Healthy chips: oils, ingredients and the better bags we stock

The chip aisle has changed. Next to the classic potato chip you'll now find chips cooked in avocado oil or grass-fed beef tallow, tortilla chips made from cassava, and crisps made from cauliflower, beans and kale. If you'd like a better bag without giving up chips, here's how they differ, so you can pick the one that suits you.

What are healthy chips, really?

Let's be honest: chips are a snack, and the best way to enjoy them is a bowl at a time. What you can choose is what goes into the bag. When people ask us for healthy chips, they usually mean three things: a cooking oil they're happy with, a short ingredient list made from whole foods they recognise, and a base that isn't always potato.

That's where the brands we stock differ most. Some cook in avocado oil, some in grass-fed beef tallow, some in organic sunflower oil. Some keep it to three ingredients. Some swap potatoes for sweet potatoes, corn, cassava, beans or vegetables. None of these is the single right answer; it comes down to what you want from a snack and how it tastes to you.

The oil makes the biggest difference

Most chips are potatoes, oil and salt, so the oil shapes the flavour and the crunch. "Seed oils" is the catch-all name for oils pressed from seeds, such as canola, sunflower, safflower and soybean. Some shoppers prefer to skip them; others are happy with organic sunflower oil. Every bag tells you which you're getting.

Graze tallow chips: cooked in grass fed beef tallow

Graze tallow chips are kettle cooked in grass-fed beef tallow, with no seed oils at all. Tallow is rendered beef fat, a time-tested cooking fat that holds up well at high heat, and it gives Graze a rich, savoury taste and an extra crispy crunch. The ingredient list stays simple, with no artificial additives or fillers.

Because the fat comes from beef, these aren't for vegetarians or vegans. The flavours are bold: tangy salt and vinegar, dill pickle, a smoky-sweet barbeque on extra-large chips, and cheddar with sour cream and onion.

Kettle chips: what's special about them

Kettle chips are fried in batches. Raw potato slices go into the oil one batch at a time, come out when they're fully cooked, and then the next batch goes in. Most mass-market chips are fried in a steady stream on a conveyor instead. The slower batch method gives kettle chips their thicker, harder crunch and the odd folded chip in the bag.

Kettle Brand is the name many people know: thick-cut chips from select russet potatoes, cooked in small batches in safflower, sunflower or canola oil, plus an avocado oil line. It isn't always in stock with us, so ask at either store. Meanwhile, we keep plenty of other kettle-cooked bags on the shelf.

Hardbite: handcrafted in British Columbia since 1998

Hardbite makes its chips in Surrey, B.C., in the province's only potato chip plant, and has been handcrafting all-natural chips since 1998. It's an independent Canadian snack maker we're glad to support. The avocado oil line is cooked in 100% avocado oil, Non-GMO Project Verified and gluten-free, with nothing artificial in the seasoning. Black Sea Salt keeps it to four ingredients.

Jackson's, Humble and a kettle crisp from Spain

Jackson's chips are kettle cooked in avocado oil with three ingredients: potatoes (or heirloom sweet potatoes), avocado oil and sea salt. They're our pick for lunches and road trips. Humble Potato Chips come from Guelph, Ontario. The story starts with founders Alicia and Jeff, who started Humble after years in the snack food industry, with their son Wilder as a chief taste tester. The vision was organic potatoes and clear, upfront ingredients, so Humble uses certified organic potatoes and organic sunflower oil, and colours its Ketchup chips with organic beet powder. For something from further around the world, Wanna Freak makes bold, kettle-cooked crisps in Spain with European peppers and paprika.

The better bag is the one with an oil you're happy with, a list you can read, and a taste you love.

Potato, bean or veggie chips?

The base changes the taste and texture more than you'd think. Here's what to expect from each.

Beanitos make their chips from beans rather than corn or potato, with a light sprinkle of sea salt. They're gluten-free, with a satisfying crunch and a nutty taste that works with dips, in flavours like Restaurant Style white bean, Hint of Lime and Nacho Nation. Bean and lentil chips tend to bring more fibre and plant protein than corn or potato chips. Like Kettle Brand, they come and go on our shelf, so ask at either store if you're after a bag.

Siete tortilla chips skip corn and grain entirely: cassava flour, coconut flour and chia seed, made with 100% avocado oil, in a five-ingredient list. Hippie Snacks bakes its crisps from real cauliflower or avocado with pumpkin and sesame or sunflower seeds. Solar Raw air-dries kale leaves in a cashew and sunflower seed coating instead of baking or frying them.

Tortilla chips from a Canadian family business

Neal Brothers started in 1988 in their mother's kitchen in Aurora, Ontario, and the company Chris and Peter Neal built is still a Canadian, family-owned and operated business. Their Organic New Classics are as plain as a tortilla chip gets: organic white corn, organic sunflower oil and sea salt. Que Pasa grinds organic corn on volcanic stone for a fuller, toastier round chip that's made for scooping.

Made Good, One Degree and other crunchy snacks

Sometimes the crunch you want isn't a chip at all. MadeGood Star Puffed crackers are baked with organic, gluten-free ingredients and are free from the most common allergens, which makes them a lunchbox favourite. Frankie's puffs are made in Canada with organic sprouted quinoa and sprouted brown rice, cooked in organic high-oleic sunflower oil, and certified organic and gluten-free.

One Degree Organic Foods is known for sprouted grains, and its Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps have just three ingredients: sprouted brown rice, coconut palm sugar and unrefined salt. They're a cereal, but they bring a light crunch to yogurt or no-bake squares.

One Degree Organic FoodsSprouted Brown Rice CrispsOrganic and gluten-free, lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar.Shop →

How to read a chip bag

1. Start with the oil. Avocado oil, beef tallow, sunflower, canola or a blend: it's named in the ingredient list, usually right after the potatoes or corn.
2. Count the ingredients. Plain salted chips can be three ingredients. Flavoured chips add seasoning, so read what's in it, such as real spices, vinegar or cheese.
3. Check the serving size. The nutrition panel is for a serving, not the whole bag. Compare brands on the same serving, and look at sodium and fibre, which vary a lot from bag to bag.
4. Look for allergens. Some chips contain milk, sesame or mustard, or may contain tree nuts. It's always on the bag.

Craving chips? Try a bowl and a good dip

When a craving hits, pour a bowl instead of eating from the bag, and pair it with something good. Sweet potato chips and tortilla rounds stand up to thick dips like hummus or guacamole. For a local option, Skye Glen Creamery in Nova Scotia makes its Storm Chip Dip with farm-fresh dairy from grass-fed cows.

Skye Glen CreameryStorm Chip DipFarm fresh and grass fed, from East Skye Glen, Nova Scotia.Shop →

If you're eating gluten-free, our gluten-free snacks and pantry page and our gluten-free grocery starter list make it easy to find more.

Questions we get a lot

What are the healthiest chips to eat?

There's no single answer, but most people looking for healthy chips want a short ingredient list and an oil they're comfortable with. Jackson's and Hardbite Black Sea Salt keep it to three or four ingredients in avocado oil, Graze skips seed oils with beef tallow, and Humble uses organic potatoes.

Are kettle chips actually healthier?

Kettle cooking is about how the chips are fried, in batches rather than on a conveyor, and that mostly changes the texture: thicker and crunchier. What matters more is the oil and the ingredient list, so compare those.

Are beef tallow chips unhealthy?

They're chips, so enjoy them as a snack. Tallow is a traditional cooking fat that stays stable at high heat, and many people choose Graze because they'd rather skip seed oils. They aren't suitable for vegetarians or vegans.

Are Beanitos chips healthy?

Beanitos are made from beans instead of corn or potato, and they're gluten-free, with a nutty, savoury taste. Pick them if you like a bean-based chip, and enjoy them like any other snack.

Where can I buy Beanitos chips?

We carry Beanitos when we can get them, alongside the tortilla chips. Call either store to check before you make the trip.

Which chips are made in Canada?

Hardbite (Surrey, B.C.), Humble (Guelph, Ontario), Neal Brothers (Ontario) and Frankie's puffs are all Canadian. The Skye Glen Creamery dip is made right here in Nova Scotia.

Chips are in the snack aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. If you eat keto or low FODMAP, our guides to keto snacks and low FODMAP foods cover the bags that fit. For snacks with more protein, see our protein snacks guide. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Hardbite, About; Humble Chips, About us; Neal Brothers Foods; product labels.