces. It goes on just about everything, but I particularly love it on tacos and burgers. The manufacturer has done a great job with this one, allowing the peppers to stand on their own, only seasoning where needed.