The national brand “onion ring” chips are one of my favorite snacks, but I rarely get them because, when they’re not on sale, they’re approaching $4 a bag. Thanks, but no thanks; no processed snack is worth that much money. And since I rarely shop at the big supermarkets, I never really think to see if they are on sale. So even though I like them a lot, I tend to live without them.
Aldi has offered knockoffs of these onion ring snacks for as long as I can remember. But when I first tried them, around eight years ago (if memory serves me right), they were absolutely terrible; they tasted nothing like the national brand, and didn’t even taste good as an alternate to those snacks. Needless to say, it would be a few years before I would give them another shot.
And that brings me to today, when I decided it was time to see if anything had changed. For starters, just out of the gates, I noticed a big difference; Clancy’s Onion Rings look a lot more similar to the national brand onion ring snacks. When I tried them years ago, they were all much smaller, much thinner, and more uniform in size, as if they were trying to exist as something different. They also smell very similar to the bagged “fun onion ring” snacks available at supermarkets.
The taste, you will be happy to know, is much more in line with what you would expect; assuming you‘ve had “fun onion rings“ before. In fact, I actually found them to be a little too onion-y, courtesy of a very heavy onion powder that I believe is more overwhelming than the national brand, which, from my memory, doesn‘t even have a seasoning on them. The texture is also a little different, as Clancy’s is much softer; these snacks almost melt in your mouth. While that may sound enticing, I’ve found that I actually prefer the heavier crunch of the name brand snack.
But don’t think Clancy’s Onion Rings are a lost cause; for starters, the taste has certainly come a long way, and is a lot closer, than they used to be. Secondly, a similar-size bag to the national brand is only $1.19, which is more than $3 off the regular price. Even on sale, you’d be hard pressed to find “fun onion rings” for that inexpensive. I guess you can say what Clancy’s is lacking in flavor, they more than make up for in price.
Overall: 7/10. While I would prefer the national brand onion ring snack, at least in terms of texture and flavor, Clancy’s version has come a long way since I first tried them several years ago. They do seem to be overly doused in onion seasoning, which I found to get old pretty quick. The texture is also a lot softer, so that these melt in your mouth; I could see that appealing to some, and while I didn’t mind it on its own, I prefer the much larger crunch of the original onion rings snack. Marks must be given for value, though, as a bag of Clancy’s Onion Rings are only $1.19, far cheaper than the name brand even when it’s on sale. In short, if you’re a fan of the original, the savings alone could make you prefer the Clancy’s version, so I suggest you give them a shot.
On 5/29/18 I got a bag of Clancy's Baked Ripples (Cheddar & Sour Cream) and all the chips were loaded up with flavor. Of course the price went up some from 2015… it is now $1.99 per bag.
I love the onion rings but was told they ate only seasonal. Why not carey them all year round
That's a very, very good question. They are not part of Aldi's permanent inventory, but they're almost always available as Special Buy items, so I don't see why they wouldn't just make them available all the time at this point.