What are Lay’s Game Day Chili Potato Chips?
Another genius Lay’s food scientist flex! They’ve been replicating our favorite dishes into a chip for nearly 10 years now. Inspiration not only comes from the crowdsourced Do Us A Flavor program, but also in seemingly random bursts of comfort food inspo like Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. Game Day Chili is the newest comfort food add!
How are they?
I was prepared to be disappointed when I opened the bag and mostly smelled a faint barbecue sauce scent. I continued to think BBQ as I looked at the seasoning’s reddish hue. I did make a note of the generous and ample seasoning, though!
While the smell and visual under-promised, the taste over-delivered! To be fair, I didn’t experience the full spectrum of flavor notes described “…tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, garlic, and Tex-Mex spices with a little back-end kick.” I got tomatoes, onion, garlic, and then straight into a nice bit of chili powder heat. It was a light burn that built up nicely and got my nose a bit runny after eating hand pincer after hand pincer of chips.
Anything else you need to know?
I usually tear into bags like nobody’s business, but the sheen on this one really caught my eye. Yes, I’m like a food packaging magpie. While I was admiring the luster of the blue, I noticed that the packaging looked more like the Flavor Icons bag with the plate of food on the bottom left, vertical color paneling, and white middle rather than the one-color “standard flavor” bag. It made me wonder if this was a Flavor Icon idea that didn’t make the initial cut, but someone important liked it, so it eventually made its way on shelves.
Conclusion:
If you left these out on the table during game day, it’d probably be mistaken for BBQ chips, but your guests would be in for a good surprise! It’s a worthy try for an upcoming tailgate of one (a.k.a. everyday snack time) or for the actual big game, but don’t forget to stock up for National Chili Day (Feb. 25)!
Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 7 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
I tasted cheese and some hotness.
It always seems like Lay’s special flavours are either a complete hit or a complete miss depending on who tries them. Can’t think of the last one I had without thinking “Well, this is another “power of suggestion” flavour.”
ur buds shoulnt change.. if it doesnt taste like the description ur gonna waste time..go make ur own chili.. no beans or onions but leave clove pwder will make a diff in ur chili.. seriiusly lays nee to quit making theses flavors that suck..
Ok, I can with the no beans comment. I mean, chili should have beans, unless you’re putting it on a hot dog. But no onions? That’s criminal!
I enjoyed these. While we were tasting, I noted a very familiar flavor that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, until my daughter said “the are just the potato chip version of Chili Cheese Fritos”. Bingo. Once that seed was planted, I couldn’t get the association out of my head. Not that this was a bad thing, mind you. The flavorings used, while near identical IMO, worked just as well, if not better, on a potato chip as on the corn chips.
Tried the game day chili flavor.. do NOT try these if you have to pay for them. They are Not a good flavor. Even the human garbage disposal of the family wouldn’t eat them. This flavor needs to fade into the sunset.