REVIEW: Cheez-It Loaded Popcorn

What is Cheez-It Loaded Popcorn?

The well-known cheese cracker brand, turning 100 years old in 2021, branches out to test its flavors on popcorn. While Cheez-It uses the term “Loaded” in bold print, the popcorn comes in the two very straightforward flavors of cheddar and white cheddar.

How is it?

When first trying the cheddar popcorn, the initial salty notes were quickly followed by an unexpected hit of sweetness. I had to double-check the bag to see if Cheez-It was attempting “Chicago-style,” where they mix caramel and cheese popcorn together. Nope. It’s just a surprisingly odd flavor to cheddar popcorn. It took some effort to get past the unusual taste to even recognize the subtle cheese flavor in the Cheez-It Loaded Cheddar Popcorn. Even after eating, an unpleasant mixture of flavors lingers in the mouth.

The flavor of the white cheddar popcorn is far more recognizable and satisfying. The Cheez-It Loaded White Cheddar Popcorn instantly delivers on salty and sharp, almost Parmesan, notes of aged white cheddar. The sweetness, while still present, is more forgivable when it is properly counterbalanced by the more tangy cheese flavor as well as hints of onion and garlic. Overall the popcorn delivers a decent flavor that might not be a new go-to snack but will have you reaching for a second handful.

Anything else you need to know?

Cheez-It opted for all mushroom-shaped kernels, the more uniform globe shape, as opposed to butterfly-shaped. This means the Cheez-It Loaded Popcorn is slightly less tender but is said to have far less tiny pieces accumulating at the bottom of the bag. My bag of white cheddar still had a generous amount of broken pieces on the bottom. I never came close to the bottom of the cheddar flavor.

Conclusion:

As a child, I was always thrilled when my family would be gifted a large popcorn tin for the holidays with a cardboard insert that would separate the plain buttered, caramel, and cheese popcorn. Reminiscent of Homer Simpson eating all the chocolate out of numerous cartons of Neapolitan ice cream, my brother and I would devour the cheese section to the bottom of the tin while the others remained largely untouched.

If you share my love for cheesy popcorn, you could do worse than Cheez-It Loaded White Cheddar Popcorn. In fact, worse will be displayed right next to it in cheddar flavor.

Purchased Price: $3.99 each
Size: 6 oz bags
Purchased at: Lucky Supermarket
Rating: 3 out of 10 (Cheddar), 6 out of 10 (White Cheddar)
Nutrition Facts: (2 cups/31 grams) Cheddar – 170 Calories, 12 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams cholesterol, 300 milligrams sodium, 14 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 1 gram total sugars, 3 grams protein. White Cheddar – 170 Calories, 12 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams cholesterol, 270 milligrams sodium, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 2 grams total sugars, 3 grams protein.