Concept: a deep-fried dill pickle with a tangy dipping sauce
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: This chip tastes exactly like they said it would, with one of our tasters referring to it a “creamy pickle” before she even knew what it was supposed to taste like. Bottom line: if you like pickles, you’ll like this chip.
Concept: a chip based on the famed Chicago slices
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: A better name for this flavor might have been “pizza sauce” because all we could taste was a bottle of Ragu, and some of us just weren’t huge fans. One of our tasters was so repulsed by the smell of the chip they could barely eat it and another likened the taste to stale pizza sauce from a Lunchable.
Concept: the package describes it as “legendary Tex-Mex taste of velvety cheddar queso with a dash of spice”
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: Although some tasters complained of an artificial cheese taste (that’s kind of the point), most of us said this chip was our favorite of the Lay’s Tastes of America flavors. It’s reminscient of a cheesy Mexican dip with a spicy kick at the end. We could polish off a bag in one sitting, no problem.
Concept: a custom blend of spices mixed with seafood in a chip
Grade: B-
Tasting Notes: Although some tasters got hints of seafood in the chips’ smell, the crab-boil flavor isn’t as prominent as we imagined it would be, and it wasn’t heavy enough of on the spice. However, because of its subtle flavor and overpowering celery seed taste, one taster said she would enjoy these chips as an accompaniment to a Tuna sandwich.
Concept: transforming the famed buttery roll of New England into a chip
Grade: C-
Tasting Notes: These chips were polarizing among our tasters, while some said taste more like they’re flavored with sour cream (not a bad thing, but not quite buttery enough to call it a lobster roll) and others picked up on cheesy ranch with bacon flavorings. Even though they have a faint seafood-y scent, we didn’t pick up on the sweet lobster flavor as much as we hoped to, and one taster disliked this chip so much they likened the taste to feet.
Concept: a mix of garlic, paprika, onion and oregano meant to resemble jambalaya or blackened cajun chicken
Grade: B
Tasting Notes: Let us tell you: They don’t skimp on the spices. The Louisiana-style flavor is spot-on, with one taster commenting that the chips taste deliciously “like a crawfish.”
Concept: mixing a sweet chili sauce with a hint of heat, inspired by the food truck scene in the Pacific Northwest
Grade: C
Tasting Notes: These chips left all of our tasters confused. At first bite, we tasted ranch and pickles plus an overwhelming taste of vinegar. The chips weren’t bad—in fact, most of us said we’d eat them—we just didn’t get the Thai Sweet Chili thing they were going for.
Concept: a fresh taste on the classic southern dip
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: Pimento cheese is one of our tasters’ favorite snacks, but this chip doesn’t even come close to capturing that full flavor. The cheese flavor is definitely there, but most of us agreed it reminded us more of stadium nachos.
Concept: a southern breakfast staple in a crunchy chip
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: Eating these chips was like sitting in a Cracker Barrel chowing down on your favorite meal, and yes, that’s a good thing. We got all the hints of buttery biscuits, sausage gravy and true southern flavors in every bite. In fact, it kind of scared us how spot-on this chip flavor was—but we all went back for a second handful.
Concept: Fancy french fries in a different potato form
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: From the get-go, these chips smelled…not great. They tasted kind of like a sour cream and onion chip, but had too much of an artificial truffle flavor for our liking.
Concept: a replica of a southern staple
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: While we appreciated the attempt to replicate a remoulade sauce and the tang of the tomatoes, they tasted more like pickle-y mustard than the fried southern delicacy we were looking for.
Concept: A spicy, meaty hors-d’ouevre in a chip
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: We really wanted to like this flavor, but we couldn’t get past the synthetic bacon taste and fake smokiness. We did like the subtle spice that came on after the chip went down.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: a new way to consume our favorite condiment
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: It smelled like ketchup, tasted like ketchup, and the coloring was spot-on. Essentially ketchup lovers will love this chip, and our tasters said they’d eat it with a burger, on a burger, or straight out of the bag.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: straight up spice
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: Heat-lovers, rejoice: This is the chip for you. It’s the kind of spice that makes your lips burn, and it’s so hot it might help you practice portion control.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: an ultra-smoky barbecue sauce
Grade: C+
Tasting Notes: We wanted these chips to taste like barbecue sauce, but instead they tasted unfortunately the fake smoky flavor prevailed once again. One of our tasters said their chip tasted like it had pieces of the barbecue grate from a grill stuck to it.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: a popular dressing in chip form
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: Most of our tasters really love ranch, so the biggest complaint was that it was too light on the flavoring. A few wanted more garlic and some wanted more seasoning in general, but we all agreed this chip was good.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: to be honest, we’re not really sure what they were going for here
Grade: D-
Tasting Notes: One of our tasters said this chip had “no opportunity to taste good,” as it smelled like sweaty socks the minute the bag was opened. We definitely felt the heat and a hint of smoked paprika, but more than one of us couldn’t even finish one chip.
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Concept: a lime-flavored crispy potato
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: Although this tasted accurate and we definitely picked up on the lime flavor, most of us likened it to Pledge.
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Concept: a salty brine-flavored chip
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: If you like dill, you’ll appreciate this chip. It tasted like salt and vinegar, and perfectly matched the taste of a deli pickle to accompany a sandwich.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: a crispy, spicy pepper
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: It’s a good, standard chip, but some of our tasters wished it was more spicy.
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Concept: a minimalist chip featuring the most basic of seasonings
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: We appreciate the simple flavors in life, and we really loved this chip. In fact, we admitted we’d rather have this flavor than any of the crazy ones we tasted.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! walmart.com
Concept: chips tossed in a sweet barbecue sauce tossed
Grade: B
Tasting Notes: This flavor is kind of sweet with a smoky hint. Overall, we much prefered this to the Hickory BBQ.
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Concept: a salty tangy classic
Grade: B-
Tasting Notes: With a classic chip like this one, we want to be beat over the head with the flavor, but our tasters’ biggest complaint was that there wasn’t quite enough salt or vinegar. If you like subtlety, though, this is for you!
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
Concept: A lighter version of sour cream and onion
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: If sour cream and onion is too bold for you, we definitely suggest this more mellow adaptation.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
FRIED PICKLES WITH RANCH
Concept: a deep-fried dill pickle with a tangy dipping sauce
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: This chip tastes exactly like they said it would, with one of our tasters referring to it a “creamy pickle” before she even knew what it was supposed to taste like. Bottom line: if you like pickles, you’ll like this chip.
DEEP DISH PIZZA
Concept: a chip based on the famed Chicago slices
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: A better name for this flavor might have been “pizza sauce” because all we could taste was a bottle of Ragu, and some of us just weren’t huge fans. One of our tasters was so repulsed by the smell of the chip they could barely eat it and another likened the taste to stale pizza sauce from a Lunchable.
CHILE CON QUESO
Concept: the package describes it as “legendary Tex-Mex taste of velvety cheddar queso with a dash of spice”
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: Although some tasters complained of an artificial cheese taste (that’s kind of the point), most of us said this chip was our favorite of the Lay’s Tastes of America flavors. It’s reminscient of a cheesy Mexican dip with a spicy kick at the end. We could polish off a bag in one sitting, no problem.
CHESAPEAKE BAY CRAB SPICE
Concept: a custom blend of spices mixed with seafood in a chip
Grade: B-
Tasting Notes: Although some tasters got hints of seafood in the chips’ smell, the crab-boil flavor isn’t as prominent as we imagined it would be, and it wasn’t heavy enough of on the spice. However, because of its subtle flavor and overpowering celery seed taste, one taster said she would enjoy these chips as an accompaniment to a Tuna sandwich.
NEW ENGLAND LOBSTER ROLL
Concept: transforming the famed buttery roll of New England into a chip
Grade: C-
Tasting Notes: These chips were polarizing among our tasters, while some said taste more like they’re flavored with sour cream (not a bad thing, but not quite buttery enough to call it a lobster roll) and others picked up on cheesy ranch with bacon flavorings. Even though they have a faint seafood-y scent, we didn’t pick up on the sweet lobster flavor as much as we hoped to, and one taster disliked this chip so much they likened the taste to feet.
CAJUN SPICE
Concept: a mix of garlic, paprika, onion and oregano meant to resemble jambalaya or blackened cajun chicken
Grade: B
Tasting Notes: Let us tell you: They don’t skimp on the spices. The Louisiana-style flavor is spot-on, with one taster commenting that the chips taste deliciously “like a crawfish.”
THAI SWEET CHILI
Concept: mixing a sweet chili sauce with a hint of heat, inspired by the food truck scene in the Pacific Northwest
Grade: C
Tasting Notes: These chips left all of our tasters confused. At first bite, we tasted ranch and pickles plus an overwhelming taste of vinegar. The chips weren’t bad—in fact, most of us said we’d eat them—we just didn’t get the Thai Sweet Chili thing they were going for.
PIMENTO CHEESE
Concept: a fresh taste on the classic southern dip
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: Pimento cheese is one of our tasters’ favorite snacks, but this chip doesn’t even come close to capturing that full flavor. The cheese flavor is definitely there, but most of us agreed it reminded us more of stadium nachos.
SOUTHERN BISCUITS & GRAVY
Concept: a southern breakfast staple in a crunchy chip
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: Eating these chips was like sitting in a Cracker Barrel chowing down on your favorite meal, and yes, that’s a good thing. We got all the hints of buttery biscuits, sausage gravy and true southern flavors in every bite. In fact, it kind of scared us how spot-on this chip flavor was—but we all went back for a second handful.
WEST COAST TRUFFLE FRIES
Concept: Fancy french fries in a different potato form
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: From the get-go, these chips smelled…not great. They tasted kind of like a sour cream and onion chip, but had too much of an artificial truffle flavor for our liking.
FRIED GREEN TOMATO
Concept: a replica of a southern staple
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: While we appreciated the attempt to replicate a remoulade sauce and the tang of the tomatoes, they tasted more like pickle-y mustard than the fried southern delicacy we were looking for.
BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPER
Concept: A spicy, meaty hors-d’ouevre in a chip
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: We really wanted to like this flavor, but we couldn’t get past the synthetic bacon taste and fake smokiness. We did like the subtle spice that came on after the chip went down.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
KETCHUP
Concept: a new way to consume our favorite condiment
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: It smelled like ketchup, tasted like ketchup, and the coloring was spot-on. Essentially ketchup lovers will love this chip, and our tasters said they’d eat it with a burger, on a burger, or straight out of the bag.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
FLAMIN' HOT
Concept: straight up spice
Grade: A-
Tasting Notes: Heat-lovers, rejoice: This is the chip for you. It’s the kind of spice that makes your lips burn, and it’s so hot it might help you practice portion control.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
HICKORY BARBECUE
Concept: an ultra-smoky barbecue sauce
Grade: C+
Tasting Notes: We wanted these chips to taste like barbecue sauce, but instead they tasted unfortunately the fake smoky flavor prevailed once again. One of our tasters said their chip tasted like it had pieces of the barbecue grate from a grill stuck to it.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
RANCH
Concept: a popular dressing in chip form
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: Most of our tasters really love ranch, so the biggest complaint was that it was too light on the flavoring. A few wanted more garlic and some wanted more seasoning in general, but we all agreed this chip was good.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
CHILE LÍMON
Concept: to be honest, we’re not really sure what they were going for here
Grade: D-
Tasting Notes: One of our tasters said this chip had “no opportunity to taste good,” as it smelled like sweaty socks the minute the bag was opened. We definitely felt the heat and a hint of smoked paprika, but more than one of us couldn’t even finish one chip.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
LÍMON
Concept: a lime-flavored crispy potato
Grade: D
Tasting Notes: Although this tasted accurate and we definitely picked up on the lime flavor, most of us likened it to Pledge.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
DILL PICKLE
Concept: a salty brine-flavored chip
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: If you like dill, you’ll appreciate this chip. It tasted like salt and vinegar, and perfectly matched the taste of a deli pickle to accompany a sandwich.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
KETTLE JALAPEÑO
Concept: a crispy, spicy pepper
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: It’s a good, standard chip, but some of our tasters wished it was more spicy.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
KETTLE SEA SALT & CRACKED PEPPER
Concept: a minimalist chip featuring the most basic of seasonings
Grade: A
Tasting Notes: We appreciate the simple flavors in life, and we really loved this chip. In fact, we admitted we’d rather have this flavor than any of the crazy ones we tasted.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! walmart.com
KETTLE MESQUITE BARBECUE
Concept: chips tossed in a sweet barbecue sauce tossed
Grade: B
Tasting Notes: This flavor is kind of sweet with a smoky hint. Overall, we much prefered this to the Hickory BBQ.
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
KETTLE SEA SALT & VINEGAR
Concept: a salty tangy classic
Grade: B-
Tasting Notes: With a classic chip like this one, we want to be beat over the head with the flavor, but our tasters’ biggest complaint was that there wasn’t quite enough salt or vinegar. If you like subtlety, though, this is for you!
Want to try it yourself? Buy It! target.com
KETTLE CREAM CHEESE & CHIVE
Concept: A lighter version of sour cream and onion
Grade: B+
Tasting Notes: If sour cream and onion is too bold for you, we definitely suggest this more mellow adaptation.
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