After Nearly Two Years Off Shelves, Trader Joe’s Patio Potato Chips Are Back ($2.99) — Plus 9 Other TJ Chips Worth Throwing in Your Cart

1. Patio Potato Chips

$2.99 | 6 oz

The single chip that has Trader Joe’s shoppers genuinely celebrating in 2026 — the Patio Potato Chips have returned after nearly two years off shelves. Each $2.99 bag is a mix of four distinct flavors tumbled together: Sea Salt & Vinegar, Delicious Dill, Homestyle Ketchup, and Smokin’ Sweet BBQ. You reach in, you pull out a fistful, and you have no idea which flavor you are about to get. That randomness is the entire point — and the reason longtime shoppers have been emailing Trader Joe’s customer service for two years asking when these would come back.

The disappearance has a real, sad backstory: the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Factory in New Brunswick, Canada — the supplier behind Patio Chips since launch — burned down in 2024. The company spent the next eighteen months rebuilding and re-tooling the line. Trader Joe’s confirmed in early May 2026 that the chips were back in regional distribution, and shoppers started spotting them on shelves the second week of the month.

Taste Notes

A kettle-style chip with the snap and crunch you would expect from that style — louder than your standard wavy chip, sturdier under a thick dip. The four-flavor mix keeps every handful interesting: a vinegar tang, then dill, then ketchup-sweet, then BBQ-smoky. The flavor coating sits on top of the chip rather than baking in, which means none of the chips taste muted or watered-down.

Serving Ideas

• Eat them straight from the bag on a porch chair with a cold drink — what they are named for and what they are best at.
• Crush a handful over a chicken salad or potato salad for a four-in-one flavor topper that beats croutons.
• Pair with TJ’s Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip or the new Garlic & Herb Hummus — both available alongside the chips this week.

2. Garlic Butter Irish Potato Chips

$3.49 | 5 oz

The chip that just won Southern Living’s 2026 Customer Choice Award — a kettle-cooked Irish potato chip with a savory garlic-butter seasoning that tastes like a steakhouse side dish in chip form. Released as a limited run that became permanent because of how fast it sold, this is the chip Trader Joe’s shoppers most often describe as “addictive.”

Taste Notes

Heavy garlic-butter aroma the moment you open the bag — not subtle. The chip itself is thicker than the Patio chip and has a more pronounced curl, which traps the butter seasoning. Saltier and richer than a standard potato chip. Best eaten in a small bowl rather than from the bag because the seasoning gets everywhere.

Serving Ideas

• Crumble onto deviled eggs as a savory topper that doubles down on the garlic-butter richness.
• Pair with a soft cheese like Brie or a triple-cream — the chip carries the cheese without needing a cracker.
• Drop a handful on top of a Caesar salad instead of croutons for an unconventional but better-tasting alternative.

3. Vegetable Root Chips

$3.99 | 6 oz

A mix of sweet potato, cassava, and taro chips — the colorful, naturally-orange-and-purple bag that has been a Trader Joe’s pantry staple for years. Lighter and crisper than a standard potato chip with a faint earthy sweetness from the root vegetables. The bag looks great on a charcuterie board even before anyone touches it.

Taste Notes

Crisp, light, and slightly sweet. The taro chips are the most savory of the three, the cassava chips are the crispiest, and the sweet potato chips are the most colorful and faintly caramelized. Salted just enough to balance the natural sweetness — easy to eat the whole bag in one sitting without noticing.

Serving Ideas

• Build a charcuterie board around them as the cracker alternative — pair with sharp cheddars and salami.
• Serve as the chip for guacamole instead of tortilla chips — the root sweetness pairs surprisingly well with avocado and lime.
• Pack into a road trip cooler because they hold up under pressure better than thin potato chips and do not crumble into dust.

4. Olive Oil Potato Chips

$2.49 | 6 oz

A clean, single-ingredient kettle-cooked chip fried in olive oil instead of vegetable oil. The result is a more delicate flavor with a slight fruity-bitter note from the olive oil that finishes long. The chip Trader Joe’s shoppers most often describe as “I cannot believe these are this cheap.” Often appears in best-chip rankings ahead of name-brand olive-oil chip alternatives that cost twice as much.

Taste Notes

Lighter and less greasy than standard kettle chips. The olive-oil flavor sits in the background — not overpowering, but you notice it after the third bite. Salt-forward, with a clean potato finish. Ideal for pairing with a dip because the chip itself does not compete with the topping.

Serving Ideas

• Pair with a tomato-and-mozzarella salad and dip the chip directly into the leftover olive oil at the bottom of the bowl.
• Eat alongside a sandwich instead of a side of fries — the olive oil makes it feel more polished.
• Top with crumbled feta and oregano for a quick Greek-inspired snack plate.

5. Reduced Guilt Pita Chips

$3.49 | 7 oz

Pita chips that contain about 25 percent less fat than the standard pita chip on the shelf next to them, achieved by baking rather than frying. Trader Joe’s most-recommended chip for dipping because they are sturdy enough to hold a thick hummus or yogurt-based dip without snapping.

Taste Notes

Drier and less oily than a fried pita chip — but that dryness is what makes them ideal dippers. Mild sea-salt flavor lets the dip do the talking. The texture is more cracker-like than chip-like, with a satisfying snap.

Serving Ideas

• Pair with Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus or any of the seasonal flavored hummuses on the cold shelf.
• Use in place of bread for a tuna-salad or chicken-salad scoop — adds crunch without the carbs.
• Toast briefly under the broiler with shredded mozzarella for a 60-second pita-nachos snack.

6. Plantain Chips

$1.99 | 6 oz

The under-two-dollar chip that has quietly outlasted almost every flashy TJ chip launch of the last decade. Thin, crisp slices of green plantain fried until they curl, salted lightly, and bagged. A Caribbean and South American staple that pairs naturally with citrus, lime, and avocado-based dips.

Taste Notes

Drier and starchier than a potato chip. The plantain flavor is mild — almost neutral — with a slightly sweet finish from the natural sugars in the plantain. The texture is crisper and lighter than a tortilla chip but more substantial than a potato chip.

Serving Ideas

• Serve with guacamole as the traditional Caribbean pairing — the starchiness balances the richness of the avocado.
• Dip in a chili-lime crema for a quick Latin-inspired snack plate.
• Use as a soup garnish crushed over a black-bean or sweet-potato soup for textural contrast.

7. Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets

$2.99 | 5 oz

A Japanese-style rice snack that fills the chip slot in a Trader Joe’s shopping cart for anyone avoiding fried potato chips. Crisp, airy rice nuggets coated in a lightly sweet-savory soy seasoning. Some bags include a furikake-dusted blend with seaweed flakes and sesame seeds.

Taste Notes

Airy, crisp, and addictively crunchy. The soy seasoning is subtle — not as salty as a Western chip — and the slight sweetness keeps you reaching in for more. Distinctly different from a typical potato or corn chip; closer in profile to a baked rice cracker.

Serving Ideas

• Eat as a movie-night snack instead of popcorn — same hand-to-mouth flow, more interesting flavor.
• Crumble onto a poke bowl or rice salad for a crunchy textural finish.
• Pair with hot sake or a cold lager — the salt-soy profile complements both.

8. Salt & Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips

$2.49 | 6 oz

A cross-hatched waffle-cut potato chip dusted with cracked black pepper and sea salt. The lattice cut is structural — it makes each chip thicker and more durable, which means these are the chip of choice for thicker dips like French onion or sour-cream-and-chive.

Taste Notes

Thick, sturdy crunch with a real cracked-pepper bite that hits the back of the tongue. The salt is generous but not aggressive. Reminiscent of a steakhouse side — savory, peppery, and meant to stand up to richer dips and sandwiches.

Serving Ideas

• Dip in French onion dip or a homemade chive-sour-cream blend — the lattice cut holds the dip in its grooves.
• Crumble onto a baked potato for a doubled-down potato-on-potato side dish.
• Eat alongside a deli sandwich as the heartier alternative to a pickle.

9. Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips

$2.49 | 9 oz

A naturally orange tortilla chip made with a sweet-potato-and-corn blend. Slightly thicker than a standard tortilla chip with a subtle earthy sweetness from the sweet potato. The chip Trader Joe’s shoppers reach for when they want tortilla chips that are less neutral and more interesting.

Taste Notes

A standard corn-tortilla snap with a faint sweet-potato finish. Drier than a salted potato chip and saltier than a plain tortilla chip. The color makes them photograph beautifully on a chip-and-dip board.

Serving Ideas

• Serve with TJ’s Cowboy Caviar or any salsa with corn and black beans — the sweet potato bridges the sweetness of the corn.
• Use as the chip for nachos instead of standard tortilla chips — the slight sweetness balances heavy melted cheese.
• Pair with a creamy avocado-lime dip for a no-cook party snack plate that takes 3 minutes to assemble.

10. Beet Chips

$3.29 | 4 oz

Thinly sliced beets fried until crisp and lightly salted. A seasonal chip that comes and goes from Trader Joe’s shelves but consistently has a cult following when it appears. Two color profiles in most bags: deep red beets and golden beets, which gives the bag visual contrast.

Taste Notes

Earthy, lightly sweet, with a slightly chalky texture characteristic of fried root vegetables. Less sweet than a sweet-potato chip and more distinctly “beet” in flavor — closer to a roasted-beet salad than a candy. Crumbles more easily than a potato chip, so reach in gently.

Serving Ideas

• Top a soft-cheese plate with crumbled beet chips and a drizzle of honey — gourmet snack in under a minute.
• Garnish a winter salad over goat cheese and walnuts for crunch and color.
• Dip in a horseradish-cream sauce or a beet-friendly Greek yogurt blend.