Global Food Field Guide

What's in Your Crisps?

Nine of the world's best-selling crisps and chips, lined up by what's actually inside — from three-ingredient potato chips to cheese-dusted, MSG-loaded snacks.

Verified June 2026 • Read the wrapper for the final word — recipes change

● Listed explicitly on the label ● Present but grouped under a generic term × Not listed ? Not documented in reviewed sources

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Ingredient	🇺🇸 Lay's Classic PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Pringles Original Kellanova · US	🇺🇸 Doritos Nacho Cheese PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Cheetos Crunchy PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Ruffles Original PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Kettle Brand Sea Salt Campbell's · US	🇺🇸 Fritos Original PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Sun Chips Original PepsiCo · US	🇺🇸 Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Kellanova · US
Shared base — what nearly all contain
Potato (or corn) base	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Vegetable oil	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Salt	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Which oils — 'and/or' blends vary by batch
Sunflower oil	●	●	●	●	●	●	×	●	●
Corn oil	●	●	●	●	●	×	●	×	●
Canola (rapeseed) oil	●	×	●	●	●	●	×	●	×
Cottonseed / soybean oil	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Coconut oil	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Reconstituted potato & grains — the 'fabricated' crisps
Dehydrated potato (not whole slices)	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Corn flour / cornmeal / masa	×	●	●	●	×	×	●	●	●
Rice flour	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	●	●
Wheat / oats (multigrain)	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	●	●
Maltodextrin	×	●	●	●	×	×	×	×	●
Mono- & diglycerides (emulsifier)	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Flavourings, dairy & umami
Cheese / whey (dairy)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	●
MSG — monosodium glutamate (E621)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	●
Disodium inosinate & guanylate (E627/E631)	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	×
Onion / garlic powder	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	●
Sugar / dextrose	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	●	●
Colours, acids & allergens
Artificial colour (Yellow 5/6, Red 40)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	×
Lactic / citric acid	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	×
Contains milk (allergen)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	●
Contains wheat / gluten (allergen)	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	●	●

So which is the least healthy?

Compared fairly on a per-100g basis (each pack's standard 28g / 1oz serving scaled up). Almost all of these sit at 500-570 kcal and 30-37g fat per 100g — so the real spread is in salt, where the cheese-coated snacks pull well ahead of the plain potato chips.

Salt per 100g (g)

Cheetos Crunchy

2.6 g Saltiest

Doritos Nacho Cheese

1.9 g

Lay's Classic

1.5 g

Fritos Original

1.5 g

Pringles Sour Cream & Onion

1.4 g

Pringles Original

1.3 g

Ruffles Original

1.3 g

Sun Chips Original

1.0 g

Kettle Brand Sea Salt

1.0 g Least salty

Calories per 100g (kcal)

Lay's Classic

571 Most calories

Ruffles Original

571

Fritos Original

571

Cheetos Crunchy

546

Kettle Brand Sea Salt

536

Pringles Original

535

Doritos Nacho Cheese

535

Pringles Sour Cream & Onion

525

Sun Chips Original

500 Fewest calories

Cheetos Crunchy top the salt chart at about 2.6g salt per 100g — that's over 40% of an adult's whole 6g daily limit in a 100g bag, mostly from cheese seasoning and added MSG.The three-ingredient chips — Lay's, Ruffles, Kettle and Fritos — have the cleanest labels, but they're still ~36g fat and 500-570 kcal per 100g; 'simple' doesn't mean light.Kettle Sea Salt is the least salty (~1.0g salt/100g) and Sun Chips the lowest in calories (~500 kcal/100g) thanks to its lower fat and multigrain base.

By the numbers, Cheetos Crunchy is the least healthy of the group: it's the saltiest by a wide margin (~2.6g salt/100g), carries ~36g fat and 546 kcal per 100g, and has the longest additive list — MSG, whey and artificial Yellow 6. Doritos Nacho Cheese is the clear runner-up on both salt and additives. At the other end, Sun Chips and Kettle Sea Salt are the gentler picks — lower in salt, with shorter, plainer ingredient lists.

US formulations are shown (PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, Kellanova, Campbell's). UK equivalents differ: Lay's Classic sells as Walkers Ready Salted, and UK labels list salt in grams while US labels show sodium in mg (salt ≈ sodium × 2.5).

Oils appear as 'and/or' blends (sunflower, corn, canola, cottonseed, soybean), so the exact oil in any given bag can vary by batch and factory.

Per-100g figures are scaled from each product's standard 28g (1oz) serving; small rounding differences exist between pack sizes and regions.

Ingredients and nutrition taken from official brand sites, SmartLabel and Open Food Facts, accurate as of June 2026. Formulations change — always check the pack.

Sources

Ingredient formulations, allergen statements and product sizes change over time and between manufacturing facilities. This infographic reflects published lists reviewed in June 2026 and is for general interest only. For allergy, dietary or regulatory decisions, always read the wrapper of the specific product in your hand.