Walkers Oven Baked Cheese and Onion Crisps, 6 x 22g

This is Walkers Oven Baked Cheese and Onion as a six bag multipack: 22g bags, 132g in all, each a single serving. The full product name on the pack is 6 x Cheese and Onion Flavour Baked Potato Snack, and the pack names Walkers Snack Foods Ltd as the maker.

A snack, not a slice

Walkers Oven Baked starts from potato flakes and starch rather than sliced potatoes. The mixture is shaped and baked, and the pack pictures thin, ridged ovals; the pack says the range is always baked, never fried. That is also why the legal name is baked potato snack rather than crisps.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, which matches the ingredients panel on the pack, the snack is made from potato flakes, starch, rapeseed oil, a cheese and onion seasoning (whey permeate from milk, salt, sugar, flavouring containing milk, onion powder, citric and malic acid, whey protein from milk, garlic powder, dried cheese from milk at 0.1%, whey powder from milk, colours paprika extract and annatto bixin, and skimmed milk powder), sugar, an emulsifier (lecithins), sunflower oil and a colour (annatto norbixin).

Whey, and a little cheese

Most of the dairy flavour comes from whey in three forms, permeate, protein and powder, with skimmed milk powder. Whey permeate is the lactose rich powder left once the protein is filtered out of whey, and it gives a soft, milky sweetness. Dried cheese is on the list at 0.1%, so the flavouring and whey carry the cheese note. Onion and garlic make up the other half of the name, and citric and malic acid add a light tang.

Potato flakes and starch

Potato flakes are cooked, mashed and dried potato, and starch helps the shaped snack hold together as it bakes. Together they give the even, airy texture of a baked snack rather than the crunch of a fried slice.

Numbers for one bag

The pack's nutrition panel gives, for each 22g bag, 96 kcal (405 kJ), 2.8g of fat, 0.3g of saturates, 16g of carbohydrate, 1.6g of sugars, 1.4g of fibre, 1.3g of protein and 0.2g of salt. The pack puts that at 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 4% of the fat and 3% of the salt. Per 100g it is 437 kcal (1840 kJ), 13g of fat, 1.4g of saturates, 72g of carbohydrate, 7.3g of sugars, 6.2g of fibre, 6.1g of protein and 0.89g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 13g is amber rather than the red of a fried crisp, and saturates at 1.4g are green. Sugars at 7.3g are amber; sugar appears twice on the list, in the seasoning and in the recipe itself. Salt at 0.89g is amber.

Compared with the single bag

The 22g bags carry the same recipe as the 37.5g single bag of Walkers Oven Baked Cheese and Onion; only the portion changes. A 22g bag gives 96 kcal and 0.2g of salt, against 164 kcal and 0.33g of salt for the 37.5g bag.

Why 22g bags

The multipack bags are 22g, smaller than the 37.5g single bag, which suits younger children and anyone who wants a smaller portion. Six bags cover a working or school week with one to spare.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight milk, in the whey, the flavouring, the dried cheese and the skimmed milk powder. The allergy advice on the pack says the snack may contain mustard, soya, wheat and other cereals containing gluten. The pack says it is suitable for vegetarians; it is not vegan, because of the milk, and there is no gluten free claim. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Colours and what is left out

The golden colour comes from paprika extract and annatto, a natural colour from the seeds of the achiote tree. The pack says there is no added MSG, no artificial colours and no artificial preservatives. Lecithins, the emulsifier, help oil and water mix evenly in the recipe.

The paper outer bag

The brand says the outer bag of this multipack is now paper based and can be recycled at home, part of cutting virgin plastic in the range, while the six inner bags are still plastic, to keep the snack fresh, and can be taken to store recycling points.

Lunchbox ideas

Pair a bag with a ham, egg or tomato sandwich, a pot of soup or a salad. A light, baked snack sits well beside a full lunch.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the baked ovals make a fine, cheesy crumb for the top of a pasta bake or a fish pie. They brown quickly, so add the crumb near the end.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place. Keep the bags in the outer bag until needed and finish each one once opened.

Other sizes and flavours

For a single larger bag, we stock Walkers Oven Baked Cheese and Onion at 37.5g. In the same six bag format there are Walkers Oven Baked Prawn Cocktail, Salt and Vinegar and Sea Salt, and the Walkers Oven Baked Variety box.

Sizes of Walkers Oven Baked Cheese and Onion Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

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