These super simple spicy Goldfish are made with a cheddar Goldfish cracker as the base. They're seasoned with hot sauce and and are very easy to customize to make as mild or hot as you like.
They're a great snack on their own, but spicy cheddar Goldfish are also so good in a creamy tomato soup!
These spicy Goldfish crackers were inspired by my recipe for Old Bay Goldfish crackers. I had so many Goldfish left over after recipe testing that more fun Goldfish flavors needed to happen.
So here we are! Making homemade Spicy Goldfish!
If you're looking for other great snack recipes, check out my everything bagel Goldfish crackers, Oven Chex Mix with Pita Chips, Chex Mix Popcorn, Chocolate M&M Popcorn, and Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Patty Cakes.
Jump to:
🌶 About This Recipe - How Spicy Is It?
How hot are these spicy Goldfish? I've written the recipe to deliver a mild-medium level of heat.
What does that mean? If you eat just one spicy Goldfish cracker you might not find it spicy. But who ever eats just one Goldfish cracker? This mild-medium heat level is a really nice snackable sweet spot, imo.
As you start eating more and more spicy Goldfish, that mild heat will build to a very pleasant, lightly tingly medium level of heat. So go ahead, enjoy these spicy Goldfish by the handful!
The base seasoning is butter and hot sauce — taking inspiration from Buffalo sauce — with a little kick from onion, garlic, and tomato powders.
I used the original Cholula hot sauce because it's widely available and easily accessible. You could also use Frank's Red Hot (especially if you missed the limited edition Frank's Red Hot x Goldfish collab), or any of your other favorite basic vinegar based red pepper hot sauces.
I've also included below some suggestions for how to add even more heat if you just really love burning your face off.
🧀 Ingredient Notes
This is what you'll need to make these spicy cheddar Goldfish crackers! All of these ingredients should be pretty easy to find in most grocery stores. See recipe card for quantities.
- Cheddar Goldfish Crackers - While you could use Original Goldfish (aka plain Goldfish) I think these are best with cheddar Goldfish. The cheesy flavor is so good with the heat from the hot sauce and spices.
- Unsalted Butter - Goldfish are already pretty salty, so I recommend using an unsalted butter here. That said, if all you have is salted butter, by all means, use it. It'll be fine.
- Hot Sauce - I used original Cholula hot sauce, but you can use any of your favorite basic vinegar based red pepper hot sauces. Frank's Red Hot, Sriracha, Tabasco, etc will also work!
- Onion & Garlic Powder - Make sure you're using onion powder and garlic powder and not onion salt or garlic salt. These two were a late addition to my recipe testing and totally the right move. Onion and garlic powder make everything better, especially spicy Goldfish.
- Tomato Powder - I used Burlap & Barrel's Sun-Dried Tomato Powder here. It adds a really nice umami, tomato-y flavor that goes well with the cheddar crackers and spicy hot sauce. Without it you kind of just get the flavor of cheddar Goldfish + heat. With the tomato powder, you get a more flavorful heat. If you don't have tomato powder, you could also use a paprika variety, cayenne, or red chile powder. See below for how to make these even spicier.
🥣 How to Make Spicy Goldfish
Making spicy Goldfish crackers is super simple. Start by melting the butter in a small microwave safe bowl in short bursts (7-10 seconds).
Pour the cheddar Goldfish into a large mixing bowl. Have a sheet pan ready to go, and preheat the oven to 250F.
Whisk the hot sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder into the melted butter.
Stir until the Goldfish are fully coated with the spicy butter mixture.
Adding the seasoning to the melted butter first helps get an even coating on the Goldfish crackers. The tomato powder tends to clump, so we'll add that last.
Spread the Goldfish in an even layer on the sheet pan.
Sprinkle the Goldfish crackers lightly with tomato powder.
Once you sprinkle the tomato powder onto your spicy Goldfish, don't stir them. Like I said, the tomato powder tends to get clumpy. We don't want clumps!
Place the sheet pan in the oven to "bake" the crackers for about 30-40 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan every 10 minutes or so.
Once the spicy Goldfish crackers are completely dried throughout, take the pan out of the oven and let them cool completely before tasting. While they're hot it's hard to tell how spicy they actually are.
♨️ Choosing The Right Hot Sauce
I used Cholula hot sauce for this recipe, because it has a nice mild heat and is easy to find in almost any grocery store. You can use any of your favorite red pepper and vinegar based hot sauces here though.
You could even use a homemade hot sauce to really customize the flavor profile of your spicy Goldfish.
In terms of selecting the right hot sauce for the type of heat you want, I do recommend checking your preferred hot sauce against the Scoville scale, which measures how spicy things are, before proceeding.
For reference, Cholula is between 1,000-2,000 on the Scoville scale while Frank's Red Hot clocks in at extremely mild 450. Sriracha runs anywhere from 1,000-2,500 Scoville and Tabasco hot sauce is hotter with a range from 2,500-5,000.
TIP: If you're using a hot sauce that is hotter than 2,500 Scoville, you may want to reduce the amount of hot sauce in the recipe the first time you make it.
Variations // If You Want Extra Spicy Goldfish
Looking for ways to change or adjust the heat of these spicy Goldfish? Here are some different ways you can do that!
- Add cayenne or another spicy ground pepper - Add ⅛ teaspoon cayenne to the melted butter or sprinkle a dash of cayenne overtop instead of or in addition to the tomato powder.
- Add smoked paprika - If cayenne is too intense, try a spicy smoked paprika instead. Sprinkle it over the Goldfish instead of or in addition to the tomato powder.
- Chiles de arbol - Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat along with one or two dried arbol chiles. Let the chiles infuse the butter for 5-10 minutes, then remove them and stir in the hot sauce and seasonings. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as usual.
- Buffalo Goldfish - Add ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce to the butter.
⏲️ How to Store Spicy Goldfish
As long as your homemade spicy Goldfish have been completely dried throughout, they have about the same shelf life as regular Goldfish crackers.
You don't want any trapped moisture when you store them! Make sure they're completely dry, then store in an airtight container.
💭 Recipe FAQ
Yes, BUT oil evaporates and dries at a higher temperature than butter does so you may need to extend the drying time for the crackers. You'll also lose the delicious buttery flavor.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Goldfish
Ingredients
- 1 (6.6 oz) bag Cheddar Goldfish
- 70 grams unsalted butter (5 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (Cholula, Frank's Red Hot, Tabasco, Sriracha, etc)
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon tomato powder (sprinkled over before baking)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Have a large sheet pan ready.
- Melt butter in 7-10 second bursts in the microwave. When just a few slivers of butter remain, stop microwaving and stir until butter is completely melted.
- Mix the hot sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder into the melted butter.
- Pour Goldfish crackers into a large mixing bowl, then stir the spicy butter into the crackers until they are fully coated.
- Pour the Goldfish onto the sheet pan and use a spatula or your hands to arrange them in an even layer so they don't stick together.
- Sprinkle tomato powder (or cayenne, paprika, red chile powder, etc) lightly over the Goldfish, depending on how much flavor or heat you want them to have. To avoid clumping, do not stir the Goldfish again until after they're in the oven.
- Bake for 20-40 minutes (or longer, if needed) until the Goldfish are dried throughout. Gently shake or stir the pan every 10-15 minutes as needed. Remove and let cool completely before eating.
- Store in an airtight container.
RECIPE NOTES
- If using a hot sauce over 2,500 Scoville, you may want to reduce the amount of hot sauce in the recipe.
- Add cayenne or another spicy ground pepper - Add ⅛ teaspoon cayenne to the melted butter or sprinkle a dash of cayenne over the Goldfish on the sheet pan instead of or in addition to the tomato powder.
- Add smoked paprika - If cayenne is too intense, try a spicy smoked paprika instead. Sprinkle it over the Goldfish instead of or in addition to the tomato powder.
- Chiles de arbol - Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat along with one or two dried arbol chiles. Let the chiles infuse the butter for 5-10 minutes, then remove them and stir in the hot sauce and seasonings. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as usual.
- Buffalo Goldfish - Add ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce to the butter.
Nikki
I have made these several times and they are delicious each time! They will be my go to party snack from now on