3 hours ago
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Ready salted, prawn cocktail, pickled onion and smoky bacon – crisps are undoubtedly the nation’s favourite snack food, subject to a variety of staple and sometimes suspicious flavour varieties. According to one recent report, they were the UK’s snack of choice on 94% of “all consumption occasions”, often enjoyed with a complementary dip, or served in a packet ripped open on a pub table. But now, the humble bag of crisps is having a revamp.
Enter: the loaded crisp bag. It’s a lot like loaded fries or nachos, in that it can be a vehicle for a whole gamut of flavours – as served, for example, at Pablos, a fast food outlet in Nottingham where anything from ground beef to molten cheese is dolloped into an opened bag of crisps.
Commonly known as basque nachos because they mimic the region’s culinary tradition of bite-size snacks (pintxos), and apparently inspired by a dish served at the Basque-inspired restaurant Ernesto’s in New York City, the trend took off on TikTok with videos showcasing people’s homemade crisp creations. Also sometimes called “soggy crisps” and “crisp charcuterie”, loaded crisps are perfect picnic grub or a party pleaser.
Customisable, quick and easy to make – you simply drop your desired ingredients into an opened bag of crisps, no cooking required. Here are four popular loaded crisp recipes, prepared by me in a matter of minutes, ranked from best to worst
1. Cheddar and onion Pipers with fennel salami, gherkin, feta and dill
There’s a lot going on here. Cheese on cheese crisps, cured meat, crunchy pickles with a herby garnish – it’s like a deconstructed sandwich, an entire meal in a thin foil bag. But by some miracle, it works. Pipers are probably one of the best crisp options for this because they are thickly cut, making them sturdy enough to hold the weight of the toppings. And there’s a lot of toppings here – it is a messy nightmare to eat but tastes absolutely delicious.
4/5
2. Eat Real salted lentil crisps, roasted red peppers in a jar, hummus and chopped parsley
It is impossible to make a bag of crisps taste “fresh”, but this plant-based loaded crisp option comes surprisingly close. Unlike the other recipes in this list, the salt content is manageable and the base lentil crisps are light, which makes this recipe less stodgy than others – although, if left for a while, the wet ingredients do make it sloppy. The biggest advantage is that the crisps’ curved shape makes it easier to scoop the hummus. Perfect finger food.
4/5
3. Ready salted Walkers, brie, fig jam and thyme
Walkers’ ready salted is the most traditional and instantly recognisable flavour out there, but it is also probably the most boring, which makes it apt for an upgrade. Here it is transformed into a makeshift charcuterie board. Admittedly, a salted cracker would probably work better than this greasy potato base. The sprigs of thyme can feel a bit like chewing foliage, so remove the stems and sprinkle the tiny leaves for a more digestible experience. The red packaging looks slightly comical alongside these particular contents, but the sweet and salty mix is well worth trying.
3/5
4. Torres truffle crisps, anchovies and green olives
As one perceptive commenter on this by-the-sea TikTok recipe has observed, this particular crisp concoction “would just be horrendously salty”. And no surprise, it absolutely is. Torres truffle crisps have more than enough flavour alone, so topping them with extra salty snacks tastes a lot like drinking the ocean. The residue of oil from the anchovies and brine from the olives also makes for a soggy potato lacking in crunch. Even a real salt lover would find this difficult to stomach for more than two mouthfuls.
2/5
