Chili Crisp Check
Chili crisps, chili oils and gochujang from the Sprouts shelf, plus every seed-oil-free crisp I could find at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Erewhon and online. Graded on the ingredient list. A seed-oil base is the biggest penalty, and those jars sort to the bottom.
24 products · checked Sep 26, 2026
Best: Alessi Calabrian Chili Crisp (A, $1.57/oz at Brand site). Best value: Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch ($0.75/oz at Trader Joe's).
How we pick: best grade that passes "Seed-oil free", then easiest to find, then score.
- Seed-oil base
How the grade works
Every product starts at 100. The first oil on the label is the base. If it's a seed oil (canola, rapeseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, or sesame when it's the only oil), that costs 20 points and the jar drops below every seed-oil-free product. A second seed oil costs 6 more. Sesame oil used as a flavoring next to another base oil is noted but not penalized. Chilies, alliums, spices, seeds, nuts and ferments cost nothing.
Deductions
| Seed-oil base | −20 |
| Each extra seed oil | −6 |
| Synthetic preservative | −15 |
| Flavor enhancer (yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein) | −6 |
| Natural flavors | −6 |
| Grapefruit seed extract | −5 |
| Added sugar | −3 |
| Added color | −2 |
| Maltodextrin | −2 |
| Certified organic | +4 |
Grade scale
Ingredient colors
About the data
Sprouts prices come from shelf tags photographed Sep 26, 2026 (sales end Oct 27). Everything else is from online listings checked the same day, and prices vary by location. Ingredients come from the brand's site first, then a store's site, then a third-party listing; each product says which. A dashed store tag means it probably sells there but I couldn't confirm it. Evidence that seed oils harm health is weak to mixed, so that penalty reflects your preference, not proven harm. Every label was re-checked against current brand and store listings on Sep 26, 2026.