13 Popular Lay's Potato Chip Flavors, Tasted & Ranked

The global food legend known as Lay’s has been ceaselessly churning out colorful bags and standout flavors for over 90 years—and has rightly taken the spot on the list of America’s most beloved snack foods of all time. What started out with the thin and crispy Classics has turned into an army of tastes. From Barbecue and Sour Cream & Onion to more unexpected options like Flamin’ Hot and Chile Limón, the brand truly has it all.

I recently turned into a couch potato to analyze 13 different Lay’s creations and pick out the absolute best bag of the bunch. And I’m talking about only the most classic Lay’s chips, no Baked, Simple, Kettle-Cooked, or even Wavy varieties. I also didn’t include the new Hometown Flavors–which, by the way, include a Midwest variation called Fried Pickles and Ranch. I’m both proud and embarrassed to admit that that choice is spot on. Although that was hard to resist, I decided we’re truly getting back to basics here.

I gathered up all 13 flavors from various grocery stores and was surprised that the bags came with a different cost at each shop. At Kroger, each bag cost me $4.39, Giant Eagle’s price per bag was set at $4.29, and Target charges $3.99 each but I got them on a 2-for-$5 sale. Once I was home–with some air but surprisingly mostly chips–I got to tasting. Let’s get down to it and find out who was the crunchy champion, listed from my least favorite flavor to the one I couldn’t stop snacking on.

Limón

The Limón potato chip bag, as well as its more daring cousin Chile Limón, brings a Hispanic flair to the Lays lineup. Not to mention, it also boasts citrus notes from real limes–a rare flavor profile for the brand.

The look: This neon green bag came as a red flag to me. I was not at all confident that potato chips could deliver the same satisfaction that tortilla chips do when they’re coated with lime flavoring. The chips themselves take after the originals in a light shade of tan.

The taste: I was right. Something about the starchiness of the chips and the sour lime flavoring just doesn’t sit well with me. The zestiness is overbearing and tastes like a dead ringer for the artificial lime juice you would squeeze from a plastic bottle. Without any other ingredients to balance them out, these chips quickly fell to my last-place spot. And, not even their satisfyingly crunchy texture could save them.

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Flamin’ Hot

After reaping the success of its notorious Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the Frito-Lay company decided the logical next move would be to blast all its other well-known brands with the fiery red blend. Now, we have Flamin’ Hot Doritos, Flamin’ Hot Fritos, Flamin’ Hot Funyons, and, of course, Flamin’ Hot Lay’s potato chips. I’m not usually a fan of burn-your-mouth spicy products, but I took one for the team and gave these a shot.

The look: The appearance of the chips was not what I expected. They are far from fully washed out with seasonings. Instead, they give off more of a tie-dye effect of white and reddish-purple colors. On the other hand, the packaging is ominous in a bright shade of red with flames and chili peppers dancing around.

The taste: I don’t think this offering spent enough time in the research and development department because they come out smelling and tasting exactly like barbecue chips. I can’t say I have had some of the other flamin’ hot spin-offs, but I’ve certainly had the Cheetos, and the two are not even in the same ballpark in terms of flavor. They do have some spice, I’ll give them that. Although, it’s more of a smokey spice than a chile-inspired one–perhaps because chiles (or any hot peppers for that matter) aren’t even included on the ingredient list.

Lightly Salted Classic

Where there’s an original recipe potato chip, there’s a “better-for-you” alternative lurking not too far behind. For Lay’s, this means the Lightly Salted variety with 50% less sodium than its predecessor. Of course, I had to check this fact for myself, and it rings true. The Lightly Salted only carry 55 mg of sodium per 15 chips while the same amount of normal Lay’s stands at 140 mg. I’m no mathematician, but I believe that is actually more than a 50% decrease.

The look: The bag does give off a light and more healthful feel in a shade of baby blue. However, the chips are indistinguishable from the originals.

The taste: The reduction of salt is obvious from the jump. I even conducted a mini-blind taste test between these and the classic iteration, and my husband could tell the difference before he even tried the flagship flavor. The Lightly Salted do seem crispier for some reason, almost on the same level as the Lay’s Baked creations. At the end of the day, they’re not bad, just boring.

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Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue

Lay’s has no shortage of barbecue products. There are three distinct variations just in the standard potato chip category alone–not counting Baked, Simply, or Wavy creations. One of these happens to be Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue, a more recent flavor released for the first time in 2019. Supposedly, it is a proper combination of sweet, crispy, and Southern spice.

The look: Similar to the regular Barbecue, but more of a neon and unnatural orange hue. Based on the deep auburn color of the bag, I thought they would be darker.

The taste: My least favorite barbecue of the bunch. Like the Lightly Salted, they’re just rather humdrum. I anticipated that they would be jam-packed with flavor with the sweet and the heat and everything else going on. Instead, they’re just mildly smokey all the way through with a tiny bit of gusto that hits you late and only at the back of your throat. With such a vast barbecue department, I was positive Lay’s could do better.

Chile Limón

After my bad bout with the pure Limón chips, I was hesitant to give these a try. But, I realized that this marriage of chili peppers and lime is the exact fusion found in Fuego Takis–the brand’s signature product–and Trader Joe’s own coveted Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. So, I kept an open mind.

The look: Well coated and speckled with seasonings, giving them a terracotta-like tint. The bag presents an aesthetically pleasing color palette in shades of pinkish Persian red and light green.

The taste: A major step above the Limón. Although, now, there’s almost too much going on. Persistent and tart lime is the flavor that captivates you first before the chips settle into their smokey, almost Cayenne pepper-like state. It’s almost as if the two equal parts are working against each other instead of meshing and functioning in unison. Plus, something here tastes very artificial and almost stale–not the chips themselves but the seasonings on them.

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Sweet & Spicy Honey

Sweet & Spicy Honey is one of the brand’s most recent flavors to hit shelves. The bags are so fresh that they even still have the “New” designation printed on their top right corner. As the name suggests, the chips are meant to be a tad sweet and a tad spicy. But, based on the ingredient list, there are also a few more interesting add-ins, such as sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, and Swiss cheese.

The look: The chips look hardly flavored at all in a dandelion yellow color and sporting rare taste freckles. The salmon bag depicts honeycomb swirls and red chili peppers (yet again).

The taste: I immediately scrunched up my nose in confusion at this gustatory sensation. All together, it has an Asian-influenced taste to it that reminded me of honey chicken or even honey walnut shrimp. But, at the same time, the sugariness exuding from the chips isn’t necessarily honey-like. On another note, the spice is unmistakable and left my mouth the slightest bit singed. I continued to flip back and forth on whether I was a fan of these or not. I think others would strongly like them, but I am still on the fence. So, to the middle of the pack they went.

Honey Barbecue

Barbecue option number two is known as Honey Barbecue. I assumed that it would be similar to the standard barbecue, just sweeter and additionally close to the Sweet Southern Heat sans the spice–a fair assumption, right? Let’s find out if my educated guess was correct.

The look: These deep-fried potatoes are more golden-colored than other barbecue options, and they come in a bold mustard-colored bag to match.

The taste: Similar to the previous selection, the sweetness here is apparent, though I wouldn’t necessarily liken it to smooth and rich honey. In addition, there’s a flavor here that I wasn’t expecting at all: onion. After a peak at the ingredient list, I found that onion powder is in fact on the menu, yet it’s surprising that it’s so prominent in the recipe. I think Sweet Onion would be a better designation for this bag, so I have to deduct points for false advertising. But, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t mind munching on these again.

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Salt & Vinegar

Next up, we have a very polarizing variety: the famed Salt & Vinegar bag. I’ve come to realize that vinegar, in all its acidity, is just a controversial substance in general. For example, my mom loves to douse things like fried fish and fries from Penn Station in it, while my dad can hardly stand its stench. I land somewhere in the middle and have been known to eat a Lay’s Salt & Vinegar chip or two. However, for the sake of the taste test, I inspected these sliced spuds with a fresh and neutral lens.

The look: Unsuspecting. They look like the ordinary unflavored chips–albeit a tad more yellow–and they come in an eye-catching electric blue bag.

The taste: Depending on how you side in the great vinegar debate, I either have good news or bad news. I think these current Lay’s chips are considerably less pungent than they used to be. They still have that distinct and sharp vinegary essence but it’s clearly more subdued–I didn’t even notice my tongue or mouth becoming agitated from the surplus of acidity. For some, this information is likely encouraging. But for me, it’s disappointing because that aggressiveness was the original beauty of the chips. Now, I still find them to be tasty with addicting levels of salt. With this realization, though, I can’t justify labeling them as one of the brand’s absolute top flavors.

Classic

Ahh, we reached the world-renowned snack that started it all: the Lay’s Classic potato chip. The first-ever version of these bad boys was introduced in 1932 by Herman W. Lay, and it’s doubtful that even he knew at the time what a success the product would turn into. Now, the original chips–as well as all their subsequent variations–are sold nearly everywhere business is conducted and have made their way to markets worldwide. The only caveat is that the iconic brand often goes by a different name in different countries. For example, in Mexico, you’ll find the chips filed under the name Sabritas, and in Egypt, Chipsy is the proper designation.

The look: Classic. What else is there to say? The bright yellow bag can be seen from a mile away, and its inside contents are somewhere between cream and pale yellow.

The taste: Salty with that quintessential crunch. They’re good potato chips–no more, no less. To be fully transparent, I only ranked them as high as I did because they are a perfect vessel for any kind of dip you throw at it, from the brand’s own offerings like Smooth Ranch and French Onion to something more robust like Baked Potato dip. But without a buddy for dipping, it’s a completely different story. Personally, I believe that a well-flavored spud (emphasis on “well-flavored”) beats a plain spud every time.

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Dill Pickle

Why buy chips and pickles for the cookout when you can have both all rolled into one? Many snack brands have hopped on the pickle-flavored train from Doritos to Utz, and Lay’s is no exception. For those of you who are not backers of the briny cucumbers, feel free to skip to the next. But, as for me, I was excited to see what the big dill is.

The look: I anticipated these to carry a light green hue, similar to the one radiating from their packaging. But, nada. They are just as colorless as the Classic or Lightly Salted chips.

The taste: I applaud Lay’s for creating something that tastes exactly like the food it’s modeled after–unfortunately, that’s not always a given when it comes to potato chips, or food for that matter. Each chip is obviously dill-inspired, although they remind me more of the fresh herb than dill pickles from a jar. They also have an acidic and strong salty flavor that’s really close to the Salt & Vinegar variety–makes sense. Overall, the brand did a good job with these, and I’m fairly certain I could eat the whole bag without getting sick of them.

Barbecue

Rounding out our trifecta of barbecues is the original. Lay’s has been producing this staple flavor since 1965. However, the brand wasn’t the first to enter this space. The competing potato chip company Herr’s took those honors instead. Now, barbecue is a given in most snack brands’ lineups and a favorite among many.

The look: Somewhere in between the golden hues of the Honey Barbecue and the brightness of the Sweet Southern Heat. They are coated well with the muted orange dust as well as other seasonings.

The taste: A little smokey, a little sweet, and a lot of tasty. Presenting a great balance, it’s everything you would want from a classic barbecue chip. This OG bag is miles ahead of the other two BBQ options. It has all the positives of its successors (the depth of flavor, for example) and eliminates any other features that don’t quite hit the mark. I think my advice to Lay’s, in this case, would be “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. And, to stop drawing up new, “innovative” barbecue styles when the first is practically unsurpassable.

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Sour Cream & Onion

I would say that Sour Cream & Onion is another iconic Lay’s variety. But it seems that nearly all of the brand’s bags could be described this way, so I’ll resist. It’s also a what you see is what you get kind of flavor with equal parts sour cream and onion–green onions, specifically, as indicated on the bag.

The look: Standard chips spotted heavily with minuscule green specks that do, in fact, match the color of the packaging to a tee.

The taste: How do you make a chip taste creamy and nearly exactly like sour cream? I’m not sure, but Lay’s has done it. These have a smooth and delicate flavor that keeps you coming back for more. The onion tang is also subtle but strong enough to carry each piece, eliminating the need for any kind of accessory dip. Just like the Salt & Vinegar chips, I think this variety does have less flavor than it used to (also pointed out in reviews on Lay’s website), but it’s still a delicious crowd-pleaser.

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Cheddar & Sour Cream

We’re hitting you again with another dollop of sour cream. The Cheddar & Sour Cream Lay’s chips have been around for quite some time and are one of the few choices on the brand’s roster that incorporate some good ol’ fromage. The Cheddar Jalapeno is a more recent, spicier option, and I’ve also seen White Cheddar Poppables. But, any others are much harder to come by.

The look: Evenly coated in a pale orange powder. The bag shines a little brighter than the chips themselves but isn’t completely off in terms of its tone.

The taste: The same creaminess that elevates the previous Sour Cream & Onion chips can also be found here–and they do it even better. These are almost buttery and taste like real cheese, not like a synthetic blend cooked up in a lab (side note–there’s also blue cheese included in the recipe in addition to cheddar, which I personally don’t taste at all but thought was interesting). This has always been a go-to flavor in my household, and it’s stood the test of time, devoid of any reduction of seasonings like other varieties have seen. A clear-cut winner in my book that I will continue to cherish for years to come–not to be cheesy.

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