The Best Chili Crisps and Chili Crunches, Tasted and Ranked

My favorites after trying 64 kinds

What is chili crisp?

From Wikipedia: “a type of hot sauce, originating from Chinese cuisine, made with fried chili pepper and other aromatics infused in oil, sometimes with other ingredients. Multiple regional, homemade, and restaurant-original versions exist across China. The best-known commercial brand is Lao Gan Ma, which is based on the chili crisps of Guizhou province. The chili crisp is closely related to Chinese chili oil, and sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably, the difference being that the crisp contains edible chunks of food in the chili oil.”

I love chili crisp and my hobby is trying as many as possible. I put it on eggs, pizza, vegetables, sandwiches, hot dogs (with cream cheese!), avocados, noodles, and more.

Even ice cream. Yes, ice cream.

Here are my favorites (as of 9/17/2024):

1. Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp
2. Momofuku Chili Crunch, Regular
3. Fly By Jing, Chengdu Crunch
4. Boon Sauce, Regular
5. Umamei Chili Oil
6. Bullet Sesame Oil Chili Crisp
7. Super Magic Taste Chili Crisp
8. Kwong Shop Chili Crisp No. 5
9. Chilee Oil, Spicy Premium
10. Redbloom Chili Crisp, Medium

*Crunches from This Little Goat appear to no longer be available so they have been removed from the top ten. :(

When I try a chili crisp, I’m looking for the following: complex flavor; a balance of heat/sweet/umami; good texture; some crunch-y elements; and a versatility of applications. It shouldn’t be too sweet or one note spicy. It should not be overly bitter or leave a bitter aftertaste. There shouldn’t be large nut slices or huge garlic pieces out of proportion to the other ingredients.

If you want something more garlicky, I like Mama Teav’s.

If you like a more Sichuan peppercorn-heavy chili crisp, try Su Mala, Xian Famous Foods, or Blank Slate.

If you enjoy something more fish-forward, try Mee’s Way or Homiah Sambal Chili Crunch, Shrimp.

All the chili crisps I have tried:

1. Barnacle Kelp
2. Blank Slate
3. Boon Sauce, Regular
4. Bowlcut
5. Bullet
6. Calabrian
7. Chile Crunch (red jar)
8. Chilee Oil, Spicy Premium
9. CinSoy
10. CinSoy, Spicy
11. Co-op
12. Cravings Smoky Chipotle
13. Cy Eats
14. Fly By Jing, Regular
15. Fly By Jing, Chengdu Crunch
16. Holy Tshili
17. Homiah Sambal Chili Crunch, Shrimp
18. Hot Boi, Fire
19. Hot Boi, Original
20. Hot Crispy Oil
21. Hot Jiang, OG Spicy
22. J. Chang Kitchen, He Thicc Tho 2.0
23. Junzi
24. Karanchi, Original
25. KariKari
26. Kwong Shop No. 5
27. Lao Gan Ma
28. Mama Teav, Mild
29. Mama Teav, OG
30. Me’s Way
31. Momofuku, Black Truffle
32. Momofuku, Extra Spicy
33. Momofuku, Ghost Pepper
34. Momofuku, Regular
35. Mom’s Mala, Mild
36. Mom’s Mala, Spicy
37. Mr. Bing
38. Nowon’s
39. Oo’mämē, Szechuan
40. Pi00a
41. Redbloom, Medium
42. RiceBox
43. S&B
44. Sauce Up NYC
45. Su, Cilantro
46. Su, Five Spice
47. Su, Mala
48. Super Magic Taste
49. Sze Daddy
50. The Bits
51. The Flavor Society, Pizza
52. The Flavor Society, Spicy Pizza
53. This Little Goat, Ranch
54. This Little Goat, Regular
55. This Little Goat, Spicy
56. Trader Joe’s
57. Umamei
58. Umami Hottie
59. Vargo Brother
60. Wei Good Food, OG
61. Wei Good Food, Secret Spice
62. Xian Famous Foods
63. ZinDrew, OG
64. ZinDrew, X-Batch