These Ultra-Crunchy, Tangy Chips Are Unlike Anything I've Ever Tried Before

When my husband was two or three, his aunt, who is only about a decade older, gave him chocolate milk for the first time. To this day, he prefers it over regular milk and always keeps a half gallon of chocolate milk in the fridge. I had a similar life-changing experience earlier this month at The Fancy Food Show in New York City—a giant expo of delicious foods from all over the world.

It was love at first crrrrrrunch followed by an eyes-wide-open gasp. Yolélé Green! Fonio Chips are unlike anything I’ve ever tried before. These rectangular, beyond crunchy, a little oniony, and not too salty chips are the best snack—maybe ever? 

Fonio chips are made with—you guessed it—fonio, a nutty, earthy staple grain beloved across West Africa. The grain is gluten-free, finely textured, and used for baking, soups, or as a starch, like rice or polenta. Yolélé also sells the fonio for cooking, but in these chips, it’s ground and flavored with uniquely African flavors. There are four varieties—I only tried Greens!, but there are also Afro-Funk, Yassa!, and plain sea salt. 

The Greens! chips are dusted with a green-brown powder made with moringa leaf and baobab fruit, which honestly, I knew nothing about before a quick Google search. Moringa is a nutrient-dense tree and baobab is a sweet, tangy, and citrusy fruit. Both make the chips bright and zesty, the same qualities that makes you want to take another bite of a pickle over and over again. 

These sturdy chips are going to become the base for sheet pan nachos, dipping partner for this perfect dip, and the bag of chips I can crush in three minutes flat when I’m feeling peckish.

One more reason to keep a bag of Fonio Chips in my pantry? According to the brand’s website, children show up to their first day of school with fonio, believed to be a good luck charm, in their backpacks. Now that’s the kind of good vibes I love and support.

• Get the Chip! Yolélé Green! Fonio Chips