The ‘Bad’ Snack That’s Better Than the ‘Healthier’ Version, According to a Dietitian

Plus what to look for when buying this snack.

Reviewed by Dietitian Mandy Enright, M.S., RDN, RYT

Key Points

• Regular potato chips with minimal ingredients may be a better choice than baked chips.
• Try looking for regular potato chips with just three ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt.
• All chips can fit into a healthy diet in moderation while homemade chips offer control over ingredients.

Nutritious snack choices are an important part of a healthy eating pattern. Handfuls of nuts and dried fruits are fiber-packed and can help keep you satisfied—but sometimes you just want a bag of potato chips, and that’s totally OK too.

But if you think choosing baked potato chips over regular chips is the obvious healthier choice, you may be mistaken. In an interview segment for This Morning, Megan Rossi, Ph.D., RDshares the difference between the snacks.

“We look at the ingredients lists, really interestingly, the legit ones have got potato, [but] the baked ones typically have potato flakes, which means it’s kind of ultra-processed potato, kind of predigested,” she explains.

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Baked Chips Are More Processed

What Rossi means by the snack being a predigested food is that the baked chips are processed by breaking down a whole food (i.e., potato into potato flakes) which in turn can eliminate nutrients from the natural food source.

So although the calorie and saturated fat count for baked chips may be a little lower than regular varieties, they contain less vitamins and minerals like potassium and vitamin C.

“And often [baked chips] add extra flavors and added sugars,” Rossi notes. This can also be noted for other flavored regular chips—we’re looking at you, sour cream and onion.

How to Choose a Better Potato Chip

It’s important to remember that all foods and drinks—including regular chips or baked chips—can be included in a healthy eating pattern when done so in moderation. But unless you have a preference for the baked chips, it’s best to stick to the tried-and-true standard potato chips with a minimal ingredient list.

“Try to get the ones with just three ingredients: potato, oil and some salt,” Rossi advises.

Potato chips are also easy (and dare we say, more delicious) to make at home. The mouth-watering crispy snack is an easy DIY, and you can control the sodium content and customize the seasoning when making them from scratch.

Our Expert Take

Just because it says “baked” on the label, doesn’t necessarily make it healthier, especially when it comes to potato chips. When comparing calorie for calorie, you might think that baked chips would be the better choice, but you’ll also be getting potato flakes, rather than real potatoes, in addition to preservatives and other processing ingredients to make it look and taste like a chip. You’re better off choosing the real thing and looking for three ingredients, potatoes, oil and salt, to satisfy that savory tooth.