Lay’s. Won’t. Stop. Seriously, I can’t remember a time when Lay’s wasn’t dropping at least one new flavor. Well, now they’ve dropped three new flavors—all limited edition and all inspired by classic tailgating staples. We got our hands on new Lay’s Hot Sauce, Loaded Nachos, and Cheesy Buffalo Dip chips, and then we used those same hands to put the chips into our mouths. Now, I’m going to use my brain and my fingers to tippy-type up our official review of these new Lay’s chips. Spoiler: Only one is worth your time. (If you’re really interested in good chips inspired by game day dishes, try these new Kroger chips instead.)
Pros: They’re spicy. They’re vinegary. And they do technically taste like hot sauce.
Cons: They don’t taste like good hot sauce—certainly not like the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce that’s on the bag. These new Lay’s chips taste a bit like old hot sauce from the back of the cabinet—the stuff that’s separated so you mostly get the vinegar flavor. They’re missing salt and end on an unpleasant bitter note.
Pros: These new Wavy Lay’s taste like room temperature Nachos BellGrande from Taco Bell. Personally, I love room temp Nachos BellGrande. That’s a staple order for me (not the room temp part, but it’s inevitable, no one has ever had a hot order of Nachos BellGrande). So I really dig how these taste. You get the flavor of seasoned ground beef, you get the processed cheese flavor, you even get some sour cream notes. If you couldn’t guess, this is the only new Lay’s flavor out of this trio worth tracking down.
Cons: If room temp Nachos BellGrande doesn’t sound good to you, then you’re not going to love these. And, while I enjoyed these chips, I couldn’t eat a ton of them. The flavor experience gets old after a handful or two.
Pros: My colleague, Ariana, said these were fine. She semi-enjoyed the cheesiness of the chip.
Cons: These chips taste like old dip. Specifically, they taste like old, oily dip. I genuinely did not want to try another chip in order to parse any deeper flavors. I don’t think I’ve ever not wanted to have another chip.
Credit: Liv Averett / Lay’s
Rating:
1.5/10
Sporks
Which new Lay’s tailgate-inspired chips will you buy?
Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.
Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now).
Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test!
Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.
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Justine Sterling
Griffin Parker
Tyler Bowers
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