Slap Ya Mama Cajun Pepper Sauce Review

The simplest way to describe Slap Ya Mama Cajun Pepper Sauce is think Tabasco, but a little hotter plus a lot more flavor. This is a perfect Louisiana dasher sauce – the aged pepper mash shines boldly and the vinegar balance makes this one of the most addicting sauces you’ll ever have. So, it’s good. How good? How usable? How collectible? We take Slap Ya Mama for a spin to give you all the details.

Flavor:

As a Louisiana-style Cajun hot sauce, Slap Ya Mama is a very thin sauce that leans into the basics. The ingredient list is short: aged pepper mash, vinegar, salt, xantham gum, garlic, and other spices. You can see more about the ingredients in our Slap Ya Mama ingredients breakdown.

The vinegar takes a backseat to the pepper mash in this, and this balance allows the Cajun spices shine, too. It’s a pepper-vinegar marriage without one feeling overwhelmed by the other (and allowing other flavors to shine through.)

The garlic comes out on the back-end of the flavor. It’s a nice add because it adds a delicious homemade taste. Frankly, this sauce feels like home to me and I have no idea why, because I grew up nowhere near the Bayou. But there’s something about this sauce that feels right and will just make you feel warm.

You don’t need to add salt to your meal when you’re using Slap Ya Mama because there’s already a healthy amount of salt in every single bite. If you love salty things – Slap Ya Mama delivers. It’s one of the reasons this hot sauce is so flavorful.

That said, there’s 125 mg of sodium per serving, and that’s 9% of your daily value. If you’re looking to lessen your salt intake, this isn’t the hot sauce for you. In fact, it’s nearly four times more sodium per serving than Tabasco Hot Sauce (35 mg per serving). Keep it in mind. It’s a big difference.

Heat Balance:

The overall heat is a small step up from Tabasco, which ranged around 2,500 Scoville heat units (SHU). Slap Ya Mama is somewhere around 1,000 to 10,000 SHU with a median heat around 5,500 SHU. That feels about right. It’s a very eatable spiciness. It doesn’t take over or distract. Really it’s well balanced with the vinegar, salt, and garlic.

I think this sauce has the ability to open all non-hot sauce lovers into the world of addicting hot sauces. This heat has a kick, but it’s quickly mellowed out and has no ongoing burning effect except for a slight linger on your tongue. This can be used freely, like any good Louisiana-style dasher sauce.

Usability:

You don’t need to be careful with Slap Ya Mama. This is a level of spiciness that you can dash all over – and all over everything. If you love other Louisiana-style hot sauces like Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce, you know how versatile Slap Ya Mama is.

It’s fantastic on nachos, chicken, rice, beans, eggs, broccoli, and the list goes on. Again, for me, I love that I don’t need any salt at all when I use this. It helps me skip the steps of adding pepper or salt to my dish and instead I just reach for Slap Ya Mama for pretty much everything. I even tried it on pistachio ice cream and I LOVED IT.

Collectibility:

The bottle just reads homemade with a handwritten type font that makes it feel fun and unique. You get the feeling when you look at this bottle that this was made by a witty mom who knew exactly what sauce to make in order to please all family members. The cayenne peppers lingering on the label give you an idea that this packs some heat, but it’s not the threatening kind. Plus, the name: it’s just silly fun. It grabs the eye and once you try it, it’ll stick as a staple on your table.

This is a staple sauce. You have to have this if you want everyone to enjoy a hot sauce with their meal, because this will be the winner all around. This is so flavorful and addicting that your friends will ask you what this is, become absolutely addicted and then trust you with all hot sauce recommendations. This is the kind of sauce you use when you want to win people over. It’s a true winner that has some kick, but not enough to leave anyone running for the door, they’ll only be reaching for more.

The Score:

Slap Ya Mama Cajun Pepper Sauce is a well-balanced Louisiana-style hot sauce, with more heat and flavor than a lot of competitors. The spiciness is still very eatable and the sauce very versatile. Those watching their sodium intake should look elsewhere as this packs a lot per serving. (Amazon)