What to Eat While Studying: The Best Sour Cream & Onion Chips

I love sour cream & onion chips. I really do. Despite their adverse effects on one’s breath, they have a zing of flavor that keeps me coming back. Every brand has some type of sour cream and onion chip, so I tried them all and here are my final rankings.

8. Sunchips French Onion

French Onion Sunchips are a failed attempt to make sour cream & onion chips fancy. They lack the burst of oniony flavor necessary for a chip to be successful and they leave a weird aftertaste in your mouth.

7. Lays Stax

Lays Stax sour cream & onion chips have the same vibe as pringles due to the artificial flavor and shape, but again they don’t have enough flavor. There is nothing particularly wrong with these chips, but also, there is nothing particularly right about them.

6. Ruffles

Ruffles are a step up from Lays Stax as they are more natural, have more flavor, and are a bit more oily, however, they are simply mediocre.

5. Lay’s

Lay’s are the traditional, cookie cutter, sour cream & onion chip. They have enough flavor and are more natural than their counterparts, but are almost too oily. They leave a liquidy residue on your fingertips that can’t just be wiped away with a napkin.

4. Lays Baked

Lay’s Baked chips are healthier due to the way they are cooked, but don’t taste like it. The flavor of Lay’s Baked is as equally artificial are Pringles, but slightly less impactful. This earns them their spot in the top 50%.

3. Pringles

Pringles are a classic sour cream & onion chip. They are available everywhere and can always be relied on. Pringles are best known for their sour cream & onion flavored powder, which gets all over your fingertips, but can be easily wiped (or licked) off. Pringles exemplify artificial flavor done right.

2. Ridgies

Ridgies does it right. They have flavored powder, they have oil, they pack a punch. The ridges hold lots of flavor and make the chip even crunchier. Part of what makes Ridgies so special is that they are hard to find. They aren’t sold in every stop and shop, and they most certainly aren’t sold in the school cafeteria. Ridgies only appear in odd locations, and finding them is like finding a hidden gem.

1. Utz

These are just amazing. They have the ridges of Ridgies, they have the powder of Pringles, they have the oil of Lays. Utz combines the best aspects of each of the brands before it, earning it the top spot.