We Tasted Every Major-Brand Ketchup Chip in Canada To Find The Best
I love ketchup in almost all its forms. Chunky house-made restaurant ketchup; beachy, over-vinegared ketchup meant for dressing chip truck fries; sugary and slightly runny catsup sold in Latin America; and of course, Heinz, the gold standard mother sauce of all. I’d put ketchup on ice cream if you asked me too.
But for the longest time, ketchup chips specifically did not make this list. Throw tomatoes if you want: I simply didn’t like them! Maybe this had more to do with the fact that, in snack form, ketchup chips don’t taste specifically like ketchup the sauce but more like its component parts: the garlic, onion, and tomato powders, plus the fried potato that lies underneath. But when the Chatelaine team recently set out to try every brand of grocery store ketchup chip we could get our hands on, I was shocked at how good (and how not good) some of the newer options tasted.
Did we miss a brand—or is there a regionally specific ketchup chip maker we don’t have access to in Ontario? We’d love to hear about it!
Compliments Ketchup Flavour
The entire team, which included editors, art directors, a food stylist, a prop stylist and a photographer, were pretty meh on this option. Thin, not as crisp, and not generously seasoned. “It tastes like they’re saving money on flavour,” wrote one tester.
Compliments EXTRAAA! Ketchup Flavour
Perhaps this is where the flavour went? Many testers appreciated the generous use of seasoning, but it didn’t quite hit all the right ketchup notes. “This tastes like cheese,” our food stylist said; another thought it was closer to all-dressed.
Ruffles Double Crunch Ketchup Chips
Nearly half of the team wrote “too crunchy!” in their tasting notes for Ruffles’ ridged version. But maybe crunchy isn’t quite the word here—these chips were cracker-hard and almost difficult to chew.
PC Loads of Ketchup Chips
Everyone loved the classic thin crunch of these chips, but opinions were divided when it came to flavour; some thought the extra ketchup seasoning made the chips more sweet than savoury.
Old Dutch Baked Ketchup Chips
I should say upfront: these are baked, they are crisps and not chips, and the odds were likely stacked against them from the get-go because of this. One tester mentioned the texture was almost cookie-like; another wrote that the flavour was too one-note: just tomato.
Hardbite Ketchup Chips
Testers either loved this chip’s salty, kettle-cooked texture or its flavour, which had a bit of a carrot-like note to it. A decent snacking chip, but not a ketchup ideal.
Farmboy Ketchup Chips
We’re sorry, Farmboy. Testers did not love this chip: more potato than ketchup, and not enough salt.
Pringles Ketchup Chips
Do Pringles count as chips? Even if you love their signature shape and soft crunch, you may not love their take on this flavour: Many testers noted the chips were quite pale and underseasoned, with very little ketchup flavour.
Lays Original Ketchup Chips
Many testers found that Lay’s Original hit all the notes of what they imagine a ketchup chip should taste like—a nostalgic ideal. Tangy, sweet, salty, and crisp. “A classic!” wrote one.
NoName Ketchup Chips
A solid entry! “This tastes so much like Heinz,” wrote one. More than one noted it was a decent alternative to Lay’s Original.
Miss Vickie’s Sweet and Spicy Ketchup Chips
Is it cheating to include an option that isn’t strictly plain ketchup? Maybe, but we don’t care: This kettle-style chip is absolutely delicious. With the exception of two tasters who abstained from this pick due to dairy allergies (it contains “milk ingredients”), the opinion on this sweet, spicy, and very crisp take on original ketchup was uniform: the best of the bunch.
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