Lowest Calorie Chips

As someone who’s pretty keen on chips (especially those Thai sweet chili ones that contain 700 calories per bag!), I’ve experienced this firsthand.

It’s all too easy for me to finish a whole bag of sweet chili chips in an evening — seriously setting back my weight loss efforts.

This made me start to wonder: was there a lower-calorie chip out there that I could enjoy without sabotaging my weight loss efforts?

As it turns out, yes.

Stay tuned to read about some of my favorite low-calorie, diet-friendly chips.

Calorie Intake: Why It Matters For Weight Loss

Weight loss is all about burning more calories than you consume.

This can be done in several ways — including eating less, moving more, and/or improving metabolic function via thyroid health.

One of the easiest ways to stall your weight loss is by eating foods that:

• contain lots of calories
• aren’t filling

For example, if you eat 1,000 calories of grass-fed steak, you’ll likely feel satisfied and satiated for 4-8 hours.

But don’t expect to get the same satiating effect from 1,000 calories of chips!

You’ll probably be hungry again in just a few hours.

Suffice it to say that if weight loss is your goal, calorie-dense junk food is not your friend.

What Is A ‘Low-Calorie’ Chip, Even?

An oft-referenced study from the New England Journal of Medicine singled out potato chips and crisps as the biggest contributor to unwanted weight gain. (Source)

But fear not — you don’t have to give up chips entirely.

You just have to switch over to chips of the lower-calorie variety!

Low-calorie chips are different.

Most low-calorie foods contain less than 40 calories per 1-ounce serving, though chips are held to a slightly less stringent standard.

Low-calorie chips typically contain 25-50% fewer calories than their full-fledged counterparts.

That translates to no more than 120 calories per serving.

Bonus points for chips that use healthier cooking/frying oils, too.

Most conventional chip brands use borderline-rancid oils to give their chips a rich, fatty flavor.

Not good!

Chips that use healthy oils like avocado or coconut oil get extra points with me.

What to Look for Before You Buy

Before getting into my list, let’s take a brief look at some tips on what to look for before you buy:

• Check your chips’ sodium content
• Don’t be afraid to read product labels
• Look at calories per serving, not per chip count
• Check to see if your chips contain added vitamins/minerals (good!)
• Check to see if your chips contain artificial colors or flavors (not good!)
• Compare macronutrient profiles of chips (depending on your goals you might want to go higher in protein or lower in fat)

My Top 9 Lowest Calorie Chips

• Gourmet Basics Slim Chips
• Gourmet Basics Smart Fries
• Dare Veggie Crisps Ketchup
• Popcorners Sea Salt Popcorn
• Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps Original
• Gourmet Basics Mediterranean Herbs
• Spokes Dill Pickle Puffed Potato
• WonderSlim Pea Protein Snack
• Tostitos Oven-Baked Scoops

1. Gourmet Basics Smart Slim Chips

Gourmet Basics’ Smart Slim Chips provide a truly smart alternative to conventional calorie-laden chips.

These gluten-free, non-GMO air-popped potato sticks are a great completement to almost any diet or nutrition routine.

They’re one of the lowest-calorie alternatives I know of, coming in at only 100 calories per serving.

Gourmet Basics offers quite a selection of flavors, too — 13 flavors in total!

Perhaps the only bad thing about Smart Slim Chips is that they’re a little higher in sodium than other options.

2. Gourmet Basics Slim Chips Salty Sweet Kettle

Another option from Gourmet Basics is #2 on my list of best low-cal chips.

This particular option is actually a popcorn-derived chip, not a true potato chip.

If you like the sweet+salty combo, this might be the perfect product for you!

These chips are slightly higher in calories and slightly lower in sodium than option #1 above.

3. Dare Veggie Crisps Ketchup

Dare’s Ketchup-Flavored Veggie Crisps are another great choice.

They contain just 105 calories per serving, making them a perfect alternative to fast food fries and ketchup.

These chips have quite a few preservatives in them, though, and they have slightly more sugar than the other chips you’ll see here.

4. Popcorners Sea Salt Popcorn Chips

Popcorners’ Sea Salt Chips are yet another popcorn-based option.

These chips are light, crunchy, airy, and impressively low in calories.

They contain just three ingredients: corn, sunflower oil, and salt.

5. Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps Original

These flat pretzel crisps combine the taste of a pretzel with the church of a chip.

They’re super snackable, so it’s a good thing they contain only 110 calories per serving.

They’re also entirely fat-free.

6. Gourmet Basics Mediterranean Herbs Pop Rings

Mediterranean Herbs Pop Rings are another gem from Gourmet Basics.

7. Spokes Dill Pickle Puffed Potato Snacks

Spokes’ Puffed Potato Snacks are available in nine different flavors.

If you’re anything like me you’ll love the zingy Dill Pickle variety!

While a little high in sodium, Spoke’s Potato Snacks really shine in other areas.

8. WonderSlim Pea Protein Snack

This pea-powered potato chip alternative packs a seriously high-protein punch.

They’re also gluten-free.

9. Tostitos Oven-Baked Scoops! Tortilla Chips

Tostitos’s Oven-Baked Scoops are a new take on the tortilla chip — one that’s baked, not fried.

They contain just 120 calories per serving and go great with salsa and guacamole.

They’re also set apart from other low-calorie chips by their low sodium content.

Lowest Calorie Chips: Summing Things Up

There you have it — my top 9 favorite low-calorie chips!

Hopefully you found something in this article that sounds compatible with your diet (and tasty, of course).

And don’t forget that eating healthier chips isn’t the only important factor when it comes to weight loss. Instead, add said chips to a healthy diet and workout routine.