I Asked 5 Food Editors To Name the Best Potato Chips, and They All Said the Same Brand

There is nothing—and I mean nothing—that hits quite like a potato chip. Sandwich missing that little something extra? Add potato chips. Your chocolate chip cookie falling flat in the flavor department? Crunch up some potato chips and mix them right into the dough. Midnight munchies striking? You don’t even have to ask—my hand is already in the bag. Potato chips provide an unrivaled, unmitigated dose of crunchy texture and oily richness, with a hefty helping of salt that makes them so darn irresistible; there’s a reason Lay’s slogan, “Bet you can’t eat just one,” struck a chord.

But no offense to Lay’s—which some argue is still the best potato chip—I think there are better brands out there doing it these days. Don’t get me wrong, Lay’s are classic and perfect, but they don’t deliver quite the crunch I’m looking for. Plus, they’re prone to crumbling under the weight of any diplimiting their use to solely snacking purposes.

On my never-ending quest to discover the best of the best the grocery store has to offerI asked my fellow food editors and Allrecipes teammates to weigh in on the debate: Who makes the best potato chip? One name got dropped more than any other, and readers, Lay’s didn’t even make the cut.

The Best Potato Chip, According to Food Editors

When it came time to pick their favorite chip, many of my colleagues chalked up the difference between good and great to one thing: the crunch factor. Editor Andrea Lobas put it perfectly: “For plain Jane potato chips, it’s hard to beat the crispy crunch of Cape Cod with their perfect salty taste.”

Yes, Cape Cod potato chips—once a regional New England favorite, now a national treasure—were the clear favorite of the food editors I polled. Known for its bag emblazoned with a seaside lighthouse, Cape Cod chips are kettle-cooked (much like another editor’s favorite, Kettle Brand), which gives them a superbly crisp texture that’s hard to beat. Even beyond their crunch, Cape Cod potato chips hit all the right notes: not too thick, but not too thin; a balanced, not overwhelming level of salt; genuine potato flavor; fresh, neutral-tasting fryer oil; and a good mix of flat chips and folded chips, or “foldy boys,” as I call them.

In our taste test of 12 popular potato chipsCape Cod was just shy of first place with our taster noting their pure potato flavor, “perfect” crunch and salt level, and a flavor that is savory and “absolutely delicious.”

“They’re so crunchy and flavorful—but also not overly salty or greasy, which I think some potato chips can be,” says Editor Bailey Fink. Cape Cod also counts News Editor Mary-Linh Tran and Senior Editorial Director Arie Knutson as fans, though Knutson opts for the 40% Less Fat option, “which are somehow more delicious than the classic,” according to her.

Editorial Director, Devon O’Brien, also grabs a Cape Cod varietal: “I actually love the Cape Cod Waves—I prefer the ultra-crunch of a kettle chip and the ridges are the ideal for the maximum sour cream & onion scoop!”

And speaking of waves, that brings me to our runner-up. The consensus was overwhelming. When it comes to ridged potato chips, it’s Ruffles or bust for the Allrecipes team.

According to Allrecipes’ Senior Content Marketing Manager, Frances Crouter, Ruffles have the “perfect amount of salt” and, of course, those signature ridges that make them any dip’s best friend.

“I love Ruffles and always will. They’re not as thick as some potato chips, and the saltiness and finer ridges can do a number on your taste buds, but they always satisfy the craving and a dose of nostalgia at the same time,” asserts Editor Catherine Jessee. Put simply, “Ruffles are perfect for dip any time, all the time,” concludes Fink.

Whether you opt for crispy Cape Cod chips or ridged Ruffles, you can’t go wrong with either of these editor-approved potato chips.