Every Stacy's Pita Chips Flavor, Ranked Worst To Best

Stacy's chips have got it goin' on. They bring something different to the snack aisle. Something that's not made from potatoes or corn, but from hearty pita bread for even more character and definitely more crunch. Then there's their intense dippability. They're practically begging to be served with hummus, whipped feta, or an olive tapenade. And the variety is another big plus. Not only does Stacy's offer a range of flavors, but the chips themselves come in slightly different statures. On top of the sturdy classics, there are also options for those who prefer a toned-down texture — or perhaps have more sensitive teeth. It's turned into quite the collection, and today we're sampling the entire lot to see which is best.

Interestingly, Stacy's journey to the snack aisle was a bit of an unusual one. The brand didn't start with chips at all but fresh pita bread sandwiches that Stacy Madison sold out of a cart. Pita bread bites were given to customers awaiting their order, and eventually this small business, which started in 1996, came to be known as a national brand.

With 30 years under the brand's belt, Stacy's has had plenty of time to gain fans, refine its recipes, and expand beyond its original pita chips. With so many current options to choose from, I put 10 different bags to the test. Based on crunch, seasonings, and accuracy of flavor, I put each one in order from my least favorite to my most favorite.

There are the classic Stacy's pita chips and then there are the pita Thins. They're still baked with real pita bread, but they're the thinner, lighter cousin to the original. They currently come in three different flavors including this five-cheese variety.

The difference in size and shape is obvious from the start and so is the cheesiness. The aroma escapes like a cheesy puff as soon as you open the bag. As I dug in, I liked the flaky, delicately crisp texture of the rectangular Thins. It was the flavoring itself that I wasn't particularly fond of. It does bake in five very real cheeses (the "No artificial colors or flavors" note on the front of the bag makes sure to remind you of that). So you have cheddar, mozzarella, asiago, Romano, and Parmesan all vying for attention. Cheddar and Parmesan stuck out to me the most, but despite the authentic ingredients, the seasoning powder still came off very processed.

If you're a fan of that kind of fake cheese dust, then this is absolutely the flavor for you. But to me it felt inferior to the other Stacy's renditions.

I'm not trying to hate on the pita Thins. Really. It's just that the brand did its line of skinny chips dirty with these flavors.

Garlic and herbs sounds like a perfectly reasonable ingredient combo for a pita chip. And it would be if that was, in fact, what they tasted like. However, it's a stretch to say they truly embody garlic and herbs. I hardly detected any garlic at all. At first, the Thins actually seemed more cheesy than anything else, with a similar kind of artificial-tasting powder as the five-cheese. Then, as I ate a few more, I realized what it was they reminded me of: sour cream and chives. That would have been the more accurate name. And seeing as sour cream, buttermilk, and chives are all included on the ingredient list, it checks out.

So I guess the herb criteria is met? Additionally, the texture is satisfyingly snappy and they do have more appeal than the overloaded five-cheese chips. But between the inaccurate name and that same dusty coating I wasn't loving before, I still wasn't sold. Stacy has better flavors up her sleeve.

Now that we've ditched some of the Thins, we're moving onto Stacy's original recipe pita chips. You'll know they're the OGs because they'll be larger, less uniform, and they'll unleash a thunderous crunch as you bite into them. Seriously, I would advise against eating these in a quiet room unless you want all eyes on you.

Something these chips do really well is match their name (the Garlic & Herb Thins should take note). You get those Mediterranean flavors of rosemary and extra virgin olive oil right off the bat. Ingredients like onion powder, garlic powder, and cheddar cheese are also baked into the recipe, but they must be present in trace amounts because I didn't notice much of any of them. So, the bag certainly stays true to its word — almost too true.

The rosemary can be intense on some chips, and I fear that strong, piney flavor may be a deterrent for some. A sprig of the herb is great in a lot of recipes, but it can also be very dominant. Because of that, I'd put these more in the acquired-taste category than the universally appealing one. Even personally, I wasn't the biggest fan of just how herb-forward they were, so I couldn't justify placing them much higher in the rankings. Kudos for the impressive crunch though — undoubtedly a result of that twice-baked cooking method.

If you're looking to get a little more out of your pita chip, go with the multigrain. On top of the real pita promises and lack of artificial ingredients all Stacy's chips offer, these are also packed with stone ground whole wheat flour, crushed oats, flaxseed, and sesame seeds. So you're getting some added nutritional benefits with every handful.

Their whole wheat nature is obvious from the start. They're a bit darker in color, and if you look closely, you can see little seeds sticking out all around the chip. The flavor is also obviously whole wheat but not in a cardboard kind of way. There's a subtle earthiness and nuttiness to them that's actually pretty enjoyable.

Where they start to lose some appeal is their dryness. They zapped the moisture out of my mouth in a way that none of the other pita chip flavors did. Plus, they're extra crunchy — something that Stacy's chips certainly don't need. That leaves them as a middle-of-the-road option. I believe they would be more widely accepted than the rosemary flavor. But I also think they're better suited for pairing than solo snacking.

Tomato and basil is a flavor combination that I'm almost always on board with. The two make for a natural pair. We're also bordering on a caprese salad here – if only the chips incorporated the milky, cheesy taste of mozzarella, too.

They're not overly seasoned by any means. You can see flecks of green herbs scattered across the chips along with tiny dots of red, presumably from the tomato powder, baked right in. Meanwhile, the flavor is just about as subtle as the look. Surprisingly, the slightly sweet, peppery notes of basil stand out more than the tomato at first. As you keep chewing, though, you start to get more of those tangy, slightly acidic notes you would expect from the fruit. It works together with the herb to create a light, freshly-harvested flavor.

It's a taste that works well on top of a crisp and toasty pita chip. I think it could do a little bit more, though. A heavier hand with the seasonings would have made a big difference and I think Stacy really should consider that mozzarella upgrade.

In a strange turn of events, the best pita Thins are actually the simplest. Sometimes less is more when it comes to snacking.

There's something about the soft crispness of these chips paired with just the right amount of salt that makes them so dang poppable. It was hard to stop going back for more once I started. The sea salt isn't overbearing by any means, though. There are only 190 mg of sodium per serving (which adds up to about 14 chips), so the seasoning still lets that wheaty taste of the pita speak for itself. The Thins also boast 50% less fat than classic potato chips, so they have that going for them.

I would leave the multigrain and tomato and basil flavors in the dust in exchange for these — especially the puffed-up, pillow-shaped chips that are even more brittle than the others. However, when it comes to the sea salt Thins versus the classic pita chips covered in sea salt, I have to give the classics the upper hand. They have the same level of taste appeal, but with sturdiness on their side. I think if you went with the Thins, you'd end up with a lot of fallen soldiers in your tub of dip.

It really was a tough call between the previous Thins and these standard sea salt chips. I would gladly buy either one again. But these do have a slight edge because they offer a more traditional pita chip experience. I was more drawn to the thicker chip and its bulkier bite.

Otherwise, the salt levels seemed about even between the two. I could feel the granules on my fingers as I grabbed each chip, but the saltiness was never overbearing. So you still get the full flavor of the pita underneath. It almost tastes like a fried pita chip, with that same richness, just without all the grease since these are baked.

I think these chips were meant to be something of a baseline for Stacy's. I think they may even be an evolution of the brand's Simply Naked flavor (which is no longer listed on the website). But basic or not, I still think they're one of the better options Stacy's makes. They're flavorful enough to eat on their own yet neutral enough to pair with quite literally anything. They may not be the best individual flavor in the lineup, but they're an always-reliable choice.

This is currently the only sweet option in Stacy's lineup flavors. But I would like to formally petition the company to make more. It's really onto something here, and I think an entire line of dessert pita chips would be heavenly.

Covered in cinnamon and milled cane sugar, these taste just like the Cinnamon Twists you get at Taco Bell (which were inspired by the Mexican snack Duros). These are much crunchier, to be fair. But something about the wheat base topped with a light coating of cinnamon sugar makes the two snacks undeniably similar. It makes for the perfect little sweet treat, especially when paired with something like chocolate hummus or, better yet, a cannoli dip. Stacy's could work on better distributing the cinnamon sugar mixture. Some chips are blasted with flavor while others are seriously lacking. Overall, though, they're delicious, and only stand behind a few wonderfully savory options in the taste test.

And Stacy, if you're looking for ideas for what sweet flavors to experiment with next, I have some thoughts. Combinations like caramel sea salt, honey butter, or even s'mores could be a logical next step. I'll be frequently checking the chip aisle for any movement on this front.

These could have fallen into the same trap as the earlier Garlic & Herb Thins with a processed taste that doesn't fully align with its name. But they don't. It feels like a completely different recipe and this time, it's a good one.

The chips use real Parmesan cheese, dried garlic, and parsley. And you experience the ingredients in that order. The cheese is definitely first to hit your palate with its saltiness and that distinct nutty flavor. It reminded me of the pure Parmesan crisps you can buy at the store or make by baking some shredded parmesan right on a cookie sheet in the oven (using parchment paper for best results). After this initial rush of cheesiness, the garlic starts to hit. It's a tad bitter but that savory, alliaceous taste is still there. By nature, the parsley is a more subtle ingredient, working quietly in the background. But I'm keen to believe its small zap of freshness helps to round out the chips' sharper flavors.

Stacy's also gets the portions right. There's enough seasoning on each chip to make it plenty flavorful, but not too much to the point that you can't pick out the wheaty notes of the thick, twice-baked pita. It's hard to go wrong with cheese and garlic and the combination did enough to earn my number two spot.

What would a chip lineup be without a little bit of spice? The Fire Roasted Jalapeño bag fills this role for the Stacy's brand and they are absolutely fire (in more ways than one). There's a reason why they have an unblemished rive-star rating on the website.

They look a bit menacing at first, covered in a reddish powder that has to be from the paprika and dried red bell pepper. There's some definite heat in the taste as well, and one that builds with each chip. But they offer more than just spice. You can really taste the jalapeños that have been baked right into the pita dough, along with brighter notes of both green and bell pepper. A few sprinkles of both garlic and onion powder only add to the appeal. And the surprising addition of organic cane sugar helps to mellow out some of those stronger, zestier flavors.

What's not to like? You have crunchiness. You have tanginess. You have spice — but not the kind of heavy spice that's going to force smoke out your ears or send you scrambling for a glass of milk. In my opinion, it's Stacy's chips at their best, and I imagine they only get better when paired with the perfect dip.

For this article, I picked up every bag of Stacy's chips I could find. I did exclude the brand's one bag of organic chips and also skipped its Bagel Chips to focus purely on pita. I wound up with 10 different flavors to try, including seven classic pita chip varieties and three bags of Thins. I found all of the above at my local Kroger. Pro tip: If you can't find Stacy's in the chip aisle, look closer to the deli section by the fancy cheese.

I know Stacy's chips are destined to be dipped, but I tried them all plain and by themselves to get the best read on their natural flavor. The first thing I noticed was the sturdy texture and hearty crunch, which was consistent across all of the classic chips, followed by the more delicate nature of the Thins. Honestly, both are good in their own right, so individual flavor became more important. I looked closely at the seasonings and ingredients, which are all impressively real — a rare find in the packaged chip world. I wanted chips that matched their name and brought rich, bold flavors while still showcasing the natural taste of the pita in the best light.