Some of you might have questions after seeing these bags of Cheetos Popcorn, like:
Is this like Chester’s Popcorn that has been around for a while?
Will Cheetos and Flamin’ Hot seasoning ever be bottled so I can put it on my own popcorn, chips, pretzels, and fingertips?
Is Chester Cheetah skinny because he runs a lot or because he doesn’t have a typical cheetah diet and eats only Cheetos-flavored products?
I can’t answer any of those questions, but I do know Cheetos Popcorn, both Cheddar and Flamin’ Hot varieties, taste like what you would expect from popcorn that’s coated with Cheeto Dust. Oh wait, I’m sorry. I’m obligated to write, “coated with Cheetle.”
Now I’m sure the term “Cheetle” brings up more questions, like:
Is that some kind of orange beetle? Are these coated in orange beetles? Is this like a real-life Slurm?
Why is the cheesy dust on Cheetos named after Don Cheetle? Also, how come he doesn’t get to have his own Marvel movie?
“Cheetle” is the official name of what we used to call, unofficially, Cheeto Dust. It’s the stuff that gets stuck to our fingers while eating Cheetos with our hands and goes down our noses when we pour the cheesy snack into our mouths from the bag.
And it’s Cheetle that gives Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar its vibrant orange color and that cheesiness we know and remove from our fingers using our mouths. Like a bag of Cheetos (Puffs or Crunchy), I could eat this popcorn all day. It’s that good. However, I could see how some folks might find the level of flavor to be too mild.
There is one odd thing I noticed about the snack. When I suck the Cheeto Du…I mean, Cheetle off my fingers, it tastes like Cheez-It crackers. Maybe that’s just me and my fingertips excrete cracker-flavored sweat. Yeah, suck it, dogs and your Fritos-smelling paws!
As for the Flamin’ Hot one, I didn’t care for it at first. Initially, it tasted like Cheetos was doing a crossover with Campbell’s to create spicy V8-flavored popcorn. But after eating a few more, the popcorn began to taste more like the Flamin’ Hot I’ve come to love.
Despite our rough introduction, I ended up liking the red-coated popcorn, although not as much as the Cheddar ones. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me again, but I found the level of spiciness to be lower than other Flamin’ Hot products, even though every kernel is coated so well that they look like the head of Captain America’s nemesis, Red Skull.
With both varieties, I thought the popped kernels were noticeably smaller than other packaged popcorn I’ve procured, but I guess that means more could fit in the bag.
If you’ve wanted Cheetos (or Flamin’ Hot) flavoring on a snack with slightly better nutritional values than corn puffs and chips, then there’s no question Cheetos Popcorn is what you want.
DISCLOSURE: I’d like to thank Cheetos for sending me free samples. Receiving them did not influence my review in any way. Although, the 8 out of 10 rating might make you suspicious. But I assure you getting free samples did not.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 7 oz. bag (Cheddar), 6 1/2 oz. bag (Flamin’ Hot)
Purchased at: Received from Cheetos
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Cheddar), 7 out of 10 (Flamin’ Hot)
Nutrition Facts: (28 grams) Cheddar – 160 calories, 11 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein. Flamin’ Hot – 160 calories, 11 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 320 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
Thank you for the Marvel references.
1- How mild was the Cheddar compared to normal Cheetos? An 8 or 9 compared to the normal’s 10, or closer to 5, like a lite or diet version?
2- Was the texture/crunchiness similar to other bagged popcorns like Boom Chicka Pop? Or do they feel like Cheetos puffs just shaped like popcorn? I have a vague memory of a Cheetos product that managed to be something unsettlingly in between puffs and popcorn that reminded me of rice cakes, but it could be as imaginary as a good War Machine story.
judging by the pic and from what i’ve read from other reviews/comments, this is ‘popcorn’ in the traditional sense, not a puff.
No duh it’s called Cheetos popcorn why would you think it’s a puff
1. I’d say it’s around a 7.
2. They crunch like popcorn, but they seem smaller to me.
I like pretty much all of the flamin’ hot lines that frito lay does. But I started with the regular version of this because I knew my family and especially my kids would eat it. I wasn’t impressed, I thought it was a weaker, orange version of Smartfood (not as salty or tangy as Smartfood.) Texture was good, pretty much like smartfood but flavor wise it was good just not as good as other products. I don’t know if I’ll bother eating the flamin’ hot version of this.
Jim I think you might be thinking of the Cheetos “puffcorn”? I could be wrong though. Kind of like Pirate Booty, but the texture isn’t as good and it’s cheetos orange.
Puffcorn sounds how it tasted/felt to me, so that’s probably it: thank you. It sounds like the products Marvo reviewed/you tried were “normal” popcorn (so, yay), but your comment about the weaker flavor means I’ll probably wait until this is on sale.
The popcorn must be low quality because there are way to many kernel hulls, like the product but the hulls have me turned off. You might want to try a better quality of popcorn
The white cheddar version of Cheetos does not leave the cheetle residue, just of interest.
I wish this was more similar to the Cheetos popcorn in Cinemark theaters—- it’s incredible. It’s basically movie popcorn coated in cheese dust plus full size crunchy Cheetos sprinkled in. Haha