Quick Answer

Jackson's Honest chips do NOT use seed oils. This brand exclusively uses coconut oil for frying all their chip varieties, making them one of the cleanest options in the snack aisle. While most chip brands rely on inflammatory seed oils like canola, sunflower, or soybean oil, Jackson's has built their entire brand around using traditional, stable cooking fats.

What Oils Does Jackson's Use?

Jackson's Honest uses coconut oil exclusively across their entire product line. This includes their sweet potato chips, purple heirloom potato chips, and all other varieties. Coconut oil is roughly 92% saturated fat, making it highly stable for high-heat cooking and resistant to oxidation.

This sets Jackson's apart from the vast majority of chip brands, which typically use one or more of these problematic seed oils:

• Sunflower oil (high in linoleic acid, prone to oxidation)
• Canola oil (highly processed, contains trans fats)
• Soybean oil (inflammatory omega-6 profile)
• Corn oil (ultra-processed, high PUFA content)
• Cottonseed oil (industrial byproduct, pesticide residues)
• Safflower oil (extremely high in omega-6 fatty acids)

These oils are cheap to produce but create oxidative stress in your body due to their high polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) content. When heated to frying temperatures, they form harmful compounds that contribute to inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.

Why Coconut Oil Is Better

Coconut oil's saturated fat structure makes it naturally stable at high temperatures. Unlike seed oils, it doesn't easily oxidize or form toxic compounds when heated. The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in coconut oil are also metabolized differently than long-chain fats, potentially offering metabolic benefits.

From a ancestral health perspective, coconut oil has been used for cooking in tropical regions for thousands of years, while industrial seed oils only entered the food supply in the last century.

Full Ingredients Breakdown

Jackson's keeps their ingredient lists remarkably clean. Here's what you'll typically find in their chips:

Sweet Potato Chips: Sweet potatoes, coconut oil, sea salt

Purple Heirloom Potato Chips: Purple potatoes, coconut oil, sea salt

Flavored varieties add natural seasonings but maintain the coconut oil base. You won't find artificial preservatives, MSG, or synthetic additives in Jackson's products.

The company sources non-GMO potatoes and sweet potatoes, and their coconut oil is expeller-pressed rather than chemically extracted. This attention to ingredient quality extends beyond just avoiding seed oils.

Comparing to Conventional Chips

Most mainstream chip brands use ingredient lists that read like chemistry experiments. Lay's Classic chips, for example, contain potatoes, vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, and/or canola oil), and salt. That "vegetable oil" blend is exactly what Jackson's avoids.

Pringles are even worse, using a mixture of corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil. These multiple seed oil blends maximize shelf stability for manufacturers but create a cocktail of inflammatory fats for consumers.

Are Jackson's Chips Healthy?

While Jackson's chips are significantly healthier than conventional options, they're still fried snack foods and should be enjoyed in moderation. Here's the balanced perspective:

The Positives

• No seed oils: Eliminates the primary inflammatory component in most chips
• Simple ingredients: You can pronounce everything on the label
• Stable cooking fat: Coconut oil doesn't form harmful compounds during frying
• Whole30 compliant: Meets strict clean eating standards
• Non-GMO: Avoids genetically modified ingredients

Still Consider Moderation

Even with clean oils, fried foods are calorie-dense and lack the nutrients of whole foods. Sweet potatoes are nutritious, but the frying process reduces their vitamin content. Think of Jackson's as an occasional treat rather than a daily staple.

The coconut oil also makes these chips higher in saturated fat than most, which some people need to monitor for specific health conditions. However, for the general population, the stable saturated fats in coconut oil are preferable to the unstable polyunsaturated fats in seed oils.

Seed Oil Free Chip Alternatives

Jackson's isn't the only brand avoiding seed oils, though options remain limited. Here are other clean chip choices:

Premium Options

Boulder Canyon (Tallow Chips): Available at Costco, these chips are fried in beef tallow for an incredibly clean fat profile. Beef tallow is even more stable than coconut oil and provides a rich, savory flavor.

Siete Chips: This grain-free brand uses avocado oil, which is primarily monounsaturated fat and much more stable than seed oils. Their cassava and plantain chips offer variety beyond potatoes.

Good Health Avocado Oil Chips: Another avocado oil option that's widely available in grocery stores. The fat profile isn't as clean as tallow or coconut oil, but it's dramatically better than seed oils.

DIY Alternative

For the ultimate clean option, make your own chips using thinly sliced potatoes or sweet potatoes fried in grass-fed tallow, ghee, or coconut oil. You'll control every ingredient and save money compared to premium brands.

What to Avoid

Skip chips from major brands like Lay's, Pringles, Kettle Brand (uses safflower oil), Cape Cod (uses vegetable oil blends), and most store brands. Even "healthier" options like Baked Lay's still use problematic oils.

Always check labels, as formulations change. Some brands offer both clean and conventional versions of similar products.

The Bottom Line

Jackson's Honest chips represent a rare win in the snack food world. By exclusively using coconut oil instead of seed oils, they've created a product that satisfies cravings without the inflammatory baggage of conventional chips.

While they're pricier than mainstream options (typically $4-6 per bag), the ingredient quality justifies the cost for health-conscious consumers. You're paying for coconut oil instead of cheap seed oils, non-GMO produce, and cleaner processing methods.

Jackson's proves that snack companies can create delicious products without relying on inflammatory industrial oils. Supporting brands like this sends a market signal that consumers want cleaner options.

For dining out, avoiding seed oils requires more research since most restaurants default to cheap cooking oils. Our restaurant guide can help you navigate these challenges.

Whether you're shopping for chips or looking for clean restaurants, Seed Oil Scout helps you find seed oil free options with our restaurant database AND scan grocery products with our barcode scanner. Download the app to make avoiding inflammatory oils easier in every aspect of your diet. 🫡