Sure you can nibble on pitta chips, nuts, or pretzels, but do any of these options truly hold a candle to a basic bag of potato chips? Moreish, crispy, and flavored with anything from ranch and dill pickle to the classic salt and vinegar, Lay’s chips are the ultimate champions when it comes to crunchy, carb-filled munchies. The leading potato chip brand in the U.S., Lay’s has one potato chip flavor that’s as perfect as any snack can get, according to our taste test — sour cream and onion.
The winner in our list of 20 Lay’s potato chips flavors, ranked, this popular variety had a bright and aromatic onion taste and a texture that was light and crisp. There was a definite tang from the sour cream, which also imbued these incredible chips with a creamy richness and luxe quality. While some of the other chips we tasted had a long list of ingredients, including spicy peppers and pungent cheeses, this flavor was perfect in its pared-back form.
Take a look at the ingredients list and you’ll find that the rich allium flavor and aroma of these chips comes from onion powder, and the pretty green flecks from parsley. However, that distinctive tang is most definitely from the sour cream, which is a fermented dairy product that has a naturally acidic character. It’s this combination that imbues the potato chips with a complex layer of flavor that has an almost-cheesy vibe and slightly buttery texture.
Lay’s sour cream and onion chips are aromatic and moreish
While other sour cream and onion chip brands feature many of the same ingredients as Lay’s offering, they simply aren’t as yummy nor as crispy. In fact, Lay’s version of these tangy chips is so good that it also took the top spot in our list of sour cream and onion chips, ranked, where we tasted 14 different brands including Ruffles, Pringles, and Miss Vickie’s. They had an inviting aroma that hit us as soon as we opened the bag and a lingering aftertaste that made us head back for more. The other chips we tried had their plus points, but none of them could compete with Lay’s.
The loser in our taste test was Lay’s Kettle Cooked Flamin’ Hot flavor because in our eyes there’s no place for a chip to be so spicy. The big and bold flavor of this offering just seemed random; there are plenty of other spicy snacks, which don’t come in chip form, that are superior, like the best varieties of Cheetos. The second worst flavor in the list — Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue — had the opposite problem. It simply didn’t live up to its name and was missing the spicy note we’d expected from the description.
