Pringles' Newest Flavors, Ranked

Was Pringles missing a SunChips-esque product from its lineup? The brand must have thought so, because it recently released a new category of chips called Harvest Blends. They're not a limited-time offering, but rather a permanent addition to the portfolio; two of the four new varieties have sweet potato blended in the base, while the other two have a multigrain-blended base.

With the term "Harvest" in the name, you can kind of sense that these things might be trying to establish themselves as a healthier alternative to potato chips, as SunChips have been doing for 30 years. According to the press release, these chips "boast a blend of ingredients and crispy, crunchy texture for a deliciously complex tasting experience unlike one you've ever had from Pringles." The brand sent over a sample for us to try for ourselves, and the box came full of mossy greens, as if to suggest the chips came straight from nature.

I did notice something interesting: The main ingredient to all of these chips isn't actually sweet potato, grains, or even regular white potatoes. It's degerminated yellow corn flour, followed by vegetable oil and dried potatoes. The Pringles Original ingredients label lists dried potatoes, then vegetable oil, then degerminated yellow corn flour. So it's all the same stuff with the ratios shuffled around a bit. I'm not getting such a healthy vibe after all.

Here's how each new flavor of these stacked chips stacked up.

The texture of the multigrain-based chips is very delicate and crisp, and is pretty good up until the end, when the last tiny bits of crunched crisps leave grit between your teeth. Black flecks are visible in each Homestyle Ranch chip, likely from the black bean grits listed in the ingredient label, which I'm unfamiliar with in the snacking landscape. The grits are listed among the "2% or less" ingredients, which makes me think they're mostly included just for the color and to make you feel like you're eating a fancy chip.

Those details aside, what knocks these down to last place is the flavor. The Homestyle Ranch part is very aggressive, tangy to the point of sourness, and the powdered garlic aftertaste lingers for a very long time in an unappealing way. What's interesting is that Pringles are typically underseasoned, while these swing the opposite direction in an off-putting way.

The two sweet-potato-based varieties have a much different texture from the multigrain ones. They're thicker and more robust, which offers a heartier crunch, and the sweet potato lends a baseline earthy sweetness.

The Smoky BBQ chip has the opposite issue from the Homestyle Ranch: It's only modestly seasoned, just like typical Pringles. The sweet barbecue flavor is pretty gentle in an appealing way, leaving a slightly smoky aftertaste and keeping you chasing after it with each subsequent chip. This one ranks in third place, but it's essentially on par with the second-place chip.

If you like the Original Pringles best, these are what Pringles has for you in the Harvest Blends lineup. The Sea Salt chips leave the sweet potato to do the heavier lifting, which gives them a clean, simple flavor. They don't provide the distraction of any seasoning, and like the Smoky BBQ chips, they've got a robust bite to them.

The Farmhouse Cheddar chips fit into the Goldilocks zone: not too seasoned and not too understated. They do have that subtly sandy multigrain base that the Homestyle Ranch chips have, but with a less in-your-face flavor dusting.

The cheddar flavor (what does "Farmhouse Cheddar" mean, anyway?) is more buttery than sharp, with hardly any tang to it. This is just an all-around inoffensive Pringle that you can snack on mindlessly for a while, until you become acutely aware of that slight grittiness at the end. These chips easily won out among the four.

Would I buy Harvest Blends over regular Pringles? I'm going to have to say no. If I want a crunchy, crispy snack, I'll just go for the original lineup. These chips might be more appealing if they had a slightly reduced calorie count versus the regular ones, but they don't. All of the Harvest Blends have 150 calories per serving, same as regular Pringles.

Overall, if you're a curious snacker, go for the Farmhouse Cheddar ones for the biggest flavor, or try the Smoky BBQ or Sea Salt if you're looking to experience the novel texture of sweet potato crisps. Then you can call it a day. Pringles didn't reinvent the wheel. It just added a few extra grains to it.