The White Corn Tortilla Chip Taste Test: We Tried 7 Brands and Ranked Them

Who doesn’t like a good tortilla chip? Salty, crunchy, crispy snacks, perfect by themselves, or as a vehicle for queso, salsa, and guacamole. Just don’t forget the margarita! But when you go to the grocery store, how do you decide between all the different brands? Are you really getting the best chip for your buck?

We tried seven well-known brands of white corn tortilla chips and ranked them from our least to most favorite. Want to see how they ranked?

For this taste test I wanted to exclusively look at white corn tortilla chips. While there are other tortilla chip taste tests around the internet that look at all types of tortilla chips – including multigrain and yellow corn – I thought this was too wide of a range of test. I’m from Minnesota and grew up exclusively on white corn tortilla chips, so that’s the one I went for.

For this taste test I wanted to find relatively well-known national brands that could be found around the country. I went to eight grocery stores around New York to find big-name brands.

For the taste test I purchased seven different brands of white corn tortilla chips. I assigned each chip a letter and put them into individual bowls before lining up next to each other. I made homemade salsa to go along with the taste test in order to test the chips’ durability.

I asked everyone in the office to try all seven brands and give me their favorite chip, their second favorite chip, and their least favorite chip, along with any notes that they had about the other chips while they were tasting.

Here are the results, from the least favorite to favorite tortilla chip:

I grew up using this chip for nachos, so I was surprised to see that it didn’t stand the test of time. There wasn’t a lot of corn flavor in this chip, and it lacked salt.

• “Tastes like the wafers at First Communion, no flavor.”
• “Airy and flavorless.”
• “Where’s the flavor? Too bland.”

This chip left you in need of a tall glass of water. It was very salty, but still lacked flavor. One person thought it was sturdy enough to stand the test of Super Bowl nacho stardom, however.

• “This chip tastes cheap.”
• “So salty.”
• “Way too salty.”
• “This one is boring.”
• “This one is good for Super Bowl nachos.”
• “Good crunch, not too thick. Good salt level.”

Most of the grocery stores around New York have this brand of tortilla chip. It’s a classic. I was personally surprised that this one didn’t perform as well, especially considering it was the first bag to be finished out of all the chips. Most people thought the chip was just too big.

• “Salty.”
• “So corny.”
• “Way too salty and tastes like packaging.”
• “It doesn’t have that personality to get that second date.”
• “This is too big for my mouth.”

4. Trader Joe’s Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla Chips ($.21 per ounce)

The people in our office were somewhat divided on this tortilla chip from Trader Joe’s. Some like the salt level and the grainier texture, while others found it flavorless and boring.

• “This one tastes like Tostitos.”
• “Tastes light and diet-y. I like it.”
• “This one is salty, but I like it.”
• “Cheap and soggy.”
• “Flavorless.”
• “This chip is lame.”
• “Eeeeeh.”

I’m kinda shocked that Garden of Eatin’ actually makes a white corn tortilla chip. Usually I just see their blue chips or the sweet potato chips in the grocery store. This one definitely stood out from the rest of the tortilla chips – it was sturdier and somehow tasted healthier.

• “This chip tastes like Whole Foods.”
• “This one is reliable, it’s the American car of chips.”
• “This one tastes like it has quinoa in it. Too solid.”
• “This is a hard no.”
• “This one is too hard.”
• “Not salty, no flavor.”
• “This one would be good for parties.Very thick.”
• Tastes blah.”
• “My favorite! They remind me of multigrain chips with a good amount of salt.”

These chips looked different from the other chips. Instead of that iconic triangle shape, these chips are cut into strips. They aren’t as salty as some of the other options, but still a good contender for dipping into salsa.

• “This one is airy.”
• “It doesn’t taste like a tortilla chip.”
• “This one is a little rice cracker-y.”
• “I like how this one fits in my mouth.”
• “If this one had more salt, it would totally be my favorite.”

This chip was hands-down the favorite in our office. While some people found it a little too thin for nachos, most people felt it was the perfect ratio of salty and crispy.

• “This chip tastes authentic.”
• “This is too thin, you could never make something with it.”
• “This has lots of salt pockets. I like it.”
• “Nice and thin.”
• “Tastes like an authentic restaurant chip from Texas.”
• “This one would go well with margaritas.”
• “This is the chip you want in a bag with your burrito.”
• “This one is barely a chip, way too thin.”
• “Thin, crispy, salty, just like the best from a Tex Mex restaurant. FAVORITE.”

Have you ever done a taste test with major-brand tortilla chips? Do you have a favorite that we didn’t mention here?