Trader Joe's Customers Are Divided On This Salty Snack

Known for producing private-label items with whimsical monikers, Trader Joe's is reigning champ when it comes to offering shoppers a winsome range of snacks. The best Trader Joe's snacks of 2026 (so far) include both sweet and savory options, but there's one salty munchie in particular that has customers divided: the $2.99 Sea Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips with Avocado Oil. Made with potatoes, vinegar powder, and sea salt, these chips are kettle-cooked in small batches using avocado oil to maximize their crunch, according to the Trader Joe's website. They also contain maltodextrin, likely to enhance texture, and citric acid for extra tang. 

On a Reddit thread discussing the product, one commenter said, "The chips are sturdy with a good amount of crunch, definitely something that would stand up to a dip. The vinegar is kind of light, but still present ... I feel like I could eat the whole bag and not have chemical burns on my mouth." Meanwhile, on a different Reddit post, one shopper said, "Bought 5 bags and counting," with another adding, "I had some this last weekend and thought they were delicious."

However, interspersed with these positive comments were several negative reviews. For instance, one customer said, "I love salt and vinegar but these were so bad. They were stale and the oil tasted bad. I ate one chip and threw them out." A second shopper agreed, stating, "I almost returned the bag I bought because they tasted slightly rancid. I ended up throwing the bag away."

It's common for potato chip brands to fry their spuds in a blend of vegetable oils. Lay's, for example, uses a mixture of sunflower, corn, and canola oil. However, TJ's specifically opts for a Canadian supplier that fries the taters in avocado oil, which has led some customers to wonder if this is the ingredient that is making the chips taste stale; a shopper even wondered if perhaps the oil itself was old. That said, one Redditor explained, "For people saying it's the avocado oil, that's not at all the case. I regularly buy the Boulder brand chips (not available at [Trader Joe's]) cooked in avocado oil and they're fantastic, especially the crinkle cut ones."

As kettle chips are cooked in small batches, they have a crunchier quality to them that sets them apart from other commercially produced chips that are prepared in bulk. Lay's, Taki's, and Cape Cod are just a few of the brands that have jumped on the kettle chip bandwagon. Along with the vinegar sea salt flavor, Trader Joe's carries a rosemary and sea salt variety and a seasonal Thanksgiving stuffing flavor of kettle chips that has rave reviews.