Is Hot Sauce Gluten Free?

Adding hot sauce to a dish is a great way to give it an extra kick and liven up the flavors. Whether you’re looking to enhance your late night ramen or add some flair to your breakfast burrito, hot sauce is an ideal condiment to reach for. However, if you have celiac disease or are looking to reduce your gluten intake, it is important to make sure your go-to hot sauce is gluten free. 

Is Hot Sauce Gluten Free?

Most hot sauces (including our Not Too Hot Sauces) do not contain gluten. In its most basic form, a typical hot sauce is a blend of chili peppers and vinegar. Chili peppers are naturally gluten free, and most vinegars do not contain gluten (though some flavored vinegars contain malt, which is not gluten free).

Whether a hot sauce is gluten free or not will depend on what ingredients are used to make the blend. Because most basic hot sauce recipes are some variation of chili peppers, vinegar, and seasonings, it’s not common to find gluten-containing sauces.

Some Ingredients to Watch Out For

Because there are so many different types and flavors of hot sauces out there, you may find some sauces that use gluten-containing ingredients in their recipes. While these ingredients are not common to find in hot sauces, some home chefs and manufacturers may choose to include them to achieve the desired flavor profile. The list below is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good idea of some ingredients to keep an eye out for.

• Soy sauce
• Malt vinegar
• Malt syrup
• Miso
• Smoke flavoring (these sometimes use gluten-containing ingredients as a carrier for the smoke flavor)
• Wheat flour (this is occasionally used as a thickening agent)

Is Not Too Hot Sauce Gluten Free?

Yes! All of our hot sauces are gluten free, so you can enjoy all the flavor and just some of the heat while avoiding gluten in your diet.