Well it took about a year, and was put off thanks to bouts of forgetfulness, alternated with busyness, but I’m finally getting around to typing up a requested review for Clancy’s flavored tortilla chip line. Better late than never, right Mike? Haha.
Anyway, it should be pretty evident from the color of the packaging what product this is trying to emulate, and since it’s a well-known chip, I don’t really feel the need to preface anything, so I’m just going to jump right into the good stuff.
Upon examination, these chips actually look pretty exact to the national brand. There’s also a generous helping of ranch seasoning on each chip, which is a good thing to see. Oftentimes, I’ve found the major differences between national brand and private label chips, is that the private labels tend to have lesser flavor, so seeing this definitely upped my expectations quite a bit!
But how does it compare in the most important part: Taste? The seasoning itself is pretty spot on to the name brand, with just the right amount of tang mixed in with the cool ranch flavor. The texture is also pretty darn close, as each bite gives you the nice, big crunch that you would expect from tortilla chips. The only downside, as far as I’m concerned, is that you can definitely taste the corn of the tortilla chip itself a lot more. In the national brand, the corn taste is virtually non-existent, and that’s how Clancy’s version starts off. But the more you chew, the more the corniness becomes prevalent, until it becomes outright noticeable. Now it didn’t bother me that much at all, nor did it bother either of the two other co-workers of mine that tried them and really liked them, but if you’re a flavored tortilla chip connoisseur, it might turn you off a little bit more.
As great as these things are overall, they get even bigger points for value, as a bag of Clancy’s tortilla chips are under $2. Even when on sale, you can expect to pay at least $1 more for the national brand, and if you are used to paying full price, then you could be saving upwards of $2 or even $3 a bag. Hmmm, all of a sudden think you can get used to that corny taste, huh? That’s what I thought.
Overall: 8.5/10. A great knock-off of a classic product, Clancy’s Ranch Tortilla Chips provide a generous blast of “cool ranch” flavor, and a nice crunch. The only downside is that the corn of the tortilla chip peeks through a lot more than in the national brand. It’s wasn’t that big of a turn-off for me, but it’s certainly noticeable. Value is also here in spades, as an 11 oz. bag retails for well under $2, saving you big over the national brand. This is a must-try product.
I'm not sure the last time I had the Ranch flavored ones I thought they were pretty good as well. The nacho cheese is basically the only junk (processed) food I eat these days and even that's saying a lot as I don't pick them up very often.
For me, it may be more of an acquired taste I've become accustomed to, because I cannot remember the last time I had the name brand. I've tried other generic brands of Doritos and they always seemed awful, either too plain or a stale-like taste with a ton of seasoning to cover it up. Clancy's always won for me and everyone I know who has tried them to be the best knockoff out there.
I wouldn't be surprised if these were some of the better knockoffs out there…I wouldn't know, though, as I've never even tried another brand! But I know what you mean about acquiring tastes…there are a few products the wife and I get from Aldi that we will only get at Aldi. I think with most people, it's the other way around! haha
Love this site! wish you would have more time to review items and blog about it. Oh well c'est la vie, take what we can get!
Really glad you like it! Trust me, I wish I had more time to review items myself. But lately I've been trying to set aside time to post every week, to try to get into a rhythm, and continuing this trend is more or less my New Year's resolution.
To that end, I'm really hoping to hit at least 40 posts next year. Still not a lot, as this is just something I do for fun, but considering I average around 10 posts per YEAR, it's about four times more than that!
Once again, thanks for the kind words. And Sonica is a really cool name!
I agree with your assesment. I really like the Ranch chips. Didn't care for the nacho chesse, it was just cheese flavored, no spice at all that I could tell
havent tried the nacho ones but im a food snob and when i tried the clancys ranch i thought there was less of the seasoning coating the chips but thats ok but the flavor was perfect and as faar as a lifetime dorito eater..wont even look at doritos ever again..price texture and flavor are exact in the clancys..for $1.69 here in wisconsin and the doritos price, same size is between 3 to 4. it takes an idiot to not wanna save and same taste. also i noticed with alot of dorito knockoffs the salt level is crazy..and the spices are grainy etc.. not with clancys..PERFECT..for all you saying otherwise STOP SMOKING and get your tastebuds back..
I agree. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog: To help spread the word that, more often than not, the food at Aldi is often the same quality–if not even better–than the national brand counterparts. Maybe back in 2005, when I started shopping here, more products were hit-or-miss, but now almost everything I try is on par.
Even today, I encounter people that complain how poor and broke they are, yet refuse to shop here because of a perception that it's only for welfare recipients, or people that are somehow lower than they are, which certainly isn't the case.
As for the nacho cheese, I'd probably give it a shot. But I thought pound-for-pound the ranch was better by a country mile.
Thank you, and I agree with your assessment, as well! Since Aldi formulas always seem to change, we can always hope they bring the nacho cheese flavor up to par with the ranch at some point in the future.
Aldi's ranch chips aren't bad, but I think Wal-Mart's is better.
I'll have to try those sometime. I don't tend to go to Walmart very often–in fact, I outright try to avoid it whenever possible–but there's no denying they have some good deals.
If I ever find myself in one, I might hunt their version down.
Clancy Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips were horrible.
They were stale,and I can not find an expiration
date on the bag.Even the plastic bag was odd,it just kept
tearing after being opened.
Never Again
Well you know they will refund your money AND give you a replacement item if you bring it back to the store.
I've not had a bag that was expired, but I will agree that the bags tear pretty easily…I've noticed this is the case with a lot of cheaper chips (and especially their Frito knockoffs). Gotta cut costs somehow, I guess!
is this chips halal or haram
Good question. I have to be honest that I'm not too familiar with halal or haram foods, and am seeing differing answers online as to whether or not even the Dorito's brand is…this can be because of outdated information as companies change up their ingredients/recipes through the years. Your best bet would be to check the ingredient list for yourself to make the decision, which can be found below:
https://www.fooducate.com/product/Clancy-s-Tortilla-Chips-Ranch/6E9FDC28-6914-11E1-AFF9-1231380C18FB
Again, though, keep in mind these ingredients could have been modified since being added to that site, so it might be a better idea to have someone check the ingredients list on a current bag for you, if you can't head to an Aldi yourself.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help!