The short answer

Most chips and crisps are lower in saturated fat than people expect: 20 of the 21 we compared had 2g or less per 1 oz (28g), because they're fried in sunflower, rapeseed (canola) or corn oil. Baked crisps and plain popcorn were lowest; the bigger issues are total fat, calories, salt and how many servings end up in one sitting.

Quick picks from our table:

  • Best overall: Walkers Baked Sea Salt (UK), 0.4g per 28g, with 3.6g of fat and 123 calories
  • Best US pick: Cape Cod Original Kettle Cooked (potatoes, canola oil and salt) and Terra Original, 0.5g each
  • Best UK pick: Popchips Sea Salt & Vinegar (0.5g) and Proper Sea Salted Popcorn (0.6g, wholegrain corn and rapeseed oil)
  • What to limit: US Pringles Original (2.5g, the only one over 2g) and cheese popcorn like Smartfood White Cheddar (2g)

Label data only, not medical advice

This ranking compares what each pack's nutrition label says about saturated fat and calories. It isn't a health rating of any brand, and no chip or crisp here is a cholesterol-lowering food. Recipes change, so check the label on the pack you buy. If your doctor or dietitian has given you specific limits, follow those.

21 chips and crisps ranked by saturated fat

Every product is compared on 1 oz (28g), the US label serving for chips. That's about 15 Lay's chips or a small handful of Pringles. A UK small multipack bag is about 25g, so a UK bag is a little under the serving shown, and a 150g sharing bag is more than five servings. Bands: Better 2g or less per serving, Occasional over 2g up to 4.5g, Treat over 4.5g. Only one product reached the Occasional band, and none reached Treat.

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Sorted by saturated fat per serving, lowest first. Tap a column heading to re-sort. Data fetched from Open Food Facts on 2026-11-10.
1 Walkers Baked Sea SaltUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.4g 3% 1.4g 123 Better
2 Cape Cod Original Kettle CookedUS · 1 oz (28g) 0.5g 4% 1.8g 150 Better
3 Terra Original Vegetable ChipsUS · 1 oz (28g) 0.5g 4% 1.8g 150 Better
4 Popchips Sea Salt & VinegarUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.5g 4% 1.8g 120 Better
5 Proper Sea Salted PopcornUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.6g 5% 2g 123 Better
6 Sensations Thai Sweet ChilliUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.6g 5% 2.1g 134 Better
7 Metcalfe's Skinny Sea Salt PopcornUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.6g 5% 2.2g 136 Better
8 Hula Hoops OriginalUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.6g 5% 2.3g 139 Better
9 SunChips OriginalUS · 1 oz (28g) 0.7g 5% 2.4g 140 Better
10 Tyrrells Lightly Sea SaltedUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.7g 5% 2.4g 133 Better
11 Walkers Ready SaltedUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.7g 5% 2.5g 145 Better
12 Quavers CheeseUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.8g 6% 2.7g 150 Better
13 Pringles Original (UK)UK · 1 oz (28g) 0.8g 6% 3g 148 Better
14 Skips Prawn CocktailUK · 1 oz (28g) 0.9g 7% 3.1g 152 Better
15 Doritos Nacho CheeseUS · 1 oz (28g) 1g 8% 3.5g 148 Better
16 Kettle Lightly SaltedUK · 1 oz (28g) 1g 8% 3.5g 144 Better
17 SkinnyPop Original PopcornUS · 1 oz (28g) 1g 8% 3.6g 150 Better
18 Lay's ClassicUS · 1 oz (28g) 1.5g 12% 5.4g 160 Better
19 Fritos Original Corn ChipsUS · 1 oz (28g) 1.5g 12% 5.4g 160 Better
20 Smartfood White Cheddar PopcornUS · 1 oz (28g) 2g 15% 7.1g 160 Better
21 Pringles OriginalUS · 1 oz (28g) 2.5g 19% 8.9g 150 Occasional

Nutrition data from Open Food Facts, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Product names link to each product's Open Food Facts page.

What the ranking shows

  • The oil makes the difference, even within a brand. UK Pringles Original, made with sunflower oil, had 0.8g per 28g. US Pringles Original, whose oil can include cottonseed, corn and soybean oil, had 2.5g, three times as much. UK crisps fried in sunflower or rapeseed oil, like Walkers, Tyrrells and Kettle, had 0.7 to 1g; US Lay's Classic and Fritos had 1.5g.
  • Baked and popped cut the fat. Walkers Baked Sea Salt had 3.6g of fat per 28g, and Popchips Sea Salt & Vinegar 3.6g, against 8.7g for Walkers Ready Salted and 10g for Lay's Classic. Saturated fat was low for all of them, so the gain is mostly fewer calories.
  • Kettle-cooked isn't worse. Cape Cod Original (0.5g), Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted (0.7g) and Kettle Lightly Salted (1g) were in line with regular crisps. Cape Cod is just potatoes, canola oil and salt.
  • Plain popcorn is a good choice; cheese popcorn less so. Proper Sea Salted and Metcalfe's Skinny Sea Salt had 0.6g and SkinnyPop Original 1g. Smartfood White Cheddar, with cheddar, whey and buttermilk, had 2g.
  • Saturated fat isn't the only number. Most fried chips had 7.5 to 10g of fat and 130 to 160 calories per ounce, plus salt. In the UK, crisps often get an amber or red traffic light for salt, so it's worth checking if you're watching your blood pressure too.

What to look for on the label

  1. Check the oil. Sunflower, rapeseed (canola) and olive oil are lowest in saturated fat. Palm oil, cottonseed oil and coconut oil add more.
  2. Choose baked, popped or air-popped. They have less than half the fat of fried crisps, and fewer calories.
  3. Pick plain or lightly salted. Cheese, sour cream and butter flavours can add dairy fat, and flavourings usually add salt.
  4. Read the serving size. US labels give fat per serving, often 1 oz. UK labels give per 100g and per bag; more than 5g of saturates per 100g is high, and 1.5g or less is low.
  5. Buy small bags. A single 25 to 28g bag is a snack. A tube or sharing bag eaten straight from the pack rarely is.

Easy swaps

Swap a bag of fried crisps for plain popcorn: it's wholegrain, and you get a bigger bowl for the same calories. Read more in our popcorn and cholesterol guide. Wholegrain crackers or rye crispbread with hummus work too; see our cracker ranking and our low-cholesterol snacks guide for 20 more ideas.

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How we ranked them

We picked best-selling chips, crisps and popcorn in the US and UK, from Lay's, Doritos and Pringles to Walkers, Hula Hoops and Tyrrells, and took each one's nutrition data from Open Food Facts, an open database built from product labels. To catch mistakes, we compared each product's current record with an earlier copy and left out any where the saturated fat, fat or sugar didn't match. That excluded four records: Lay's Baked Original, US Popchips Sea Salt, Rold Gold Tiny Twists pretzels and McCoy's Ready Salted. We also checked that per 100g figures weren't really per serving, a common error for US products.

All products are compared on 28g, calculated from the per 100g values. Percentages are of 13g, the American Heart Association's suggested daily limit for saturated fat on a 2,000 calorie diet. The NHS upper limit is 20g a day for women and 30g for men. The full dataset and the script that builds it are kept with this page and refreshed periodically.

Chips, crisps and cholesterol: quick answers

Are chips bad for cholesterol?

Not because of saturated fat, mostly. 20 of the 21 chips and crisps we compared had 2g or less per 1 oz (28g) serving, because most are fried in sunflower, rapeseed (canola) or corn oil. The bigger issues are total fat and calories (up to 10g of fat and 160 calories per ounce), salt, and portion size: a large sharing bag is several servings. Keep them to an occasional small bag.

What chips are best for high cholesterol?

By saturated fat on the label, Walkers Baked Sea Salt (0.4g per 28g), Cape Cod Original Kettle Cooked and Terra Original (0.5g), Popchips Sea Salt & Vinegar (0.5g) and plain popcorn such as Proper and Metcalfe's (0.6g) were lowest in our comparison. Choose plain or lightly salted, baked or popped, and a small bag.

Are baked crisps better for cholesterol?

A little. Walkers Baked Sea Salt had 0.4g of saturated fat and 3.6g of fat per 28g, against 0.7g and 8.7g for Walkers Ready Salted, and about 20 fewer calories. Both are low in saturated fat, so the main gain from baked crisps is less total fat and fewer calories.

Is popcorn good for cholesterol?

Plain popcorn is a wholegrain snack, and the lightly salted popcorns we compared were low in saturated fat: Proper Sea Salted and Metcalfe's Skinny Sea Salt had 0.6g per 28g and SkinnyPop Original 1g. Cheese or butter flavours add more: Smartfood White Cheddar had 2g. Air-popped at home with a little oil is lowest of all. More in our popcorn guide.

Are Pringles bad for cholesterol?

US Pringles Original had the most saturated fat in our table, 2.5g per 28g (about 19% of a 13g daily limit). UK Pringles Original, made with sunflower oil, had 0.8g. The difference is the oil: the US recipe lists corn, cottonseed, soybean and/or sunflower oil. Either way, the tube makes it easy to eat several servings.

Are kettle chips healthier than regular chips?

Not by much. Kettle-cooked chips were similar to regular ones in our table: Cape Cod Original had 0.5g of saturated fat per 28g, Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted 0.7g and Kettle Lightly Salted 1g, against 0.7g for Walkers Ready Salted and 1.5g for Lay's Classic. The oil matters more than the cooking method.

Sources

Related reading

Low-cholesterol snacks: 20 easy ideas

What to reach for between meals, with saturated fat for each, plus three recipes.

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