7 Best Ruffles Flavors Everyone Needs to Try

Ruffles are underappreciated chips. When it comes to nationally available potato chip brands, Lay’s tends to get all the attention thanks to its flashy flavors. (I have no beef with Lay’s and my livelihood literally relies on them continuing to release flash flavors, so please, keep at it, Lay’s!) Or maybe Kettle brand chips if you’re talking to someone who considers themselves to be a potato chip connoisseur. But Ruffles are good chips. 

My colleague Gwynedd Stuart and I recently sat down to a table full of 12 different Ruffles chips flavors. (You can watch that full taste test, below.) We tasted each one and then ranked them all from best to worst. And while some Ruffles flavors were certainly less than stellar, there were seven Ruffles flavors that we truly loved. 

What we looked for in the best Ruffles flavors: 

• Crunch. Say it with me: Ruffles have ridges. And that means they’re crunchy. Or, at least, they should be. We tried a couple of Ruffles chips flavors that were oddly soft. But we want crunch!
• Savory flavor. The ridges on Ruffles are great for catching flavor dust, and we want that flavor dust to be savory and vibrant and delicious. 
• Desire for more. Some Ruffles flavors are good at first—but the prospect of eating more than one is unappealing. The best Ruffles flavors should be hard to put down.

After tasting 12 Ruffles flavors, here are the seven best Ruffles flavors there are. 

Best Ruffles Flavors, Ranked

Ruffles Flamin’ Hot BBQ

Best Flamin’ Hot

Walmart

Look, we aren’t huge fans of any of the Flamin’ Hot Ruffles flavors but I wanted to include one for the real Flamin’ Hot heads out there. And, actually, the Ruffles Flamin’ Hot BBQ is better than the non-Flamin’ Hot BBQ we tried. While it doesn’t have a ton of that signature Flamin’ Hot tang, it does have some heat, which the BBQ definitely needs to balance out the sweetness of the seasoning.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Simply Ruffles Flavor

Simply Ruffles Sea Salt

Walmart

What are Simply Ruffles? They’re Ruffles made without artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. And the bag specifically calls out that they are made with U.S. grown potatoes. Where are the potatoes that are used in regular Ruffles grown? Mostly America—but sometimes Canada. Anyway, if you’re in the market for Simply Ruffles, the Sea Salt flavor is the one to buy. It’s light in every way: softer crunch, lighter salt, milder oil flavor. It’s a very nice plain chip with decent potato flavor. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Super Cheesy Flavor

Ruffles Queso

Walmart

Don’t think queso like the dip. Think queso like the Spanish word for cheese. These cheesy Ruffles chips are pungent and tangy and rich with some real cheese flavor. In fact, it even tastes like there’s blue cheese in the mix. These chips would be excellent dipped in sour cream.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Herbaceous

Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion

Walmart

We conducted a taste test of sour cream and onion chips not too long ago and found out that Pringles actually makes the best sour cream and onion chips—even if they aren’t technically potato chips. But Ruffles are pretty darn good if you want an actual potato chip. They’re mild on the sour cream but heavy on the green onion. And sometimes that onion is the draw.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Baked Ruffles

Ruffles Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream

Walmart

I am a Baked Ruffles stan. I love how crunchy they are and I love that the flavor is truly baked in. The Cheddar & Sour Cream Baked Ruffles are totally perfect and they leave you feeling good—not oily or icky. I understand they won’t satisfy if you’re looking for that ridged Ruffles experience, but if you want what is essentially a crunchier Pringles with a great, tangy, cheesy flavor, then these are the best Ruffles for you.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best for Dips

Ruffles Original

Walmart

When was the last time you had a plain Ruffles chip? They’re damn good. They’re so, so, so crunchy. And they have a pure potato chip flavor with lovely ridges and just enough salt—not so much that it hurts but enough that you can eat them without dipping them in anything. For me, these are the best Ruffles to top a sandwich or, obviously, to serve with a variety of dips—French onion is the clear choice. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream

Walmart

Ruffles pioneered the cheddar and sour cream flavor (they introduced it in the ‘80s) and it has remained a staple for a reason. You get savory cheddar, a tangy hit of sour cream, and actual potato flavor on the finish. It’s a wonderful chip that’s not overly flavor blasted. It can be dipped or eaten on its own. A true classic.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Ruffles flavors we tried: 

Simply Ruffles Hot & Spicy, Ruffles Jalapeno Ranch, Smokhouse BBQ, Flamin’ Hot, Flamin’ Hot Cheddar