Freddie Lee's Gourmet Sauces

Made by hand in St. Louis, Missouri, by Deborah and Freddie L. James Jr. The same recipe, the same family, for forty years.

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  • Gluten free
  • Vegan friendly
  • Made without high-fructose corn syrup
  • All-purpose gourmet sauce
  • Since 1986
  • St. Louis, Missouri
  • Grilled · Fried · Smoked · Baked
  • Gluten free
  • 1,200+ chain stores
  • Family owned
Two labels. One recipe. One family.

Pick your label

Same all-purpose sauce, same five stars, same St. Louis kitchen. Choose the label you like, then choose your heat.

Freddie Lee's Ghetto Sauce
Freddie Lee's Ghetto Sauce, mild, 18 oz jar
Mild
Freddie Lee's Ghetto Sauce, spicy, 18 oz jar
Spicy

The original. Named on a front porch in St. Louis, now carried by chains with more than 1,200 stores nationwide.

Freddie Lee's American Gourmet Sauce
Freddie Lee's American Gourmet Sauce, mild, 18 oz jar
Mild
Freddie Lee's American Gourmet Sauce, spicy, 18 oz jar
Spicy

The same sauce under a second label, carried by Schnucks, Dierbergs, and Straub's.

A 1986 recipe, on shelves nationwide

1986 Recipe created
2010 Became a business
1,200+ Stores in the chains that carry it

Available at

See every stockist

The one on the shelf

The full shelf

Mild or spicy, under either label. The 18 oz jar is the one on the shelf at Schnucks. Gallons and 12-jar cases are a click away.
See every size
At the table

Recipes from the community

Reddit threads, cooking forums, and local food stories show how home cooks use Freddie Lee's all-purpose gourmet sauce across the table.

From pork steaks to pizza
Home cooks

From pork steaks to pizza

A St. Louis cooking thread highlights pork steaks, chicken Parmesan, BBQ chicken pizza, ribs, wraps, cheesesteaks, and sloppy Joes.

Read the discussion →
Country-style ribs
Barbecue forum

Country-style ribs

A long-running barbecue forum features Freddie Lee's on country-style pork ribs, alongside a home-cooked summer meal.

Read the forum post →
A St. Louis original
Local food story

A St. Louis original

Missouri Life traces the sauce from a family kitchen to a growing St. Louis business and notes its use with spaghetti, lasagna, shrimp, and Bloody Marys.

Read Missouri Life →
Chicken on the smoker
Home cooks

Chicken on the smoker

“Went with some Freddie Lee's Ghetto sauce. Little heat to it.”
Home-cooked dish shared on Smoking Meat Forums
View the original post →
A sauce for more than barbecue
St. Louis media

A sauce for more than barbecue

Saint Louis In Tune describes the sauce as multi-purpose, with uses ranging from soups and chili to sloppy Joes, spaghetti, tacos, and meats.

Read the feature →
Chicken and shrimp samples
Since 2012

Chicken and shrimp samples

The Wine and Cheese Place recalls Freddie Lee grilling chicken and shrimp while introducing customers to the sauce.

Read the archive post →

Third-party mentions are linked for attribution. Freddie Lee's does not claim ownership of those publications or forum posts.

From the people who know it

A sauce people remember

Reviews and comments from customers, home cooks, and St. Louis neighbors.
I was in Dierbergs (Lemay Plaza) when I passed a gentleman handing out samples of his sauce. Best sauce I have ever eaten. I bought it. He was such a nice gentleman, and I will purchase again and again.
Jennie Souhrada
Bought some Ghetto Sauce from you in Augusta during Masters week. Used it on ribs last weekend and they were unbelievable. Love your sauce, Freddie Lee. I will be ordering more.
John W. Sands
I told him his sauce is my go-to sauce for pork steaks and he replied, ‘well that makes us family.’
Bastard_of_BastogneWebster Groves · r/StLouis
It’s hard to find a company you can trust. Freddie Lee’s was recommended to me by a friend, and now I know why: the quality of service I received was outstanding.
Vienna P. Brown
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The Freddie Lee's archive

Recipes, history, and community

Explore recipes, family history, press coverage, and everyday ways to use Freddie Lee's.

Freddie Lee's sauce being ladled in a spiral over fresh pizza dough
From the kitchen

Recipes

Find recipes for glazing, dipping, marinating, and stirring Freddie Lee's into everyday meals.

Explore recipes →
Deborah James and Freddie L. James Jr. holding jars in their Carr Street plant, beside the cooking kettles
Our story

From the porch

The name, the family, and the St. Louis story behind the sauce.

Read our story →
The bottling line at the Carr Street plant, trays of empty bottles waiting to be filled
In the community

Made in St. Louis

See the milestones, press, and neighborhood story behind the sauce made on Carr Street.

Read the feature →
1986

The recipe begins

Freddie creates the family sauce that becomes the foundation for the brand.

2010

The business takes shape

The family turns a beloved recipe into a growing St. Louis business.

2022

Carr Street home

The Jameses purchase their own Carr Street plant and deepen the St. Louis roots of the brand.

Our story

It started on the front porch

For years, Deborah and Freddie L. James Jr. shared their sauce with family, friends, and co-workers, who kept asking what it was called. It did not have a name. One hot summer afternoon, the couple finished a batch and stepped onto the porch to escape the heat of the kitchen.

Honey, one day GOD is going to bless us to get out of the Ghetto. And that is how the sauce got its name

Today it is made in the Jameses' own plant on Carr Street in St. Louis, which they bought in 2022. Every jar is gluten free, vegan friendly, and made without high-fructose corn syrup.

Read the full story
Deborah and Freddie L. James Jr., owners and operators
Deborah and Freddie L. James Jr., owners and operators