Brown sauce is a staple element of the best bacon sandwiches - but which brand is the best out there08:39, 10 Jul 2026As a country dedicated to chips, fish and things you need to dip in sauce, its part of the plate Britain takes very seriously.‌Although we see it as a slightly more niche sauce option, brown sauce shot to popularity during wartime rationing. It first came to fruition in the East Midlands, where pickling factories were common.‌The iconic sauce is based on a flavour profile of malt vinegar, tomatoes, molasses, and tamarind. HP, is the pinnacle of brown sauces and is seen as the market standard so I investigated the own brand shelves of UK supermarkets to see if I could find anything that trumps it.‌I tasted brown sauces from M&S, Waitrose, Aldi, and ASDA to discover which offers the perfect balance of value and flavour. HP brown sauce is £3.60 in Tesco - so all of these come under that price bracket - but one takes the cake and is the cheapest.My criteria included a good consistency, colour and taste, also taking into account price.HP Sauce - £3.60‌Pushing ketchup, mayo or any new-fangled dip to the side, HP sauce is my go-to, controversially, for any fish and chip occasion. It feels more interesting than ketchup and cuts through the fried food heaviness of the rest of a meal with its tangy, fruity flavour.There is nothing better than the sharp, salty kick of a brown sauce whilst looking out over the sea with a lap full of newspaper and chips.Although a good brown sauce seems to be hard to come by, there is one candidate in the sauces I tried which levels, and maybe even beats the original HP brand.‌Waitrose - £1.15Waitrose was another I had high hopes for - and thus fell short of expectations. The consistency of this sauce was very watery and it did not pack a lot of flavour.As one of the more expensive it did not do what it needed to on flavour. This was the weakest taste in that it really did not taste of much at all.‌This would be passable as a sauce and I am sure I will use it all up at some point but it is not one I would go out of my way to buy.M&S - £1.15Marks and Spencer stands as a British stalwart, and their brown sauce was one of the more decent I tried - but it was far from the best.‌My expectations were naturally a bit higher - meaning I was on the whole disappointed by this sauce. This sauce had a distinct and unexpected gravy-like flavour. It had far less of the tang that brown sauce is meant to deliver.It also had a strange kick-like after taste. I wouldn't say it was spice but it was strange. The consistency was good and it was considerably less watery than other sauces but it was not my favourite.ASDA - £1.22‌Unexpectedly Asda's own brand brown sauce was more expensive than both Waitrose and M&S. However, I do prefer the flavour. This is nowhere near as good as the HP brand but it did have a strong tang, a full flavour and depth.This sauce seriously let itself down in its consistency. It was very watery and this does affect how much flavour you get per dip.On the whole, the sauce is fine, but is not something I would go out of my way to buy. If I had the option, I would stick with the HP brand and pay the premium.‌Aldi - 99pAldi was a clear standout winner. The consistency had a solid, full body and was packed with flavour.All of the malty, fruity flavours are identifiable in Aldi's Bramwells brand. It does have a strong top note of cinnamon which might put some people off - but I love what it added.‌This is just as good if not better than the original HP brand and I will be buying it again. As a bonus, for just 99p this is by far the cheapest sauce I tried and it is pretty much indistinguishable from its £3.60 forefather.Waitrose claims last position, due to its underwhelming absence of flavour and price. M&S trailed closely after as the gravy flavour is not what I am looking for in a brown sauce.Next is Asda - this was a decent sauce but was still leagues below the winner.Article continues belowAldi provided the best HP dupe of the bunch - and I would argue it overtakes HP in terms of flavour. For just 99p this delivered a superb flavour, and offers amazing value for money.For anyone looking for a budget-friendly brown sauce Aldi is your shop.