The Best Sour Cream and Onion Chips, Ranked

The best sour cream and onion chips are creamy, fatty, pungent, and salty. They should be tangy and herbaceous, and should also fill your mouth with a bold onion flavor. The potato chip itself should be tasty, too—crispy, crunchy, and potato-y. We set out to find the best sour cream and onion potato chips you can buy…which was weirdly harder than you’d think. We’ll talk about why in a second.

How we sourced the sour cream and onion chip brands

It’s been a minute since we’ve tasted all the different brands of sour cream and onion chips back to back, so our strategy going into this taste test was a little different than other updates. We wanted to try every brand that made our original ranking, plus new contenders and brands we missed the first time around.

What we looked for in the best sour cream and onion chips

Hi. Ariana here. I just have to say: I’m very thankful that we conducted this taste test of the best sour cream and onion chips as a group, on camera (see the vid below!) so that our collective confusion over what the flavor of sour cream and onion should taste like was firmly documented. I would have felt crazy if I experienced this phenomenon alone. There must be a Mandela effect at work here—most every brand we tried was just not as bold or satisfying as we remembered them being. It looks like we’re on the bad timeline after all, folks. 

In theory, the best sour cream and onion chips should taste like both sour cream and onion. Controversial, I know. But a lot of brands skip the sour cream altogether. The chip itself can be any style—we don’t discriminate—as long as it’s crisp and fresh. After revisiting the classics and trying some new kids on the block, here are the sour cream and onion (and cheddar and sour cream!) chips that actually delivered.

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Best Ultra Thin

Whole Foods 365 Sour Cream & Onion Chips

Amazon

It’s official: Whole Foods 365 Sour Cream & Onion Chips, our former #1, have been demoted. Some members of the Sporked taste testing team wanted to take them off the list entirely, but I think I have a weird little soft spot for them. The chip is super thin, flaky, and delicate but still crisp, and the flavor powder is quite herby. They taste homemade, but homemade by a chef who kinda botched the recipe. It’s a touch too heavy on the spice cabinet. For some people, this is going to leave a lingering flavor that you just won’t love. That wasn’t the case for me, but I definitely still think they’re a far cry from the best sour cream and onion chips you can pick up. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Most Nostalgic

Lay’s Sour Cream & Onion

Walmart

Amazon

I’m going rogue, and no one can stop me. Except my editor, Gwynedd Stuart. Gwynedd, don’t stop me. This is happening. Lay’s Sour Cream & Onion Chips, which everyone disparaged in our taste test on camera, is making this damn list. This isn’t even about the nostalgia factor. It’s the fact that these are pleasantly greasy and flavorful in a way that actually stands out—even if they don’t taste much like sour cream or onion. Lay’s is doing their own thing, and for some people, this is exactly what they want from sour cream and onion chips. Not me personally, but I see the appeal. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best for Dipping

Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion

Walmart

Amazon

Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion chips have a much lighter overall flavor profile, but it isn’t bad. It’s just not very bold—which might make it the perfect dipping chip, if you think about it. Especially with those thick ridges, I can’t think of a better way to demolish a tub of onion dip. But if you’re hunting for the best sour cream and onion chip that brings the flavor, these really aren’t that. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Small Bag

Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion Ripple Potato Chips

Target

Amazon

I got a box filled with 12 small bags of these chips that I just keep on my desk for when I want a little afternoon snack. These chips have a classic sour cream and onion flavor, but they’re ridged, too. These “ripple” chips are light, crispy, tangy, and delicious. They’re high in saturated fat and salt, but that’s why I like munching on these one small bag at a time. It’s a delicious, indulgent snack you can eat in small quantities. Not the best sour cream and onion chip, but the best sour cream and onion chip that comes in a small bag for sure. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Buttermilk

First Street Sour Cream & Onion

Smart & Final

First Street is the in-house brand for Smart & Final, which is a smaller grocery chain only on the West Coast. So feel free to skip this if you don’t shop here. Their sour cream and onion chips go heavy on the sour cream and much lighter on the onion, but we liked their bold buttermilk tang. The chip itself is closer to flaky Lay’s chip, which is nice. Again, it’s not what we’re really craving from a sour cream and onion chip, but it is tasty. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Smart & Final

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Crunch

The Good Crisp Company Sour Cream & Onion Potato Crisps

Amazon

 The Good Crisp Company’s Sour Cream & Onion Potato crisps really surprised us. They are crunchier than Pringles, and the flavor is probably the most onion-y of the entire lot. We actually found the overall flavor to be much closer to an approximation of a sour cream and onion chip than most other brands. These will seriously leave a lasting impression on your mouth, so, beware if you’re sensitive to a little onion stank on your breath. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Kettle

Cape Cod Sour Cream & Onion Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

Instacart

Amazon

Instead of using straight onion powder, Cape Cod utilizes green onion as well. The flavor here is bold but also quite mild; you can really keep eating these without feeling like your breath is going to be harsh. The aftertaste is just perfect, the type of thing that keeps you coming back to the bag. Cape Cod’s chips are alluringly crunchy with a strong potato flavor. Couple that with a well-rounded sour cream and onion flavor, and you’ve got a winner. I wrote down in my notes that these tasted savory, too. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Runner Up

Kroger Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips

Instacart

These chips are so creamy, more so than many others, and I’m guessing it’s because they include a small amount of blue cheese in the ingredients. They bring a great onion flavor that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The chips are also quite thin and do this fun thing where they dissolve in your mouth. I was really impressed with these chips and will absolutely be buying them again. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Pringles Sour Cream & Onion

Walmart

Amazon

Guys, I did it: I found the culprit. The reason why none of these sour cream and onion chips taste quite right. (Well, one of reasons; I’m still convinced Big Snack pulled some kind of Berenstain Bears situation.) It’s Pringles. Pringles taste like the perfect sour cream and onion chip. I mean, every little disc holds the perfect amount of tangy, creamy flavor dust. Finally, a chip that leaves some damn dust on my fingers. Pringles are the best sour cream and onion chips because they’re addictive, punchy, and actually taste like the flavor they’re reproducing—imagine that! —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Lay’s Stax, Ruffles Cheddar Sour Cream, Popchips, Utz, Boulder Canyon, Pringles, Clancy’s, Dirty’s, Sunchips French Onion, Late July, Hal’s, Alaska Chip Company, Great Value, Quest Protein, Boulder Canyon, Amazon Aplenty