As the world’s preeminent Chex Mix connoisseur*, I won’t pretend I was blown away by the prospect of a White Cheddar flavor.
Cheddar Chex Mix exists. White Cheddar just felt redundant. We only get a new Chex Mix flavor every few months, and nothing about it felt innovative.
Why do we need White Cheddar? Who at General Mills ate Cheddar Chex Mix and said, “Yeah, it’s good, but can we make it whiter?”
Actually, let’s not theorize about who would say that.
Nevertheless, it is my sworn duty to try every single Chex Mix flavor, so I acquired a bag – a bag that instantly bugged me because it looked exactly like one of my all-time favorite flavors, Honey Nut.
As I inspected the pieces of the mix itself, I couldn’t help but feel like White Cheddar Chex Mix was missing something big – the cheese cracker. That is, without a doubt, my favorite Cheddar mix piece, so I was bummed Chex instead opted to go with the generic, teeth-shattering rye chips.
That being said, most people love that piece way more than I do, so I understand.
They say you eat with your eyes first, so if I ended the review there, we’d be looking at a 4 out of 10. Luckily, I fulfilled my oath and tasted it.
Chex Mix, you’ve done it again!
The White Cheddar flavor had way more complexity than I wanted to give it credit for. On any given bite, I felt like I was eating everything from gourmet popcorn to garlic bread.
I bought a classic Cheddar Chex Mix bag, and while comparing, I noticed just how different regular cheddar and white cheddar really are. These had a more subtle flavor as if it was a light cheddar mixed with parmesan.
On the first handful, I got hit with a Wise Buttered Popcorn nostalgia wave. I haven’t ripped one of those yellow bags in ages, but that’s exactly what it tasted like. Once the mild cheddar cheese took over, it reminded me of another classic bagged popcorn – Smartfood White Cheddar.
I couldn’t shake that overall popcorn vibe and almost wish they included popcorn within the mix. It was like opening one of those tri-flavor Christmas tins and alternating bites between the cheese and the butter flavors.
But it didn’t stop there. The flavor kept slightly morphing as I crunched on, with some bites genuinely putting me in mind of a buttery garlic bread with a dash of cheese. I highly doubt these contain garlic powder, but the sample sent to me didn’t have ingredients listed, so I can’t confirm. Either way, I think I have an idea for a new Chex Mix flavor down the line.
All of my assumptions were wrong here. This is not just a lazy reboot of the Cheddar flavor. It’s a delicious new entry in Chex Mix’s elite snack lineup. I’d recommend grabbing a bag of Smartfood and creating a mega White Cheddar mix.
I still like Cheddar slightly more, but these are coming in just a tick below. Feel free to release any color cheddar you want moving forward.
(*2015-18, 2020. I won’t forget about 2019, Alex G. of Denmark. Hope you enjoyed your reign on top, you fraud.)
DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample. Doing so did not influence my review.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: Not available
Purchased at: Received from Chex Mix
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available on sample packaging.