For the ‘26 World Cup, Lay’s is giving us traditional (but not that traditional) takes on the cuisine of three perennial futbol powerhouses. We’ve got Argentinian-Style Steak with Chimichurri chips, Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce chips, and French Onion Soup chips. Sorry in advance, fans of the Uzbekistan and Curaçao national teams.
We’ll start with the Team Argentina tie-in. When you crack open a bag of steak-flavored chips you don’t really expect it to taste like steak. You might anticipate a reasonable and respectable facsimile of steak, maybe, but you already know to dial down your expectations. But give Lay’s some credit, they managed to make these things taste a LOT like a real steak. Even without the chimichurri connection (which is pretty much a preordained, tailor made potato chip flavor if there ever was one) the mixology of the herbs and spices here is just masterful. Like, my tongue was totally fooled, and I SWEAR I felt some savory, protein-packed juiciness that couldn’t possibly exist in real life while I was eating these things. Not only is it a nuanced, flavorful bag, but it’s also an amazingly hearty and filling snack with way more kick than I would’ve ever imagined. It’s enough to make you throw your hands in the air and scream GOAAALLLL, even if the wife told you to stop doing that ten years ago.
The Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce chips, unfortunately, don’t fare quite as well. Don’t get me wrong, the chips are still pretty tasty, but they’re not a very unique flavor. Imagine those old sour cream and cheddar chips from back in the day, only with a bit more tart to them, and you pretty much have these things figured out before you even pop one down your esophagus. I see what they were going for — a chip that had a light butteriness to it, but without foregoing that quasi-vinegary taste — but it’s just too many competing flavors duking it out at the same time. The back packaging of the bag suggests that the product has a zesty, citrus kick to it but I didn’t really feel it. Ultimately, it’s not quite as shameful as losing 7-0 to Germany, but it’s the biggest disappointment of this Cup’s trifecta by far. But it is kinda’ cool that these chips almost match the color of Team Brazil’s actual soccer uniforms, though.
The French Onion Soup chips are, at the same time, the most mundane flavor AND the most intriguing of this year’s line-up. On one hand there’s not much innovation here at all — indeed, I’m shocked that French Onion Soup chips haven’t been around forever, since it’s such a simple and inoffensive taste to replicate in munch and crunch form. What does make this different from the Argentinian and Brazilian snacks, though, is the mouthfeel. This is the only chip of the three that comes in wavy form — I’m not sure if there’s a cultural or culinary reason why Lay’s went that route, but it totally turns these chips from just OK into borderline great. It’s a relatively light and subtle flavor, but the coarseness of the chips gives everything a perfect counterweight. It’s savory without feeling overpowering, muted without feeling watered down (or salted down, since these are chips and all.) I’m not a big fan of French onion soup at all but I really liked these chips. Like the ‘98 French team that won it all, Lay’s played it smart, strategic, and simple — it eschews showiness and just plain nails all of the fundamentals.
You really can’t complain about any of these three chips too much. Even the Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce chips aren’t that bad and I can see an endless bounty of complementary dip pairings for all three of these products. I guess you could argue that Lay’s took too few chances with the trio, but tasty yet somewhat predictable chips are still preferable to something that tastes wholly unique but ultimately unrewarding to the part of your soul that wants carbohydrates more than oxygen. Looks like Argentina is taking the gold in this assortment, with France settling for silver and Brazil reaping the junk food equivalent of a bronze medal.
Let’s just hope that Cape Verde goes on the Cinderella run to end all Cinderella runs this summer. Some cachupa-flavored chips from Lay’s in 2030 would be lit.
Purchased Price: $4.29 each
Size: 7.75 oz bag (Argentinian-Style Steak), 7.75 oz bag (Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce), 7.5 oz bag (French Onion Soup)
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Argentinian-Style Steak), 7 out of 10 (Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce), 8 out of 10 (French Onion Soup)
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz) Argentinian-Style Steak 160 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, less than one gram of total sugars and 2 grams of protein. Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce 150 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein. French Onion Soup 160 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.
