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A commonly-cited study published in the New England Journal of Medicine identified potato chips as the top culprit for weight gain.
Since managing weight is about energy balance (calories in from food vs calories out from activity), it makes sense to look for chips that are lower in calories. The diet industry knows that consumers are looking for lower-calorie options, and they have made a lot of chip products that are lower in calories.
In this article, I’ll cover the top 13 lowest-calorie chip products.
But first, I’m going to share exactly what criteria I used to determine a “low-calorie” or “lower-calorie” chip.
What Is Considered A “Low-Calorie” Chip?
Most “standard” potato chips have the following nutrition information for a 1-oz (28g) serving:
- Calories: 150-160
- Protein: 2g
- Carbs: 15g
- Fat: 10g
- Sugar: 1g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 170mg
In order for a food to be marketed as “low-calorie,” the calorie count per 1-oz cannot exceed 40 calories. By this standard there are no chip products that meet the definition of “low-calorie” per the official guidelines.
However, the terms “reduced-calorie” or “lower-calorie” can be used when the food provides at least 25% less calories than the typical amount of food. This would mean 110-120 calories for chips.
Key Takeaway: For the purposes of this review, I’ll be focusing on chip products that have at least 25% lower calories (<110-120 calories).
Tips for Buying Lower-Calorie Chips
When it comes to buying lower-calorie chips, it’s important to read the labels carefully. You will want to look carefully at the serving size in terms of grams and not number of chips, since the number of chips in a serving can vary.
When products have the same calorie count, next you can compare macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats). Depending on your goals, you may be looking for the highest protein chips, or the lowest fat chips.
Finally, consider other aspects such as the sodium content, as well as any information about vitamins and minerals. The ingredient list can show you if there are unwanted additives such as artificial flavors or colors.
Steps for label-reading
- Ensure the serving sizes are the same, or adjust accordingly
- After reviewing calories, look at macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat)
- After reviewing macronutrients, look at micronutrients
- Review the ingredient list for unwanted additives
Important: Be careful when a small bag actually contains more than one serving. You don’t want to mistakenly eat the whole bag thinking it contains only the calories shown, when in fact there are 2-3 servings in the bag.
13 Best Lower-Calorie Chips
The top 13 lowest calorie chips are:
- Gourmet Basics Smart Fries (100 Calories)
- Dare Veggie Crisps Ketchup (105 Calories)
- Popcorners Sea Salt Popcorn (110 Calories)
- Gourmet Basics Slim Chips (110 Calories)
- Gourmet Basics Mediterranean Herbs (110 Calories)
- Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps Original (110 Calories)
- WonderSlim Pea Protein Snack (112 Calories)
- Spokes Dill Pickle Puffed Potato (112 Calories)
- Tostitos Oven-Baked Scoops (120 Calories)
- Lay’s Oven-Baked Original (120 Calories)
- Ruffles Oven-Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream (120 Calories)
- PopChips Buffalo Ranch Potato Ridges (120 Calories)
- Cheetos Baked! Flamin’ Hot (120 Calories)
All nutrition information below is based on a 1-oz (28g) serving size.
1. Gourmet Basics Smart Fries Gluten-Free Garlic & Rosemary Air Popped Potato Sticks
The number one spot goes to Gourmet Basics for their gluten-free garlic & rosemary air popped potato sticks, coming in with the lowest overall calorie count with only 100 calories.
They do have more sodium than some of the options that follow, so keep that in mind if you are watching your sodium intake.
Because of the flavoring, there are more ingredients in the list, but they are all recognizable, with no artificial flavors or colors.
Gourmet Basics has thirteen flavors of Smart Fries in total, and four of them are explicitly gluten-free and non-GMO.
Note that some of the nutrition information on their site is presented for 21g (¾ oz), so you will need to adjust accordingly for comparison purposes.
- Calories: 100
- Macros: 2g protein, 20g carbs, 2g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 240mg
Buy on Amazon here.
2. Dare Veggie Crisps Ketchup
Dare brand Veggie Crisps have the next lowest calorie count overall at 105 calories for Ketchup flavor crisps. This is a great alternative if you love regular ketchup-flavor chips.
They also have the second-highest protein and highest fibre content, but also the highest sugar content. The ingredient list is fairly long, so if you are looking for minimal additives, these won’t be your top choice.
- Calories: 105
- Macros: 3g protein, 19.5g carbs, 2.2g fat (0.3g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 3g
- Fibre: 3g
- Sodium: 240mg
Buy on Amazon here.
3. Popcorners Sea Salt Popcorn Chips
Popcorners are next on the list with the third lowest calorie count overall for their Sea Salt flavor popcorn chips.
These light and airy crunchy chips also have the third lowest fat content (after Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps and Gourmet Basics Pop Rings) and no sugar. There are only three ingredients: yellow corn, sunflower oil, and sea salt.
- Calories: 110
- Macros: 2g protein, 20g carbs, 2.5g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 190mg
Buy on Amazon here.
4. Gourmet Basics Slim Chips Salty Sweet Kettle
Gourmet Basics makes a second appearance on the list, this time with their Slim Chips. All three flavors boast 110 calories. Since I’m a sucker for the sweet and salty combo, this was my top pick of the three.
Slim Chips are actually a popcorn-based chip and not a potato chip, like the Popcorners. Their ingredient list is a bit longer, but all wholesome, recognizable ingredients.
- Calories: 110
- Macros: 2g protein, 20g carbs, 3g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 2g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 180mg
Check out Where to Buy on the Gourmet Basics website.
5. Gourmet Basics Mediterranean Herbs Pop Rings
Another Gourmet Basics chip that has very low calories. All three flavors of their Pop Rings “onion” rings also have 110 calories per serving. I love Greek food, so the Mediterranean herbs really appealed to me.
Note that all three flavors contain wheat, meaning they are not suitable for gluten-free diets.
- Calories: 110
- Macros: 2g protein, 23g carbs, 1.5g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0g
- Fibre: 0g
- Sodium: 160mg
Check out Where to Buy on the Gourmet Basics website.
6. Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps Original
These flattened “2D” pretzel crisps are somewhere between a hard pretzel and a chip, but definitely very snackable.
The salty, crunchy combo is hard to resist, so thankfully they also have only 110 calories per serving.
They are the only fat-free product in this list, but they are high in sodium and contain added sugars. This wheat-based product contains gluten.
- Calories: 110
- Macros: 2g protein, 24g carbs, 0g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 2g
- Fibre: <1g
- Sodium: 270mg
Buy on Amazon here.
7. WonderSlim Pea Protein Snack Chips, Salt & Vinegar
No potato chip list is complete to me without salt & vinegar. I had to look carefully at the label because it was for 30g instead of 28g. The adjusted information for 28g is shown below.
I was pretty excited to see the high protein content for these chips. The offset is that these chips are high in sodium, so it will depend on what is more important to you.
The 0g of sugar is actually misleading, since maltodextrin (a form of corn sugar) appears in the ingredient list. This just means that the amount of sugar per serving is less than 0.5g, so it can be rounded to 0 on the food label.
- Calories: 112
- Macros: 9.3g protein, 10.3g carbs, 3.7g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0g
- Fibre: 0g
- Sodium: 308mg
Buy on Amazon or direct from DietDirect.
8. Spokes Dill Pickle Puffed Potato Snacks
Spokes has nine flavors of their puffed potato snack, and dill pickle is my favorite for its zingy taste.
This is a product that requires careful label reading, as the nutrition facts are shown for an entire bag (80g) and for a 10g portion. Info for a 1-oz/28g serving is shown below.
Spokes are tied with WonderSlim for calories, but also have the highest sodium content.
- Calories: 112
- Macros: 0.7g protein, 22.4g carbs, 2.5g fat (0.4g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0.7g
- Fibre: 1.4g
- Sodium: 360mg
Buy on Well.ca here or local retailers.
9. Tostitos Oven-Baked Scoops! Tortilla Chips
Tostitos brand is next with their oven-baked Scoops! These yellow corn tortilla chips are tied for the next lowest calorie count at 120 calories. They pair perfectly with guacamole & salsa.
They have no sugar and one gram more fibre than the next contenders, and the lowest sodium content overall. They also boast a short, easily-recognizable list of ingredients.
- Calories: 120
- Macros: 2g protein, 22g carbs, 3g fat (0.5g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 0g
- Fibre: 2g
- Sodium: 140mg
Buy on Amazon here.
10. Lay’s Oven-Baked Original Potato Crisps
Capturing all the salty potato flavor and crunch of a regular potato chip, Lay’s Oven-Baked Original Potato Crisps are next on the list with the same calorie count as the Tostitos.
They have half a gram more fat overall, but no saturated fat. They do have two grams of sugar, and one less gram of fibre than the Scoops!
- Calories: 120
- Macros: 2g protein, 22g carbs, 3.5g fat (0g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 2g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 160mg
Buy on Amazon here.
11. Ruffles Oven-Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Crisps
The Ruffles brand comes in eleventh with these flavorful crisps. They have the same calorie count as Lay’s and Tostitos, but do contain saturated fat and a much longer list of ingredients, including MSG and artificial colors and flavors.
- Calories: 120
- Macros: 2g protein, 21g carbs, 3.5g fat (0.5g saturated fat)
- Sugar: 2g
- Fibre: 1g
- Sodium: 240mg
Buy on Amazon here.
12. PopChips Buffalo Ranch Potato Ridges
PopChips have several different flavors, and these stood out to me for their tanginess and also the thick, ridged texture (potato ridges vs. potato chips). They do, however, have the most fat and third-highest sodium so far.
The ingredient list is fairly long but it does not contain MSG or artificial colors, so it was a toss-up between these and the Ruffles for me.
- Calories: 120
- Macros: 2g protein, 19g carbs, 5g fat (0.5g saturated fat)
- Sugar: <1g
- Fibre: <1g
- Sodium: 280mg
Buy on Amazon here.
13. Cheetos Baked! Flamin’ Hot
Cheetos were one of my favourite non-potato crunchy snacks when I was a kid, so I was excited to see this lower-calorie version. This is our fifth entry at the 120-calorie mark.
However, there are dozens of ingredients including MSG and artificial colors, bumping it to the bottom of the list.
- Calories: 120
- Macros: 2g protein, 17g carbs, 5g fat (1g saturated)
- Sugar: <1g
- Fibre: <1g
- Sodium: 220mg
Buy on Amazon here.
These top thirteen products round out the list of truly “lower-calorie” chip products (25% fewer calories compared to a reference value of 160 calories for a 1-oz/28g serving).
Note that several of these products come in multiple flavors, and many of them have the same calorie count. This gives you lots of lower-calorie options for your salty snacking needs.
Other Low Calorie Foods
- 21 Lowest Calorie Desserts At Dairy Queen
- 16 Lowest Calorie Desserts At The Cheesecake Factory
- 12 Low Calorie Drinks At Dutch Bros
- 13 Lowest Calorie Smoothies At Smoothie King
- 10 Lowest-Calorie Peanut Butters for Weight Loss
About The Author
Lauren Graham is a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified nutrition coach. She focuses on helping busy professionals balance healthy eating and purposeful movement. Lauren has a background in competitive swimming and is currently competing as a CrossFit athlete. She has a passion for training, teaching, and writing.