Which Has More Sodium, Frank's or Tabasco? 190 vs 35 mg

Per 1 tsp (5 mL), Frank's RedHot Original lists 190 mg of sodium (8% DV) and Tabasco Original lists 35 mg. The ingredient lists also differ, since Frank's includes water and garlic powder. Heat and gluten-free details are harder to compare: Tabasco publishes a Scoville range and a gluten-free statement, while Frank's shows a "MEDIUM ORIGINAL" heat graphic and no gluten-free claim.

Key takeaways

• Per 1 tsp (5 mL), Frank's RedHot Original lists 190 mg of sodium (8% DV) and Tabasco Original lists 35 mg, a gap of about 155 mg per serving.
• Frank's ingredient list adds water and garlic powder. The Tabasco listing names distilled vinegar, red pepper and salt.
• Tabasco's brand page lists a Scoville rating of 2500 to 5000. Frank's page shows only a "MEDIUM ORIGINAL" graphic.
• Tabasco's brand page says it is considered gluten free under FDA definitions. No gluten-free claim was disclosed for Frank's.

Which has more sodium per 1 tsp, Frank's RedHot Original or Tabasco Original?

Frank's RedHot Original has more sodium per 1 teaspoon (5 mL): 190 mg on the McCormick label, compared with 35 mg on the Tabasco Original brand page. The difference is about 155 mg per serving.

Both figures use the same reference amount. The FDA's Nutrition Facts guide states that serving sizes are standardized to make it easier to compare similar foods, but that a serving size "is not a recommendation of how much you should eat or drink." The numbers describe a label reference point, not a suggested amount.

Sodium is one difference among several. Frank's ingredient list includes water and garlic powder, which the Tabasco listing does not show, and the two brands describe heat in different ways.

How much sodium is in Frank's RedHot Original per 1 tsp serving?

One teaspoon (5 mL) of Frank's RedHot Original contains 190 mg of sodium, listed as 8% of the Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts panel.

The panel on McCormick's product page for the 12 oz bottle lists about 71 servings per container, a serving size of 1 tsp (5 mL), 0 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 g total carbohydrate and 0 g protein. The FDA's Sodium in Your Diet page states that the Daily Value for sodium is less than 2,300 mg per day, and that 5% DV or less per serving is considered low while 20% DV or more is considered high. At 8% DV, the Frank's serving is above the FDA's 5% low threshold and below the 20% high threshold.

Serving size changes the total. Two teaspoons would double the milligrams listed. As a calculation, 2 × 190 mg = 380 mg. The serving line on the panel is therefore the starting point for any sodium estimate.

Is Tabasco Original low sodium by FDA definitions?

Tabasco Original lists 35 mg of sodium per 1 tsp (5 mL), but its brand page does not print a %DV, so it does not state whether the sauce meets the FDA low threshold.

The FDA treats 5% DV or less per serving as low. A calculation from the 2,300 mg Daily Value gives 115 mg for 5% DV. This is arithmetic, not an FDA-stated figure, and the 35 mg listed falls below it. This article does not treat that arithmetic as a printed claim, and no %DV for Tabasco is shown.

What ingredients are listed in Frank's RedHot Original and Tabasco Original?

Frank's RedHot Original lists aged cayenne red peppers, distilled vinegar, water, salt and garlic powder, and Open Food Facts shows the same list. The Open Food Facts listing for Tabasco Pepper Sauce in a 60 ml bottle shows distilled vinegar, red pepper (19%) and salt.

Tabasco's brand history describes its original recipe as "three simple ingredients: fully aged red peppers, salt from Avery Island, Louisiana, and high-quality distilled vinegar." The two products overlap on peppers, vinegar and salt. The main label differences are the water and garlic powder in Frank's.

Ingredient lists show what a product contains, not how much of each ingredient it uses, unless a percentage is printed. The 19% red pepper figure in the Tabasco listing is one example. The ingredient list printed on the bottle is the reference; the Frank's list here comes from McCormick and Open Food Facts, and the Tabasco list from Open Food Facts.

Is Tabasco hotter than Frank's RedHot Original on the heat scale?

The labels do not allow a direct numeric comparison: Tabasco Original lists a Scoville rating of 2500 to 5000, and Frank's RedHot Original shows no Scoville figure, only a heat graphic reading "MEDIUM ORIGINAL."

The two heat descriptors are different kinds of information: a numeric range from one brand and a word-based graphic from the other. The Tabasco material does not explain how its range was measured, so the two cannot be placed on a shared scale.

Third-party sites publish Scoville estimates for Frank's, but those figures are not attributed to the manufacturer, so this article does not use them. Heat is experienced differently by each person, and a label cannot show how any individual will respond.

Are Frank's RedHot Original and Tabasco Original gluten-free?

Tabasco Original's brand page says it is considered gluten free under FDA definitions; no gluten-free claim was disclosed for Frank's RedHot Original.

The Tabasco page states that the product is "Considered Gluten Free according to the definitions set forth by the FDA." A missing claim is not the same as a statement that the product contains gluten, so Frank's status is simply not disclosed in these sources. People who need to avoid gluten may want to check the current bottle for an explicit statement. The Tabasco page also lists Non-GMO, Kosher-Pareve and Halal (IFANCA) status. No kosher or halal status for Frank's was disclosed.

Labels can change over time, and this article cannot establish how any individual with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity will respond to either product.

How do the two sauces compare at a glance in a side-by-side table?

The table places the label facts for each sauce side by side. "Not disclosed" marks any detail that is not printed in the sources cited.

Factor	Frank's RedHot Original	Tabasco Original
Reference serving	1 tsp (5 mL)	1 tsp (5 mL)
Servings per container	About 71 (12 oz bottle)	Not disclosed
Calories per serving	0	0
Total fat, carbohydrate, protein	0 g each	0 g each
Saturated and trans fat	Not disclosed	0 g each
Sodium per serving	190 mg	35 mg
Sodium %DV	8%	Not disclosed
Ingredients	Aged cayenne red peppers, distilled vinegar, water, salt, garlic powder	Distilled vinegar, red pepper (19%), salt (Open Food Facts listing for a 60 ml bottle)
Heat rating	"MEDIUM ORIGINAL" graphic; no Scoville figure disclosed	Scoville rating 2500 to 5000
Gluten-free statement	Not disclosed	Considered gluten free under FDA definitions
Other claims	Not disclosed	Non-GMO; Kosher-Pareve; Halal (IFANCA)

Where one label prints a number or claim and the other does not, the comparison stops at what is printed.

How do you spot sodium, ingredient, and gluten-free claims on a hot sauce label?

Start with the serving size, then read the sodium in milligrams and as %DV, and finish with the ingredient list and any claim statements.

• Serving size: both labels here use 1 tsp (5 mL). The FDA says serving sizes are standardized to make similar foods easier to compare.
• Sodium: check the mg figure and the %DV. The FDA treats 5% DV or less as low and 20% DV or more as high.
• Servings per container: check the number printed on the panel (Frank's lists about 71 for the 12 oz bottle).
• Ingredients: look for additions such as water or garlic powder, and for any percentages printed in the list.
• Heat: a Scoville range is a numeric figure. A graphic or word descriptor is not.
• Gluten-free: look for an explicit statement. An ingredient list alone does not establish a labeled claim.

Who may want to check these labels?

People who track sodium, people who use hot sauce in amounts larger than a teaspoon, and people who need to avoid gluten may want to read these labels closely.

Sodium is the clearest difference between the two. Someone on a sodium-restricted eating plan, which a clinician may have recommended, may want to convert the milligram figure into the number of servings they actually use. This article cannot assess individual needs and does not suggest how much anyone should use.

Spice tolerance is a separate variable. A numeric range and a word graphic are not interchangeable, and neither label shows how a particular person will respond. People avoiding gluten may want to look for an explicit statement on the current bottle.

For other sodium comparisons across pantry products, see Is BodyArmor Better Than Gatorade? 20 vs 160 mg Sodium and Is Annie's Healthier Than Kraft Mac? 640 mg vs 530 mg Sodium.