Crisps are what Americans call potato chips. In England and across the UK, a thin fried slice of potato in a bag is a crisp, and "chips" means something else entirely. Here's how the two words split, and which bags are worth picking up first.
What are crisps in England?
A crisp is a thin slice of potato, fried or baked until it snaps, and sold in a small bag. Brits usually call that bag a packet, as in "a packet of crisps". The word also stretches a bit. In a British shop, the crisps aisle holds puffed corn snacks, shaped snacks and potato rings alongside the plain slices.
The name you'll see most is Walkers. If you grew up with a particular chip brand in the US, Walkers is the equivalent for most people in England. You can browse the range in our Walkers crisps collection, and the simplest place to start is Walkers Crisps Ready Salted 32.5G.
Walkers Crisps Ready Salted 32.5G
What's the difference between crisps and chips?
This is where Americans get tripped up. The same two words point at different foods on each side of the Atlantic.
- Crisps are thin, crunchy potato slices from a bag. Americans call them potato chips.
- Chips are thick-cut fried potatoes, served hot with fish or a pie. Americans call them fries.
- Fries in Britain usually means the thinner, fast-food style, and you'll often hear "french fries" for those.
So if a British friend offers you a chip butty, that's a sandwich filled with hot fries, not a bag of snacks. And if someone asks if you want "crisps with that", they mean the bag on the side.
Are crisps British?
The word is. The snack isn't unique to Britain, since Americans have been eating potato chips for a long time too. What feels distinctly British is the choice of flavors and the brands on the shelf. Cheese and onion, prawn cocktail and pickled onion are everyday flavors there and much less common in a US grocery store.
What are the most popular crisp flavors in the UK?
Four flavors cover most of the classic range. Ready salted is the plain one. Cheese and onion is savory and sharp. Salt and vinegar is the tangy one, and it tends to be stronger than the US version. Prawn cocktail doesn't taste much like shrimp. Think a sweet, tangy pink sauce.
Beyond those, the range gets more adventurous. A few in-stock ones worth knowing:
- Walkers Heinz Tomato Ketchup Grab Bag 45g ($2.02) tastes like ketchup, which is a very British idea of a crisp flavor.
- Walkers Crisps Sensations Thai Chilli 40g ($3.03) is from the Sensations range, a step up from the basic bags.
- Walkers Monster Munch Pickled Onion 40g ($3.28) is tangy and sharp, and it makes a good first oddball flavor.
Walkers Heinz Tomato Ketchup Grab Bag 45g
Which British snacks count as crisps?
More than you'd expect. If you ask a Brit for "a bag of crisps", they might hand you something that isn't a potato slice at all.
Walkers Wotsits are light, crunchy cheese snacks, and the 23g bag costs $1.91. Walkers Quavers are cheese flavored too, with a different crunch, in a small 20.5g bag at $2.73. Hula Hoops are potato rings, and Monster Munch are big crunchy shapes. All of these live in the crisps aisle.
Walkers Wotsits - Cheese Flavour Snack - 23g
Then there are Twiglets, which are not potato at all. They're knobbly wheat sticks coated in a yeast extract seasoning, and they split opinion in Britain. If you like Marmite, you'll probably like them. The Jacobs Twiglets Original 45g bag is a cheap way to find out, and the 150g bag is better for sharing.
What are the healthiest crisps in the UK?
Honestly, crisps are a treat, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we can say is that British bags are small. Many single-serve packs are 20 to 40g, so the portion is built in. Some snacks are baked rather than fried, and the pack says so. Whichever you pick, read the label on the back, because nutrition varies by product and we'd rather you check the pack than take our word for it.
How do people in England eat crisps?
Mostly as a side. A packet goes in the lunchbox next to a sandwich, and it's usually bought as part of a meal deal. In a pub, a packet of crisps comes with a pint. Some people also put crisps inside the sandwich itself, between two slices of buttered white bread, for the crunch. Ready salted works best for that.
The other habit worth borrowing is the single bag. Brits rarely open a family-size bag and work through it. They open one small packet, eat it, and stop. That's also the easiest way to try several flavors without committing.
Where can you buy British crisps in the US?
We import them from the UK and keep them in stock in our Massachusetts warehouse, so orders ship from Massachusetts to anywhere in the USA. We don't ship outside the US. The full range is in British Crisps, with more in the wider British Snacks & Crisps collection.
Stock changes from week to week, and some flavors sell out. If your favorite is gone, check the collection page again before you order. A mixed handful of single bags is the best way to find your flavor, so start with Ready Salted, Wotsits and one oddball pick.
Questions people ask
What are crisps in England?
Crisps are thin slices of potato, fried or baked until crunchy and sold in small bags. Americans call them potato chips.
What are potato chips called in England?
They're called crisps. In England, "chips" means thick-cut fried potatoes, which Americans call fries.
Are crisps British?
The word is British. The snack itself isn't uniquely British, since potato chips are common in the US too. The flavors and brands are what feel different.
What are the most popular crisp flavors in the UK?
Ready salted, cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and prawn cocktail are the classic four. Pickled onion and ketchup are also common.
What are the healthiest crisps in the UK?
Crisps are a treat, so check the label on the pack. Some British snacks are baked rather than fried, and many single-serve bags are small, around 20 to 40g.
Where can I buy British crisps in the USA?
British Food Supplies imports them from the UK, holds stock in Massachusetts and ships within the USA. Browse the British Crisps collection to see what's in stock.
