We Tried Aldi's Maple Sweet Potato Chips

We’re no strangers to Aldi’s Clancy brand chips. Seriously. For actual years we’ve been tasting the range of flavors this Aldi-exclusive brand comes out with, everything from Fried Pickle Ranch to Pumpkin Spiced Kettle Corn, to the flavor fans are calling out as the best ever.

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So when we heard Clancy was coming out with their seasonally spot-on sounding Maple Sweet Potato Chips, we were hopeful. Like every Aldi-exclusive brand, Clancy’s shown consistency in creativity of flavor―if not consistency in super-smooth delivery of flavor. But the words “maple” and “sweet potato” do seem to go together, especially if you’re talking pancakes, a pie, and pretty much anything on a Thanksgiving table. In fact, the only concern going in was the sugar factor: how much autumn sweetness is too much?

Clancy’s Maple Sweet Potato Chips

Pros: The chips are handsome. Yes, we said it. And it does sound weird. But really, they are: crisp ovals of thick cut sweet potato kind of curling in on themselves here and there, with a sparkly dusting of what looks like cinnamon sugar? Also, always a pro for a thicker-cut chip, no visible grease, even when you pick them up and hold them for a minute (kind of like the way you hold a chip when you’re talking to someone and unconsciously start to use it as you gesture).

The maple flavor is subtle. Which sounds like it should be a con, but with both maple and honey, it’s very, very hard to create the presence of the flavor without (easily) tipping the scales. Maple is an unsubtle flavor (makes sense―it’s kind of like tree blood, which is intense). And really the maple flavor you get with these chips comes early, and almost entirely by way of the nostril. Yep, it’s more of a maple fragrance, subtle, followed by a bit of maple sweetness which is swallowed up in a bit too much cinnamon sugar and sweet potato (sugar + sugar + sugar).

Unexpectedly, the sweet potato flavor here acts as the savory component. In most sweet potato chips (or fries), the crispy fried yam gives a kind of seductive sweetness to either a simple salt seasoning or something more exotic. Here, the sweet potato flavor (thankfully) goes a bit buttery and savory and calms the maple/cinnamon sugariness. I wonder if they’d seasoned the chips with just a bit more salt, if that balance would have carried out more. But yeah, thankfully the sweet potato here didn’t live up to its name―tasting more savory, a bit buttery, and rich.

Cons: The maple is subtle and present, but a bit perfumey. And then the cinnamon sugar coating kind of engulfs it, giving the otherwise almost perfectly crunchy thick-cut chip bite a sugary cereal vibe instead of a chip vibe. Again, the sweet potato somehow shows up to tame everything with a yammy butteriness, but even with the maple-y restraint, it feels like this chip doesn’t quite know where it belongs―the Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres table, or crushed up in a bowl with some almond milk.