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Chili sauce is a versatile condiment that can add a kick of spice and tangy sweetness to everything from egg rolls to burgers. This fiery red sauce is commonly used in many Asian cuisines and also frequently used in American cooking.
However, you may find yourself searching for a good substitute for chili sauce if you run out of it or want to avoid added sugars and preservatives. Not to worry – you can easily replicate that addictive chili sauce flavor with common ingredients you likely have on hand.
The best substitute for chili sauce is mixing your favorite hot sauce with a bit of honey or maple syrup. This creates a homemade version with the perfect blend of heat and sweetness.
Other accessible substitute for chili sauce include sriracha, sweet chili garlic sauce, harissa, and spicy tomato sauce or ketchup. With a variety of options, you can find a customized chili sauce substitute suited to your tastes and the particular dish you are making.
This article will provides you 7 of the best substitute for chili sauce. For each substitute, you’ll learn its flavor profile, recipe ideas, and tips for getting the right spice level or thickness.
7 Best Substitute for Chili Sauce
Hot Sauce and Honey/Maple Syrup
As mentioned above, mixing hot sauce with a touch of honey or maple syrup makes an easy homemade substitute for chili sauce. The honey balances the heat of the hot sauce and adds sweetness reminiscent of the sugar in Asian chili sauces.
When choosing a hot sauce, opt for ones without too much vinegar, which can overpower the sweetness. Good options include sriracha, Cholula, Frank’s RedHot, and Louisiana-style hot sauces.
Start with a 2:1 ratio of hot sauce to honey/maple syrup. For example, mix 1/4 cup hot sauce with 2 tablespoons of honey. Adjust the honey amount to your taste and the particular hot sauce used.
This simple substitute for chili sauce works great as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, potstickers, and spring rolls. Drizzle it over chicken wings, shrimp, burgers, or grilled vegetables. For a spicy, tangy salad dressing, whisk together hot sauce, honey, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
Sriracha Sauce
The wildly popular rooster sauce makes an excellent substitute for chili sauce thanks to its garlic-tangy-spicy flavor. Made from chili peppers, sugar, garlic, vinegar, and salt, sriracha has a similar ingredient list to sweet Asian chili sauces.
When using sriracha in place of chili sauce, add a touch of honey or maple syrup to balance the heat. Start with about 1 teaspoon per tablespoon of sriracha. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your preferences.
Beyond its classic use in dipping sauces, sriracha can lend its addictive flavor to stir-fries, noodle dishes, salad dressings, marinades, and more. For a spicy riff on teriyaki sauce, combine sriracha with soy sauce, honey, garlic, and ginger.
Sweet Chili Garlic Sauce
With ingredients like ginger, garlic, vinegar, and chili, this sauce makes a seamless substitution for chili sauce. The “sweet” in the name comes from sugar that balances the chili pepper spice.
Sweet chili garlic sauce is thicker than sriracha, so you can typically replace chili sauce with it 1:1 in recipes. The sauce’s thickness also makes it ideal for marinades and glazes that stick nicely to proteins like chicken, pork, shrimp, and tofu.
Use this chili sauce substitute just as you would the original. Toss it with noodles or rice, add it to stir-fries or dipping sauces, or spread it on sandwiches. The garlic flavor gives it a versatility similar to chili sauce while still mimicking the sweet-spicy taste.
Harissa
Harissa originates from North Africa, where the chili pepper paste is a popular condiment and cooking ingredient. With a blend of hot chili peppers, garlic, spices like coriander and caraway, and olive oil, harissa makes a flavorful substitute for chili sauce.
Compared to the Chinese chili sauces it substitutes, harissa has a deeper, earthier flavor due to the spice blend. It’s also much spicier than the sweeter Asian chili sauces. For a closer flavor match, combine harissa with a bit of honey or maple syrup. And when using it in place of chili sauce, start with about half the amount of harissa and adjust to taste.
In addition to North African dishes, this chili sauce substitute works well in tacos, sandwiches, meat glazes, and dips. For a quick vegetable side, toss carrots or green beans with oil, cumin, and harissa.
Gochujang Sauce
Gochujang is a savory and slightly sweet Korean fermented chili paste. Along with chili pepper flakes, it contains glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. With this ingredient list, gochujang makes a fine replacement for chili sauce in a pinch.
However, it is thicker and has a deeper umami flavor compared to the vinegar tang of chili sauce. When using gochujang as a substitute for chili sauce, thin it with a bit of rice vinegar or lemon juice to brighten the flavor. And start with about half the amount of gochujang called for in chili sauce recipes, adjusting until you achieve the right spice level and consistency.
Beyond Korean dishes, this paste can spice up stir-fries, noodle bowls, dressings, dips, stews, and more. For an easy gochujang sauce, combine it with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and minced garlic.
Tomato Sauce or Ketchup
When you’re really in a bind, tomato sauce or ketchup makes a decent stand-in for the red chili sauces used in Asian cooking. While it won’t mimic the flavor exactly, tomato sauce adds vegetal sweetness, acidity, and body, similar to chili sauce.
Opt for plain tomato sauce without extra herbs or seasonings. And be sure to spike it with other spices like garlic powder, ginger, red pepper flakes, or cayenne to give that chili sauce heat.
Ketchup can work, too, though the extra sweetness means you likely want to add extra spice and acid. Mix in rice vinegar, hot sauce, or chili garlic sauce to ketchup to create a makeshift chili sauce.
These pantry standbys do best in recipes where chili sauce is not the main flavor. Use them in stir-fries, noodle dishes, or dipping sauces where other bold spices and ingredients also shine.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
When you need more flavor complexity than hot sauce and honey, whip up an easy peanut sauce. With chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek, soy sauce, lime, and cilantro, you can mimick the nutty sweetness of some chili sauces. The chili garlic sauce offers the right spice level and tang.
Compared to a 1:1 chili sauce swap, cut the amount of chili garlic sauce in half when making a peanut sauce replacement. Taste and adjust the spice as needed. The nut butter and soy sauce also contribute plenty of rich umami flavor.
Peanut sauce makes an ideal chili sauce substitute in noodle and rice bowls, spring rolls, satay, and stir-fries. Drizzle it over grilled chicken or roasted vegetables for a flavor pop.
What Does Chilli Sauce Taste Like?
Chili sauce has a spicy, pungent flavor gotten from chilies and garlic. It often includes a touch of sweetness to balance out the heat. The texture is usually smooth or slightly chunky. Chili sauce adds a bold kick of heat along with tangy, savory notes.
It can range from mild to fiery hot depending on the type of peppers used. The taste is with the sharp, peppery burn of chilies complemented by garlic, vinegar, and spices like paprika and cumin.
Tips for Getting the Right Flavor
- When substituting, start with half the amount called for and adjust to taste. Many of these alternatives are spicier.
- Mix in a bit of honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar to add sweetness similar to chili sauce.
- For extra spice, add cayenne, red pepper flakes, or sriracha.
- Thin, thicker sauces like gochujang with vinegar and water.
- Tomato sauce and ketchup will need extra chili pepper heat.
- Balance salty soy sauce with acid from lime juice or rice vinegar.
With a combination of heat, acid, sweet, and savory, you can easily replicate chili sauce with the ingredients you have on hand. So don’t let a lack of chili sauce stop you from whipping up Egg Foo Young, Honey Sriracha Wings, or Cashew Chicken. With a homemade substitute, you can still get your sweet chili fix!
Is Chili Sauce Similar to Ketchup?
While chili sauce and ketchup are both tomato-based condiments, they have some key differences. Ketchup has a much sweeter, tangier flavor compared to the spicier profile of chili sauce. Chili sauce gets its heat from chili peppers and often includes more garlic. The textures differ too – ketchup is smooth while chili sauce is chunkier.
So while both condiments can add flavor to burgers, eggs, and fries, chili sauce brings more spice and garlic kick. Overall, the two do share similarities as tomato-based sauces, but chili sauce is bolder.
What’s the Difference Between Sweet Chili Sauce and Chili Sauce?
While their names looks similar, there are some major distinctions between sweet chili sauce and chili sauce. Sweet chili sauce is a condiment often used in Thai and Asian cooking that contains sugar as a primary ingredient along with chilies, vinegar, garlic, and spices. This gives it a hot yet sweet and slightly tangy profile.
Regular chili sauce derives most of its flavor from chilies themselves and tends to be more savory rather than sweet. It sometimes includes tomatoes but no additional sugar. The result is a sauce that is spicier and more pungent than sweet chili sauce. While both can add heat to dishes, sweet chili sauce has a more balanced sweet-spicy taste compared to the intense spice of plain chili sauce.
Is Chili Sauce Just Hot Sauce?
While chili sauce and hot sauce are both spicy condiments, they have some distinct differences. Chili sauce is made from a blend of chili peppers, garlic, and spices cooked into a smooth sauce with tomatoes or vinegar.
It has a more complex flavor. Hot sauce is more on heat from chili peppers and vinegar, with few other ingredients. Hot sauce also comes in many styles from tabasco to sriracha. Chili sauce offers spice along with extra flavor depth in a thicker sauce compared to the bright one-note heat of plain hot sauces.
