Top Cocktail Sauce Brands to Elevate Your Shrimp Experience

When it comes to elevating the delights of shrimp with a delicious cocktail sauce, selecting the right brand can make all the difference. Many connoisseurs have their personal favorites, appreciating a balance between tangy, spicy, and sweet flavors that complement seafood perfectly. From household names to gourmet options, the market is rich with sauce brands that cater to various tastes and preferences. Curious about which cocktail sauces are topping the charts? Read on to discover the best brands that promise to enhance your next shrimp feast.

Illustration of cocktail sauce for shrimp

Best brands of cocktail sauce for shrimp in 2025

Heinz

Heinz is a leading brand in the production of cocktail sauce for shrimp, renowned for its high-quality and flavorful condiments. In 2023, Heinz's global net sales of condiments and sauces, including their popular cocktail sauce, amounted to around USD 8.9 billion, highlighting the brand's strong market presence. Heinz's cocktail sauce is a favorite among consumers, with its original recipe offering 80 calories and 28% of the daily sodium value per 1/4 cup serving. The brand's commitment to quality and taste has earned it a significant market share, with Heinz holding a 9.5% share in the US sauces, dips, and condiment market in 2022. Heinz's products, including their cocktail sauce, are widely used globally, with Heinz Tomato Ketchup being the most popular product, used by approximately 15 million users worldwide.

St. Elmo Foods

St. Elmo Foods is renowned for its world-famous cocktail sauce, a staple since 1902 at St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis. This gluten-free, kosher-certified sauce is packed with fresh-ground horseradish root, balanced with tomato paste and hints of lemon, making it ideal for shrimp and other seafood. With over 120 years of culinary experience, St. Elmo's cocktail sauce has gained national acclaim for its unique, sinus-clearing heat. It is now available in over 3,000 locations both regionally and nationally, thanks to successful market expansion efforts. The sauce retains its spiciness for approximately 6 months when refrigerated properly.

Stonewall Kitchen

Stonewall Kitchen is renowned for its high-quality cocktail sauces, particularly the Spicy Cocktail Sauce, which is a favorite for pairing with chilled shrimp and raw oysters. Made with vine-ripened California tomatoes, horseradish, and a blend of spices, this sauce offers a delightfully zippy flavor. The 8.75 oz bottle is non-gluten and free from genetically modified ingredients, ensuring a safe and enjoyable dining experience. With its rich flavor profile and convenient packaging, Stonewall Kitchen's Spicy Cocktail Sauce is a staple in many seafood enthusiasts' kitchens. This product is inspired by Legal Sea Foods and made in the USA, reflecting the brand's commitment to quality and local production.

Bookbinder's

Bookbinder's is renowned as one of the best producers of cocktail sauce for shrimp, praised for its bold and tangy flavor profile, which includes fresh ground horseradish, tomato paste, and other quality ingredients. Customers rave about its use with shrimp, crab, and oysters, highlighting its superiority over other brands. With a high customer satisfaction rate, as evident from numerous positive reviews, Bookbinder's cocktail sauce has become a staple in many seafood enthusiasts' kitchens. Users appreciate its rich flavor, noting it does not taste like ketchup, and many have switched from making their own sauce to using Bookbinder's exclusively. The product's popularity is further underscored by its historical roots in seafood and the consistent positive feedback from customers since 2020 and earlier.

McCormick

McCormick, a leading brand in the seasoning, sauce, and condiment industry, is renowned for its high-quality cocktail sauce, particularly for shrimp. With a market share of 14.8% in the US seasoning, sauce, and condiment production industry in 2024, McCormick continues to expand its flavor and sauce segments through strategic acquisitions, such as FONA International, Cholula, and RB Foods. Their OLD BAY Cocktail Sauce, for example, offers a balanced nutritional profile with 90 calories, 860mg of sodium, and 16g of sugar per 68g serving. McCormick's commitment to food safety and allergen transparency is evident in their comprehensive labeling policies and manufacturing practices. The brand's strong performance is driven by consumer confidence and the growing demand from downstream markets.

Crosse & Blackwell

Crosse & Blackwell, a brand with a rich history dating back to 1706, is renowned for its high-quality seafood cocktail sauce, ideal for complementing fresh seafood like shrimp, crab, lobster, and oysters. This sauce is made with premium ingredients such as tamarinds, ripe tomatoes, and pure ground horseradish, providing a rich and zesty flavor profile. Each serving contains 90 calories per 1/4 cup, with 16 grams of total sugars and no fat. The sauce also includes Worcestershire sauce, which adds depth with ingredients like anchovies, garlic, and cloves. Despite its popularity, the product has recently become harder to find in some regions.

Legal Sea Foods

Legal Sea Foods is renowned for its high-quality cocktail sauce, perfectly complementing their fresh seafood offerings, including their 4-star BAP certified shrimp. This signature sauce, available in an 8 oz quantity, balances zesty sweetness with horseradish spice and hints of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces. Since 2019, Legal Sea Foods has collaborated with Stonewall Kitchen to produce a line of signature sauces, ensuring consistent flavor and quality. With over 7 million customers served annually, Legal Sea Foods maintains its commitment to freshness and sustainability, as evident in their strict sourcing practices. The company's long-standing tagline, "If it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal!" reflects their dedication to quality.

Old Bay

Old Bay Seasoning is a premier choice for enhancing the flavor of shrimp cocktail, thanks to its signature blend of bold, zesty spices that include celery salt, red and black pepper, and paprika. This seasoning, produced by McCormick, a Maryland-based spice company, has been a staple in seafood cooking since its introduction in 1939. It adds a rich and complex flavor profile that complements the shrimp perfectly, making it a key ingredient in traditional Maryland-style shrimp dishes. The use of Old Bay Seasoning ensures that the shrimp are infused with a balanced and aromatic flavor, avoiding the blandness often associated with plain boiled shrimp. This seasoning is widely available in grocery stores across the US and can also be purchased online. For more details on crafting an exquisite shrimp cocktail, you can explore this recipe for shrimp cocktail.

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is highly regarded for its cocktail sauce, particularly for shrimp, due to its well-balanced flavor profile and reasonable pricing. Reviews highlight the sauce's perfect consistency for dipping and its blend of horseradish and cayenne, which adds a zesty kick. While some users find the flavor slightly bland, many appreciate its simplicity and the absence of high-fructose corn syrup. Professional taste testers have given this sauce near-perfect scores, noting its suitability for classic shrimp cocktails. Despite some minor criticisms, it remains a popular choice among seafood enthusiasts.

Bookbinders

Bookbinder's is renowned as one of the best producers of cocktail sauce for shrimp, leveraging its rich history that dates back to 1865 when the Old Original Bookbinder's Restaurant in Philadelphia was established. The brand brings traditional favorites to consumers through its convenient take-home products, available in grocery stores nationwide. Bookbinder's cocktail sauce is a popular choice, known for its high quality and flavor profile that complements seafood perfectly. With a legacy spanning over 140 years, Bookbinder's has maintained its reputation for excellence in condiments, including cocktail and tartar sauces, mustards, and horseradish. The brand's commitment to quality ensures that its products are a staple in many households.