8 Tostitos Dips, Ranked Worst To Best

When you're in the mood for a snack, there are few combos that are more delicious than chips and dip. Sure, you can make your own salsa at home or even whip up a homemade smoky white queso dip, but that's not as convenient as simply snagging a jarred dip at the store along with a bag of chips. One of the most well-known dip brands on grocery store shelves is Tostitos, which offers a variety of different flavors to dip your chips into. And whether you're more of a fresh salsa person or you tend toward the richer, creamier, queso end of the spectrum, Tostitos has you covered.

I tasted my way through eight of Tostitos' different dips, testing them all with Tostitos tortilla chips, to help give you a better idea of which ones you might want to try. I also ranked them, starting with my least favorite and finishing with the very best. I focused on both flavor balance and texture, and for reference, my taste leans spicy. Take a closer look at these Tostitos dip offerings, and your next snack sesh might just be your best yet.

In general, most of the dips on this list are pretty solid, considering that they're jarred and not made fresh. The one exception is the Medium Nacho Cheese Dip. Not to be dramatic, but this was probably the worst chip dip I've ever tried in my life. Ostensibly, this stuff is mainly supposed to be drizzled over nachos, but Tostitos says on its website that it also functions as a dip. If you don't want to be turned off of nachos forever, though, you might want to skip this product.

First of all, the texture is strangely oily, with an almost plasticky sheen to it. Although the appearance of the dip took me aback, I still wasn't prepared for how strangely bitter it was. It tasted like Velveeta had been melted and then left out of the fridge for a whole week. Admittedly, this stuff might be somewhat better if it were masked by the flavors of the other ingredients included in a traditional recipe for nachos, but on its own, it's definitely not worth trying. These are much better types of cheese for nachos out there.

We're taking a drastic step up in quality with Tostitos' Medium Salsa con Queso. To be sure, this stuff isn't nearly as good as the salsa con queso you could get at a good Mexican restaurant, but for a jarred product, it gets the job done. The cheese has a mild, arguably boring flavor — more than anything, it seems like it's just there for structure. The real flavor seems to come through in the inclusion of the salsa, which adds some freshness and acidity to the recipe. When those two elements come together, they create a dip that's great for mindless snacking but will never be the star of the show.

Ultimately, this dip seems like it's made to appeal to the widest range of people possible. Is it going to blow anyone away with its deliciousness? Probably not. But when you want to put out a dip at a party that you know that basically everyone will at least somewhat enjoy, it's a solid choice.

Let me preface my review of Tostitos' Mild Chunky Salsa by disclosing that, in general, I don't tend to like mild salsas. There's usually just not enough flavor there to keep things particularly interesting, and the saltiness of the chips sometimes even overpowers the flavors you've got going on in the salsa itself. That being said, this salsa ranks higher than some of the others on this list thanks to its distinctive texture. There are a lot of jarred salsas out there that claim to be chunky and are actually quite thin. That's not the case here — there are actually big chunks of veggies in this dip that make you feel like you're eating something substantial.

Flavor-wise, it's not a bad salsa, but it's just not particularly interesting. Making your own, fresh salsa with the same included ingredients would yield much better results, but if you're the kind of person who avoids spice and needs a quick and easy dip for a party, you could do worse than this selection.

Just looking at the Medium Queso Blanco Dip from Tostitos, you might assume that it's one of the less flavorful dips in this lineup — at least, that's what I was expecting. But I was pleasantly surprised that this cheese dip was so flavorful. The white cheese is a nice departure from the artificial-looking yellow varieties otherwise dominating Tostitos' dip selection, and it's thicker and richer than the other quesos as well. That creaminess is, to me, the defining feature of this dip and makes it taste more indulgent than most of the other options on this list. It may be a bit too rich for those who prefer a fresher flavor profile, but I think it's a nice option when you're looking for something a bit heartier.

The flavor is solid as well. There's just a hint of the sweetness of tomatoes making an appearance there, and a slight vegetal note from the peppers also makes an appearance. If you're usually a big fan of queso blanco, there's a good chance you're going to like this stuff too.

Just because you can't go to your favorite Mexican restaurant every night doesn't mean you can't get a taste of restaurant-style salsa at home. Or, at least, that's what this Tostitos' salsa is supposed to taste like. It's not quite as fresh as salsa I'd expect from a solid Mexican restaurant, but it does have that thin, less-chunky texture that sometimes arrives at your table right as you sit down. I felt like this salsa had a more concentrated flavor than the Mild Chunky Salsa, despite its thinner consistency.

But that consistency is also part of the appeal. You're not just trying to get actual pieces of vegetables onto your chip with this stuff. Rather, you want to scoop up as much of that flavorful, thin sauce as possible to moisten your chips. I think this salsa could benefit from more spice — and even a bit more acid to balance things out better — but overall, it's a good stand-in for restaurant salsa when you're digging into a bag of chips at home.

The Hot Chunky Habanero Salsa from Tostitos represents a significant jump up in flavor and quality from all the products that have come before it. When I first took a bite of this stuff, I was somewhat disappointed, as the heat didn't hit me right away. Rather, it just tasted like a standard mild or medium salsa. But after a few seconds, that heat started to sneak up on me, accompanied by a lovely smokiness that added a lot of complexity to the dip.

By the time I swallowed and had my next bite lined up, I realized that this is one of the best jarred salsas I've ever tried. The heat is impressive and shouldn't disappoint anyone who prefers a particularly spicy salsa. But the flavors underlying that heat are also more interesting than those of the other salsas on this list. The habanero adds an almost fruity element to the dip, although you don't really get much sweetness from it at all. Plus, that chunky texture makes you feel like you're eating something pretty substantial. As long as you can stand some spice, this is the first Tostitos salsa you should try.

Tostitos' Medium Cheesy Enchilada Dip is unlike any of the other products listed in this ranking. Technically, it's queso, but it's also something else entirely. The base of the dip is cheese, but it's mixed with a decent number of black beans along with some chopped tomato. This gives it more body and structure than any of the other dips here, and it also feels more filling after taking a few bites. The beans offer the dip an earthiness and slight nuttiness that gives it more complexity, and the inclusion of tomatoes balances it out nicely with some sweetness and acidity. It all results in a lovely savory quality that'll have you going back for scoop after scoop.

The only real downside of this dip for me is the fact that it's really not spicy at all. That being said, if you prefer a milder dip, then it's something you absolutely have to try. Even if you do prefer a dip with more heat, it's easy to add a bit of hot sauce on top to really bring the whole appetizer together in a spicier package.

I truly cannot believe how much I love Tostitos' Hot Spicy Queso. I really didn't think that jarred queso could taste so delicious, but this product absolutely proved me wrong. Texturally speaking, this queso was a bit thinner than the others I tried, though it wasn't runny by any means. After being heated up, it offered the perfect consistency for scooping just the right amount of dip. And you really don't want to take more of it than you should on your chip, because this stuff is truly spicy. There are a lot of "spicy" packaged products out there that aren't really that hot at all. That's not the case here — this dip is downright fiery, thanks to the inclusion of chile peppers.

In addition to those chile peppers, you also get a hefty dose of red bell peppers in this recipe, which lend the dip a vegetal quality along with a note of sweetness. This helps to balance out that intense heat. Paired with super salty chips, this makes for the ultimate spicy food lover snack.

I chose these Tostitos dips based on availability at my local grocery store. Although some of them come in different heat levels, I tried to select the medium option when possible, since I thought these varieties would offer a more middle-of-the-road flavor and could better be compared to one another. The main criteria I used for this ranking were flavor balance and texture.

The best-ranked of the bunch have a good mixture of saltiness, sweetness, and acidity, along with a consistency that's ideal for scooping (i.e., isn't too thin or too thick and coats the chip in a layer of flavor well). I tried the salsas cold, straight out of the fridge, and I heated the quesos according to the package instructions.