Nothing screams New Zealand summer quite like chips and dip. 

It’s basically compulsory, and for most of us, that means a trusty tub of reduced cream mixed with French onion soup and whatever chip happens to be closest.

But what happens when you’ve cycled through this combo one too many times? 

One Kiwi, clearly mid-snack existential crisis, took to Reddit to crowdsource some fresh ideas outside the usual Maggi rotation.

“I've been on a chips and dip binge lately, but now I'm feeling sassy and experimental,” they said. Fair enough. 

“Do yous have any recommendations outside of the usual Maggi range? Feel like I've gone through them all over the past week. I usually pair my dips with a good thick cut ready salted, but I'm open to chip flavour recommendations if they'll lead to interesting and tasty combinations.” 

They also laid done one very firm boundary. 

“Reduced cream-based suggestions only, please. You can keep your salsas/hummus/whathaveyous over there and away from me.” 

What followed was a pick-and-mix of Kiwi ingenuity, family recipes and dangerously good ideas. 

Plenty of people suggested ditching the onion soup sachet and mixing in corn or tomato relish, or even swapping in other soup mixes like chicken, seafood or pumpkin. 

Others kept the classic base but suggested levelling up with extras like bacon or chipotle sauce. 

Some suggestions went a bit further. 

“The Culleys dill pickle one is really good,” said another, with plenty of replies backing it up and recommending add-ons like extra pickles, vinegar or lemon juice. To be fair, most people reckoned all the Culley dip sachets were worth a crack.

There were also some tasty chip pairings floating around. 

“Vinegar and salt snackachangi chips with Tararua’s premixed gherkin dip,” got a lot of love. 

“Doritos Sweet Thai Chilli with the classic onion dip,” offered a new twist.

“Those salt and vinegar pea chips with Turkish kitchen salmon dip is divine,” was a combo many hadn’t considered. 

For those willing to put in a bit more effort, a few Kiwis shared their more elaborate choices. 

“Sour cream and pickle, or a mix of cream cheese, sour cream, taco seasoning, normal cheese, then top with what you like (tomato, olives, capsicum, corn, etc),” said one user. 

“Barkers onion relish stuff mixed with cream cheese and pesto,” with a careful note about ensuring you use a good kind of pesto. 

“Mix a can of Wild Caught Salmon with a punnet of cream cheese, add salt and lemon juice,” continued the more high-end suggestions. 

For any seafood lovers, one user suggested combining the seafood dip with “some finely chopped cooked shrimp, some fresh cracked pepper, and some lemon juice/ zest. Dip a salt and vinegar chip.” 

And finally, circling back to a Kiwi classic: “Years ago Maggi used to make a Tomato and Onion soup mix which was our go to for dip. They no longer make it but you can mostly replicate it going half and half Rich Tomato and the classic Onion.” 

So if you’re feeling a bit bored of the same old dip this summer, consider this your sign to branch out. Cheers Reddit!