Review: Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins

Don’t be confused; these are not potato skins. They’re just the newest flavor of Ruffles potato chips.

Based on the packaging, one is led to believe that these chips are LOADED with flavor, namely that of a potato skin with cheddar cheese, bacon bits, sour cream and chives. It makes sense as a chip flavor when you think about it. Well, other than the fact that it’s a snack, flavored like a snack. And the fact that it’s a potato product flavored like a potato product. When I wrote that it made sense, I planned to then tell you just how it made sense, but I may have inadvertently convinced myself that it doesn’t make sense.

Okay, let’s take this in a different direction. Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins are for people who want to eat potato skins, but don’t want to make or buy them. Maybe because they’re lazy and don’t want to take the time to make or buy them. Maybe they don’t know how to make them, or where to buy them. I don’t know how to make potato skins. But I do know of two places to buy them: at a restaurant, or in the freezer aisle. Come to think of it, if you really want potato skins, just buy the T.G.I. Friday’s happy hour frozen ones.

I’ve now convinced myself that this new Ruffles flavor makes no sense. When I started writing this, I thought it did. Something about how people who eat Ruffles would be just lazy enough to want potato skins, but not want to put forth the effort required to produce or procure them (that’s exactly the type of person they seem to be targeting based on the description on the back of the bag, shown above). Then I remembered you can buy frozen ones. So it’s a dumb flavor, but who cares as long as they taste good, right?

I’ll tell you how they taste, but first I would like to describe to you the aroma when I opened this bag of chips. Imagine you’re out for a run on a hot day in the middle of July. You’ve gone a few miles and your lungs are burning. You’re huffing and puffing. Your feet feel like they weigh a ton as they pound the pavement. You finally make it home. You cool down in the kitchen, drinking a bottle of water. You decide to change out of your sweaty clothes. You take off your wet socks, and put them up to your face. You take a huge breath in through your nose, and almost hurl.

It smelled like dirty socks. I guess I could have just said that, but I felt like adding some detail. You know, going the extra mile. Either way, I couldn’t stop smelling the bag. I must’ve taken 10 whiffs, each time recoiling and probably making weird faces like these. I don’t know what made it smell that way; maybe it was the cheese. The chip powder includes cheddar, romano, and blue cheeses.

Luckily, the chips didn’t taste like dirty socks. The most dominant flavor was probably the cheddar cheese. Sour cream and onion were also present. Disappointingly, there was no bacon flavor to speak of, despite natural bacon flavor (whatever that is) and bacon fat being on the ingredient list. There was maybe a little bit of smokiness, but certainly no bacon. I found that odd, considering bacon is in the name of this product. Basically, these taste like a combination of Cheddar & Sour Cream and Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles. Cheddar & Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles is what they should be called.

Overall, I quite liked the flavor of Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins. I give them a 7.5/10. They didn’t taste exactly like the name and packaging would have you believe, but they’re still good, and very addictive. I ate a 2 7/8-ounce bag in no time. If you’re craving potato skins these probably won’t satisfy you, but if you’re just looking for a tasty snack, give them a try.