Now you may be thinking, “Frito-Lay already makes chips that taste like Chili Cheese Fritos… they’re called Chili Cheese Fritos.” To which I would say, “You are absolutely correct.” But the fact remains that Lay’s is giving us a Chili Cheese Fritos-flavored potato chip, and this one involves the taste of Fritos but not actual Fritos. The company is bringing back their Flavor Swap chips from last year, and Chili Cheese Fritos-flavored Kettle Cooked Lay’s are the new flavor-swapped chip in town.
So what exactly are these Flavor Swap chips and how did that lead us to Lay’s potato chips flavored like Chili Cheese Fritos?
Well, last July, Frito-Lay did the unthinkable: They released chip-flavored chips. And I don’t mean Lay’s Original Potato Chips (arguably the most chip-flavored chip of them all). No, when I say “chip-flavored chips” I mean Lay’s potato chips flavored like other popular Frito-Lay snacks that aren’t potato chips. The original lineup included: Cool Ranch Dorito-flavored Lay’s, Funyuns Onion-flavored Wavy Lay’s, and Cheetos Cheese-flavored Lay’s. And can I just say, Frito-Lay really seems to know what the people want. They took some of their biggest hits and mashed them together to create super chips. Genius. And now these super chips are back in stores this summer, while supplies last.
There’s a unique buttery oiliness in a Lay’s potato chip that I would love to experience in conjunction with the acute tanginess of Cool Ranch, the umami bomb of Funyuns, or the cheesy, salty overload of Cheetos, and now, the complex, cheesy, chili-spiced flavor of Chili Cheese Fritos. There really are just too many good chips these days, and Frito-Lay is taking away some of the decision-making by letting us have two at once. I want to try them all, but if I had to choose one to try first, I’d say…. ooooooooooooooooh, probably the Cool Ranch Dorito-flavored Lay’s. I didn’t try them last year and they quite honestly sound too good to be legal. Which would you most like to try?
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!