The Worst Baked Potato Chips Are As Bland As It Gets

For those of us avoiding fried snacks, baked snacks offer a tasty, healthier alternative. Baked potato chips are nearly as plentiful and diverse as their fried counterparts. However, not all baked snacks are worth your money, and we tasted some of the most popular baked snacks to determine which ones to avoid. According to our ranking, the worst baked potato chips are from Aldi's Clancy's brand.

We sampled Clancy's original baked potato chips and found them to be as bland as they get. We tried different baked snacks, focusing on texture, flavor, overall satisfaction, and how they compared to their fried versions. When it comes to potato chips, overall satisfaction means you'd want to eat every last chip in the bag. Unfortunately, we didn't want to go beyond the first bite.

It's hard to compare baked potato chips to fried potato chips, but we'd hoped that Clancy's would compensate for the greasy, salty, crisp delight of a fried potato chip with a baked potato chip that's light, thin, and rich in potatoey flavor. Clancy's baked potato chips had an underwhelming instant mashed-potato taste, and since they were undersalted, even the fake potato flavor was hard to perceive. The texture was equally disappointing as they were starchy and much thicker than competitor brands, a far cry from the light and crunchy chip we hoped for.

Aldi's Clancy brand encompasses many different varieties of baked and fried chips. We did a ranking of Aldi's potato chips, and Clancy's baked potato chips weren't far from last place due to their lack of flavor. Posts on Reddit speak about a general decline in quality for Clancy's chips, many of which bemoan a bland, underseasoned chip.

While Clancy's is an Aldi brand that's much cheaper than name-brand chips like Lay's, we recommend shelling out the extra dollar or two for a baked chip that's superior. Baked Ruffles and Baked Lays both landed in our top five spots for popular baked snacks. If you're set on the cheaper Clancy's brand, the best baked potato chip in our ranking was the barbecue flavor.

Clancy's original baked potato chips aren't worth putting in your shopping cart. But if you made the mistake of buying them, you can repurpose them for a mutual flavor and texture boost. There are plenty of tasty ways to use potato chips in other dishes; for example, crumble them over soups and salads or mash them into a savory coating for fried chicken or crab cakes.