Indian Dad Presents The Chips Power Rankings
Chips are the greatest food. We've ranked the 46 best chips in North America. The rating system is completely and utterly accurate.
I love sports. The anchor to any sports content website is the “Power Ranking”. Generally every week, teams are stacked up and ranked based on data, statistics, vibes and momentum. They are the most popular and most controversial articles in many parts of the internet.
I also love chips. Are there any Chips Power Rankings I asked myself? Probably! Did I bother checking? No!
So please enjoy what I’m assuming are the only Chips Rankings on the internet.
The Methodology
We started by having Chappy do some market research to determine the top selling chips (and related salty snacks) in Canada and the US
We dumped some chips from that list because they are objectively gross
I personally ranked all the chips according to three categories (each score was from 1-10):
Mouthfeel
Flavor
Overall
Each chip was given a Total Score which was equal to Mouthfeel + Flavor + 2 x Overall
I also invited six guest judges to participate. I received varying levels of input from these judges. They will heretofore be referred to as the Panel. While my rankings are what matters most (the Panel does not have their own blog so…) I will share the Panel’s thoughts in the interest of promoting a healthy discourse
You may not agree with the rankings. It’s likely cause you are wrong and have bad tastebuds. Perhaps they are malfunctioning.
PAQs (Possibly Asked Questions)
You have included some snacks that would not, by the literal definition, be defined as a “Chip”. How did you come up with the criteria of what would be included?
Terrific question. I made up the criteria.
What is the difference between the scoring categories? Mouthfeel vs. Flavor vs. Overall? Why is Overall different from Total Score? The dictionary defines Overall as “Taking everything into account or taken as a whole” and defines Total as “compromising the whole amount”.
First of all, that was more than one question. And it feels a little passive aggressive. Overall is basically “how the chip makes you feel”or alternatively, “the vibes”.
Why didn’t your esteemed panel rank every single chip?
Cause I need better friends. Or they have full time jobs and kids or something. It’s hard to know for sure.
Your blog seems all over the place. Some weeks you write about growth, or pop culture, or sports. Now chips. What exactly is your niche?
My niche is “Shut your face”.
Will you consider regularly updating these rankings?
If this article gets over 750 views, yes.
The Indian Dad Chip Power Rankings (IDCPR)
Let’s get into this. Each chip will be ranked according to my ranking, and we will include the Panel’s ranking as well. We’ve also included the top positive and negative reviews from either myself or the panel.
46. Kettle Brand Honey Dijon
Indian Dad Rank: 46
Indian Dad Score: Not Rated
Panel Rank: 2
Panel Average Score: 30/40
An extremely controversial start here. I have actually never had this chip but I was petitioned by three panel members to add it to the list. It is the only chip I have included on this list that I have not personally eaten. Will the Panel react negatively to their number 2 ranked chip being ranked at the bottom of this list? Will they feel completely marginalized given that they took time out of their very busy lives to participate in this dumb survey? Almost certainly.
Top Positive Review: “Didn't want to like this chip, but I had no choice”
Worst Negative Review: “Do you mean Old Dutch? or legit kettle brand?”
I would say based both on my score and the Worst Negative Review that Kettle has an awareness problem with this chip.
One other note. As you can see, a member of the panel asked about Old Dutch. I will not be including any Old Dutch chips on this list, because this is not a list of the world’s worst chips. If I wanted to do an article called “Halloween Treats Most Likely To End Up In The Garbage”, then Old Dutch would figure prominently.
45. Pringles Blaze
Indian Dad Rank: 45
Indian Dad Score: 12/40
Panel Rank: 45
Panel Average Score: 12/40
Go find a mirror and stand in front of it. Close your eyes and imagine being the worst Pringle. Now open your eyes. What do you see? It’s Pringles Blaze.
Top Positive Review: N/A
Worst Negative Review: “Pringles are, in general, a garbage snack”
If you like Pringles, you may want to skip the next few rankings.
44. Pringles Backyard Barbecue
Indian Dad Rank: 44
Indian Dad Score: 12/40
Panel Rank: 41
Panel Average Score: 16/40
If you want to have a Backyard Barbecue that none of your friends will come to, then this is the chip for you.
Top Positive Review: N/A
Worst Negative Review: “Pringles are, in general, a garbage snack”
If you’re thinking that the Worst Negative Review is unoriginal and repetitive, then you are right.
43. Pringles Cheddar Cheese
Indian Dad Rank: 43
Indian Dad Score: 13/40
Panel Rank: 42
Panel Average Score: 16/40
The good news, if you’re Pringles Cheddar Cheese, is that you are not one of the two worst Pringles.
Top Positive Review: N/A
Worst Negative Review: “Pringles are, in general, a garbage snack”
Copy, please meet my friend, Paste.
42. Doritos Bold BBQ
Indian Dad Rank: 42
Indian Dad Score: 15/40
Panel Rank: 40
Panel Average Score: 16/40
I love a good Dorito. I do not love these Doritos. You feel weird after eating more than like four of them. They are weirdly kind of sweet. Finding out that someone bought you Doritos, only to find out they are the Bold BBQ, is incredibly disappointing. It also means you should seriously question the relationship you have with this person who bought them for you, as they probably secretly hate you.
Top Positive Review: “They make me feel kind of gross after I eat them”
Worst Negative Review: “The worst Dorito. And it’s not close”
That top positive review does not seem positive right? Except it does imply that a panel member actually eats them, so that’s something.
41. Pringles Jalapeno Cheddar
Indian Dad Rank: 41
Indian Dad Score: 15/40
Panel Rank: 39
Panel Average Score: 18/40
Four out of the first five chips that I’ve actually ranked are Pringles. Did you know that the Pringles brand is owned by Kellogg’s? Stick to cereal Kellogg’s.
Top Positive Review: N/A
Worst Negative Review: “Pringles are, in general, a garbage snack”
Look the one thing that Pringles have going for them is that they are making this article faster to write.
40. Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar
Indian Dad Rank: 40
Indian Dad Score: 16/40
Panel Rank: 18
Panel Average Score: 26/40
Ok this is the first real disagreement between me and the panel.
Top Positive Review: “I don’t get it”
Worst Negative Review: “Nice try but you can't trick me, ‘chip’”
The panel might have ranked this higher, but you can see by the “positive” reviews that no one felt super passionate about this particular snack.
39. Pringles Sour Cream and Onion
Indian Dad Rank: 39
Indian Dad Score: 19/40
Panel Rank: 26
Panel Average Score: 24/40
I mentioned in a previous ranking that Kellogg’s owns Pringles. I actually wonder if Pringles would do better in a cereal power ranking than they are doing in this ranking. The only thing Pringles Sour Cream and Onion has going for it is that the little cans are sometimes available on an airplane.
Top Positive Review: “I like these when they don’t have any other Sour Cream and Onion Chip available”
Worst Negative Review: “Pringles are, in general, a garbage snack”
When your top positive review is basically “If there is nothing else in this flavor I like, then I’ll eat these” then that’s not a great sign.
38. Fritos BBQ
Indian Dad Rank: 38
Indian Dad Score: 22/40
Panel Rank: 43
Panel Average Score: 12/40
My first passing grade for a snack on the list. It should be noted that the panel really does not like these.
Top Positive Review: “Like a classic Frito, but worse”
Worst Negative Review: “Feels and tastes like eating packing peanuts”
37. Kettle Brand Honey Barbecue
Indian Dad Rank: 37
Indian Dad Score: 22/40
Panel Rank: 28
Panel Average Score: 24/40
The first actual Kettle Brand chip on the list. I will eat this chip, but I won’t go out of my way to find them. Spoiler alert, there are far superior Kettle Brand flavors.
Top Positive Review: “Kettle Brand is sneaky good”
Worst Negative Review: “Underwhelming”
36. Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream
Indian Dad Rank: 36
Indian Dad Score: 24/40
Panel Rank: 15
Panel Average Score: 26/40
Our first Ruffles flavor! It’s the worst one though. The Panel disagrees. This is one of the largest differences between how positively the panel feels about a chip compared to me.
Top Positive Review: “They put an addictive chemical in it that makes you crave them fort-nightly”
Worst Negative Review: “I puked from overeating ruffles and I can't do it anymore”
I should point out that the person who wrote the negative review still scored them a 28/40.
35. Cheetos Flamin’ Hot
Indian Dad Rank: 35
Indian Dad Score: 24/40
Panel Rank: 25
Panel Average Score: 13/40
Another schism between the Panel and I. I’m beginning to think I should have selected a different panel.
Top Positive Review: “They are too flamin’ hot”
Worst Negative Review: “They are too flamin’ hot”
Fun fact about the Flamin’ Hots. Richard Montañez, a former janitor at Frito-Lay, has long claimed that he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos in the late 1980s. According to his account:
He took inspiration from his Mexican heritage, adding chili powder to regular Cheetos to create a spicy version.
He pitched the idea to Frito-Lay executives after the company encouraged employees at all levels to share ideas.
The Flamin' Hot Cheetos line became a massive success, and Montañez's story turned into a widely celebrated narrative of ingenuity and determination.
Montañez wrote books, became a motivational speaker, and was featured in various media outlets as the man behind Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Eva Longoria directed a film about his life, "Flamin' Hot," released in 2023.
Wow, that’s an incredibly inspiring story.
But hold up.
In 2021, a Los Angeles Times investigation cast doubt on Montañez's claims:
The company stated that Flamin' Hot Cheetos were actually developed by a product development team in the early 1990s at their corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas.
Archival records and interviews with employees suggested Montañez was not directly involved in the creation or launch of the product.
Frito-Lay clarified that while Montañez contributed valuable ideas during his tenure, the Flamin' Hot flavor was not one of them.
What’s the real story? Well I certainly don’t know. Last year Montañez sued PepsiCo. I’ll be following.
34. Kettle Brand Backyard Barbecue
Indian Dad Rank: 34
Indian Dad Score: 25/40
Panel Rank: 38
Panel Average Score: 18/40
Our second very “Backyard Barbecue” chip flavor. This one is far superior to the Pringles version. But so is a wood chip you pulled out of your backyard garden.
Also, the Kettle folks have a Honey Barbecue and a Backyard Barbecue flavor. Feels unnecessary and confusing.
Top Positive Review: “Less Underwhelming”
Worst Negative Review: “I might have mixed up my Kettle Barbecue ratings”
This chip is not too bad but has a flavor branding issue.
33. Kettle Brand Salt and Vinegar
Indian Dad Rank: 33
Indian Dad Score: 25/40
Panel Rank: 21
Panel Average Score: 25/40
So the panel and I gave this the same score, but my ranking is much lower. Which tells us that the Panel was, in general, much less generous with their scoring. That’s problematic as part of the branding here at Indian Dad is that we have unrealistically high expectations. Knowing this, was the panel more critical than they should have been? Do my scores just trend higher because I love chips so much? Time will tell.
Top Positive Review: “Ok”
Worst Negative Review: “When the chip is extra hard it cuts up your mouth. When the flavor is salt and vinegar? That combination of chip hardness and flavor = pain”
The hardness and cutting up your mouth is a great point. You should really consider this as it can really slow down the speed at which you consume a chip, thereby making it more difficult to crush an entire bag in one sitting.
32. Fritos Classic
Indian Dad Rank: 32
Indian Dad Score: 26/40
Panel Rank: 46
Panel Average Score: 9/40
The lowest ranked chip by the Panel. I don’t mind a corn chip, the people seem to really hate them.
Top Positive Review: “Fritos are very much a ‘I need to eat these every 8 months, and that's it’”
Worst Negative Review: “Would never buy for myself”
It’s possible the writer of the Worst Negative Review sometimes does the shopping for the person who wrote the Top Positive Review.
31. Tostitos Rounds
Indian Dad Rank: 31
Indian Dad Score: 26/40
Panel Rank: 35
Panel Average Score: 20/40
In general the Panel and I had different feelings about Tostitos. I think you can eat them without salsa or any other accoutrements (although they are obviously the base of one of nature’s great culinary delights, the nacho) whereas the Panel thought it was silly to even rank a chip that absolutely, in their opinion, requires salsa and cheese.
Top Positive Review: “On it's own, menh. Foundational to a great nacho though.’”
Worst Negative Review: “No self respecting chip should need a vegetable/dairy side-dish”
Not the best Tostito though. SPOILER ALERT is what I should have said first.
To Be Continued…
This concludes Part 1 of our three part rankings. Stay tuned next week for Chips 30-16.
Share your feedback in the comments.
One Last Thing
Also, did everyone notice the preview image on the blog? Chappy finally gave me no mustache. Although I had to tell it to make it an “Indian Dad living in Canada”. For reference here’s the first image it came up with:
I can only assume that someone at OpenAI read this and made the appropriate changes:
So far so good Coach!! I am eager to find out if I continue to agree with all of your chip reviews and rankings. I foresee the (subjectively) best chips are yet to come :)
Thanks for the laughs
I take serious issue with your chip ranking. I actually really like Pringles and I LOVE Fritos BBQ corn chips. And I don’t think you mentioned Fritos hoops, which are also amazing. And honestly, eating Kettle chips has the same “mouth feel” as chewing on a cheese grater.