The $15 Italian Pantry Staple I Use to Elevate Every Meal

Most weekdays, I end up making simple dinners. After getting home from the office, the thought of standing over the stove for more than half an hour usually sounds … not ideal. Quick, no-frills dishes are what I fall back on, and I recycle the ones I’ve perfected week after week. I know — it’s not very adventurous of me, and I’m trying to fall into the habit of making meals ahead of time so that all I have to do is pop a plate into the microwave.

I swear I’ll get there eventually, but until then I’m sticking with what I know. The same dishes admittedly do get old after a while, but that’s where condiments come in. I’ve started stocking my pantry with sauces and seasonings that have breathed new life into my tried-and-true meals. Hot sauce is newer territory for me — my spice tolerance level used to be pretty low — but I totally understand why people carry a bottle in their purses now. Over the past few months, I’ve been putting Stuzzi’s Italian version on everything. It elevates everything it touches, and I never get tired of it. Read on for all the details!

This isn’t any ol’ hot sauce. Stuzzi was born out of a collaboration between acclaimed chefs Ethel Hoon and Jakob Zeller and wine- and tequila-makers Carla and Richard Betts. The Betts fell in love with a rare Italian dried pepper nearly a decade ago and, after teaming up with Hoon and Zeller, they decided to set out to find the farmer who produced it in southern Italy. That same dried pepper (plus their own unique blend of fresh peppers) makes up the Stuzzi sauce. It consists of three ingredients: chilies, distilled vinegar, and a dash of salt, with no preservatives, thickening agents, sweeteners, or artificial colors. 

Hoon said that the team created Stuzzi with a vision: They wanted a hot sauce that’s “honest” (as in, additive-free) and “truly focused on flavor.” The result is a bold and complex topping that, in my opinion, lives up to its name — Stuzzi is short for the Italian word “stuzzicare,” which means to stimulate and excite. It’s taken all of my weekly meals to the next level; I’ve mixed it into pasta sauce to give my store-bought jars some more dimension, sprinkled it on top of broccoli, added a generous amount to tacos. For me, it has really shined on scrambled eggs. Eggs are my go-to breakfast food, but I always get to a point where the taste starts to irk me — but this hot sauce has nipped that problem in the bud. Every bite is so much more interesting now, adding a subtle earthiness and tingling sensation. Plus, the consistency is just right — not too runny, but not too thick.

The old me would be shocked that I’m now the type of person who sings the praises of hot sauce, but in the case of Stuzzi, it was love at first taste. Trust me, this $15 staple will be put to good use once you introduce it to your pantry.

Buy: Stuzzi Hot Sauce, $14.99