20 surprisingly spicy foods

Some like it (very) hot

From wasabi to harissa, spicy pastes and sauces have been popular for centuries. Now, stoked by social media challenges, the trend for super-spicy food is seriously heating up – and transforming foods you'd never expect. Whether it’s hot peanut butter, chili-laced chocolate, or scorching gummy bears, brands are turning up the heat in bold and surprising ways.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the unexpected foods that have been given a fiery makeover, counting down to the most surprising of all.

While these foods are all exciting additions to the culinary scene, seriously spicy food and hot food challenges can pose a serious health risk, so do proceed with caution.

20. Salt

Not even humble old salt has escaped being spiced up. Seasoning specialists Behrnes make a range of salts blended with a variety of peppers, from a relatively tame hatch pepper salt that goes well with eggs, popcorn, and red meat, to a blazing hot Reaper version that's great on the rim of a cocktail glass. Different regions of the world have their own spiced salts. The Mediterranean version often includes oregano, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper, while Indian-inspired recipes tend to contain mint, almonds, and fenugreek.

19. Jams and jellies

A delicious fusion of sweet and heat, chili-infused preserves will elevate any cheeseboard, sandwich, or glaze. While chili jam is nothing new, the growing trend for ever-spicier food has seen heat levels increasing, as well as a wider variety of fruit combinations being introduced. These days, you can find everything from mango and habanero jam to apple mixed with seriously fiery Carolina Reaper chilies.

18. Spicy cheese

Made from creamy, Californian Monterey Jack cheese blended with mildly spicy peppers, pepper Jack is probably the best-known spicy cheese. But while pepper Jack is famed for its smooth texture and pleasingly subtle heat, there are some far hotter options out there – think aged Cheddars infused with ghost peppers, Gouda combined with honey and sriracha, and Muenster cheese studded with chunks of jalapeño.

17. Chocolate

If the thought of chili-spiked chocolate appeals, US-based Pepper Joe’s Raging Reaper Chocolate Bar blends rich dark chocolate with Carolina Reaper peppers for a fiery flavor explosion. Should you prefer to consume chocolate as a treat, rather than endurance effort, gourmet brand Hotel Chocolat produces a range of taste bud–tingling treats, including Fire & Ice truffles which combine the coolness of peppermint chocolate and the warmth of chili chocolate in a 70% dark chocolate coating. For a DIY twist, try making your own chocolate truffles studded with Sichuan pepper for a deliciously different treat.

16. Condiments

Condiments were obvious candidates to undergo a super spicy makeover and from gochujang mayo and Jamaican jerk barbecue sauce to wasabi mustard and scorpion pepper salsa, sauce fans have plenty of options to choose from. Heinz alone produces four different varieties of zingy ketchup, including medium-hot chipotle, hot jalapeño, and super-hot habanero. Its Hot 57 Sauce meanwhile is a red jalapeño take on the beloved classic and the first new Heinz 57 Sauce to be released in more than a decade.

15. Honey

Hot honey burst onto the food scene back in 2010, when pizzeria apprentice Mike Kurtz drizzled honey infused with chili peppers over a slice of pizza and effectively created a whole new food category that’s still thriving today. While Mike's Hot Honey is the gold standard, there are a raft of options available to buy, all delivering different levels of heat. You could also have a go at making your own – try drizzling it over pizza or crispy bacon, adding a splash to a salad dressing, or use it to take fried chicken to a whole new level.

14. Chips

Many of us enjoy chips with a hint of paprika or cayenne, but that’s nothing compared to the eye-watering snacks featured in the One Chip Challenge. The viral dare began in 2016 and involves participants attempting to eat a single tortilla chip coated with Carolina Reaper chilies and Naga Viper peppers. However, the challenge isn't without its dangers; a US teenager died in 2023 after eating a chip made by Paqui, the brand behind the trend.

13. Cheese curls

Super spicy cheese curls combine peppery heat with a satisfying, moreish crunch. Whether you're looking for a slow-building burn or an instant explosion of heat, they deliver flavor in every bite. From Xxtra Flamin' Hot Cheetos at the milder end of the scale right up to Herr's Carolina Reaper Flavoured Scorchin' Hot Cheese Curls – which score 1.5 million on the Scoville scale – there's a fiery option for every cheese puff fan out there.

12. Beef jerky

Kilishi (pictured) is a centuries-old spicy dried beef popular in Nigeria. To make it, thin strips of meat are traditionally dried in the sun for several hours and flavored with a paste made from peanuts, paprika, cayenne, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, onion, and garlic. In a modern day take on this idea, some brands have started to produce chili spiced beef jerky – American company Savage Jerky Co., for example, sells a beef jerky marinated with Carolina Reaper, which hits 2.2 million on the Scoville scale.

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11. Gummy bears

Whether you're looking for a sweet and spicy snack to graze on or a single fiery sweet to test your tolerance, hot gummy bears are slowly gaining a following. Brands such as Snak Club have jumped on the trend, offering a range of mildly flavored Tajin Chili & Lime gummies, while at the other end of the scale, the Flamethrower Candy Company claims its Lil' Nitro is the world’s hottest gummy bear, reportedly packing 9 million heat units into each 1oz (3g) sweet. Ouch!

10. Caramels

High-end chocolatiers M. Cacao sell a selection of chili caramels (pictured) designed to get people talking and taste buds tingling. The range features chocolate covered caramels with different types of added pulverized pepper – from fruity Scotch bonnets to seriously spicy ghost pepper and the hottest of the lot, the ‘death by chocolate’ Carolina Reaper Chile Caramel. The company recommends enjoying the caramels with a scoop of ice cream to temper the heat.  

9. Pickles

Pickles (gherkins) are another item that’s perfectly placed to embrace the super spicy trend. You’ll find plenty of chili-spiked pickle products on supermarket shelves, ranging from mild to mouth-burning. It’s also easy to make your own – follow a traditional pickle recipe, then add hot chilies or red pepper flakes to your pickle jar and boom! You've got hot pickles. They're great on burgers and charcuterie boards and in sandwiches, salads, and cocktails – or simply as a snack straight from the jar. 

8. Peanut butter

Peanuts have long been a staple in full-flavored dishes across the world – think Thailand's pad Thai, Indonesian satay and West African peanut stews. So, it was only a matter of time before nut butters were treated to a zingy glow-up. Whether slathered on toast, stirred into dressings, or coupled with chili jam to create a mouth-tingling PB&J sandwich filler or burger topping, fiery nut butters are a taste sensation.

7. Noodles

Much like peanuts, noodles have long been the star of hot and spicy dishes around the world – archaeologists have even discovered a 4,000-year-old bowl of millet noodles in China. These days, Culley's of New Zealand claim to make the world's hottest ramen noodles. Flavored with a chili mash containing ghost and Carolina Reaper peppers, you eat them at your peril!

6. Popcorn

Produced by Intl Popcorn, a family-run company based in the US, Devil’s Heat Popcorn is a super spicy, slightly sweet popcorn that’s only available to adults aged 18 or over. The fiery snack features popped kernels coated in a cupcake batter–flavored cane sugar glaze, then rolled in scorching Trinidad Scorpion pepper with a Scoville rating of 2.1 million. Devil's Heat 2.0 meanwhile claims to contain 4 million heat units. If that sounds too daunting, Popcornopolis’ Takis Fuego popcorn is a good place to start, with a lime and chili flavor and a mere 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville score.

5. Maple syrup

The rich, caramel flavor of maple syrup lends itself perfectly to a chili zing, making spicy maple syrup a great upgrade for nearly any dish you'd normally drizzle with the classic version – pancakes, crispy bacon, and ice cream included. While you can buy ready-made versions, it’s also easy to make your own – just simmer maple syrup in a pan, then add chili flakes and cayenne pepper to taste. It also tastes great spooned over roasted vegetables, barbecued meat, or crispy noodles.

4. Donuts

Dunkin' got in early on the super spicy craze in 2020 with its limited-edition Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut, a classic donut ring topped with a strawberry-flavored glaze and dusted with a cayenne and ghost pepper blend. Since then other brands and donut shops have followed suit, and while most see fluffy donuts topped with chili-flecked icing, there are also options available featuring sugar-dusted donuts stuffed with chili jam, for the ultimate sweet, savory, spicy treat.

3. Chocolate-covered chilies

These chocolate-dipped chilies look like works of art – but don't be fooled. The chocolate-coated habanero, ghost, scorpion, and Carolina Reaper peppers are ‘monsters in delicate clothing,’ according to M. Cacao, the chocolatiers responsible for them. Fans are encouraged to take part in The Tenth Circle Challenge, in which they must eat all four fresh chili peppers in under five minutes and resist food or drink for 10 minutes afterwards. Naturally, it all needs to be recorded and shared on social media, so successful contenders can bask in their glory.

2. Marshmallows

While many foods have already been hijacked by the spicy trend, countless others super spicy ideas are still being dreamt up in home kitchens, just waiting for a food company to bring them to life. Spicy marshmallows are a case in point – search online and you’ll find plenty of recipes for the likes of cayenne pepper and cinnamon marshmallows or marshmallows clocked in chili-speckled chocolate. We think it's only a matter of time before the food brands catch on and cash in.

1. Ice cream

While recipes for spicy ices abound online – from Mexican chocolate and cayenne pepper ice cream to peach-sriracha sorbet – ice cream parlors are increasingly exploring the trend too. Sunni Sky's Homemade Ice Cream Shop in North Carolina hit the headlines after introducing flavors made with habanero and Thai chilies and swirled with ghost pepper hot sauce. Unsurprisingly, customers have to sign a waiver before taking a bite. While that may be too hot for most of us to handle, it's certainly anything but vanilla.

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