Is Sriracha a Healthy Addition to Your Meals?

When attempting to spice up a healthy meal like a stir-fry or scrambled eggs, sriracha is many people’s first choice.

But a lack of understanding surrounding the number of sriracha calories and its nutrition facts can leave people wondering if that defeats the purpose of eating healthy.

Understanding the sriracha nutrition facts and the potential health benefits of this sauce can help you enjoy this sauce guilt-free. Keep reading to learn more.

What Is Sriracha, and What Does It Look Like?

Sriracha is a popular hot sauce made by Huy Fong Foods using mostly chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It has the same red color as many traditional hot sauces but has a thicker paste-like consistency. 

7 Health Benefits of Sriracha

Some people eating sriracha and other spicy food may find that it leads to heartburn and acid reflux. Aside from that, most people will find that eating this popular condiment (in moderation) won’t cause any adverse effects. 

It may even contribute to certain health benefits, which we’ll discuss in more depth below. 

#1 Boosts the metabolism

A surprising benefit of eating sriracha sauce is that it can speed up your metabolism and increase the energy your body burns. These health benefits come from the high capsaicin content in chili peppers. 

#2 Helps clear sinus congestion

If you’re ever feeling congested because of a cold, a great natural remedy is to eat spicy foods. Doing so can help open your nasal passages and get mucus flowing, offering instant relief.

#3 Natural pain reliever

Although these health benefits are mostly relegated to topical creams, the endorphin boost you experience after eating spicy food can help to relieve pain naturally.

#4 Fights cancer

Capsaicin, a compound found in high doses in chili peppers, has shown amazing potential in fighting cancer. One study found it especially helpful in fighting colon, pancreatic, and breast cancers, to name a few. 

#5 Reduces inflammation

Another of the sought-after health benefits of eating foods high in capsaicin is its anti-inflammatory properties. Reducing inflammation in the body can improve various health conditions, from high blood pressure to obesity.

#6 Treatment for diabetes

Garlic is another main ingredient in this rooster sauce. It has been shown to regulate blood glucose levels and potentially reduce insulin resistance, though more research is needed to back up this benefit.

#7 Boosts immunity

Red chili peppers, the main ingredient in sriracha, contain a healthy dose of vitamin C, which is proven to support healthy immune function and fight colds. Combined with the virus-fighting power of garlic, eating sriracha can help keep you healthy during flu season. 

Sriracha Sauce Nutrition Information

Despite having a simple ingredient list of mostly chili peppers, vinegar, and garlic, it’s always a good idea to learn about the food you’re putting in your body. 

That being said, let’s take a deeper look at the sriracha nutrition facts below. 

Nutritional value (per 100g)

Calories/Nutrient (per 100g)	Amount
Calories (kcal)	93
Net Carbs (g)	17
Fiber (g)	2.2
Sugar (g)	15.1
Fats (Total, g)	0.93
Protein (g)	1.93

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171186/nutrients 

Low in calories and fat

Being made almost entirely from chili peppers makes this sauce extremely low in calories and fat. With each serving having only 6 calories, this sauce is perfect for adding spice to your foods without loading them with unwanted calories.

Low in protein

Sriracha might not be loaded with protein, but that’s not necessarily a problem for a spicy sauce since it’s meant to be an addition to a meal, not the meal itself.

High in carbohydrates and sugar

When it comes to carbs and sugar, sriracha is on the higher side. That won’t be an issue for anyone sticking to its recommended serving of one teaspoon since it only has 1g of sugar. But sriracha lovers should keep this in mind when dressing their food.

Rich in vitamins and minerals

The chili pepper content in sriracha gives it a high concentration of the compound capsaicin, the benefits of which we discussed in greater detail earlier in the article. Sriracha also has a healthy amount of garlic, a plant widely recognized for boosting immunity and fighting bacterial infections.

Sriracha vs. Traditional Hot Sauce

Rooster sauce, aka sriracha sauce, has taken the world by storm. But if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, you might be confused about what separates sriracha from the more traditional hot sauce. 

Not only is sriracha thicker, but it’s also significantly less spicy than most hot sauces, making it perfect for hot sauce newcomers.

	Sriracha	Hot sauce
Key benefits	Simpler ingredient listLess spicy than most traditional hot saucesCan be added to many foods	Has more ingredients which equals more diverse flavorsCan be stored at room temperature because of the vinegar content
Pros	Gluten-freeHas a thicker, more paste-like consistencyNicely balanced flavors	Thinner and lighter consistency
Cons	Contains xanthan gum	Can be too spicy for some people

Homemade Sriracha Recipe 

When it comes to food, most will agree that homemade is always better. But you don’t have to stop at food, you even have the option of making your own version of your favorite hot sauces.

Doing so is super easy and will give you the opportunity to perfectly tailor your recipe to hit all your flavor profiles. And more importantly, ensure that no unnecessary additives make their way into your mix.

Ingredients

• 1 pound red jalapeno peppers (remove stems)
• ½ pound red serrano peppers (remove stems)
• ⅓ cup water
• 4 garlic cloves (peeled)
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• ½ cup distilled vinegar (white)

Directions

1. Combine jalapeno and serrano peppers, water, garlic, brown sugar, and salt in a blender. Pulse a few times, then blend until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a glass pitcher or jar and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in a cool and dark location for 3–5 days while removing the plastic wrap to stir and scrape down the sides of the jar once daily (make sure to re-wrap after). The mixture will bubble and ferment over time. 
3. Pour the mixture back into the blender and add the white vinegar. Blend until smooth. Afterward, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan, pushing as much of the pulp through the strainer as possible. Discard the rest of the pulp.
4. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat, stirring it often. Boil for 5–10 minutes or until it reaches your desired thickness.
5. Allow the sauce to cool before storing it in glass jars or a squeeze bottle in the fridge.

Looking for more healthy recipes? Make sure to check out the DoFasting app. With meal options for over 20 different eating styles (vegan, keto, and low-fat, to name a few) and 5,000 recipes, you’re sure to find something you love.

FAQs

Conclusion

The ingredients in sriracha have several amazing benefits, including lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation, and boosting the metabolism. 

Although acid reflux is a possible side effect when you eat foods with a lot of spice, limiting the amount of sauce you put on your food is an easy way to prevent this unwanted side effect.