After living in Canada for nearly a decade, I've finally caved and tried the famous ketchup-flavoured chips and I'm honestly a bit confused.
I was inspired by a father and son took a road trip to Canada from the U.S. just to get 40 bags of Lay's ketchup chips. After seeing that kind of passion, I finally decided to taste the chips for myself.
Ketchup chips are a very Canadian thing, and even though it's not clear how it started. Food Network reports that Hostess Potato Chips may have invented them in the early 1970s, although it's not a certain thing.
Leamington, Ontario used to be the home of a Heinz ketchup factory, so maybe that's where the whole ketchup obsession started.
Canadian chip brands.Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Lay's ketchup chips are arguably the most popular version of the flavoured chips, but honestly, it wasn't my favourite out of the potato chips I tried. When I think of ketchup chips, I think of Heinz, and that's where my mind goes.
I went to a Shoppers Drug Mart near me to buy all the ketchup chips I could get my hands on, so I purchased Miss Vickies, Ruffles, President's Choice, Lay's, and Pringles. Some were much better than others, while a few actually sucked and honestly shouldn't be labelled ketchup-flavoured.
I tried each brand and compared how ketchup-ey each was, as well as the crunch, dust level and smell. Here's how the taste test played out.
Pringles
Pringles ketchup chips.
Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Price: $4.99
You can't call these Pringles ketchup chips because there was hardly any ketchup on the chip. No, seriously, it's as if it was sprinkled on half of the chip and the other side had nothing on it.
I'm unsure if this was intentional, but I had half a bite and put the whole tube down.
I licked the part with the sprinkles of ketchup dust but it tasted more like BBQ flavour than it did Heinz and I was super unimpressed.
Pringles' sour cream and onion flavour might be one of my favourite chips and no other brand does this flavour as well as them, but ketchup just wasn't a thing.
Pringles, might I suggest cancelling them from your line of production?
Score: 1/5
Lay's Ketchup Chips
Lay's ketchup chips.
Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Price: $2.19
I tried the Lay's ketchup chips at the end of the taste test because if it was the best it had to beat all the other brands. Sadly, it was far from the best.
I kept taking different potato chips from the bag with various amounts of ketchup dust on them and I came to the conclusion that they just weren't for me.
Sorry, Lay's.
The chips were very dusty and the colour scared me a little because it was more brown than red. It also tasted more like tomato than ketchup, to be honest.
As far as ketchup-flavoured chips go, Lay's lies near the bottom of my list. But hey, it's not the worst one from the bunch.
Score: 2/5
Ruffles
Lay's ketchup chips.
Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Price: $5.49
The Ruffles ketchup chips that I found at Shoppers Drug Mart were a double crunch version, and even though it was crunchy, it also felt soggy. (I know, super confusing.)
Once I opened the bag, I instantly smelled salt and vinegar, but it was ketchup flavoured chip, so I was scared to try it because I thought it might be too acidic. However, after a few bites, I didn't mind it.
Honestly, it didn't taste like anything, but then, the aftertaste was giving ketchup vibes with a hint of salt.
There was a lot of ketchup powder on my hands when eating the potato chips, which made me uncomfortable, but overall, it wasn't too bad.
Score: 3/5
Miss Vickie's
Miss Vickie's sweet and spicy ketchup chips.
Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Price: $5.79
Miss Vickie's ketchup chips are usually a runner-up to the Lay's version, but I did like them more than the latter because the crispiness to the potato chip is just way better.
Miss Vickie's, in general, has the best chips texture in Canada and you can fight me on it. However, the ketchup-flavoured chip is a bit too sweet and tangy, mainly because they only have Sweet & Spicy Ketchup Chips and not just a plain flavour.
The chip itself isn't too red compared to the others, and the seasoning wasn't all over my fingers when eating the potato goodness.
The one comment I do have about the chips is that after a while it tasted a bit sour, which didn't give me Heinz vibes. Instead, it was giving me salt and vinegar reminders.
Score: 4/5
President's Choice
PC ketchup chips.
Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
Price: $4.49
President's Choice caught me by surprise because I didn't think they were the best, but then again, the best grocery store cookies, in my opinion, are PC, so maybe this brand is the way to go.
These ketchup chips actually tasted like Heinz, my favourite brand of ketchup.
The potato chips are crinkled, which gives that Ruffles feel, but the crunch is more like a Lay's and less like a Miss Vickie's.
The best part is that the potato chip seasoning didn't end up all over my fingers, making the experience much more enjoyable.
Overall, PC's Ketchup Chips had the best elements from each brand combined into one bag, which might come as a shock to many.
Score: 5/5
Even though I delved deep into the ketchup chips realm, I don't think I'll ever reach for this flavour again. It just wasn't great, and as much as it is popular in Canada, I think it's time to explore different tastes.
Many companies have tried rolling out ketchup-flavoured products in Canada, including French's with ketchup-flavoured popsicles in 2022. Honestly, all I can say to that is "WTF?"
Narcity's Brooke Houghton tried the ketchup popsicle and said that some things are not meant to be frozen. I'd take that a step farther and say some things just aren't mean to be ketchuped.
Ketchup on fries or a burger make more sense to me. I can see the appeal in ketchup chips because it's basically fries dipped in ketchup, but the powder form of the flavour just seemed weird to me and it's not something I'd try again.
Sure, many flavours are odd when in powder form, but many of them make sense to me, like sour cream and onion or BBQ. Not so much ketchup.
Sorry not sorry, Canada, but maybe I'll have a experience with trying All-Dressed chips for the first time. Stay tuned for that!
Canadian chip brands.
