What Is Horseradish sauce and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about horseradish sauce and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 35 recipes to cook tonight.

Key Points

Prepared horseradish folded into sour cream or mayonnaise, mellower than the raw grated root.
The classic partner for prime rib, roast beef, burgers, and oily fish like salmon.
Stir it in off the heat; cooking drives off the volatile horseradish bite.
Not wasabi: most green tube wasabi is in fact dyed horseradish anyway.
Build your own from two parts sour cream to one part prepared horseradish.

What is horseradish sauce?

Horseradish sauce is the creamy white condiment that turns grated horseradish root into something you can spoon onto a slice of prime rib. At its simplest it is prepared horseradish folded into sour cream or mayonnaise, sharpened with a little vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.

The cream tames the root. Raw horseradish on its own is a volatile, sinus-clearing burn; whisked into a dairy base it becomes a rounded, nose-tickling heat that builds and then fades, which is why it sits so naturally next to rich beef and oily fish.

Do not confuse it with two close cousins. Prepared horseradish is just the grated root jarred in vinegar, with no dairy, so it is hotter and thinner. Wasabi is a different plant; most green tube wasabi is in fact dyed horseradish, while real wasabi is milder and grassier.

How to Use It

This is the classic partner for beef. A spoonful alongside roast beef or prime rib is the textbook move, and it does the same job inside Horseradish Beef Sandwiches and Half-Time Beef Sandwiches, where it cuts the richness of the meat.

Savory Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Sauce leans on that same contrast. Spread it on a burger like Anniversary Burgers, or stir it into the mayo for a roast-beef wrap.

It is just as good with seafood. A dab wakes up a lobster roll the way Sosa's Lobster or Lobsta Roll uses it, and it folds into a dip such as the Outback Blooming Onion Dipping Sauce.

Add it off the heat. Horseradish bite is driven off by cooking, so stir the sauce into warm mashed potatoes or a pan sauce at the very end, never while it simmers.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Fat and richness are what it loves. Beef, smoked fish, deviled eggs, beets, and a baked potato all give the heat something to push against. A little Dijon or a squeeze of lemon in the sauce sharpens it without adding more root.

The biggest mistake is cooking it and wondering where the bite went. The compounds that make horseradish hot are volatile and break down with heat and time, so a long-simmered sauce goes bland.

The second is over-thinning. A sauce loose enough to run off the meat carries no punch, so keep it thick enough to hold a spoon-trail.

Going too heavy on the root is the third trap. Horseradish sneaks up, so start with less than you think and let it sit five minutes before judging the heat.

Substitutes

The fastest stand-in is to build your own. Stir two parts sour cream into one part prepared horseradish, add a little Dijon and a pinch of salt, and you have it. Push the ratio toward more horseradish for a hotter sauce.

Plain prepared horseradish works where you want pure heat without the creaminess, as in a Bloody Mary or a cocktail sauce. A dab of wasabi paste thinned with mayonnaise gives a similar creamy heat with a greener edge. In a pinch, sharp grainy mustard delivers a comparable bite.

Buying and Storage

You will find it refrigerated near the deli or the cocktail-sauce shelf, sold in jars and squeeze bottles. Check the label. Some are mostly mayonnaise with very little root, so a brand that lists horseradish high in the ingredients tastes sharper, and the "extra hot" versions use more root.

Keep it refrigerated. The jar claims a few months after opening, but trust the heat as your gauge: horseradish loses potency the longer it sits, so an old jar tastes flat long before it spoils. If yours has gone dull, a spoonful of fresh prepared horseradish revives it.

Do not freeze it. The dairy base separates and turns grainy on thawing, and the heat fades anyway. Buy a small jar and use it while it is lively.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 tbsp (15g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 7Calories from Fat 0

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 0.1g 0%

Saturated Fat 0.0g 0%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 47mg 2%

Total Carbohydrate 1.7g 1%

Dietary Fiber 0g 2%

Sugars 1.2

Protein 0.2g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 6%

Calcium 1% • Iron 0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Food group: Horseradish sauce is a member of the Spices and Herbs US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 辣根酱
British (UK) term: Horseradish sauce
en français: sauce au raifort
en español: salsa de rábano picante

How much does horseradish sauce weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 tbsp	15 grams
1 teaspoon	5 grams

Spices and Herbs

Allspice 904 Allspice berries 37 Star anise 178 Aniseed 23 Bay leaves 2049 Caraway seeds 321 Cardamom pods 100 Cardamom seeds 317 Celery seeds 283 Chervil 65

Recipes using horseradish sauce

There are 35 recipes that contain this ingredient.

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