Jimmy John's Pickle Jimmy Chips Review: We Tried These New Chips And Suggest You Grab 'Em While They Last
What is a sandwich without pickles? If you ask me, I'd say not much of a sandwich. There's just something special about a pickle's crunch and sourness that's even better when slathered in condiments, toppings, and piled on top of meats and cheeses. The fine folks at Jimmy John's understand the magic of the pickle and offer it on the side as a spear, half, or as a whole. Ahead of National Pickle Day 2023, the chain is now dusting up its signature Jimmy Chips with a new, pickle-flavored chip.
In a statement (via Inspire Brands) Jimmy John's Director of Culinary Innovation Dustin Hilinski said: "This year, we wanted to take it up a notch and give guests something they've been asking for, a dill-flavored chip, which led us to develop the new Pickle Jimmy Chips — a combination of two of our fan-favorite items — JJ's pickles and Jimmy Chips — into one satisfyingly salty bite for National Pickle Day."
While National Pickle Day lands on November 14, Jimmy John's is kicking off the taste celebration early — and for a limited time only — with its new Pickle Jimmy Chips. I didn't want to wait to taste these chips for myself and headed straight to our local Jimmy John's for a taste. Here for you, is my chew and review!
What do Jimmy John's Pickle Jimmy Chips look and taste like?
At Jimmy John's, the shelf that displays the chain's selection of house Jimmy Chips, most of the bags are metallic black, adorned with the iconic JJ logo, and with colorful bold text differentiating one from the next. Looking camouflaged with its earth-toned hues — and yet standing out like a sore green thumb — the Pickle Jimmy Chips calls out to be grabbed.
Tearing open the bag, I had a sense of the chips' flavor, but more was discovered as soon as they left the bag and entered the munching phase. The pale yellow chips are natural-looking, with brown potato skin flecks and other imperfections. To the touch, each chip is firm, and the dusting of dill was visible on the surface — and soon, all over my hand. I was not overly familiar with the oeuvre of Jimmy John's chips, as this was my first foray into eating them. But I must say I was immediately impressed at how crunchy these chips were. They didn't crumble into pieces after you bit into them like other brands' chips tend to. The first nibbles of the chips didn't exactly wow me, but as I got more used to the combination of light salt, vinegar, and dill flavors, the bag was emptied to pure satisfaction.
What are Jimmy John's Pickle Jimmy Chips made of?
The Pickle Jimmy Chips are classic Jimmy Chips with added ingredients that mimic the salty, sour, and dill flavors of a pickle. In total, these chips are made of potatoes, peanut oil, whey, maltodextrin, salt, sodium diacetate, vinegar powder, onion powder, citric acid, dill weed, garlic powder, spices, natural flavors, including autolyzed yeast extract, and spice extract. These also chips contain milk.
A bag of Pickle Jimmy Chips has a net weight of 2 ounces. Each package has one serving, which contains 290 calories, 16 grams of fat (including 2.5 grams of saturated fat), 510 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of total carbohydrates (2 of which come from dietary fiber, and 4 of which come from sugars), as well as 3 grams of protein. These chips are also good for 15% of the recommended daily value for potassium, 4% for iron, and 2% for calcium.
How to order Jimmy John's Pickle Jimmy Chips
The new Pickle Jimmy Chips are currently available now, for a limited time only, until November 26. They will be available while supplies last. The chips I purchased at a New York City location retailed for $2.25, but prices may vary by location.
The Pickle Jimmy Chips can be found under the sides portion of the Jimmy John's menu, under the Jimmy Chips section. These chips can be purchased in-store. Advanced ordering, for either pick up or delivery, is an option through the Jimmy John's app or website. Eaters who are members of the Jimmy John's Freaky Fast Rewards program can unlock a VIPP (Very Important Pickle People) Badge and earn a free jumbo pickle if they purchase the chips prior to November 14.
The fun isn't just limited to chips. On Jimmy John's online clothing store, a Pickle Sweatshirt, Pickle Socks, and a Pickle Ball Paddle Set will be available while supplies last, helping to complete your cool-as-a-cucumber look.
The final verdict
Overall, our final verdict is that Jimmy John's new Pickle Jimmy Chips tasted less like actual pickles and more like salt and vinegar chips but spiced up with dill, garlic, and onion. To fully prove this theory, I even had a few quarter kosher pickle spears from Jimmy John's, to compare the flavor of these to the new Jimmy Pickle Chips. While the chips were actually more zesty than the spears, our theory held firm.
Jimmy John's take on the pickle chip is a worthy addition to the pickle flavor subgenre in the world at large, as well on its chip rack, rubbing shoulders with its older brothers BBQ, Jalapeño, Thinny, Regular, and the like-minded Salt & Vinegar. The Pickle Chips are temporarily here to celebrate National Pickle Day, but I wish every day was National Pickle Day so they would be here to stay permanently.