Store-Bought Barbecue Sauces And Rubs That Celebrity Chefs Swear By

When it comes to cooking, homemade is always better — but sometimes it's more convenient and cost-effective to reach for store-bought products. This is particularly true when dealing with condiments and sauces, which can be messy to make and often require lots of ingredients. And reaching for store-bought products when the need arises doesn't just apply to home chefs. Celebrity chefs are also likely to grab a bottled product when they're in a pinch. While everyone loves a good homemade barbecue sauce, nobody can deny it's simpler to snatch up a bottle of your favorite brand when the recipe calls for sauce.

Barbecue sauce is generally made with a tomato base (tomato sauce or ketchup), sweeteners (brown sugar and molasses being common choices), and vinegar. From there, recipes tend to differ, sometimes including ingredients like mustard, onion powder, garlic, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Every recipe has its own unique ingredients, and the type of barbecue sauce you're exposed to can vary based on the region you live in. This tasty sauce is frequently found around the grill, but even if you're not using it to showcase your grilling techniques, barbecue sauce will always have a place in the home chef's kitchen. Versatile and loaded with flavor, barbecue sauce can be used to elevate a burger and has even been known to dress up a homemade potato salad recipe. Here are several store-bought barbecue sauces that celebrity chefs love to have around.

Giada De Laurentiis isn't known for barbecue, but she knows her way around a sauce, and we trust her judgment when she recommends Stubbs Original Legendary Bar-B-Q sauce as her go-to. De Laurentiis likes to utilize barbecue sauce in unexpected ways, sharing that she even uses it on her eggs in the morning. She loves the flavor of Stubbs, calling it the "perfect balance of sweet and tangy with just a touch of warmth so everyone in the family can enjoy it."

Fans of Stubbs would agree. One five-star reviewer on Amazon said, "With Stubb's, you can really taste the spices in the sauce, rather than the usual appeal of barbecue which is just the sweet base."

Stubb's came to be when Christopher B. Stubblefield from Navasota, Texas, (known as "Stubb") opened his first barbecue joint in Lubbock, Texas, in 1968. He had honed his craft as a cook in the Korean War, where he was a gunner in the last all-black army infantry and also found himself preparing meals for up to 10,000 soldiers. His Lubbock restaurant grew in popularity, and in the '70s it attracted famous musicians like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Linda Rondstadt to come perform (and enjoy the barbecue). Stubb died in 1995, but Stubb's Original Legendary Bar-B-Q sauce lives on!

Bobby Flay is so confident in his prowess in the kitchen that he has an entire show dedicated to contestants trying to cook a better meal than him. The star of "Beat Bobby Flay" likes to make his own barbecue sauce, but when he can't make his own he turns to a brand called Bone Suckin' Sauce. This award-winning barbecue sauce was developed in 1987 when real estate appraiser Phil Ford wanted to recreate the North Carolina-style sauce his mother used to make. And Bobby Flay isn't the only fan – Bone Suckin' Sauce is now available on Amazon and exported to more than 80 countries.

Bone Suckin' Sauce appeals to customers for its flavor, which one Amazon reviewer described as having the "perfect amount of heat with amazing flavor, sweet, tangy, and spicy but not too much." While fans rave about the taste (it has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon with more than 2,300 reviews), the ingredients are the star of the show. Bone Suckin' Sauce is non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher, and doesn't use any high fructose corn syrup in its products.

Bone Suckin' Sauce will get the job done, but if you want to add your own touch, Bobby Flay has a few tricks up his sleeve for elevating your store-bought barbecue sauce. He recommends bringing your sauce to a simmer in a pan and then adding Worcestershire sauce, chipotle puree, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Anthony Bourdain has been gone since 2018, but his impact on the food industry lives on. We still turn to Bourdain's reviews for everything from fast food recommendations to cooking tips. After calling Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue one of 13 places to eat before you die and declaring it "the best BBQ in Kansas City," Joe's, which had already won accolades in the barbecue world, quickly jumped to nationwide fame. In 2014, Oklahoma Joe's changed its name to Joe's Kansas City – but the great food didn't change. 

Today, you can grab a bottle of Bourdain's beloved barbecue sauce, Joe's Kansas City Original Bar-B-Q Sauce, on Amazon. This sauce is known for its Kansas City style. Kansas City sauce is traditionally a thicker sauce that is sweetened with molasses and blends both spicy and sweet spices to get the perfect balance of flavors and texture. Customers rave about the standout flavors of Joe's famous sauce. One enthusiastic Amazon reviewer said, "My family doesn't like vinegar-based BBQ sauce. So I spend a fair amount of time trying out different sauces to locate ones that are good without the vinegar flavor. This one perfectly meets that! We have used it on ribs, brisket, pork chops, and tri-tip steaks [and] all of them turned out great!"

Andrew Zimmern travels the world as a TV host, and he's probably best known for his show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He doesn't just like it weird, though. He traveled to Bessinger's Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina, and couldn't get enough of Bessinger's tasty, mustard-based sauce. Zimmern said, "I usually don't like mustard BBQ sauces but I drink your 'spicy' version like it's water. Can't get enough!"

Zimmern might be famous for eating strange and slightly frightening foods (horse rib and rectum sausage come to mind), but he's also a fan of more traditional fare. Bessinger's have been making magic with its mustardy sauce since the 1930s. This family-owned barbecue joint is a legend in its home state of South Carolina, with people coming from all over to try the gold sauce and Bessinger's famous barbecue (the restaurant has been visited by celebrities like LL Cool J, Charlie Daniels, and Randy Travis).

If you're new to mustard-based barbecue, give this one a shot. "I just took a chance and I've been thoroughly pleased with it. About to order a few more bottles because I'm running low," is the review one customer left on Amazon about trying it for the first time.

Lawrence Page, chef and host of the 2017 reality series, "Hustle & Soul," always reaches for Sweet Baby Ray's when he needs a bottle of barbecue sauce. Page says he appreciates that it doesn't have a strong ketchup taste, going on to say, "The maple syrup really adds a nice sweet and smoky flavor to ribs when grilling!"

Page is not alone in his love for Sweet Baby Ray's, which you can purchase on Amazon or at your local grocery store. One Amazon review echoes Page's sentiment that this sauce is worth the purchase, calling it delicious and saying, "You can't go wrong with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. I use the original. It's great with roast, steaks, in stuffing, on top of stuffed green peppers ... everywhere!"

While the sweet flavor is what appeals to many customers, the brand also has a no-sugar-added version of its most popular sauces. These sauces are keto-friendly and have just 1 gram of sugar per serving, making them a viable option for anyone who is watching their sugar intake.

Stubb's Bar-B-Q Rub was spotted in Ina Garten's pantry, so we know she's a fan. This is the original recipe that was created by Stubb's founder, Christopher B. Stubblefield. It includes spices like sea salt, garlic, and paprika blended with a hickory smoke flavor. Stubb's recommends using it on everything from pork to chicken to vegetables to brisket.

Garten clearly isn't the only fan of Stubb's rub. You can order Stubb's highly-rated Bar-B-Q Rub on Amazon, where it has almost 900 reviews and enjoys a 4.6-star rating. While Stubb's is extremely versatile, one reviewer raves about using it on beef, saying, "Stubbs is my personal favorite rub seasoning for beef. The flavor profile of the Stubbs rub used liberally on a brisket prior to smoking is WOW! It's also excellent to rub on a London broil." And you could use this rub as a steak rub or include it in the ingredients next time you make a burger.

Jess Pryles, host of the TV show "Hardcore Carnivore", is a big fan of Meat Mitch WHOMP! BBQ Sauce. This Kansas City-style sauce blends sweet and spicy and relies on a unique "secret" ingredient (vanilla) to make it stand out from the crowd. Pryles likes using it for ribs, calling it a classic Kansas City sauce and noting it has "a perfect balance of smokiness and sweet."

Pryles also appreciates the color of Meat Mitch WHOMP! BBQ Sauce, commenting that its reddish coloring makes for a prettier (and more delectable) finished product. Pryles has made a living as an author, live fire cook, and TV host, "specializing in all things meat," so we trust her recommendation when it comes to barbecue sauce. Try it the next time you go to grill some ribs or need a fresh new sauce for your brisket.

Food historian, cook-off judge, and author Adrian Miller always chooses Gates Bar-B-Q Original Classic when he's got something to grill. Miller says, "Gates is one of the venerable African American-owned barbecue restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri." Miller is a huge fan of the sauce, saying it's a "tomato-based sauce that's not too thick, and it has a nice balance of tangy and sweet." Amazon customers agree, with one reviewer saying, "This is my favorite BBQ sauce. I'm from Kansas City and Gates BBQ is the best BBQ in the world. The sauce alone will make any grilled meat absolutely delicious."

George W. Gates opened what is now known as Gates Bar-B-Q in 1946. The restaurant's popularity grew, and by 1984 it was distributing its sauces and spices to stores across the nation. Gates sells its sauces on Amazon, where they are available in a variety of flavors, like Extra Hot BBQ Sauce and Original Classic BBQ Sauce.

Nikki Martin, who competed on "Food Network Star" and is a celebrity wellness chef and coach, calls barbecue sauce her favorite condiment. Her store-bought brand of choice is KC Masterpiece. "It has the perfect smokiness mixed with right amount of sweetness," she says. Martin doesn't specify which flavor is her favorite, but there are plenty of KC Masterpiece flavors to choose from, and the brand is one of the most highly-rated barbecue sauce brands on Amazon.

Its Original Barbecue Sauce recipe is made with tomato, onion, and a variety of spices to create a delightfully sweet and smoky flavor that customers love. "I love the rich flavor of this sauce without being too sweet like other BBQ sauces," said one happy customer on Amazon. KC Masterpiece was created by Topeka, Kansas, resident Rich Davis in the 1970s. The name came from the fact that Davis called his recipe "a masterpiece."