Walkers Meaty Variety Crisps, 20 x 25g

Twenty bags of savoury crisps in one box: the larger Walkers Meaty Variety holds five bags each of Smoky Bacon, Roast Chicken, Prawn Cocktail and Cheese and Onion, twenty 25g bags and 500g in total. At one bag per school or working day, it lasts four weeks.

Savoury flavours, no meat

The name describes the flavours, not the ingredients. According to the published pack listing, every bag is the thin Walkers crisp, made from potatoes, sunflower and rapeseed oils in varying proportions, with antioxidants (rosemary extract, ascorbic acid, a tocopherol rich extract and citric acid). The pack says the potatoes are 100% Great British potatoes and the crisps are suitable for vegetarians, and it states no added MSG or artificial colours.

Smoky bacon gets its character from flavourings, yeast extract and yeast powder, with salt, potassium chloride, citric and malic acids and paprika extract. Roast chicken uses sugar, potassium chloride, salt, flavourings, onion powder, dried sage, citric acid and paprika extract. Prawn cocktail uses flavourings, sugar, citric acid, potassium acetates, dextrose, potassium chloride, salt, yeast powder, onion powder, tomato powder, spice extract, paprika extract and the sweetener sucralose. Cheese and onion uses dried onion, salt, whey, lactose, sugar, flavouring, cheese powder, yeast, acids, whey protein, garlic and plant colours.

Numbers across the box

Per 25g bag, the panels give smoky bacon 128 kcal, 7.3g of fat and 0.17g of salt; roast chicken 127 kcal, 7.2g of fat and 0.16g of salt; prawn cocktail 127 kcal, 7.2g of fat and 0.16g of salt; and cheese and onion 128 kcal, 7.4g of fat and 0.29g of salt. That makes every bag about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, with salt between about 3% and 5%. Three of the four flavours carry between 0.65g and 0.67g of salt per 100g, about half the 1.2g of the cheese and onion, because their seasonings use potassium chloride for part of the salty taste.

Sorting twenty bags

In a shared cupboard it helps to know which bags carry what. Only the cheese and onion bags contain milk, and the listing highlights milk for the box because of them. Only the prawn cocktail bags contain a sweetener, sucralose, and the pack names them as containing sugar and sweetener. The allergy advice for the box says the crisps may contain cereals containing gluten, mustard and soya. No vegan or gluten free claim is made. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on each bag you pick up.

The recyclable box

The published listing marks the box for recycling. The bags are a layered film rather than card, so they need different handling; check local advice for those. Keeping the bags in the box until they are used also protects them from being crushed in the cupboard.

How the crisps are made

Each crisp is a thin slice of washed potato, rinsed of loose starch and fried in the sunflower and rapeseed blend until the water has cooked out and the slice snaps. The four seasonings are dusted on while the crisps are warm, and each bag is sealed separately, so the last bag in the box is as fresh as the first.

Who it suits

A household that prefers savoury flavours to sharp or plain ones, an office snack cupboard, a club tuck shop or a big family party. Because the pack says every flavour is suitable for vegetarians, it is also an easy box for a group with mixed diets: the meat eaters get the flavours they like and nobody needs a separate bag.

Which flavour for whom

Smoky bacon is the savoury, yeast led one, with no sugar in its seasoning at all, and it suits a cheese or tomato sandwich. Roast chicken is the herby one, with sage and onion, and the lowest salt per bag in the box alongside prawn cocktail. Prawn cocktail is the sweet and sharp one, and the only bag with a sweetener. Cheese and onion is the soft, creamy one, and the only bag with milk.

A note taped inside the lid

For offices and clubs, a short note inside the lid saves questions: no meat or fish in any flavour; milk in the cheese and onion; sucralose in the prawn cocktail; five of each flavour. Anyone with an allergy should still read the advice on the bag itself.

Other sizes and relatives

The same four flavours come in a fourteen bag Meaty Variety box, with three smoky bacon, three roast chicken, four prawn cocktail and four cheese and onion. Each flavour is also sold in a Walkers six bag multipack. For plain and sharp classics, the twenty bag Walkers Classic Variety box has five each of cheese and onion, ready salted, salt and vinegar and prawn cocktail.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the box away from heat and damp, the bags sealed until needed, and finish each bag once it is opened.

Sizes of Walkers Meaty Variety Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin, and the pack names Walkers as the maker. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.