Lay’s Crispy Taco Chips are back on shelves! These won the Lay’s Do Us a Flavor contest in 2017 and have returned for a limited time. Please find our review below, refreshed with photos of the new packaging:

Beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato…

It’s really not that hard.

Try telling that to Ellen Sarem, who created these Lay’s Crispy Taco chips.

Lay’s Crispy Taco chips were one of three finalists in the 2017 “Do Us A Flavor” contest, a mostly-annual-but-sometimes-not-always promotion where fans submit their flavor ideas and Lay’s gets R&D on the cheap. Crispy Taco competed against Lay’s Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lay’s Fried Green Tomato.

Here’s the fascinating inspirational story behind Ellen’s submission:

It took her three years to master a taco.

Look, I’m sorry Ellen – I’m sure you’re a wonderful lady and cooking tacos on your first date with the love of your life is very charming! But I’m just really, really perplexed that Crispy Taco was selected as a finalist for a contest that usually celebrates innovation. There are so many taco-flavored chips out there, and it’s literally just taco seasoning on a chip – I can do it myself!

Take a look at some of the other semifinalists, Ellen. My fat Italian ass really wanted some Lay’s Toasted Ravioli, and the #FitChick in me (I’m a man btw) really wanted some Lay’s Avocado Toast. Hell, I would have preferred the Lay’s Sloppy Joe chips, even if it meant your future husband never called you for a second date.

The chips smell like taco seasoning – who’d a thunk it? ? I smell chili powder, cumin, and oregano.

Even though the flavor concept didn’t excite me, I expected these chips to taste good. What I didn’t expect was for them to taste great… which they do.

Ellen, your chips are hilariously taco.

We need not spend much time on the taco seasoning; it’s all there in the right amounts. There’s a little kick from the chili and red pepper, a little spice from the cumin, garlic, & onion, and plenty of salt.

What makes Lay’s Crispy Taco so accurate, and dare I say unique, are the intangibles that other taco-flavored chips fail to capture. I swear to God I taste fresh lettuce. I taste cheese, but more importantly, I taste the same shredded, yellow cheese that I buy for my own tacos. The light potato chips are a wonderful substitute for a fragile taco shell, which I can also taste. I can taste hints of seasoned beef and it doesn’t taste gross. I can even taste the sour cream!

Make no mistake, this isn’t the best taco recipe in the world. This is the best re-creation of a shitty (read: delicious) crunchy taco from Taco Bell or any other place like it. In fact, my only knock against Lay’s Crispy Taco is they’re so true to a standard taco that I kinda rather just have a taco. Maybe once I finish these chips…

I feel I owe you an apology, Ellen. You might not have been dreaming big when you dreamt of a taco-flavored chip, but you dreamt that Lay’s could nail it and they did. If things don’t work out with your fiancé, you know where to find me…

Taco Bell. You can find me at Taco Bell.

My Chances with Ellen Rating: 0 out of 10
Waiting Three Years for the Perfect Taco Rating: My Nightmare out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10

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