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No matter what your snack preferences are, you have a lot of excellent chips to choose from these days. But when you're selecting a classic potato chip, what's the healthiest version? Is there even such a thing as a healthy chip?
Some chip choices are generally considered healthier than others. But if you're looking for the healthiest chips for you, dietitians tell TODAY.com that the answer will depend on your personal preferences and nutrition goals.
"Potato chips in their most natural form are really just potatoes, oil and some salt,"Rachel Stahl Salzman, registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine, tells TODAY.com.
And potatoes are a vegetable! So, even a greasy potato chip can provide some fiber, vitamins and minerals, she says. But that's not exactly the healthiest way to get those nutritional benefits.
Although you can get nutrients like potassium and vitamin A from potatoes, "When you slice them really thin, deep fry them in — most often unhealthy — oils and smother them in salt or seasoning, they become less healthy," Julia Zumpano, registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition, tells TODAY.com.
But that doesn't mean chips can't be part of your diet, Zumpano says. "Anything in moderation can be included safely," she says, "especially if you're mindful of the ingredients and controlling the portion."
So, potato chips aren't exactly a health food, and they don't really need to be! But if you're looking for a healthier version of your go-to salty, crunchy snack, dietitians are sharing what to look out for.
What to look for in healthier chips:
Baked rather than fried
Classic potato chips are typically fried, which makes them extra crispy. But frying foods isn't the healthiest way to cook them.
A diet high in fried and ultraprocessed foods is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular issues, cancer, dementia and mental health issues. Fried, fatty foods can also exacerbate health conditions like acid reflux.
Fried potatoes may also have some unique health risks, Zumpano says. Products made with fried potatoes, including french fries, “give off some byproducts that have been shown to be unhealthy,” she explains.
In particular, fried potatoes can contain acrylamide, a compound that emerges at high heat. In laboratory studies, acrylamide can cause cancer and other health issues in animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say.
That's why potato snacks that have been baked rather than fried will be a healthier option, the experts agree.
Healthier cooking oils
It's not just about how the potatoes are cooked. The oil used to cook the potato chips matters, too, the experts say.
In particular, "we want to be mindful of saturated fat," Stahl Salzman says, which we want to reduce in order to support our overall health. In general, the experts recommend avoiding chips made with animal oils as well as coconut, palm or palm kernel oil, which have higher levels of saturated fat.
Instead, for the healthiest options, look for chips made with avocado or olive oil, the experts say. In particular, experts previously told TODAY.com that olive oil is the healthiest cooking oil due to its combination of healthy fats, vitamins and antioxidants.
A chip that's "dipped in a higher-quality oil, like olive oil or avocado oil, would be two better choices for sure," Zumpano says. However, the smoke point of olive and avocado oils is lower than that of other options, which makes them better suited to baking than frying.
Some potato chips are made with a vegetable oil blend. For example, Lay's Classic Potato Chips are made with a blend including canola, corn, soybean and/or sunflower oils, according to the company's website.
Vegetable oils like these typically contain a good balance of healthy fats and nutrients, experts told TODAY.com previously. And they can generally withstand higher temperatures.
A variety of veggies and legumes
Potatoes do contain some nutrients —even in chip form. But with so many other chip ingredients available now, why not branch out?
"They now make chips from beetroot, kale and sweet potato, which all confer different vitamin and mineral profiles," Stahl Salzman says. There are also corn, popcorn and black bean chips, as well as snap pea, chickpea and lentil-based snacks that provide a larger dose of satisfying protein and fiber.
You can even make some of these yourself, which gives you more control over the cooking method and ingredients.
But veggie chips aren’t necessarily healthier than their potato-based counterparts.
For one thing, potatoes are often still a major ingredient in veggie snacks. And these chips are still highly processed versions of the other veggies they're made from, so you can't really rely on them as your vegetable, Stahl Salzman explains.Even if your chips are made from beetroot or kale, they can still have a lot of added sodium and saturated fat.
As with potato chips, look for vegetable chips that are baked (not fried) and cooked in healthier, nutrient-rich oils. And remember that chips are not the best way to get the nutrition benefits from their vegetable ingredients, the experts say.
"You can gain a small amount of nutritional benefit from some of those foods, but they are still snack foods," Zumpano says. "You're going to be better off eating real kale or black beans versus the chip version of them."
Healthier chip ideas:
For their healthy chip rankings, Consumer Reports evaluated 18 types of potato, veggie and bean chips. These options came out among the best in terms of taste and nutrition:
- Terra Exotic Vegetable Original Chips
- Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips
- Trader Joe's Vegetable Root Chips
And when TODAY.com asked for healthy snack ideas, experts previously suggested these chip options:
- Safe and Fair Popcorn Quinoa Chips
- Siete Sea Salt Tortilla Chips
- Splitz Original Crunchy Split Pea Crisp Snacks
- Pulp Pantry Jalapeño Lime Chips
- Hippeas Organic Sea Salt and Lime Chickpea Tortilla Chips
- Back to Nature Rosemary Garlic Dipper Crisps
All snacks can fit in a healthy diet, but keep portion sizes in mind
The truth is that all of these chip choices are still snacks. They're not meant to be a major source of nutrients — they're meant to be delicious!
So, in general, dietitians say it's OK to eat a standard serving of the snacks you love in moderation even if they don't fit a traditional definition of "healthy." (If you have certain medical conditions, you may need to be extra careful around salty snacks like these, however.)
That means your snacks don't necessarily need to be "healthier." If what you really want is some classic crunch, salty potato chips, then a kale chip, blue corn tortilla chip or popcorn chip simply may not satisfy your cravings.
In that case, if you try to force yourself to go with those alternatives, Stahl Salzman says, you may be tempted to compensate by eating more than a serving. On the other hand, some people find that their favorite potato chips are so "hyper-palatable" that it's impossible for them to eat just a single serving at once, Zumpano explains.
When picking the healthiest chip for you, consider your taste preferences, snacking habits and overall nutrition goals, the experts agree.
"It's kind of a delicate balance," Stahl Salzman says. And if you’re going to go for some classic potato chips, stick to a small portion, savor the flavor and treat it as a mindful indulgence, she adds.
