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When snack o’clock hits, my go-to is always tortilla chips. I’ve worked my way through countless bags over the years, and even though most of them contain the same three ingredients (corn, oil, and salt), they can vary significantly when it comes to taste, texture, and overall quality. So which tortilla chips actually taste good? To find out, I did the important work of testing (i.e. scarfing down) various brands and varieties of store-bought tortilla chips to determine the ones worth their salt.
The Methodology + Tasters
To find out which tortilla chips are the best, I ordered 15 different brands from DoorDash, including some non-corn contenders. They all came in traditional triangle shapes and were only seasoned with salt (no lime-flavored anything here). I conducted this taste test with my wife (who was more than eager to help the cause), a line-up of salsas and guac, and our emotional support water bottles. We judged each chip on taste, texture, salinity, sturdiness, crunchiness, and dip-ability. Here are the winners:
The Results
The Classic Chips:
Xochitl Tortilla Chips
These chips are an easy 10 out of 10. They are thin and crispy but not so thin that they couldn’t handle swipes of guacamole, and they have a medium salt level that’s just right. They’re made with white corn, organic palm olein oil, lime, and sea salt — though there’s no detectable lime flavor (the lime is just part of the nixtamalization process to make the corn more digestible). Overall, we thought these chips tasted fresh and had a satisfying, mild corn flavor.
Late July Organic Tortilla Chips
Crafted with organic whole ground corn and sea salt, these tortilla chips also have a very light corn flavor that serves as the perfect canvas for salsa and guac. Their wisp-thin shape sometimes struggled against the weight of guacamole but handled every salsa with ease. These highly munchable chips were the least salty of the bunch, but they still effectively curbed our salty snack cravings.
Santitas White Corn Tortilla Chips
These chips have a solid corn flavor, a grainy texture (in a good way), and a sturdiness perfect for loaded nachos and seven-layer dips. We found them to be the saltier side but not so much that we were guzzling water after eating them. Santitas also have a very satisfying crunch, though fair warning: It’s guaranteed to annoy your coworkers, spouse, or anyone within earshot.
Simply Tostitos Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
While we found the original Tostitos to be too salty and its lightly salted version too bland, these blue-corn tortilla chips strike a happy medium. Texture-wise, they have more integrity than original Tostitos, and the organic blue corn gives them a hearty, almost nutty flavor that we liked. They also have the largest surface area of any of the other chips on this list, meaning they’re great for dipping and nachos. Although not part of the official taste test, we really enjoyed these with hummus.
The Revolutionary Scoopers:
Siete Grain-Free Tortilla Chips
These tortilla chips are made with cassava, a root vegetable native to South America. We polished off the bag in one afternoon and decided they were worth a spot on this list. These chips are light, airy, and crispy. The texture is somewhat of a hybrid between that of a classic corn tortilla chip and a rice cracker. They couldn’t handle anything more than our thinnest salsa, but that was fine because we preferred them straight from the bag anyway.
Beanitos Black Bean Tortilla Chips
I’ve been a fan of this brand for a while, and its black bean tortilla chip remains my favorite of the Beanitos bunch. These chips have a mild earthy flavor and more of a crumbly texture, but they can still hold their own in a variety of dips. The black beans also provide extra protein and fiber (four grams of each per serving), which makes them more filling and conducive to mindful snacking.
PHOTO CREDIT:
Photography: Paul Quitoriano
Food Styling: Lena Abraham
Prop Styling: Gerri Williams
Art Direction: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez
