Trader Joe's Sea Salted Saddle Potato Crisps Vs Pringles Original: Which Are The Better Crisps?

Trader Joe's keeps its prices famously low by offering dominantly store-brand products. Eighty percent of all TJ's products are sold under a private label, as of 2018 (per Business Insider). But that private label also means TJ's fans can't get their favorite snacks anywhere else, and that name-brand offerings (like Pringles) cannot be found on Trader Joe's shelves. So, here at Tasting Table, we conducted a side-by-side taste test of 10 Trader Joe's snack dupes to see how they compare to name brands. The organic grocery chain's munchies beat out many popular brands, but when it came to TJ's Pringles dupe, it wasn't as good as the real deal.

Trader Joe's Sea Salted Saddle Potato Crisps are an obvious nod to the original Pringles flavor. The Crisps even come packaged in Pringles' iconic 5.2-ounce tube. As we mentioned in our taste test, the flavor of both chips was remarkably near-identical. Where these competitors differed the most came down to texture. Per our review, "The TJ's chips were a little harder than the Pringles, and they were also a bit thicker all around. The Pringles, meanwhile, were slightly larger but thinner, and they had a delightful crispiness that apparently is pretty hard to replicate." Due to that thickness, we named crispy, melt-in-your-mouth Pringles as the winner. If you're embarking on your weekly grocery run, there's no need to make a second stop at another grocery store to secure a knockout snack. But, if we had to pick between 'em, Pringles are the victor.

That nearly identical flavor is probably thanks to these chips' nearly identical ingredient lists. As the Trader Joe's website writes, "The chips are made from a combination of dried potatoes, corn meal, and rice flour and formed into perfectly mouth-shaped Crisps. Actually, a more apt description would be 'saddle-shaped' Crisps, hence the name we've chosen for these choice chips." It's sort of a funny way to avoid saying "Pringle-shaped" (props to the TJ's marketing team for imagination), and also a nod to TJ's other Western-inspired products like Cowboy Caviar and Cowboy Quinoa Burgers. To finish, TJ's crisps are cooked in sunflower oil, not unlike Pringles' recipe. Pringles are similarly made from dried potatoes, yellow corn flour, rice flour, cornstarch, salt, and a vegetable oil blend of corn, cottonseed, soybean, and/or sunflower oil. Still, beyond taste, the texture of these unique chips comes down to manufacturing processes, which Pringles has honed and perfected.

Even the official Pringles website notes the pioneering laurels of its Original Pringle flavor. Quoth the company, "When you're an original, you set the standard for how it's done. And with the tantalizing taste of potato, you'll be taking this gold standard all the way to the flavor bank." Sorry, TJ's Saddle Chips. Still, we can't knock either competitor on price point. A tube of Trader Joe's Sea Salted Saddle Potato Crisps costs $1.99, and at a Target in Tampa, a tube of Pringles runs for a comparable $2.19.