I always pay attention whenever Aldi announces its annual Fan Favorite winners or when Trader Joe’s, which is a distant cousin to Aldi, announces its annual Customer Choice Award winners. These lists are great ways to find new favorites, or to confirm when we already know a product is fantastic.
Winners and runners up among the Trader Joe’s products this past year include Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, hashbrowns, sparkling peach black tea with peach juice, cheddar cheese with caramelized onions, butter chicken, sublime ice cream sandwiches, and more.
Trader Joe’s chili & lime rolled chips were the overall winner in their annual contest, and those same chips won in the snack category. I took note of some of the runners up in the snack category, such as organic elote corn dippers and white cheddar corn puffs.
Another snack category runner up that looked intriguing was the crunchy curls. When I spotted the crunchy curls on the shelves during a recent TJ’s run, I brought home a bag.
Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls cost $2.99 for a 6-ounce package at the time of publication. With about six servings per bag, that comes out to about 50 cents per serving.
The key thing to know about these crunchy curls is that while they look like they’re made from potatoes, like a potato chip with a twist, they actually also contain lentils.
The package describes these as a “tasty lentil & potato snack.” The back of the bag states, “If you didn’t know better, you might just think these were potato curls. But ah, there’s the rub. You do know better. And because you do, you can enjoy the crunch knowing that you’re getting three grams of protein in each serving.”
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
Ingredients are lentil flour, potato starch, soybean oil, safflower oil and/or sunflower oil, and salt.
If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains soy, and it may contain traces of wheat. This is vegan.
One bag contains about six 31-piece servings. One serving has 130 calories, 5 grams of total fat (6% DV), no saturated fat or cholesterol, 280 mg of sodium (12% DV), 19 grams of total carbohydrates (7% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), no added sugars, and 3 grams of protein.
These have a mild taste, and they’re not even very salty. The main thing that stands out to me is how crunchy they are. If you’re craving something crispy, this will satisfy. It’s also nice that these don’t have all the fat and sodium of regular potato chip products. They’re not big on flavor, but they’re fine. These can also be really good served with dip such as hummus.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls are a very crunchy snack made with lentil flour and potato starch. They look like a variation on a potato chip, but they actually contain a little protein thanks to the lentils. These are low in fat and sodium and can be a good alternative to fried, greasy, salty potato chips. They’re not big on flavor, but the satisfying crunchy texture makes up for that. They are much more crisp than most potato chips. These are even better served with hummus or some other dip.
