HP Sauce (What it is and How to Use it)
HP Sauce is a classic British brown sauce which is often served with typical meat dishes like steak pie, bangers and mash, potato scones, bacon butties and more. It’s a uniquely flavored sauce which is a little spicy and a must have for chips (fries) in my book!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
GIVEAWAY
I love HP Sauce so much, I’m giving away THREE bottles so you can try it yourself! Sign up for my newsletter to be in the running, comment below and tell me which dish (19 to choose from) you’d like to try HP Sauce with! That’s it! US addresses only (due to shipping cost) – ends August 19th, 2025 midnight PDT.
What is HP Sauce?
It is what is considered a brown sauce in the United Kingdom. Please don’t consider it similar to A1 Steak Sauce as it’s so much better, tastier, and thicker.
You’ll also find other brown sauces in the UK, but I have never tasted one that is better than HP (yes, in the UK, you can just call it, “HP.”) It’s served alongside many meat and potato dishes.
HP Brown Sauce Ingredients
This famous brown sauce is made using the tomatoes, malt vinegar, molasses, tamarind, and spices. There are now variations including HP Fruity Sauce and HP Barbecue Sauce. (HP Bold is sold in Canada, see my notes below.)
Why is it Called HP Sauce?
The letters HP stand for Houses of Parliament, which is equivalent to the United States Congress. The inventor of this famous brown sauce, Frederick Gibson Garton, originally called it “Banquet Sauce” when he first started selling it in Nottingham, UK in 1899.
When he heard it was being served in the Houses of Parliament, he renamed it to Garton’s HP Sauce. Eventually, he sold the recipe for the sum of £150 to settle a debt, and it’s been sold as HP Sauce ever since! It is now owned my Kraft/Heinz, and no longer produced in the UK, but The Netherlands.
UK’s #1 Brown Sauce
Did you know that 28 MILLION bottles of HP Sauce are sold in a year in the UK? There’s a reason it’s so popular! I hope you give it a try! It’s my favorite and about the only condiment I buy and use frequently. How much do I love it? I travel with the mini packets in my purse! I took this picture on a plane to send to my cousin who brought me the mini packets from Scotland (you cannot buy them in the US.)
And I have been known to buy this HP Sauce and refill my little bottle! I just love the vinegary, peppery flavor, especially when I have chips or fries!
My family are fans, too! Here’s my “cousin in law”, Duncan (my cousin Denisa’s husband) and daughter, Chrissie, looking like they’re in an advertisement for HP!
NOTE: You might notice the Royal Seal on the neck of the bottle and wonder why it’s there. It’s the Royal Warrant of Appointment, which essentially is the British Royals’ seal of approval. So yes, the Royals approve of HP, and so did the late Queen Elizabeth II. Check out her favorite sweet treat: chocolate biscuit cake!
What Dishes can be Served with HP Sauce?
Many British dishes are right at home having HP on the side! Here are a few of them, along with the recipe to make each one ~ (Egg and Chips coming soon!) Hover over the photo and click the link icon in the upper right.
LIST OF BRITISH DISHES WITH WHICH TO SERVE HP SAUCE
- Bridies
- Steak Pie
- Cottage Pie
- Bacon Butty
- Sausage Rolls
- Steak Pudding
- Egg and Chips
- Potato Scones
- Fish and Chips
- Lorne Sausage
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Beans on Toast
- Toad in the Hole
- Bacon Sandwich
- Mince and Tatties
- Scottish Steak Pie
- Potato Croquettes
- Bangers and Mash
- Salmon Fish Cakes
- Cumberland Sausage
- Scottish Sausage Rolls
- Shepherd’s Pie Potatoes
As you can see, most any meat and potato or potato dish from the UK is delicious with HP Sauce on the side. Below, it is served with deep fried, battered black pudding, potato fritters, Heinz beans, pickled onions.
To see other products I use and love, check out my curated list in my British Shop.
BUYER BEWARE
As an HP Sauce aficionada, I must warn you that there are different types sold around the world. I do not recommend versions which are made in North America (either the US or Canada.) This sauce is vile (IMHO), and nothing like the original. I was so excited the first time we saw it in the US, but had to throw the bottle away as it was awful. Be sure to look for the “original” and made in The Netherlands.
Please let me know if I’ve enticed you try it, and what you think of it if you do give it a go!
Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Hey Christina!
Would you please tell me where I can buy the “Official” HP sauce? I would so much love to try it! I have English, Scottish & Irish roots. This is the 1st time that I have heard of it! Thank you so much for this article & recipes! I am looking forward to sharing this with my family!!!
Hi Marlene, if you go back through my post, I link to the original on Amazon, but you can find it also in British shops and Cost Plus World Market. I hope you try it and love it!
Im a student of Chinese cooking, soups in particular. I’ve found that HP sauce is the perfect depth of flavor to enhance Hot and Sour soup.
I used to use HP sauce all the time – on chips, sandwiches, etc. But I read the ingredients and saw it has Gluctose-Fructose syrup, which is a name for High Fructose Corn Syrup!
High Fructose Corn Syrup is NOT a food I allow in my house because it is SO dangerous! Needless to say, I stopped using HP sauce immediately for safety trains.
My go to now is Branston Rich and Fruity brown sauce. It tastes similar enough and I don’t feel like I’m jeopardizing my health and safety or putting my family in harm’s way when I serve it!
While I normally don’t buy foods which contain any corn syrup, I do make an exception for HP Sauce because the amount we are eating is not “dangerous” by any means. I will also add, this product is made in the Netherlands and they don’t use high fructose corn syrup that is made from corn in the US which is by far the WORST type of this type of sweetener.
Yes, people that drink gallons of soda and processed food containing hfcs on a weekly basis are in danger of affecting their health, I agree. The amount of HP Sauce we eat (maybe a tablespoonful a week, if that) isn’t going to have a massive impact on our health given we avoid it in everything else. I respect your decision to make no exceptions, though! :)
Oh and let’s not leave potato scones with HP sauce behind!
Christina, I’ve started a list of recipes I want to cook to try out HP Sauce: Sausage Rolls, Potato and Fish and Chips! I can’t wait to try HP Sauce – I know it will take the recipes over the top!
I’d probably use HP sauce with pretty much any dish because I love it that much! On the list, I’d say forfar bridies just because I’ve wanted to make those!
I would love to try HP Sauce with Fish and Chips and also with full English Breakfast with black pudding! Delicious