Hey Spicy food enthusiasts, this one’s for you!
What are the hottest peppers in the world? If you’re looking for this, then you have landed on the right place.
We have prepared the most current hottest peppers list from hottest to mildest with Scoville heat units level details.
Table of Contents
The Hottest Peppers List — An Overview!
Peppers are a staple in many foods worldwide, but some peppers are popular for their intense heat.
There are more than a dozen peppers available out there which are commonly used for making spicy cuisines. But, which are the top hottest peppers? Generally people want to know.
That’s why, we have prepared this list of the hottest peppers in the world, focusing on their Scoville heat scale limits, so that next time you make some spicy food, you add these peppers.
Before the early 1990s, there were only two hottest peppers grown by the farmers, and people commonly known as Scotch bonnet and the habanero peppers, which had been measured above 350,000 SHU.
Peppers growers were not limited to this, after 4 years in 1994, California farmer “Frank Garcia” used a sport of habanero to develop a new peppers which was Red Savina, measured at 570,000 SHU level. Which was hotter than scotch bonnet and habanero at that time.
But, after involving high quality of seeds, amongst all peppers growers in the US, the UK and Australia, there has been a competition to grow the hottest chili pepper. They are continuously focusing on developing more and more hottest peppers.
This time, the first position of most hottest peppers in the world is occupied by the Pepper X, which was measured at 2.69 million SHU.
In this way, there have been many such chillies that made their place in the list of most spicy chillies, and then slowly slipped down the list.
That is why I have prepared a list of the most spicy chillies in the world for you so that you can get information about whether the chili will be more or less spicy depending on how it is eaten.
What does SHU mean?
Before looking into the list of hottest peppers in the world, let’s understand the term SHU.
To measure the pepper heat, the Scoville Scale, given by the creator Wilbur Scoville, measures the spiciness of chili peppers in Scoville Heat Units (SHU).
The higher the value of SHU, the hotter the pepper. For example, a bell pepper has zero SHU level, while a jalapeno ranges from 2500 to 8000 SHU, hence, jalapeno peppers are hotter than a bell pepper.
We will give you an overview about the SHU level of each pepper in the given below table.
| Scoville heat units | Examples |
|---|---|
| 2,693,000 | Pepper X |
| 1,500,000–2,500,000 | Carolina Reaper |
| 750,000–1,500,000 | Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Naga Viper pepper, Infinity chili, Ghost pepper |
| 350,000–750,000 | Red savina habanero |
| 100,000–350,000 | Habanero chili, Scotch bonnet pepper, Madame Jeanette |
| 50,000–100,000 | Bird’s eye chili (Thai chili pepper), Malagueta pepper |
| 25,000–50,000 | Tabasco pepper, Cayenne pepper |
| 10,000–25,000 | Serrano pepper, Aleppo pepper, Cheongyang chili pepper |
| 2,500–10,000 | Jalapeño pepper, Guajillo chili |
| 1,000–2,500 | Poblano pepper |
| 500–1,000 | Cubanelle, Beaver Dam pepper |
| 0–500 | Pimiento |
| 0 | Bell pepper, Peperone Crusco |
What are the Hottest Peppers in the World?
Are you ready to dive into the list of the hottest peppers in the world? Let’s have a look a list:
We have included both certified and uncertified super-hot record holders.
Officially Super-hot Spicy Peppers
From 2007 to 2012, there were 25 different peppers claimed to be the world’s hottest peppers. As of August 2023, Pepper X occupies the first position for becoming the hottest pepper in the world now.
Check out below, all super-hot record holders:
Pepper X — 2,693,000 SHU – Hottest Pepper in the World
As I said, pepper X is on the top of the list, it has about 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units. Hence, it is the hottest pepper in the world.
It was developed by Ed Currie. Before it, Carolina Reaper was the first in the list with 1.64 million SHU, and it was also grown by Ed Currie. However, Pepper X is too hot and used to make the hottest sauce.
Carolina Reaper — 1,641,183 SHU
In the officially record list of super hot peppers, a peppers from Ed currie from US country is in the second position, named Carolina Reaper, and it has about 1.64 million Scoville Heat Units level.
You can consider it milder, hottest pepper when it compares to the hottest pepper in the world.
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Pepper — 1,463,700 SHU
The Trinidad scorpion butch T is officially claimed to be third hottest chili peppers in the world with a reported 1.46 million scoville heat units. The chili peppers originated in the United States and Australia, developed collaboratively by Butch Taylor and Marcel de Wit.
Naga Viper Pepper — 1,382,000 SHU – Officially fourth hottest Pepper in the World
When compared with both officially and unofficially hottest chili peppers in the world, it might have a different position but only considering certified super hot record holders then Naga Viper peppers with 1.38 million scoville heat units, developed by Gerald Fowler and originated in the United Kingdom.
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Pepper — 1,200,000 SHU
In 2012, Wahid Ogeer from Trinidad country, developed the world’s hottest peppers in the world with 1.20 million Scoville heat units. It was overtaken the next year by the Naga Viper.
Infinity Pepper — 1,176,182 SHU
Developed by Nick Woods from the UK, it was the hottest chili peppers in the world with 1.17 million scoville heat units, in 2011. But in the same year, Naga Viper chili acquired the position of hottest peppers.
Ghost Pepper — 1,001,000 SHU
It is one of the most popular peppers in India, developed by Landrance, and has 1 million scoville heat units. It was developed in 2007.
Unofficial Hottest Peppers in the World
Dragon’s Breath Pepper— 2,400,000 SHU – Unofficial Hottest Pepper in the World
It has the second highest scoville heat units after the official hottest chili Pepper X. But unfortunately, it is not officially listed on the world’s hottest peppers. The hottest chili developed by Neal Price and originated in the UK.
Chocolate 7-pot Pepper — 1,800,000 SHU
Don’t fool with the name, actually this one of the hottest peppers in the world, originated in Trinidad and developed by Landrace. It has 1.80 million Scoville heat units.
There are some other unofficially hottest peppers, click here to check all.
Conclusion
It is all about the world’s hottest peppers, as we see Pepper X is the spiciest pepper in the world out of all peppers. Also there are some ultra spicy peppers such as Habanero Pepper (SHU Level: 150,000-350,000), Ghost Pepper (SHU Level: 600,000 – 1,041,427). The best thing about all peppers is that you can use these all to make a delicious and spicy recipe. Explore our Poblano Peppers Recipe to check all recipes using different types of peppers.
If there is any question in your mind, or want to give some suggestions, please comment below. You can also share your experience about any peppers from this list, if you tested.
FAQ’s
What are the top 5 hottest peppers in the world?
Top 5 Hottest Peppers in the world are: Pepper X, Ghost Pepper, Habanero Pepper, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, and Bird Eye Chili Pepper.
What is SHU Level of World Hottest Pepper?
World Hottest Pepper is Pepper X and it’s SHU Level 2,693,000.
What recipe can we make using Pepper X?
Using World Hottest Pepper X, you can make extreme and spicy recipes such as Pepper X hot sauce, Pepper X Mango Salsa, Pepper X Spicy Chili, and Fiery Pepper X BBQ Sauce.
Is there any Pepper which is Hotter than Pepper X?
Currently, no other pepper exists Hotter than Pepper X.
