Skip to Content

The 20 Hottest Hot Sauces Will Make You Feel The Burn

Enter at your own risk.

By and
hottest hot sauce

Delish editors handpick every product we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

If you are here, you are a masochist. Like, great, you do you. But apparently "doing you" means trying hot sauces with names like The End, The Hottest Sauce in the Universe, and Smack My Ass & Call Me Sally. Those are three of the 20 hottest hot sauces on the market, which we've rounded up below. You in or what?

Our top picks

How we chose these products

This roundup consists of some of the hottest hot sauces on the market. Please believe us when we tell you that they will burn—do not, under any circumstances, touch your eyes when handling them. But that was what we looked for when searching for what hot sauces to include—the spiciest, zingiest, most fiery hot sauces available on the market. A lot of them use the Carolina Reaper, officially the world's hottest pepper, so you know we aren't kidding around. We also asked some chefs to give us their favorite super spicy hot sauces to include on this list. Those options have a kick, of course, but also some serious flavor. Feel free to incorporate those into your dishes, test your strength with just a dab, or go full Hot Ones by buying them all and tasting them in order of hotness. Read the below of our recs for the hottest hot sauces with extreme caution. It's not for the faint of heart.

Looking for more spice in your life? Here's a roundup of some seriously spicy recipes. Want to make your own hot sauce? Check out our recipe.

LD50 Hot Sauce

LD50 Hot Sauce

Think you can handle 3 million Scoville Units? Then you need to try LD50 Hot Sauce. But maybe take this review as your warning: "Sure, it turns your guts into a wood stove. But it's delicious. Heat is intense—sharp on the tongue, warm in the stomach, rings of sweat around eyes. God help the fool who gets any into their sinuses."

Tapatio Hot Sauce

Tapatio Hot Sauce

This Mexican-American hot sauce "has more heat than sriracha but is the perfect substitute if you want to add an extra kick," said Ruben Rodriguez, chef and owner of Nai Restaurant Group. "Just like sriracha, it’s perfect to eat by itself or to make the perfect glaze with it."

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Bushwick Kitchen Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha Hot Sauce

Bushwick Kitchen Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha Hot Sauce

Looking for something with lots of flavor and lots of heat? Go for this hot sauce from Bushwick Kitchen. "It is similar in texture to the famous original sriracha and can be used in all the same applications," said Andy Quinn, co-owner and executive chef of The Noortwyck in Brooklyn. "The gochujang adds an extra layer of umami due the fermentation process."

Crystal Hot Sauce

Crystal Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

This hot sauce comes from Louisana and will be sure to add a serious kick to any dish. "Not too hot, great acidity, tang and viscosity, it finds itself in a lot of my dishes usually as a background note," said Chef John Manion at Chicago's El Che Steakhouse & Bar. "If I feel like something needs a punch, more often than not I'm reaching for Crystal."

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Wicked Reaper Carolina Hot Sauce

Wicked Reaper Carolina Hot Sauce

If you need to hear the praises from a customer, just read this review: "It gives you a nice burn in the back of your throat and your entire mouth in general. Your sinuses will run," this reviewer said. "The flavor is insane in this sauce and it really is a great tasting hot sauce, perfect hot wings."

Heartbreaking Dawns Reapercussion

Heartbreaking Dawns Reapercussion
Credit: Amazon

This spicy sauce is made with pod primo chilis, which have an intense heat (obviously) with a fruity taste and floral scent. It also has a nice hint of garlic and lime, prefect to spice up your tacos.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Melinda’s Red Savina Pepper Hot Sauce

Melinda’s Red Savina Pepper Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

At 675,000 Scoville units, Melinda's Red Savina Pepper Hot Sauce is twice as hot as your habanero peppers, but it strikes a nice balance with the addition of carrots, vinegar, onion, and lime juice.

Dingo Sauce Co. Widow Maker Hot Sauce 150ml

Dingo Sauce Co. Widow Maker Hot Sauce 150ml

Widow Maker (yes, that's what's it's actually called) is no joke. Made with six of the world's hottest chilis—7 Pot, Butch T, Carolina Reaper, Moruga Scorpion, Trinidad Scorpion, and Naga Viper—this sauce is slightly balanced with some sweetness and tang of vinegar. Your mouth and throat will be on fire with just a dab.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Mad Dog 357 Mad Dog 357 No. 9 Plutonium

Mad Dog 357 No. 9 Plutonium
Credit: Amazon

This isn't so much a hot sauce as it is a death wish. The extract registers 9 million on the Scoville scale, and it's 60 percent pure capsicum. A bolded, all caps, red warning on the site reads: DO NOT CONSUME DIRECTLY - FOOD ADDITIVE ONLY!

The Source Hot Sauce

The Source Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

There are 100 pots of chili in every one ounce of this stuff, which measures 7.1 million on the Scoville scale. The makers caution you to add it to food and not try it straight out of the bottle.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

CaJohns Fiery Foods Get Bitten Black Mamba 6 Hot Sauce

CaJohns Fiery Foods Get Bitten Black Mamba 6 Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

That "Six" in the name refers to the fact that this sauce is made with extract that has 6 million Scoville units (plus some chocolate habanero peppers). "It will give ya a burn for 5-10 min," one Amazon reviewer said.

Pepper Palace The End Hot Sauce

Pepper Palace The End Hot Sauce
Credit: Pepper Palace

Pepper Palace, the (evil) shop responsible for creating the 6 million Scoville sauce, The End, has a Wall of Flame. Post your reaction to trying this sauce on social media and tag it #WallOfFlame, and you could end up on it. One winner every month will even get $250 to the shop.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Bumblef**ked Hot Sauce

Bumblef**ked Hot Sauce

The habanero chilis in this are smack-you-in-the-face hot at 6 million Scoville, but the description also says honey mustard, Caribbean fruits, ginger and ginseng round out the taste.

CaJohns Z Nothing Beyond Extremely Hot Sauce

CaJohns Z Nothing Beyond Extremely Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

We know that whole "nothing beyond" thing isn't exactly true given the other hot sauces on this list that are hotter—but a 4 million on the Scoville scale is still something worth recognizing.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Pepper Palace Hottest Sauce in the Universe, The 2nd Dimension

Pepper Palace Hottest Sauce in the Universe, The 2nd Dimension
Credit: Pepper Palace

Don't let the cute blue wax seal and the '90s logo fool you: This stuff registers 3.5 million on the Scoville Scale.

PuckerButt Pepper Company Reaper Squeezin's

PuckerButt Pepper Company Reaper Squeezin's
Credit: Amazon

PuckerButt Pepper Company rates the heat of Reaper Squeezin's "painfully hot." In reality, it's 2.2 million Scoville. Do do with that what you will.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Hot Ones The Last Dab XXX

Hot Ones The Last Dab XXX
Credit: Hot Ones

If you're here, you've probably watched "Hot Ones." You know that last sauce Sean Evans and his guest always taste? This is it—and it measures 2 million on the Scoville Scale.

Chet's Gone Mad Smack My Ass & Call Me Sally Hot Sauce

Chet's Gone Mad Smack My Ass & Call Me Sally Hot Sauce
Credit: Amazon

Try this stuff, which clocks in at 1.5 Million Scoville—then decide if you care to reenact the scene on the bottle or not.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Blair's Mega Death Hot Sauce with Liquid Fury

Blair's Mega Death Hot Sauce with Liquid Fury
Credit: Blair's

As if the whole "Mega Death" name wasn't enough, this sauce comes in coffin packaging with a skull keychain. Game? Prepare yourself for the 550,000 SHU sauce about to hit your tongue.

Elijah's Xtreme Carolina Reaper Hot Pepper Sauce

Elijah's Xtreme Carolina Reaper Hot Pepper Sauce
Credit: Elijah's Xtreme

You'll find Carolina Reapers, one of the world's hottest peppers in this hot sauce, which measures between 250,000 and 1 million SHU. But it's got a hit of sweetness, too, thanks to sweet black cherries and cranberries.

Watch Next 
preview for Watch Our Newest Videos
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below