Costco is selling a variety pack of Popcorners Chips at a great price. These are interesting chips that, as far as snacks go, are relatively healthy and taste pretty good.
Keep reading and we will cover:
- What Are Popcorners?
- Are Popcorners Healthy
- How Much Do Popcorners Cost at Costco
What Are Popcorners?
Popcorners are seasoned corn based chips that are “air popped” instead of fried. When I normally think of corn chips I think of things like Fritos or tortilla chips but Popcorners are fundamentally different snack.
The best way I can think of to describe the snacks is to consider them a cross between popcorn and rice cakes.
The variety pack of Popcorners at Costco come in multiple flavors including:
- White Cheddar
- Sea Salt
- Kettle Corn
- Spicy Queso
The variety box comes with 30 bags and indicates how many of each flavor should be included. However, the last time I was at Costco there was a disclaimer posted that, due to supply issues, the actual count of the different flavors could be different than indicated.
Are Popcorners Healthy?
There are a couple of things we need to address when considering if Popcorners are healthy including:
- Gluten
- Sodium
- Calories
Let’s take a look at these in more detail.
Are Popcorners Gluten Free?
Not everyone cares about gluten content but if you are gluten sensitive then this is a big deal for you.
The quick answer is that Popcorners are made from ingredients that do not contain gluten. However, the snack is not certified Gluten Free as they may be manufactured on the same lines as products that contain gluten.
Frito Lay (parent company) says, “Although our lines are cleaned between production runs, Frito-Lay has not tested these products for gluten content and the ingredients in these products may have come into contact with gluten-containing products prior to manufacturing. Individuals who are sensitive to gluten should take these factors into consideration in consuming these products.”
I have never seen anything printed on a bag of Popcorners that even mentions gluten.
Sodium and Calories
As far as salt and calories are concerned there is nothing particularly “more healthy” Popcorners compared to traditional chips.
For example, the Kirkland Kettle Chips at Costco have, per serving, 150 calories and 110mg of Sodium. In comparison, the Sea Salt variety of Popcorners has 120 calories and 190mg of Sodium.
Popcorners vs Skinny Pop
As long as you strolling the aisles of Costco looking for snacks then you should see if your warehouse is still selling boxes of Skinny Pop popcorn in individual serving bags. This is another great option for a low calorie, corn based snack.
The bags of Skinny Pop are just as snackable as Popcorners and have the following advantages:
- Fewer Calories (100 vs 120)
- 3X Less Salt (50mg vs 160 mg)
- Certified Gluten Free
The downside to Skinny Pop popcorn is that you still have to deal with hulls and kernels so I understand if that puts you off.
How Much Does Popcorners Cost at Costco?
The 30 pack of Popcorners has a regular price of $12.79 at Costco which works out to a cost of about $0.43 per bag.
You can buy a 28 count variety pack from Walmart for $16 which works out to a cost of about $0.57 per bag.
This means that you will save about $0.14 per bag (32%) when you buy Popcorners at Costco.
