REVIEW: Cheez-It Puff’d

Cheez It Puff d Bags

What are Cheez-It Puff’d?

A new variety of baked snacks from Cheez-It, these tout themselves as “cheesy, airy, & puffy” and come in three flavors: Double Cheese, White Cheddar, and Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar. They strongly resemble a Cheez-It product from a few years ago, Cheez-It Crunch’d, but because I never sampled those, I can’t confirm if Puff’d is a retooling of Crunch’d or something entirely new. These are Cheez-It’s version of a cheese puff.

How are they?

Cheez It Puff d Back Bag

At first glance, promising. They come in bags that assure you they’re “crave-ably cheesy,” “incredibly airy,” and “perfectly puffy.” The shapes look like they’d be fun to eat and the smallish size makes them seem like a snack you could toss up and catch in your mouth like popcorn. Occasionally two of them remain stuck together in a neat little domino shape. They look like the sort of thing you’d have in a bowl and happily munch on, eating way too many because they’re so light and airy. Unfortunately, the fun stops there because these are not good.

Cheez It Puff d Closeup

They remind me of several types of things you would use to fill a box for shipping so the contents don’t break in transit. My first thought was that these are like eating old packing peanuts. Not even fresh packing peanuts but more like what I imagine the packing peanuts that surround the Christmas ornaments I inherited from my grandmother decades ago probably taste like. Next, I thought about another box filler, those not-totally inflated little plastic bags of air that all come connected to each other. Remember what I thought was a cute domino shape? It’s actually just two of those stuck-together bags. While eating, I thought to myself, “these are why some people really hate cheese puffs.” There’s something strange about them right from the start. It’s almost as if they’re stale, even though I know that’s not possible. Any puffiness they have immediately melts away the second they’re in your mouth and what’s left is pretty off-putting and oddly sticky.

Anything else you need to know?

They say they’re baked with real cheese inside and out, and I don’t have any complaints about the flavors. Double Cheese has the most regular taste of the trio and is the least remarkable. I’m unclear if there are supposed to be two different cheeses (presumably cheddar and something else?) or if it’s just supposed to be twice the amount of the regular cheese flavor. At any rate, it doesn’t stand out as being particularly strong. The White Cheddar version is sharper and more distinctive. Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar isn’t too fiery to handle but has a pleasant heat.

Conclusion:

Cheez It Puff d Bowls

I like cheese puffs and want to like these, but I can’t get past the texture. If you give them a try, I’d recommend White Cheddar or Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar. A single serving is 40 pieces, and this is a rare case in snacking where I won’t come close to eating that many.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 5.75 oz bag
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 4 out of 10 (Double Cheese), 5 out of 10 (White Cheddar), 5 out of 10 (Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar)
Nutrition Facts: For all three flavors (40 pieces) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

36 thoughts to “REVIEW: Cheez-It Puff’d”

  1. Thank you, Erin. You saved me a whopping $2.99, but even better, you saved me from the dreaded DSS aka Disappointing Snack Syndrome–this is more serious than it sounds. In these days of pandemic-quarantine-sketchy-vaccines-and-mask-mandates-or-not, good reliable delicious snacks are more important than ever. Am I right, folks?!

      1. Yeah, I’m with you Annie Long is An Idiot. Sketchy vaccines? Are we really going to go there here?

        1. my error was in trying to cover all the bases. Some people have had bad side effects. That is all I meant folks. Really, I’m only an idiot on Mondays. sorry!

          1. Bad side effects, so few; 900,000+ deaths in the U.S. alone thus far (currently more than 1,500 per day), so many . . . . 🙁

          2. It’s very ignorant to believe that the vaccines are “sketchy” simply because they can cause (incredibly rare) side effects and I sincerely hope that you learn more about what you’re talking about in the future.

        2. These chez it puff need to stay at the stores they are so good. Better then the original on . I buy them all the time I give them 8 out of 10 on all 3 flavors .

        1. The white cheddar is my favorite of the flavors but I wish it was on something else. I don’t see myself buying these again but I’ll hope they stick around because I hate to see a snack anyone loves disappear!

        2. Right?? I just opened a 3 oz bag of the double cheddar flavor and I love them!! So melt-in-your-mouth soft and airy!! These would be an easy snack for a toddler. Idk, I am pretty hungry right now so maybe that’s clouding my opinion. Lol

      2. No clinical trials for these “vaccines”. mRNA has never been tested on humans before. Big Pharma is shielded from any liability. Ever wonder why you never see a commercial for the Vaccines? That’s because Big Pharma would have to list all the side effects.

        YOU are the experiment. Good luck with that.

        1. You need to re-visit you sources of information, as you totally have been fed false information. *Of course* these vaccines have undergone full and extensive clinical trials and have been trialed on people before. And have gone through full FDA consideration and been granted full FDA approval (Pfizer and Moderna vaccines). And have had any side effects considered, which are relatively minor (if existent) in comparison to the risk of both illness and death from COVID-19.

          Modern science and medicine–marvelous things, and wonderful alternatives to lifetimes of debilitation and death.

        2. You need to revisit your sources, as you sadly are misstating the facts and are spreading false conspiracy theories. 🙁

        3. Not sure how you missed it but the news was reporting on the initial clinical trials frequently throughout the process and trial data is easily available online, though I’m sure you’d have a hard time understanding it. The side effects and ingredients are also available online from the CDC and the manufacturers’ websites, should you actually want them.

          Now explain why you would need to advertise for a vaccine in the middle of a pandemic? Particularly when they’re selling the vaccines to governments and not individuals.

    1. Very difficult to find quality delicious snacks today. Just tossed an entire box of cheez-it crackers after tasting a weird ingredient that must be used in their current snacks. The delicious taste of the past is gone. Buyer beware!

    1. I can’t complain about the White Cheddar favored ones …they taste like any & all other White Cheddar crackers, chips& popcorns on the market. The thing that I can’t get past is the weird, off-putting residue that clings to my teeth after eating a few of these. I couldn’t get to my toothbrush fast enough. Definitely won’t be buying again.

  2. Wait, shut the front door…there are people out there who don’t like cheesy puffs!?!? I’m so sorry for them…

      1. Hehe. I’m glad that I haven’t! That’s something that I don’t even want to try and understand, lol, and I’m an extremely curious, inquisitive, and accepting creature! Gotta draw the line somewhere though, I suppose.

    1. I got the double cheese and I like them a lot. The texture was a bit of a surprise but in a good way. A nice cross between cracker and Cheeto. I’m buying these again if they stick around.

  3. Hey, Mariano’s; you must be local to me! 🙂

    In spite of your pretty abysmal review of these (regarding how much you disliked them, that is; not saying that you didn’t write the review, itself, well 😉 ), I’m still interested in trying them. The Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar version interests me the most, and sounds like it has the most potential.

    1. I hope you get a chance to try them and I’d be curious to hear what you think because maybe they just weren’t for me? The only other taste tester I had with me disliked them even more than I did. I’ve since gone back and tried them (from my original bags) a few times and while I can’t say I really like them any better, they seem just slightly less weird to me than they first did. Maybe being left to sit around a bit did something? I don’t know, they continue to puzzle me!

  4. I tried the Double Cheese and White Chedder varieties. The former was a bit bland, and the latter was a pretty good flavor. The base material, on the other hand, was weird. These are to regular Cheetos as regular Cheetos are to Crunchy Cheetos. There’s barely any resistance to the pillows, with one exception. It feels like these are formed as a sheet of dough that gets pressed between two molds while vacuum is applied to puff them up. Where the two mold surfaces meet to create the edges of each pillow, it compresses this material until it forms a very hard edge. Imagine eating a handful of Rice Krispies and wondering if you’re about to cut your mouth on them. They aren’t actually that hard, but the extreme difference in texture makes them seem that way at first.

  5. Chees-it puffs are nasty! I am a big cheese it fan! They are my biggest weakness and I can’t say no when around them. Thought I’d give the puffs a try and boy was I disappointed! It’s like eating styrofoam! I’ll stick to the original Chees it thank you.

  6. Might as well buy Cheetos puff because they taste pretty much the same. I was thinking puffed crackers when i saw cheez it puff.

  7. The Cheez-It Puffs are absolutely delicious. Cheetos puffs are too salty for me but Cheez-It Puffs are lighter.

  8. Dang, are there vaccines in these cheese puffs? Because I feel like I’m eating plastic, will not purchase again as I now have no teeth left. Good luck to everyone else. Peace.

  9. I bought some of the white cheddar on sale for $2.99 regularly $3.99. They reminded me so much of the Dollar store cheese puffs I figured I had wasted $2. I won’t buy or eat these again they weren’t that great. I was disappointed.

  10. You should be ashamed of yourselves giving the go ahead on Cheese it puffs. All you are is a glorified Cheetos for the Millennial mush mouths! No cracker crunch? I would fire the S.O.B. that even suggested it! Were they a Millennial mush mouths too? Then have the moron try a bag of Cheetos puffs! I will never buy another bag of that puffed texturlous filth again or anything else you produce like it! Until that shit leaves the shelves I will not be purchasing my kids any of your snacks. What a piece of garbage! You should be embarrassed!

  11. The actual product in a bag of these is so minimal, it doesn’t matter if they taste good. It’s just a way for the Kellogg company to make more profit by selling bags of air. These companies will puff anything up and charge you more because it’s a new spin on snacks and a lot of people are just curious enough to get ripped off.

  12. Been meaning to try Cheez-Puff’d for awhile and finally bought a bag at Wal-Mart. Very tasty initially but after eating a few and having my appetite squashed by that big old blond hair, the thrill was gone, Aside from that unpleasant experience, these puffs are not as good as the Utz and Golden Flake cheese balls and cheese puffs.

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