10 Discontinued SunChips Flavors We Might Never Get Back

When it comes to snacks, SunChips are the connoisseur's choice. These chips offer a crunchy alternative to Frito-Lay's usual output and offer hungry folks the chance to incorporate more whole grains into their snack rotation (even though they haven't always been the healthiest option, being part of a recall that will always haunt Frito-Lay). In our opinion, though, one of the most surprising things about SunChips is how old they are: For a snack that feels thoroughly of the moment, they've been around for over 30 years, and in that time, a lot of SunChips flavors have come and gone.

Some of these have left a hole in the market, and in people's hearts. The SunChips brand has an unfortunate knack for getting rid of the flavors that people love most, and, while some of them rear their heads again years after being discontinued, others have remained firmly in the history books. 

It's not that SunChips is lacking in options, mind you — there are currently seven regular flavors in constant rotation out there, with limited-edition ones popping up all the time — but we'd give a lot of money to try some of these discontinued flavors. They're not just savory, either: Over the years, SunChips has tried out more than its fair share of sweet flavors, which we're quite frankly dying to taste.

Take a walk through SunChips history, and you'll find a lot of cinnamon. The spice shows up in its Sweet Potato & Brown Sugar SunChips, where it provided a lovely undertone of flavor; in its Cinnamon Crunch SunChips, where it was the star of the show; and in its Cinnamon SunChips, where it was even more prominent. Confused yet? So are we — but what we aren't confused about is that Cinnamon SunChips sounded pretty good. These chips were first introduced towards the end of 2007, and people really dug the bold cinnamon flavor that they offered. Each chip had a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar, with a hint of butter that stopped them from being too sharp.

It's fair to say that not everyone was sold on these chips, though. Perhaps this was why Frito-Lay decided to quietly discontinue them, not even a year after they were first introduced to the market. This was a big blow to certain customers who loved that cinnamon flavor, but it perhaps goes to show that it's hard to make cinnamon-flavored snacks happen outside of the holiday season. When those summer months roll around, people want something else.

One of the funkiest SunChips flavors in the brand's history is also one of its most beloved. In 2018, Frito-Lay released its Sweet Potato & Brown Sugar SunChips to the masses, and people immediately fell in love with them. These chips were definitely on the sweeter side, with a gentle nuttiness coming through from the potato flavor that stopped them from being too one-note. It was the saltiness of these chips, though, that catapulted them into truly delicious territory, and the gentle undertone of cinnamon in the seasoning mix brought it all home.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Frito-Lay lost confidence in its Sweet Potato & Brown Sugar SunChips a few years after they were released. These chips were confirmed to have been discontinued in 2023, following an exchange on X, formerly known as Twitter, between a customer and the SunChips account. "Unfortunately not all of our flavors make the favorites list, and that one is currently enjoying retirement," said the post on the SunChips account. We'd imagine this was pretty disappointing news for a lot of people, but hey: People come out of retirement all the time, folks. Chips can too. Have faith.

The number of sweet SunChips flavors that have been and gone is pretty amazing, folks. The brand has never been afraid to experiment, and towards the end of the 2010s, it really leaned into the sweet chip trend. Shortly after trying its hand at a few different cinnamon-flavored snacks, it then came out with a pair of sweet flavors in 2009, in the form of its Apple 'n Caramel and Honey Graham SunChips.

The Apple 'n Caramel flavor sought to bring fall flavors to the table, and did so by offering up the sweet-and-sour combo. Tart apple flavors were balanced with the smooth, luscious flavor of caramel, to create a chip with a difference. However, this flavor wasn't destined to last. Like so many of its other sweet flavors, Apple 'n Caramel SunChips were soon removed from shelves. It's likely that this variety was only ever meant to be a limited-edition flavor, but we kinda marvel at how thoroughly Frito-Lay scrubbed it from existence: It now only exists as a word-of-mouth phenomenon mentioned on a few websites, and has yet to be brought back for another spin. Guess we'll just have to make do with good old regular caramel apples.

Sweet and Spicy BBQ SunChips are the stuff of legend. This variety is one of those discontinued snacks everyone wants to make a comeback, and honestly, we get it. These chips were first released in 2013 as the first BBQ flavor that SunChips tried out, and they were pretty much immediately a success. Reviewers who tried the chips noted that they had a touch of barbecue sweetness without being overpowering, and, while their spiciness left a little to be desired, they got people on board with their combo of whole grain goodness and sweet-salty flavors.

Then, like a lot of good things in life, they were cruelly snatched away. People started to notice that they couldn't find Sweet and Spicy BBQ SunChips on shelves a couple of years ago, and it seems that Frito-Lay pulled the product without putting out a loud statement about it. Given how upset people were when they were pulled from stores, and how much they loved these chips, we wouldn't be surprised if Frito-Lay brings them back one day — but we're not holding our breath.

Are you a fan of honey nut cereal? We're willing to bet you are — everyone is, after all. Clearly, the folks over at Frito-Lay were confident enough in this timeless flavor combo's popularity that back in 1999, they thought people were ready for it in chip form. As such, Honey Nut SunChips were born, hitting the market at the same time as its Apple Cinnamon variety. We can only hope that people weren't pouring them into their breakfast bowls and munching them with milk, but hey, stranger things have happened.

Sadly, these SunChips just weren't destined to go the distance. Like virtually all of the sweet varieties SunChips has tried to push onto the market, Honey Nut SunChips came and went in a flash and were soon discontinued. As these chips were around in the early days of the internet, it's difficult to find any reviews of these chips, or indeed anybody who tried them when they were around — so we can't tell you for sure whether they were a success or an unmitigated disaster. However, folks, if you're out there and you tried them, we wanna hear from you. For everyone else, stick to your Honey Nut Cheerios for this flavor fix, even if it is a cereal you should probably avoid eating.

When it comes to grains, SunChip has one primary philosophy: The more the merrier. Standard SunChips are already loaded with various whole grains, containing corn, whole wheat, brown rice flour, and whole oat flour. Its 6 Grain Medley variety took things to an entirely new level, though, and threw buckwheat, kamut, and quinoa into the mix for even more graininess and an extra boost of fiber. Its Parmesan & Herb flavor helped to brighten up the nuttiness of the grains, adding deeper nutty notes and a pop of umami from the cheese and some brightness from the herb mix.

SunChips' 6 Grain Medley in Parmesan & Herb flavor hit stores in 2011, and people were immediately hooked. As well as the obvious nutritional benefits they provided, there was also a versatility to these chips which made them well-suited to being a salad topper or paired with sharp, salty cheese. Unfortunately, they weren't destined to stick around long. Almost as soon as they arrived, they disappeared, and today you can't find the 6 Grain Medley anywhere. Maybe they were just a bit too healthy for the snack market, but either way, we want them back.

SunChips are suited to herbal and earthy flavors in a way that other chips just can't seem to crack. Its product history is therefore littered with flavors that tried to combine these flavors in various ways, and its Onion & Thyme SunChips was one such variety that didn't stand the test of time. These SunChips were released back in 2011, at the same time as its Parmesan & Herb flavor. Like those, they were part of the short-lived SunChips 6 Grain Medley range, which promised even more grain for your buck and a lovely boost of fiber.

However, they didn't stick around for too long — and we suspect the reason for this, dear reader, is that they just weren't very good. Reviewers who tried these chips found that they had a slightly underpowered taste that didn't really make a strong impression. Others noted that SunChips went heavy on the onion, and did so at the expense of the thyme, creating an unbalanced sweetness. The main issue, though, was with the chip's texture. It seems that adding in those extra grains gave it a chalky bite that just didn't stack up to the traditional snap of a regular SunChip. Pretty soon, they were gone forever.

In 2019, SunChips took a big risk. The brand decided that its customers might be getting bored of regular chips, so it took its standard product and puffed the heck out of it. The result, Sun Puffs, was a 3D sensation that was coated in a four cheese seasoning dust. They kinda looked like savory cereal pieces, which we've gotta admit isn't the most appealing thought in the world.

You know what, though? SunChips kinda nailed it with this one. Reviewers who tried Sun Puffs pointed out that they were pretty delectable, with a developed cheesy flavor that made them seem like a more mature version of Cheetos. The four cheeses involved (which were cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, and Monterey Jack — just a few of the wild number of cheeses that exist in the world) gave this snack a level of complexity that, when paired with its innovative shape, allowed it to stand out.

However, somewhere along the line, it seems as though Frito-Lay began to have second thoughts about its product. Although you can still find it listed on the Frito-Lay website, Sun Puffs are pretty much impossible to find in any stores. It looks like the company decided to quietly discontinue them, although the fact that Frito-Lay still displays it online gives us hope that they'll come back one day.

There have been some wild SunChip flavors throughout the years, and Honey Graham is definitely up there as one of the brand's biggest punts. This variety was released in 2009, at the same time that Frito-Lay was also trying out its Apple 'n Caramel flavor. The Honey Graham flavor sought to combine notes of graham cracker and honey into a super-crunchy chip, which on the surface should have been a winner. Like the Apple 'n Caramel variety, this was only ever destined to be a limited-edition product – but as with all limited-edition items, we're willing to bet that if customers loved it enough, it would have stuck around for longer.

Well, folks, it appeared that they didn't. It's not that people were actively complaining about this product; it's more that it seems to have passed without anyone really noticing. Search the internet today for any reviews of this chip, or anybody talking about it, and you'll find very little. Maybe Frito-Lay knew that the product was doomed to fail, and fail it did, shortly drifting into the annals of the snack past.

Okay, here's where things get very confusing. SunChips has made some valiant efforts to promote cinnamon-containing flavors over the years, and its Cinnamon Crunch SunChips (appearing in 2007) were just one of many attempts. At first glance, it's difficult to tell them apart from the other cinnamon-flavored SunChips out there, or indeed regular SunChips. The Cinnamon Crunch variety looked like the standard snack, and they had the same cinnamon-heavy flavor as some of the other varieties. So much so, in fact, that the cinnamon seasoning didn't quite gel with the base notes of grain in the chip itself, resulting in a clash of weird flavors.

However, this product did have some positives. It managed to nail its cinnamon toast scent, giving it a lovely scent profile. Unfortunately, that didn't translate into the eating of the chips themselves. These chips were only ever meant to be limited-edition, and it seems like Frito-Lay took that pretty seriously, limiting exactly how long they were available and removing them from supermarkets pretty soon after they were introduced.