How hot is Frank's RedHot?
Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce is rated 450 SHU by Wikipedia, citing a US heat chart and CBS News. Even the highest published figure (450 SHU) is below a typical jalapeño pepper (5,000 SHU).
Checked October 20, 2026 · How we source facts
Every published figure
| Figure | Who published it | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 450 SHU | Wikipedia, citing a US heat chart and CBS News[1] | Press figure |
McCormick publishes no Scoville figure for Frank's RedHot, so the 450 comes from press heat charts. It is one of the mildest widely sold hot sauces.
What’s inside
Aged cayenne peppers. Made by McCormick & Company.
A sauce is always milder than its hottest pepper, because the pepper is diluted with vinegar, salt and other ingredients. For comparison, the peppers themselves:
- Cayenne40,000 SHU
Facts
- Frank's RedHot reached the market in 1920. It was developed by the Frank Tea and Spice Company, founded in Cincinnati in 1896.[1]
- McCormick acquired the brand with French's in a $4.2 billion deal that closed in August 2017.[1]
- Despite the legend, it was probably not the sauce on the original 1964 Anchor Bar Buffalo wings.[1]
- The XTRA Hot version is listed at 2,000 SHU.[1]
Questions
How many Scoville units is Frank's RedHot?
450 SHU (Wikipedia, citing a US heat chart and CBS News). None of these is a published lab test of the sauce.
Is Frank's RedHot hotter than a jalapeño?
Even the highest published figure (450 SHU) is below a typical jalapeño pepper (5,000 SHU).
More hot sauces
- How hot is Tabasco?2,500–5,000 SHU
- How hot is Sriracha (Huy Fong)?2,200 SHU
- How hot is Cholula?1,000–2,000 SHU
- How hot is Da' Bomb Beyond Insanity?135,600 SHU
- How hot is Mad Dog 357?357,000 SHU
- How hot is The Last Dab: Xperience?2,693,000 SHU
- How hot is El Yucateco Red Habanero?7,600–9,500 SHU
- How hot is Valentina?900 SHU
- How hot is Tapatío?3,000 SHU
- All 30 sauces, with sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, citing a US heat chart and CBS News: Frank's RedHot: 450 SHU (secondary source)