9 BBQ Chip Brands, Ranked

There's something about potato chips ... you just can't have one. And that statement is especially true when it comes to barbecue chips. They're salty, sweet, smoky, and sometimes spicy — what more could you want from a snack? But just because barbecue chips have all these flavor elements doesn't mean that they all taste the same. Some lean saltier, others have a sweeter or more honeyed undertone, and it's hard to tell how good the chips are based on their appearance on the bag.

In order to decide if some brands of barbecue chips were better than others, I tried several different popular ones before ranking them from worst to best. While these chips span a variety of different flavors and chip styles (kettle-cooked and regular), I can assure you that not all of them are created equal. I examined the overall taste, seasonings, and palatability of each brand so you know which chips to add to your cart, and which you're better off leaving on the shelf. 

Bettergoods, for the uninitiated, is Walmart's attempt at mimicking Target's branding. The Bettergoods line differs from Great Value because it carries more niche, health food-focused, and plant-based offerings. Like some of the other brands on this list, I've seen triumphs from it (like its jarred Alfredo sauce) and big losses (including its boxed brownie mix). This bag of Carolina barbecue-inspired kettle chips is more aligned with the latter. 

Structurally speaking, these are good kettle chips. They are a little greasier than Cape Cod's chips and have a slightly less profound snap, but they are suitable kettle chips nonetheless. Since these are supposed to be inspired by Carolina Gold (a type of barbecue sauce), I expected their flavor would have strong mustardy, sweet, and vinegary notes. I was surprised, however, to find that it didn't taste like any of them — except for the faintest hint of black pepper on the back of the throat. When I first put one in my mouth, I almost got a porky undertone, though it didn't stick around long enough for me to easily and clearly identify it.

Even when I licked the chips, I couldn't point out what the flavor was supposed to be getting at. The peppery burn I experienced may have been the mustard trying to make its presence known, but it was really hard to tell. The flavor of these chips is so faint that it's clear they're not worth eating — a barbecue chip connoisseur may even go so far as to scoff at them. 

Ah, Clancy's ... we meet again. Clancy's is Aldi's in-house potato chip brand. For such a small grocery store, it offers an impressive array of potato chips under this label, including flavors like sour cream and onion, cheddar and sour cream, and even some kettle-cooked varieties. I opted to stay away from its seasonal barbecue flavors, including the Honey BBQ chips, which ranked pretty highly on my list of all of Aldi's chips, and instead chose its standard barbecue variety.

I was sad to see that the barbecue chips that I had tried not long ago for my Aldi roundup tasted exactly like the bag I had secured for this ranking. Unlike many of the other brands on this list, Aldi is not very uniform with its seasoning, with some chips deliciously coated and others that are just lightly dusted. When you come across a chip covered in the seasoning, it's great, but not so much when you get one that should be rebranded as "Barbecue ... maybe?"

Some of the other brands I sampled for this ranking really sold me on the wood smoke flavor, but I couldn't distinguish mesquite, hickory, or even honey barbecue with these chips. If you put them on my plate, I might eat them, but I'm not going to go out of my way to buy a bag of them at the store — even if they were more than $1 cheaper than every other brand on this list. 

Great Value's products have historically been misses for me, but I tried to go into this barbecue chip ranking with an open mind. When I opened the bag and went in for a whiff, I was immediately hit by the overwhelming smell of liquid smoke, like someone had turned it into a powder and smothered the flavor of these chips with it. And as anyone who has worked with liquid smoke will tell you, it's more so used for cinematic effect (read: smell) than taste. Such was also true with these chips. 

The color was much bolder and more uniform than many of the other brands on this list, especially Clancy's. Each chip, large and small, was coated in a nearly granular layer of salt and sugar. When you first bite into one, you get that sweetness, which slowly morphs into saltiness, then transforms to a prickly (but not overwhelming) bite on the palate. Molecular gastronomists will really want to study this chip and take notes. 

However, what I was missing here was body and authentic barbecue flavor. It puts up a distracting firework show of sweetness, saltiness, and heat, but it misses out on the umami and smoky essence that make barbecue chips unique. Plus, the texture of the chips was way too mealy for my liking; they gummed up on my molars like instant mashed potatoes. 

Utz is a brand that many people probably associate with snack mixes (I'm talking about the one with the wagon wheel-shaped pretzel pieces) and cheese balls, but its potato chips also make up a pretty large part of its business. Growing up, my dad swore by Utz chips and would keep them in the house over Lay's because he claimed Utz's were less salty. And, this I can affirm with my taste test. Lay's were undersalted — meaning that these Utz chips were extremely undersalted. Instead, that saltiness was replaced by sweetness, both as a cloying, floral honey flavor and what appears to be granulated sugar on these chips. I expected some sweetness, seeing as it was implied in its name, but these took it to a new level. I didn't feel like I was eating potato chips — I felt like I was eating dessert chips. 

Utz was a little more forthcoming with its flavors (granted, the wrong flavors), earning it a spot above big names like Clancy's and Great Value. The size of these chips was also massive, which made them less easily snackable than the higher-ranked brands. I had to unhinge my jaw to stuff a full-sized chip in my mouth, which would not make these conducive to eating on the go. Dipping might be a different story, but I doubt anyone is using barbecue chips as a vehicle for dip. 

If you grew up in New England, chances are you are more than familiar with Cape Cod chips. There's nothing I crave more on a beach day than a bag of its cracked pepper potato chips, a cold Del's lemonade, and a fantastic beach read. It has so many tasty flavors, but I don't think that its barbecue chips are necessarily my favorite of the bunch. Structurally speaking, you really can't get better than these. They're very crunchy, salty, and satisfying, though they don't have nearly enough surface area to make them conducive to dipping (not that barbecue chips are usually dipped, but it's nice to know you have the option). 

When I opened the bag and took a nice big whiff of these chips, I was met with the smell of smoked seasoned salt — like I was immersed in an aromatherapy bath with a jar of Lawry's. Unlike some of the lower-ranked chips on this list, this bag clearly states that it offers a sweet mesquite chip — though I wasn't entirely sold on it. The flavor that I got most from these chips was not sweet, nor salty — it was burnt, almost like these were the dark Russet chips instead of the regular ones. There was some mesquite and some pepper, but not enough to sell me wholly on the barbecue sauce angle. While I appreciate that there weren't any out-of-place sweet notes here, I think that Cape Cod could have been a little less conservative with its flavors.

If I were going by looks alone, I would definitely buy Cape Cod chips over Kettle. But, I would have missed out on a truly fantastic dipping and dunking chip. Kettle's offering is large, though not "They make potatoes this big?" like Utz, making it a perfect vehicle for a creamy, tangy, or savory spread. That said, you'll probably need some sort of accompaniment for these chips, as they're nothing to really write home about on their own.

The flavor of Kettle chips is listed as "backyard barbecue" — what is that even supposed to mean? It's probably supposed to be a little more intermediary than a clearly-defined mesquite or hickory or something of that nature. Kettle doesn't commit to umami or smoke on its chips; the predominant flavor that I get on the palate (and from appearance) is black pepper, which I do love on a chip — just not when it's supposed to be a barbecue chip. It's not sweet, nor does it have the pop of umami notes that my top-ranked barbecue chip brand brought to the (picnic) table. 

Are these Kettle chips inherently bad? No. I think they could be a very pleasing option for someone just looking for a mindless snack, who doesn't concern themselves with the intricacies and scaffolding of barbecue chips (read: the general population). But when you taste them next to other, punchier brands, Kettle just falls to the wayside. 

Lay's is a brand that I am very partial to, especially when it comes to its sour cream and onion chips — which I deem to be the best of its flavor offerings. It certainly takes up the most shelf space out of any brand on this list, but that doesn't mean that its product is necessarily better in quality and flavor than other brands. 

The first thing that I noticed, right off the bat, was how thin and crispy these chips were. They're very light and easy to eat, unlike some of the heavier brands on this list, especially the kettle-cooked chips. But don't think for a second that their thinness makes them any less satisfying. I would argue that their texture is actually their saving grace, seeing as their flavor is really missing the mark. 

As weird as it feels to say from a snack brand, I'm really missing the saltiness here. There is an undercurrent of sweet body, which comes across more as ketchup-y than salty. The smokiness was more present in Lay's chips than in brands like Clancy's or Great Value, though I think it was still half-hearted. I noticed that after I ate a couple of chips in a row, I was able to taste more smoky flavor, but it still isn't a brand deserving of the title of "best barbecue chips." That said, I do like how Lay's still allowed its potato chips to have a starchy, potato-y undercurrent, rather than obliterating it with barbecue flavor. 

Kettle chips are, in every instance, better than regular chips. However, I didn't inherently give any of the kettle chips a higher spot in this ranking based on this alone: they had to offer a compelling flavor, too. 

I think Miss Vickie's was, in part, setting itself up for failure in this ranking (or at least not optimal success, as it still fared pretty well). Applewood is not the best type of wood to use for smoking and grilling if you're after a robust flavor — you'd be better off with a mesquite or hickory instead. The applewood flavor on these chips was very mild, though it poked through towards the end of the bite. It's really all you taste here, and I suppose that if you aren't a fan of super salty or overly sweet chips, it might be a brand worth buying. But I'm after bold here, and Miss Vickie's chips just don't hold a candle to the bold flavor of my top-ranked brand.

Texture-wise, these chips were leaps and bounds above the lower-ranked, mealy options. They have a distinct crispness that makes them quite satisfying to snack on, and I would buy them again if I were after a tamer barbecue chip. It didn't score as high as some of the other kettle chips on this ranking, though, because its chip size was rather paltry. If you're planning on dipping them, look elsewhere. 

Ruffles has never been a go-to chip brand for me, seeing as I'm not the biggest dipper out there. However, my interest was very much piqued when I cracked open the bag and took a big whiff of these chips. Great Value may have talked the talk with its barbecue chips, but Ruffles was taking it a step further and walking the walk. These chips were bold, smoky, salty, and just what I would want to put on a pulled pork sandwich for extra emphasis and crunch. 

These Ruffles had what none of the lower-ranked chips on this list had: umami. The flavor was just sweet enough to align with a high-quality, molassey barbecue sauce, but just enough almost-porky flavor to up the ante and make them distinctly savory, rather than sweet (which was the main gripe I had with Utz). I also appreciated that the piquancy was present enough to make each bite compelling and warm (almost in a smoked paprika way), but not so much that it dominated the entire flavor. 

The chip quality on these is, as I expected, immaculate. The only big point of critique I could see here is that they're not all evenly sized, and there are quite a few shards at the bottom of the bag, which aren't great for dipping. However, you won't notice these if you tilt the bag and stream them into your mouth like I did. They're just that good. Just don't blame me when you demolish the whole bag in a single sitting. 

Barbecue chips are far from my favorite flavor, which puts me in an excellent position to do this ranking. I set aside my only bias (an affinity for kettle chips) to rank these barbecue chip brands from worst to best. In order to stave off staling, I opened the bags and sampled the chips all on the same day, sipping water in between to cleanse and reset my palate.

The major factor that I looked for in this ranking, as you could probably assume, was flavor. We can surmise that people eat barbecue chips because they want something a little more flavorful than regular potato chips; that's why I gave those chips with bolder flavors a higher spot in the ranking. That bold flavor had to be balanced, though — the "barbecue-ness" had to be expressed in a balanced medley of umami, salty, and sweet. If a brand listed a particular inspiration, like sweet mesquite or Carolina Gold, those flavors needed to be represented in the finished product. 

Aside from flavor, I also looked at structure. Mealy chips, or ones that disintegrated on my tongue, were placed lower than those that could be enjoyed as a mindless yet pleasing snack. While I do think kettle chips are better than regular ones, I tried to focus on the overall structure and mouthfeel of the chip, rather than solely ranking it above the rest because it was kettle-cooked. After all, my top pick wasn't a kettle chip, so that has to stand for something.