Best Chili Crisp Brands in 2026: What Independent Reviewers Actually Say

ByNina Sloane

Chili crisp has traveled a long way from a single jar made in Guizhou to shelves at nearly every grocery chain in North America — and the options in 2026 are genuinely dizzying. We read through seven independent taste tests and roundups so you don’t have to, mapping where food critics largely agree and, more importantly, where they sharply part ways.

The short version

If you want one jar that almost every reviewer endorses, Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp and S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil finish near the top of nearly every ranked list. For premium Sichuan authenticity, Fly By Jing earns consistent praise but sharply divides critics on texture and value. For a budget pick, Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion earns wildly different verdicts depending on which outlet you consult. And two lesser-known names — GUIZ Original and Bullet Sesame Oil Chili Crisp — have each claimed a top spot from at least one rigorous reviewer, even if the wider field hasn’t caught up yet.

How this roundup works

We synthesised findings from Chowhound, Sporked, Tasting Table, The Takeout, The Ramen Rater, Portland Monthly, Flavor Index Lab, and The Kitchn. These are independent editorial and food-journalism outlets that comparative-tasted products without manufacturer sponsorship (where disclosed). Our role is to surface consensus and surface real disagreements — not add our own palate to the pile.

Brands at a glance

Brand Style Heat level Approx. price (2026) Sourced from
Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp Classic Sichuan Medium ~$4–$6 / 7.4 oz The Kitchn, The Takeout, Chowhound, Sporked
S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil Japanese garlic-forward Mild ~$9–$13 / 3.9 oz The Kitchn, Tasting Table, Sporked, Flavor Index Lab
Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp Sichuan artisan Medium–high ~$15–$17 / 6 oz Sporked, Tasting Table, The Ramen Rater, Chowhound, Portland Monthly
Momofuku Chili Crunch Fusion / garlic-sesame Medium–high ~$11–$15 / 5.5 oz Sporked, Tasting Table, The Takeout, Chowhound
Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion Fusion / budget Mild ~$4.49 / 6 oz Chowhound, Flavor Index Lab, Portland Monthly, The Takeout
GUIZ Original Sichuan Chili Crisp Sichuan artisan Medium Varies by retailer Flavor Index Lab
Bullet Sesame Oil Chili Crisp Taiwanese sesame-forward Medium Varies by retailer Tasting Table, The Ramen Rater
Mishima Chef Troy’s Crunchy Chili Garlic Japanese-American Medium ~$6.49 / 4 oz Chowhound

What the reviews agree on

Lao Gan Ma is the enduring benchmark

Across virtually every roundup consulted, Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp earns a place in the top tier. The Kitchn’s Ali Domrongchai named it the outright winner from nine jars tested, calling it “crispy, garlicky, loaded with texture” and praising its remarkable value for the price. The Takeout ranked it first among six brands for its boldly umami-forward character. Chowhound places it fifth out of fourteen — well within the upper tier — and specifically notes its fermented black beans as distinctively crunchy rather than chewy. Even Flavor Index Lab, which rates it “good” rather than “excellent,” endorses it as an exceptional everyday value. The one consistent note: the jar contains no garlic, which Chowhound flags as a gap for garlic enthusiasts.

S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil overdelivers on umami and texture

The Japanese-made S&B jar earns near-universal praise. Tasting Table ranks it second overall among fifteen brands, crediting the combination of soy sauce powder, MSG, and sesame oil for its remarkably deep savoriness. Sporked gives it 9.5 out of 10 and calls it a daily pantry staple. Flavor Index Lab places it in its “great” tier, noting a very high ratio of crispy solid ingredients to oil — making it particularly well-suited to rice and noodle dishes. The Kitchn names it runner-up from nine brands tested. The consistent caveat across all sources: S&B prioritises garlic and umami over fire, so it will likely underwhelm anyone looking for a real chili burn.

Texture and crunch are non-negotiable quality markers

Multiple outlets independently conclude that the ratio of crunchy solid ingredients to oil matters as much as spice level. Chowhound praises its top pick, Mishima Chef Troy’s Crunchy Chili Garlic, for nailing “the ratio of oil to crunch.” Flavor Index Lab explicitly reports solids-to-oil percentages as a core evaluation metric. Tasting Table’s highest-rated picks — Bullet and S&B — both earn marks specifically for textural consistency. Brands producing soggy or insufficiently fried solids consistently lose ground in every roundup, regardless of how good the flavoured oil itself might taste.

Where they disagree

Fly By Jing: a revelation or overpriced and under-crisp?

This is the sharpest divide across all the roundups surveyed. Sporked gives Fly By Jing’s original Sichuan Chili Crisp 9.5 out of 10, praising its umami-forward complexity of ginger, seaweed, and shallots. The Ramen Rater calls it “really nice stuff” with authentic Sichuan peppercorn character. Tasting Table ranks it fifth overall and describes a pleasingly toasted flavour that approaches — but doesn’t cross — bitterness. Yet Portland Monthly’s blind tasting places it firmly in an “okay” tier, criticising it as too salty and insufficiently crispy despite its considerable cultural cachet. Chowhound ranks it ninth out of fourteen, noting that both the chilis and garlic fall short of full crispness and that the overall consistency is notably oily. At $15–$17 per six-ounce jar, that disagreement has real financial stakes for the shopper.

Momofuku: spicy knockout or disappointing base version?

Momofuku’s verdict hinges almost entirely on which variant reviewers tested. Sporked rates the Extra Spicy version 9.5 out of 10, singling out its “scalp-tingling” heat and the quality of its chili-infused oil. The Takeout ranks the original second out of six brands for its balance of sweetness and sesame umami. Tasting Table, however, places the original Momofuku ninth out of fifteen, faulting it for lacking both crispness and savory depth, while commending the black truffle variant as exceptional for pizza and pasta applications. Chowhound ranks it tenth and describes it as “prohibitively expensive” given its textural shortcomings. The emerging cross-reviewer picture is that Momofuku’s specialty and Extra Spicy variants significantly outperform the base version — but not every tester reaches the same jar.

Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion: great value or bland grit?

Few products in this space produce more contradictory verdicts. Chowhound ranks it third out of fourteen, praising its fine texture and broad culinary versatility at $4.49 per jar. Flavor Index Lab places it in its “great” tier — a notch above Lao Gan Ma — for its solid ratio and accessible flavour profile. But Portland Monthly’s tasters placed it in an outright avoid category, describing the chili flavour as “barely present” and the texture as “bland, boring, and almost gritty.” The Takeout also positions it near the bottom of its six-brand ranking. Whether the Trader Joe’s version works may come down to regional batch variation, or to what a given reviewer expects chili crisp to taste like coming in.

GUIZ Original: Flavor Index Lab’s sole top-tier pick that most lists have ignored

Flavor Index Lab is the only outlet in this survey to award any product an “excellent” designation — their top tier — and it goes to GUIZ Original Sichuan Chili Crisp. The site praises its finely ground peanut and sesame solids and describes the Sichuan peppercorn numbing heat as complementing rather than overwhelming the other flavours. The problem is that GUIZ did not appear in Chowhound’s fourteen-brand ranking, Tasting Table’s fifteen-brand ranking, or any other roundup consulted here. Strong single-source praise from a methodical, metrics-driven reviewer is worth flagging; it cannot yet be called a multi-outlet consensus pick.

Bullet Sesame Oil Chili Crisp: Tasting Table’s number one with a narrow evidence base

Tasting Table names the Taiwanese-made Bullet its overall best chili crisp, crediting its cold-pressed toasted sesame oil base, short high-quality ingredient list, and consistent heat spikes. The Ramen Rater also recommends it regularly. However, no other outlet in this survey independently tested it, and Tasting Table itself acknowledges that its intense sesame character “could be divisive for some.” It is a genuinely compelling recommendation — but with thinner cross-source corroboration than Lao Gan Ma or S&B.

FAQ

What is the difference between chili crisp and chili oil?

Chili oil is primarily an infused oil, sometimes with settled sediment; chili crisp (or chili crunch) contains a substantially higher proportion of solid fried ingredients — garlic, shallots, fermented beans, sesame seeds, or peanuts — giving it a distinct textural component alongside its flavour. Flavor Index Lab, notably, reports solids-to-oil ratios as a central quality metric in its testing methodology.

Is Lao Gan Ma still the best overall pick in 2026?

For most critics in this survey, yes — it remains the benchmark by which other jars are judged. The Kitchn and The Takeout both name it their outright winner, and it finishes in the top tier of the majority of roundups reviewed here. That said, Tasting Table places it fourth out of fifteen and Flavor Index Lab rates it “good” rather than “excellent,” so it does have challengers. For value-per-ounce, no reviewer in this survey disputes its standing.

Which chili crisp is best for people who don’t like a lot of heat?

Both S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil and Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion are consistently described as mild across multiple independent roundups. Sporked calls S&B a “daily pantry staple” with emphasis on garlic and umami over fire, and The Kitchn names it runner-up partly for its approachable, well-balanced profile. Flavor Index Lab also rates S&B “great” and highlights its versatility from breakfast eggs to noodle dishes.

Does a higher price mean a better chili crisp?

Based on the roundups surveyed, the correlation is weak at best. Fly By Jing ($15–$17) and Momofuku ($11–$15) earn high marks from some reviewers but rank poorly in Portland Monthly’s and Chowhound’s tests. Chowhound’s own top pick, Mishima Chef Troy’s Crunchy Chili Garlic, costs about $6.49 and beats both premium brands in that outlet’s ranking. Lao Gan Ma wins multiple taste tests at roughly $4–$5. These results collectively suggest that price is a poor proxy for taster satisfaction in this category.

What is the best chili crisp for cooking versus using as a finishing condiment?

Reviewers consistently distinguish between using chili crisp as a straight finishing condiment and stirring it into a dish during cooking. The Kitchn tested products both ways. Tasting Table notes that specialty variants such as a chili lime option from This Little Goat work particularly well on tacos, while the black truffle Momofuku is better suited to pasta or pizza. For straight-from-jar finishing, crunch and umami depth — Lao Gan Ma, S&B, and Bullet — earn the highest cross-source marks; for cooking into sauces or marinades, heat balance and oil quality tend to become the more relevant factors.

Sources


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