Since the dawn of time (don’t quote me on that) people have been partaking in spicy food challenges. Lately, though, it seems like everyone’s upping the ante.
Carolina Reaper Challenge
This one’s easy: eat a Carolina Reaper. This pepper’s at the top of the Scoville scale, which measures spiciness. It’s at nearly two million Scoville Heat Units.
This pepper wasn’t made by Mother Nature. It was made by a guy named Eddie Currie, who cross breeds peppers for a living, constantly aiming for new heights.
For reference, a habanero pepper (which is super spicy in its own right) is at about 250,000 SHU. Still want to try this spicy food challenge?
Blazin’ Wing Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings has their own spicy food challenge, and it’s terrifying just to think about. Each wing is made with sauce from the world’s hottest peppers.
Yes: that includes the Reaper. It also includes Ghost, Scorpion, and Devil’s Breath peppers, along with cayenne and jalapeño peppers. You need to eat them all, no breaks.
The prize? A scoop of ice cream, to help you cool down. That’s as big a motivation as any, but we think you deserve some cash, at least.
Paqui One Chip Challenge
Since its release, this chip has garnered a lot of controversy. The challenge? Eat one chip. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Of course, this isn’t just any chip.
The chip is flavored with the Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. Here’s the real kicker: you can’t eat or drink anything to soothe your pain afterwards.
The buzz from this spicy food challenge dwindled in 2023, when a boy’s death was connected to the chip, according to People. It’s since been pulled from shelves.
Hot Ones Challenge
Even if your knowledge of spicy food challenges is limited, you’ve probably heard of Hot Ones. The show challenges celebrities to eat hot chicken wings during an interview.
Hot Ones started in 2015, and has been on an upward climb ever since. Nowadays, it seems like every celebrity is clamoring to take on the challenge.
You don’t need to be a celebrity to try it out, though. They sell packs of Hot Ones sauces for you to try at home.
Death Nut Challenge
The Death Nut Challenge has multiple variations, each one spicier and more insane than the last. It includes a pack of five spicy peanuts.
The first peanut is meant to be hot, but not unbearable. The heat increases in each nut until the final level: the Death Nut.
Each peanut is seasoned with a blend of the world’s spiciest peppers. The Death Nut is about 16 million Scoville Heat Units, so tread lightly.
Choco Challenge 2.0 – White Lightning by Fuego Box
You can probably guess the nature of this challenge from the name. The Choco Challenge by Fuego Box involves eating a “stupid spicy” chocolate bar.
The Choco Challenge is similar to the Death Nut Challenge, in that it’s got multiple versions. Version 2.0 (White Lightning) comes in the form of white chocolate.
What separates this challenge from the others is its connection to charity. A portion of the profits go to Feeding America, a non-profit network of food banks.
Tube of Terror Challenge
If you liked the Death Nut Challenge, then you’ll want to try Johnny Scoville’s Tube of Terror. This is spicy peanut challenge, true to its name, is terrifying.
All it takes is 15 minutes — 15 of the the most excruciating minutes of your life. You have to eat the peanuts within ten minutes.
Then, for five minutes, you need to feel the burn. Drinking milk or doing anything to soothe it is cheating. Yeah, it’s not fun.
Hellfire’s Fear This! Challenge
If there’s one thing you need to know about spicy food challenges, it’s that they almost always involve the Reaper. Hellfire’s “Fear This” sauce is made from it.
The challenge involves eating wings made with the sauce. At least you’ll actually get some real food out of it, instead of a death peanut.
The sauce isn’t just made from the Reaper. It also has garlic, onions, and lemon juice. Not sure if you’ll be able to appreciate the taste, though.
PuckerButt Pepper Company’s Reaper Eating Challenge
The aptly named PuckerButt Pepper Company is responsible for the invention of the Reaper. Remember Ed Currie? He founded this company, which continues to breed spicy peppers.
The Reaper Eating Challenge started in 2019, with contestants from around the globe joining in. Eating a Reaper on its own is a heck of a challenge.
But that’s not all they did. The aim of the contest is to introduce new, unreleased Reaper hybrids. At least competitors are given glasses of milk.
Wing King’s Hot Wing Challenge
This challenge is based in Las Vegas, at Wing Kings. For this hot wing challenge, you need to eat 12 wings in less than 20 minutes.
So, what makes these “hell wings” so spicy? According to the Wing Kings website, the wings’ sauce boasts over nine million Scoville Heat Units.
You don’t win cash if you beat the challenge, but you do get free wings. We just hope that they aren’t made with the same sauce.
Ghost Pepper Challenge
Want to eat a hot pepper but too afraid of the Reaper? Try the Ghost Pepper Challenge! These peppers sit at about one million SHU.
Just so you know, that’s still insanely spicy. People have been eating whole ghost peppers for a while now, just to say they did it.
Also, we don’t think that you should actually try the ghost pepper challenge. Well, do what you want, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The End Hot Sauce Challenge
If a sauce sold in a black bottle called “The End” wasn’t menacing enough, just wait until you hear about the ingredients. It’s got Reaper, because of course.
But that’s not all. To make it even spicier, they added habanero peppers. This hot sauce should only be consumed one drop at a time.
Because one hot sauce wasn’t enough, they released another version, called “Flatline.” This one has a killer combo of Ghost peppers and and Reapers.
Inferno Soup Challenge
This spicy food challenge was popular during the 2010s, and came out of a little restaurant in Florida: Nittaly’s. Based in St. Petersburg, the restaurant serves Thai-Mexican fusion.
Both Thai and Mexican food are known for their spice. I can only imagine how it tastes when combined (but I definitely want to know).
The Inferno Soup is made out of meat, veggies, and a ghost pepper broth. Winners get over $1,000 for beating the challenge. Definitely better than free wings.
Atomic Wing Challenge at Wingstop
Wingstop is a restaurant chain known for their (you guessed it) chicken wings. Of course, they had to cash in on the spicy food challenge fun.
Atomic wings are the hottest wings they’ve got. Thankfully, they don’t include a blend of the hottest peppers known to man, so they’re still edible.
Still, atomic wings are nothing to scoff at. Among other tasty ingredients, like onions, the sauce includes a blend of habaneros, jalapeños, and chipotle peppers.
The Choco Challenge 3.0
Alright, you’ve heard of the Choco Challenge 2.0. Just how much worse can it get? Answer: a lot. Some of the proceeds are still donated, though.
This challenge was dubbed “The Crunch of Doom.” Like White Lightning before it, the Crunch of Doom is a single bar of chocolate is sold in a box.
This time, it’s milk chocolate. The pepper is actually unreleased. It’s called “the Razor,” and, like pretty much every insanely hot pepper, it was made by Ed Currie.
The Last Dab Challenge
If you’ve watched Hot Ones, you know about the Last Dab Challenge. This spicy food challenge is part and parcel with the Hot Ones show.
The Last Dab is a small bottle of hot sauce. At the end of the challenge, you can give your wing one last drop.
There’s multiple versions with different ingredients. The latest, dubbed “The Last Dab XXX,” has Ed Currie’s Pepper X, which is hotter than the Reaper.
Fiery Ghost Pepper Gumball Challenge
These gumballs are sold by Sonoran Spice Company. Ed Currie doesn’t seem to have influenced this one, which is basically unheard of in the world of spice.
The gumballs are coated in a fine ghost pepper powder. They’re also flavored with cinnamon, because the ghost pepper gum was apparently not spicy enough.
To complete the challenge, chew the whole thing, without spitting it out. They’re sold in packs, because the company knows you’ll fail on the first try.
Spicy Ramen Challenge
There’s as many spicy ramen challenges out there as there is spicy ramen. However, one challenge in particular recently took the internet by storm.
A Korean chicken-flavored ramen caught some people’s attention. It wasn’t much different from any other instant ramen, aside from one thing: its spice levels.
To beat the challenge, finish a bowl of Samyang’s Korean Fire Noodles. They’re in between 4,000 and 5,000 SHU, which is pretty excessive for ramen.
Hotter Than Hell Pizza Challenge
Like the spicy ramen challenge, there have been lots of variations of spicy pizza challenges. Morrisons, a U.K. supermarket, released a “Hotter Than Hell” pizza in the 2010s.
The pizza had Naga chilies, which, at one million SHU, had to be handled with rubber gloves. As if that wasn’t enough, the pizza was topped with jalapeños.
The challenge’s rules were simple. Eat the whole pizza without fainting or crying for your mom. Sadly, the Hotter Than Hell pizza was limited-time-only.
Toe of Satan Lollipop Challenge
If you couldn’t already tell from the name, this isn’t your average lollipop. At nine million SHU, the Toe of Satan is merciless and unforgiving.
The challenge demands that you keep the lollipop in your mouth for five minutes straight. Yeah — not fun. I doubt anyone’s ever actually finished one.
The lollipop is made from Hellfire chili extract, which beats out even the Carolina Reaper. The candy’s also got sugar and red #40, if you were curious.
Scorpion Pepper Challenge
Like most other chili pepper challenges, this one has simple rules: eat the Scorpion pepper. How does the Scorpion measure up to its peers?
There are multiple types of Scorpion chili peppers. The New Mexico Scorpion is the least spicy of them all, at around one million SHU.
The spiciest Scorpion is the Trinidad Moruga. This one sits right beneath the Reaper, and beats out the Naga Viper and Ghost, at two million SHU.
Dave’s Gourmet Insanity Sauce Challenge
Like most high-quality hot sauces, Dave’s Gourmet Insanity Sauce was featured on Hot Ones. There are multiple Insanity Sauces for you to dunk your wings into.
The highest levels are made from Scorpion and Ghost peppers. Thankfully, they’re not combined. Instead, each pepper is made into separate sauces, with different flavors.
The simple version of the challenge is to eat wings with one bottle of this sauce. However, if you want to go for the gold, try all 13.
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Challenge
Obviously, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos aren’t as spicy as whatever monstrosity Ed Currie’s dreamt up. That doesn’t mean you should underestimate this spicy food challenge.
The Flamin’ Hot Cheetos challenge requires you to eat several huge bags’ worth of the snack. It definitely isn’t for the faint of heart.
Some YouTubers, like Matt Stonie and Nikocado Avocado, have taken the challenge to the next level, eating 10,000 calories worth. Don’t try this at home.
Hot Sauce Challenge Book of Pleasure & Pain
This case contains 12 miniature bottles of different flavors of hot sauces. If you manage to get through them all, you get bragging rights.
Unlike other hot sauces, these ones actually have flavor. They’ve got wasabi, chile lime, sriracha, cajun, bacon, and roasted garlic, among a few others.
Other flavors, like the Hot Sauce From Hell, Spontaneous Combustion, and Devil’s Revenge, are more heat-focused. This “book” also makes for a great gift.
Chili Pepper Eating Contest at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo
If you’re a chili pepper fanatic, the NYC Hot Sauce Expo is an absolute must. They hold a hot pepper eating contest every year.
There’s a variety of spicy food challenges at the Expo. PuckerButt Pepper Co actually sponsors a Reaper eating challenge, with a cash prize for the winner.
If you don’t want to eat a whole pepper, we don’t blame you. Luckily, there’s other challenges, like the “spicy pizza of DOOM” challenge. Sounds terrifying!
357 Mad Dog Plutonium No. 9 Challenge
This hot sauce has over nine million Scoville Heat Units. Not only is it super spicy, it’s also super expensive. Like, we’re talking almost $150 for one bottle.
One drop of this more than enough. This hot sauce wasn’t made for regular consumption. It was made for people who are truly obsessed with spice.
If you’re still not convinced, then you should know that this sauce contains 60% pure capiscum. That’s the hottest stuff in the world, at 16 million SHU.
Spicy Gummy Bear Challenge
If you think that a little gummy bear can’t hurt you, think again. This gummy bear is right up there with the evil peanut and chip.
Otherwise known as Lil’ Nitro, this bear is sold one at a time, because that’s all you can handle. This tiny bear packs a whopping nine million SHU.
All you need to do to beat this challenge is to eat the bear. You’ll be better off nibbling on a tiny piece first. That’s more than enough.
Hotter Than El Ghost Pepper Sauce Challenge
If you’re a Hot Ones fan, you may recognize this brand. Hotter Than El has had two of its sauces appear on the show, in two different seasons.
The Ghost Sauce appeared in season 12, and is made of ghost peppers. Since we’ve covered some insane peppers so far, that may not seem like much.
But don’t be fooled. It’s definitely spicy. If you really want a challenge, try Hotter Than El’s Love Burns sauce, made with Reapers, Scorpions, and Ghosts.
Fiery Foods Fest Hot Pepper Eating Contest
Similar to NYC’s Hot Sauce Expo, Fiery Foods Fest is an Ohio festival dedicated to all things spice. Naturally, they have a hot pepper eating contest.
The event takes place over an entire weekend, and features a variety of spicy food challenges. The pepper eating challenge involves multiple chilies, including Trinidad Scorpions.
The festival itself actually seems like a fun time. They’ve got vendors selling hot sauces, and spicy food eating contests for those who can’t handle the peppers.
Nashville Hot Chicken Challenge
Fan of spicy food? Don’t feel like eviscerating your taste buds with a demonic gummy bear or death peanut? Try out this spicy food challenge.
Nashville hot chicken sandwiches are one of Tennessee’s iconic food staples. It’s typically seasoned with lots of cayenne pepper, situating it above jalapeños on the Scoville Scale.
People have tried lots of different challenges when it comes to this hot chicken sandwich. They range from eating supersized sandwiches to extra spicy ones.
Would You Try These Spicy Food Challenges?
Here’s the thing: people live and breathe for spicy peppers. They’ll keep increasing the SHU until they burn holes in their mouths. We can’t stop them.
If you eating a death peanut is your definition of fun, then by all means, proceed. Still, proceed with caution. You’re worth more than a peanut.
So, what do you think? If you want to read about more insane food challenges and other foodie-related content, join us at So Yummy.