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Barbecue sauce reigns supreme as summer's ultimate condiment -- and unlike the more straightforward ketchup and mustard, it brings real range to the table. Whether you're brushing it over grilled ribs, tossing it with air fryer wings or sneaking a fingerful straight from the bottle, there's no wrong way to use it.
I put more than a dozen small-batch and mass-produced sauces to the test. Here were the eight best out of 17 tested. David Watsky/CNET
The tough part is narrowing it down. The sauce aisle is a smoky, spicy maze of bold claims, regional loyalties and enough award-winning labels to stock a hall of fame. The best bottles nail that sweet spot -- literally -- balancing tang, smoke and sweetness or leaning hard into heat or deep molasses richness. Finding your perfect match might take some sampling, but that's a problem most people are happy to have.
To find the best BBQ sauces available, I gathered more than 15 bottles of sauce and some hungry friends to help me taste them. It took a lot of napkins to find the best barbecue sauce in 2026. Here they are.
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A quick note: Up north, sweeter varieties dominate the sauce market, but my taste testers and I all enjoy vinegar-based sauces too, so we included several Carolina barbecue sauces (among other styles, like a Japanese barbecue sauce for umami, or brown-sugar-based recipes for that iconic sweet flavor) to make this list as inclusive and unbiased as possible.
Best BBQ sauces for 2026
Full Moon Photo Gallery 1/1 Full Moon Best overall barbecue sauce Full Moon Bar-B-Que sauce Full Moon is a regional chain of barbecue restaurants in Alabama and Mississippi that's been in operation since 1986. You likely won't find Full Moon's incredible sauce on store shelves, but it can be purchased online for $7.49 a bottle. Thank goodness for that, because this classic-style sauce has a near-perfect balance of sweetness, smokiness, tang and spice. ... Show more Get it now $25 at Amazon $7 at Full Moon
Stubb's Photo Gallery 1/1 Stubb's Best grocery store barbecue sauce Stubb's BBQ sauce If you prefer to scoop your barbecue sauce up from the store, Stubb's stuff can be found in most supermarkets and it's an excellent alternative to Full Moon. Like the winner above, Stubb's has a good balance with no single flavor taking over. This one is thick but not gloppy and gets its sweetness from brown sugar (no corn syrup) with a good kick from lots of black pepper. ... Show more Get it now $20 at Best Buy $4 at Walmart
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