Cheez-It and I have been on bad terms lately.
I recently tried their Crunch’d cheese puffs and they were a 3 out of 10 at best. Horrendous. They tasted like cheese flavored Cap’n Crunch. No bueno. It’s time for Cheez-It to win me back.
Sunshine, the maker of Cheez-It, have apparently been getting bombarded with requests for an “extra toasty” flavor of their flagship cracker. Now look, I’m not saying Sunshine is lying about the claim, but I would have never considered “extra toasty” a “flavor.” Maybe I should have.
I realized as I was eating these Cheez-Its that I love toasty and burnt snacks. This notion never dawned on me until that very moment. I love extra dark pretzels. I like that one over-browned Saltine in the sleeve, burnt chocolate chip cookies, and that one extra crispy French fry at the bottom of the bag. I even order my pizza “well done” so the crust is burnt and crispy. The people who were requesting extra toasty Cheez-Its were definitely on to something, and Sunshine delivered.
Extra Toasty Cheez-Its are friggin’ delicious. These are one of the most satisfying salty snacks I’ve had in a long time. In my opinion, they’ve improved on the regular ones in just about every way possible. I’m not positive the difference will blow everyone away, but I don’t see any reason to ever go back to the regular variety. If Cheez-Its were a Hollywood movie, these would be the ever-so-popular dark, gritty reboot of the outdated original that didn’t quite hold up over the years. These extra toasty ones are just flat better. Get with the times.
Cheez-Its always did the cheddar flavor right. It doesn’t overpowering you with the artificial stuff that other brands go overboard with, and these keep that family tradition alive with 100% real cheese. That being said, the “cheez” flavor wasn’t even really the star of the show for me, it was the flakey crunch of the extra toasty cracker itself. Add the perfectly complementing salt element on each piece, and they really hit a home run here. There’s a perfect balance happening. After every bite I wanted to yell “Toastttty” like that random dude who used to pop his head into Mortal Kombat levels…too obscure?
The aftertaste is pleasant as well. The flavor doesn’t dilute at all after you swallow. In fact, that might be a problem to some because it’s addictive, and you’ll want to just keep shoveling more of these down for the crunch factor.
As much as I wanted to give these a perfect ten, there is a bit of a grease factor. These would fall somewhere between Goldfish and potato chips on the grease scale. I noticed the paper plate I was eating off of was almost translucent once I finished.
I guess I should also warn you that the salt was pretty excessive here. That was not even remotely a problem for me, but I could understand it being a turnoff for some.
So, basically, my one complaint about the Extra Toasty Cheez-Its is that I wanted to finish the box in one sitting, but couldn’t thanks to a bit of heartburn. But I probably could have powered through it if I wanted to, so that’s not even a strong complaint.
If I learned one thing from eating these, it’s that “toasty” should absolutely be the new trendy “flavor.” More brands need to embrace this. I want burnt Ritz. Burnt potato and tortilla chips. Burnt Goldfish. Take your recipe and add an addition 5-10 minutes of baking time, slap a new name on the box and you’ve got yourself a sale. I have become a food pyro.
My hat goes off to Cheez-It for changing the cracker game, and for making the decision to put the hyphen in their name after the “Z.” No matter how good these tasted, I would have never bought a snack called “Chee-Zit.”
(Nutrition Facts – 27 crackers – 150 calories, 70 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.)
Item: Cheez-It Extra Toasty Crackers
Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 12.4 oz. box
Purchased at: Stop & Shop
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Toasty is the new Orange is the New Black. Perfect flavor harmony. Flakey crunch. Crazy addictive. Proper hyphen usage. Fan requests. Mortal Kombat’s “Toasty” guy.
Cons: Greasy. Might need a Tums handy. Food pyros. Cheese flavored Cap’n Crunch.
Burnt potato chips you can thankfully have 🙂 Look up Rainbow Chips.
Seconded! The downside is that Better Made is a regional, Detroit-based brand. (You can order them online, though!)
That is true. Good thing I live in the Detroit area. I get to eat Better Made chips and wash them down with Faygo or Vernors pop!
I’ve thrown away countless (literally) bags over the years that were not crispy. I was overjoyed to see that I wasn’t alone in the toaster versions. My only wish is that they were also available in the reduced fat version as the regular version is still too greasy for my tastes.
Unfortunately, I will no longer be eating Cheez-its of any kind. I was excited when the extra toasty came out because they taste like the Cheez-its of old tasted. I started eating them in 1974 and could easily eat a box of them at one sitting; they were that good. Over the years, quality control has become a problem with finding a box of Cheez-its that tasted like they were supposed to. No matter where I got them, the Cheez-its taste was inconsistent and after so many bland boxes, I just stopped eating them. I wrote the company about the problem and I get a letter back about how Cheez-its are supposed to taste. I have been eating Cheez-its for 43 years and I KNOW what they are supposed to TASTE LIKE. I stopped eating them after that because I couldn’t get a decent box and have thrown out countless boxes when I tried to see if they were the right taste. Initially the extra toasty were good, but still not very consistent and unfortunately, I will again stop eating them because I open the box eat a couple and they don’t taste right. I am sick and tired of spending money on a product that can’t make products that consistently taste good and I thought the extra toasty would be really good, but although I did find some good boxes and stocked up, I continually found even the extra toasty were not that toasty or tasty sometimes and the boxes sit on a shelve until I throw them away. I threw out 8 boxes in the past few months. It is unfortunate that they can’t make them only extra toasty and the way they are supposed to taste. Guess I will just have to do without which is not a good thing, but they have become a waste of money. Maybe I will try again in the next couple of years and try them again, but…I am not holding my breath. As a matter of fact, I can’t find them in the stores anymore which means that people don’t like the inconsistent taste of the extra toasty like me. If they don’t make sure they are fresh and taste right, I will eventually stop trying and that is a real bummer because I love them. Sorry to be so negative, but I really am disappointed.
What are you talking about I never had a bad box of Cheez-Its I’m eating a box of extra toasty is right now as I’m talking to you
LOOOOVE THE EXTRA TOASTY CHEEZITS I BUY THEM EVERY WEEK SOMETIMES THEY TOAST THEM EVEN MORE WHICH I LOVE
Given that regular boxes of Cheez-its contained these rare extra toasty crackers, thus the demand for an entire box of them, I can only assume that some of the crackers in this toasty box are truly burnt.
No, they’re not. They are fantastic. I tried a box and went back for more….they were sold out! Searched every store in my area, still haven’t found any. They are very addictive. Love em.
I have been looking for some ever since I saw a commercial for them a couple months ago. I still have yet to find a single box! I am not happy about this….
ME TOO!!!
I’m writing to ask for more!
Omg, I begged to agree, they were freaking good, I just happened to pick one up at the local supermarket two days ago because they were two for $5 and I like anything crispy. I almost eat the entire box. They’re extremely delicious.
Better Made rainbow chips sound right up your alley.
Thanks, I’ll be on the lookout for those chips.
i never liked the burnt cheez-its. idk.. maybe i’m weird? i don’t really like burnt anything, though, so there’s that. also.. is it weird that i want more cheese snack companies to do a cheese + barbecue flavor? i LOVE honey bbq cheese curls and i have never seen any other cheese snacks combine the flavors.
I wasn’t a fan of these either…I thought the flavor of the cheese was overly dominated by the extra browning. All I could taste was burnt cracker. Maybe mine were toasted too much.
Exactly my thoughts. I just don’t find these to be that good. I’m all about the cheddar cheese flavor. On the plus side, I’m not motivated to eat the entire box at one time.
Your review was spot on! I couldn’t agree more with what you said. These were so awesome, and I never realized how much I liked the toastier cheez it.
These look pretty interesting, I’d like to try them sometime given I’ve been a fan of cheese crackers for years, everything from Cheez-It’s to Cheese Nips.
Oh! Hi there Melissa ????
Have you tried toasting the regular ones in an oven?
I sure do wish they’d sell these in my area (northern CA). Seems like we’re always the last folks to get new flavors of things…
” If Cheez-Its were a Hollywood movie, these would be the ever-so-popular dark, gritty reboot of the outdated original that didn’t quite hold up over the years. These extra toasty ones are just flat better. Get with the times.”
Remakes are better than the originals, said nobody ever. I will turn my nose up against the times & say I do NOT like burnt Cheez-Its. Taking pride in burned food is defiantly ignoring that you made a mistake.
I agree that the Crunch’d cheese puffs were horrible. Tasted like plaster. No cheese flavor at all.
These are good I just wish they were even more toasty!!
They are AWESOME!!!! I’ve been burning them up for ever… since I was a kid (now 64+) in the oven…even tried a propane torch. Always had more to throw away than eat. Couldn’t be consistent enough. But cherished the ones that did not get to dark. Even eat the percentage route. 4 original with some too dark.
Thanks,
Doug <
When the extra toasty cheez its came out I was absolutely thrilled. They were all really brown but since then, the next boxes of the toasty ones I’ve bought are right back to being pale and I find myself once again trying to find some brown ones in the box. Please go back to getting them all brown. The first batch was really on track but the lack of toasting now makes them much less desirable. Maybe I’ll try again in a few weeks to see if they’re back up to par.
I agree 100%
I LOVED these but buying them now is pointless as they’re truly just the same as regular cheez*its. I imagine someone must’ve complained they were “too tasty” so they stopped making them so tasty…but those people should just fuck off and buy the regular ones! xD Sorry… I’m hangry for tasty cheez*its.
Oh good, I wrote out TASTY every time I meant TOASTY xD *smh*
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I stumbled upon a box of Toasty Cheez-Its at my local supermarket! For years I would dig through the box eating only the dark ones and wishing one day they’d all be dark My only complaint is I wish they were even toastier as I have always had an affinity toward slightly burnt food. I’ll have to experiment by putting them in the oven to toast them even further. Nonetheless, kudos Cheez-It big wigs for bringing us closer to the box of perfect Cheez-Its!
All I can taste is burned crackers. they taste really bad/
They all taste burned . Really bad.
I just bought a box, and these are friggin’ delicious! Obviously not for everyone, but if you find yourself eating all the extra saucy pieces of chex mix, the burnt potato chip, the burnt edges of an occasional french fry, the toasty cheese that has run out of your grilled cheese sandwich and onto the griddle yet sticks to the bread, the heavily bbq’d chip, or the dark pretzel, then you will love these crackers.
Fantastic! YUM YUM!!
Tastes like they just threw some burnt scraps into the box and sometimes you get a BIG taste of it that lingers for at least a dozen chips. I LOVE burnt cheese but this is just burnt period, over-burnt flavor that overwhelms when you hit it and at best it slightly coats the other chips.
Of all the chips I’ve eaten I’d give this a 2 of 10, I’m ready to throw 2/3 of the box away, tired of trying to make them good.
Extra toasty cheese it’s are the best. Can’t find them in Summerville vendor didn’t leave any last week at Target.
I wouldn’t even personally call them “burnt”, as burnt implies overcooking to the point of becoming unpalatable. I’d consider these merely cooked to my personal tastes, and now the original varieties of Cheez-It (as well as Nabisco’s one-trick-pony Cheese Nips brand) are straight-up underdone and outright doughy to me.
Also I got the “Toastyyy!” reference lol
I got a box of Cheez-Its extra toasty &I’m not impressed,
Compared to the regular Cheez-Its the extra toasty
Are Nasting TASTING
AND I’mCONSIDERING TO GIVE THEM TO THE SQUIRRELS
I saw these for the first time tonight in Northern California and they stopped me dead in my tracks. The cashier asks, “Did you find everything you need?” My answer, “Yes. My life is now complete”.
Now I am at home, eating my second bowlful, washing them down with an extremely bitter IPA. The flavor is so complex, true Maillard Reaction satisfaction!
I like cheez- it. I was excited to try your Xtra toasty. I spit them out.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THEM!!
WE KEEP THEM ON HAND ALL THE TIME.
Our new favorite snack!!
Awesome!!! I was so happy when I saw these and they did not disappoint. I use to put the regular ones in a toaster oven because we would fight over the few toasted in the box and I would usually lose. Thank you thank you.