The Short Answer
The healthiest chips are made with three simple ingredients: potatoes (or corn/cassava), sea salt, and a stable cooking fat like avocado oil, coconut oil, or beef tallow. Brands like Jackson's, Siete, and Masa lead the pack by entirely ditching industrial seed oils.
While most commercial chips rely on cheap, inflammatory fats, a true clean chip is defined by how it is cooked. Swapping out conventional chips for those fried in heat-stable oils eliminates your exposure to the oxidized fats and chemical additives found in almost every mainstream snack aisle.
Why This Matters
When asking Are Chips Bad, the problem isn't usually the potato or the corn. The real danger lies in the oil. Because chips are fried at very high temperatures, the fat they are cooked in dictates their overall health profile.
Most brands use polyunsaturated seed oils like canola, sunflower, or safflower oil. These oils degrade and oxidize when exposed to high heat, creating harmful free radicals and inflammatory compounds. You can read more about this in our deep dive on Oils In Chips.
"Healthy" marketing is notoriously deceptive in the chip aisle. Many baked chips or veggie chips still rely on refined grains and highly processed oils, tricking you with a health halo. Just because a bag says "veggie" or "whole grain" doesn't mean it's clean, which we cover extensively in Are Veggie Chips Healthy.
What's Actually In A Clean Chip
When analyzing clean options like those on our Chips No Seed Oils list, the ingredient panel should be short and recognizable.
- The Base — Look for whole foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, organic corn, or cassava flour. Tortilla Vs Potato Chips
- The Fat — 100% pure avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or grass-fed beef tallow. These are stable at high heat and resist oxidation.
- The Seasoning — Sea salt. If you choose a flavored variety, look for actual organic spices rather than hidden "natural flavors" or extracts.
What to Look For
Green Flags:
- Avocado, Coconut, or Tallow — These fats are stable under extreme heat and won't oxidize during the frying process.
- Short Ingredient Lists — Three to four recognizable ingredients is the absolute sweet spot for a clean snack.
- Organic Corn — If you're eating tortilla chips, the organic label ensures the corn is non-GMO and free from glyphosate residue.
Red Flags:
- Canola, Sunflower, or Safflower Oil — The standard, highly-processed industrial seed oils used in roughly 95% of commercial chips.
- Yeast Extract or Autolyzed Yeast — Sneaky industry terms for MSG, commonly found in BBQ, ranch, or sour cream flavored chips.
- Maltodextrin — A highly processed carbohydrate used to make artificial flavorings stick to the chip, known to cause severe blood sugar spikes.
The Best Options
If you want a satisfying crunch without the chemical load, these are the best clean options on the market.
| Brand | Product | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson's | Sweet Potato Chips | ✅ | Cooked low and slow in 100% premium avocado oil. Is Jacksons Chips Clean |
| Siete | Grain Free Tortilla Chips | ✅ | Cassava flour base fried in pure avocado oil. Is Siete Chips Clean |
| Masa | Traditional Tortilla Chips | ✅ | Three ingredients: organic corn, sea salt, and grass-fed tallow. |
| Boulder Canyon | Avocado Oil Potato Chips | ✅ | A great clean kettle-chip alternative cooked in healthy fats. |
| Kettle Brand | Sea Salt Potato Chips | ⚠️ | Uses real potatoes, but cooked in sunflower or safflower oil. Is Kettle Brand Clean |
| Lay's | Classic Potato Chips | 🚫 | Fried in highly processed vegetable oils. |
The Bottom Line
1. Prioritize the oil. The health of a chip is determined entirely by the fat it is fried in, so stick exclusively to avocado oil, coconut oil, or beef tallow.
2. Beware of flavored varieties. Even clean brands sometimes sneak yeast extract, maltodextrin, or hidden sugars into their seasoned flavors.
3. Don't fall for "baked." Baked chips often contain just as many processed ingredients and still utilize inflammatory seed oils to preserve their shelf life. Are Baked Chips Healthier
FAQ
Are baked chips healthier than fried chips?
Not necessarily. While they may have marginally less fat, baked chips are highly processed and often contain added sugars, cornstarch, and the same inflammatory seed oils used in traditional fried chips. Are Baked Chips Healthier
Are veggie chips actually healthy?
Most store-bought veggie chips are just potato chips dyed with vegetable powder. Unless you are eating actual dehydrated vegetables cooked without industrial seed oils, they do not count as a serving of vegetables. Are Veggie Chips Healthy
Which is better: potato chips or tortilla chips?
It depends entirely on the ingredients and the oil. A tortilla chip fried in tallow or avocado oil is far superior to a potato chip fried in canola oil, and vice versa. Tortilla Vs Potato Chips