Salt and vinegar chips exist on a spectrum. Some people prefer them mild. Others want more salt than vinegar. And some of us want salt and vinegar chips so tangy and salty that they completely destroy your mouth. We want vinegar and salt chips instead of salt and vinegar chips.
We are firm lovers of salt and vinegar chips here at Sporked, so we tried to do a thorough job sourcing the salt and vinegar chips brands for both our initial taste test, which took place in April of 2022, and our latest taste test, which took place in May of 2023. We tried to hit as many regional chip brands as we could, as well as the big brands you’ll find at any grocery store.
In our search for the best salt and vinegar chips, we looked for a nbalance of salt and vinegar. If it felt too much like citric acid and not enough like actual vinegar, it was docked points. The chips themselves should also, ideally, taste like potatoes. Bring us flavor, heft, natural ingredients, and a tasty balance. Salt and vinegar chips don’t need to reinvent the wheel, they just need to wow with their simplicity.
One quick note before we dive into the list: We’d like to give an unlikely shout out to Starbucks’ salt and vinegar chips, which we picked up at Target. While they weren’t quite good enough to make this list, they are extremely crunchy, very vinegary, and a solid choice if you’re in the mood for a Frappuccino and a bag of chips.
And now, let’s talk about the truly best salt and vinegar chips you can buy.
- Clancy’s Sea Salt and Vinegar
Clancy’s is an Aldi brand of chips, so you’ll only find them in one of their stores, but these are very underrated. Essentially, they’ve made perfect kettle chips. They’ve got a great crunch and a solid vinegar flavor. The alchemy of salt and vinegar is so perfect that it’s mouth-smacking good. If you’re a regular Aldi shopper, these are the best sea salt and vinegar chips for you. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Wise Salt & Vinegar
These salt and vinegar chips from Wise are aggressive and pack a seriously tart punch. That intense vinegar flavor will keep you coming back for more. They’re also quite thin chips, so much so that they kind of dissolve in your mouth. If you find kettle chips to be too crunchy and thick, these are the best salt and vinegar chips for you. Punch me in the mouth and steal my money, Wise. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Snyder of Berlin Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
Snyder of Berlin salt and vinegar chips have a great, balanced salt and vinegar flavor. They are on the mild side of the salt and vinegar chip spectrum, so if you find brands like Zapp’s or Cape Cod to be too strong (more on those later), you should try Snyder. Also, it’s not a kettle chip. Sometimes chips like these get roughed around a little bit in the bag during shipping, and the chips kind of break and become crumbs, which are good for sprinkling on tuna sandwiches but not great for snacking. Still, I think Snyder’s has an excellent product. They understand balance and how to use quality ingredients. These chips are just pleasant to eat. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Zapp’s New Orleans Kettle Style Salt & Vinegar
These salt and vinegar chips from Zapp’s have a lot of bold flavor—they are bolder than most on this list. I love that they go hard with vinegar and salt. This is the type of chip that’s going to cut up the insides of your mouth and make it hard to talk, but that’s what I’m looking for with salt and vinegar chips. Go ahead and file these in the “painfully delicious” category. Zapp’s makes so many great products, it’s impossible to not recognize that while salt and vinegar might not be the best Zapp’s flavor, it’s still damn good. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt & Vinegar
There’s a special place in my heart for bars that carry little bags of chips, and Miss Vickie’s is a common brand you see out here in Los Angeles. (It’s owned by PepsiCo, so you probably see it a lot of places.) These salt and vinegar chips are crunchy and have a good roasted potato flavor. The ingredients list buttermilk too, so there’s a bit of extra tang here. The salt and vinegar dust that coats these chips doesn’t destroy your mouth; it’s just really pleasant to eat. The best salt and vinegar chips to enjoy with a beer. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Cape Cod 40% Less Fat Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Vinegar
Cape Cod salt and vinegar chips have a nice, robust vinegar flavor. The ingredients list both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar, which already sets them apart from most brands. The dual vinegars combine to form a refreshingly tart potato chip. The satisfying crunch of a Cape Cod kettle chip is iconic. And the salt enhances the tangy zip even further. These chips are brightly acidic, and would be the best salt and vinegar chips to take with you on a beach day with a sandwich. Also, they’re 40% reduced fat and they still taste this good. Crunchy and not greasy? Sign us up. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Boulder Canyon Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
Salt and malt vinegar chips? Why aren’t more brands doing this? These might be my favorite chips on this entire list thanks to their refreshingly different malt vinegar flavor. Quite frankly, Boulder Canyon has successfully recreated the malt-vinegar-and-french-fries aesthetic in a way that I didn’t think was even possible. We tasted some chips that used different vinegars (balsamic, for instance) and they didn’t work the way we want a salt and vinegar chip to. Malt is as far as we’re willing to go outside of the classic white vinegar flavor, but I would argue that it’s an incredible addition into the vast canon of salt and vinegar chips. This is a big win here. It’s just so surprisingly different and tasty. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Herr’s Salt & Vinegar
Herr’s is proof that not every chip has to be kettle cooked to be successful. These chips have a strong potato essence, and a delicious, natural vinegar flavor that most other chips are missing. You can actually taste the potato skin on these bad boys. These have a ton of sodium (my math says 10% more than Kettle and Spudlove) and, therefore, a lot of salt flavor, but these fresh, crisp chips can hold a lot of salt and acid because they’re not overly processed. “The chip quality is just outstanding,” remarked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart. Being a Western Pennsylvania boy, I’m partial to Herr’s, but in my experience at Sporked, once I introduce somebody else to the product, they become hooked. Discover Herr’s for yourself. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Kettle Brand Sea Salt & Vinegar
I don’t think these are my second favorite, but we need to acknowledge the greatness of Kettle Brand chips. It’s impossible to beat the satisfying crunch of a kettle chip. The vinegar flavor is strong, as it should be, and there’s a pleasant greasiness here that makes it feel like the chips were freshly fried. Tangy, salty, sharp, and potato-y—you pretty much can’t go wrong with these. If you’re a kettle chip or bust type of person, these are the best salt and vinegar chips for you. — Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Great Value
These gigantic salt and vinegar chips are so thin and delicate and crispy. I’m usually a kettle chip person, but I couldn’t get enough of these. And when I say gigantic, I mean the size of my palm. Seriously, they’re huge. And they’re cheap as heck for a big ol’ bag. They’re nicely salted and have a particularly good potato flavor that melds well with the vinegar flavor, which leans slightly malty. If you shop at Walmart, these are definitely the best salt and vinegar chips to buy. And if you’re shopping for a party, they’re your best bet, too. — Justine Sterling
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Spudlove Sea Salt & Vinegar Thick-Cut Potato Chips
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
I randomly picked these up at an H-E-B in Texas while I was staying with a friend, and they became everyone’s favorite. Spudlove chips are thick-cut, crunchy potato chips with a vinegar-forward flavor and salty taste. These feel like they came out of a deep fryer at a restaurant, and they remind me of kitchens I’ve worked in where chips were fried daily and served with sandwiches. “These would go great with a burger,” Sporked contributor Naajia Shukri correctly stated. This is a chef-quality salt and vinegar chip in a bag. “They’ve really done something here,” said editor-in-chief Justine Sterling. I’m going to be thinking about these chips for a while. Amazing work, Spudlove, congratulations on making the best salt and vinegar chips. — Danny Palumbo
Best Budget Kettle
Best Vinegar Flavor
Best Mild
Best with a Sandwich
Best Bar Chip
Best Beach Chip
Best Malt Vinegar
Best Potato Flavor
Best Kettle
Best Budget
Best of the Best
Other brands we tried: Starbucks, Great Value Kettle, Kettle Brand Air Fried, Uglies Kettle Salt & Vinegar, The Good Crisp Company, Private Selection, Siete Hint of Serrano, Pringles, Lay’s Poppables, Lay’s, Lay’s Kettle Cooked, Wilde, Sprouts, Late July, Popchips, Utz
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