FoodScore

Category · 2903 foods · avg 41/100

Snacks

Chips, crackers, popcorn, pretzels — the savory snack aisle.

41avg score

Snacks covers shelf-stable savory packaged foods: potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, crackers, popcorn, rice cakes, cheese puffs, and snack mixes. Most entries in this category are NOVA 4 ultra-processed foods, though there are meaningful differences in quality between, say, air-popped popcorn and fried-and-flavored chips.

Snacks are not a dietary necessity but they are a cultural staple. The USDA DGA does not recommend specific snack foods but does emphasize limiting added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat — three things snacks often deliver in concentrated form. Programmatic scoring exposes the wide score spread within this category and identifies the few entries that genuinely hold up.

Air-popped popcorn, lightly salted nuts, and rice-based crackers with short ingredient lists can score 60+. Most branded chips, cheese puffs, and flavored crackers sit in the 30-50 range because of oil, salt, and NOVA 4 classification. Anything with artificial flavors, MSG, or hydrogenated oil drops below 35.

Score distribution

029
Avoid
804
3044
Poor
812
4559
Decent
756
6074
Good
367
7589
Very good
164
90100
Excellent
0

Top 20 snacks

ranked by FoodScore (0–100)
  1. 01
    ANGIE'S, BOOM CHICKA POP, SEA SALT POPCORN, SEA SALT
    Very good
    85
  2. 02
    BARILLA, PASTA, ROTINI
    Very good
    85
  3. 03
    BARILLA, WHOLE GRAIN, SPAGHETTI
    Very good
    85
  4. 04
    BARILLA, WHOLE WHEAT PASTA
    Very good
    85
  5. 05
    BARILLA WHOLE GRAIN ELBOWS PASTA
    Very good
    85
  6. 06
    BEECH-NUT ORIGINAL CRISPEAS BAKED PEA PUFFS, ORIGINAL
    Very good
    85
  7. 07
    CLIF BERRY ALMOND FRUIT + NUT BAR, BERRY ALMOND
    Very good
    85
  8. 08
    Larabar Cherry Pie
    Very good
    85
  9. 09
    LARABAR THE ORIGINAL FRUIT & NUT FOOD BAR, BANANA BREAD
    Very good
    85
  10. 10
    LARABAR THE ORIGINAL FRUIT & NUT FOOD BAR, CAPPUCCINO
    Very good
    85
  11. 11
    NABISCO TRISCUIT CRACKERS HINT OF SALT 1X9 OZ
    Very good
    85
  12. 12
    Popcorn (air-popped)
    Very good
    85
  13. 13
    SIMPLE TRUTH ORGANIC ROASTED SEAWEED SNACK
    Very good
    85
  14. 14
    SIMPLE TRUTH ORGANIC, ROASTED & SALTED SOYNUTS
    Very good
    85
  15. 15
    SKINNYPOP SKINNY POP, POPCORN PACK
    Very good
    85
  16. 16
    TERRA DOLCE, ORGANIC CHIPOTLE DRIED CHILE PEPPERS
    Very good
    85
  17. 17
    365 WHOLE FOODS MARKET UNROASTED & UNSALTED ALMONDS, UNROASTED & UNSALTED
    Very good
    84
  18. 18
    ANGIE'S SEA SALT POPCORN, SEA SALT
    Very good
    84
  19. 19
    BARILLA, THIN SPAGHETTI
    Very good
    84
  20. 20
    BARILLA WHOLE GRAIN LINGUINE
    Very good
    84

Key nutrients here

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FruitsVegetablesGrains & breadsLegumes & plant proteinDairy & alternativesMeat & poultry