If I told a younger you that “bacon overkill” would become a thing, you’d probably cry and scream “Stranger Danger” because some old weirdo was talking to you about breakfast meats. Still, I can’t help but wonder if we’re getting too much bacon.
Too much bacon?! Surely, I jest.
Don’t get me wrong, bacon is amazing. But when did we all become the dog from the Beggin’ Strips commercials? Why does it seem like Big Bacon is trying to take over our lives?
I guess its bacon’s world and we’re all just living in it.
Mini rant aside, I was excited to try Frosted Maple Bacon Pop-Tarts. I knew I had to have them the second I saw them because I’m part of the problem.
After opening the pouch I was met with a welcome pancake smell. Each pastry has the standard white frosting with brown flecks that I assume are bacon flavored. I’ll get back to that in a moment. The filling itself has a nice maple scent and an appropriate light brown coloring.
I’m normally an “eat ’em right out of the pouch” kinda guy, but for the sake of this review, I did my due diligence and tried them toasted and untoasted. I opted against the “heat in the microwave for 3 seconds” option.
I set my rarely used toaster to medium heat and waited for what felt like an hour. A watched toaster never toasts.
The flavor was faint with the maple far outweighing the “bacon.” I’d go as far to say the toasted crust and (vanilla?) frosting were the most prominent flavors. There’s just not enough of a filling to crust ratio to really get a ton of the maple bacon flavor. That’s a universal Pop-Tart problem for me.
I scraped a few of the brown flecks off the icing, and while they did have a salty flavor to them, they didn’t scream “bacon.” I’m really only assuming they were the bacon element. I even cut one of the Pop-Tarts open and scraped the filling out with a knife so I could taste it. No bacon, it just was salty.
While I don’t know how it would have worked, I definitely think these would have benefitted from having little pieces of real bacon instead of being “artificially flavored.”
The maple taste is the one that stands out, but even that should have been more powerful. It didn’t taste like I just ate a pancake with a big glob of maple syrup, it tasted like I ate one 20 minutes prior. They seem to have kept the maple intensity low so that the artificial phantom bacon could burst through, but it doesn’t.
I wish they swung for the fences more with this flavor. It could have been truly memorable. I definitely preferred them untoasted because there was a better balance, but, again, there wasn’t enough bacon flavor. Normally I’d tell you a wacky product like this is worth a try simply for the novelty of it, but I don’t think you even need to bother.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 pastry – 210 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 2.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)
Item: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Frosted Maple Bacon Pop-Tarts
Purchased Price: $1.98
Size: 8 pastries/box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Decent Maple flavor. Not terrible untoasted, Ambitious idea. Beggin’ Strips Dog.
Cons: Gimmicky. No actual bacon. Mild bacon taste at best. Stranger Dangers. Pop-Tart microwave instructions.
The worst part is that with all these new and bad Pop Tart flavors coming out, they push Cookie Dough off the shelves. C’mon, most people have taste!
Strange. I haven’t finished my review yet (I have yet to toast them), but my thoughts were the exact opposite of yours: I thought the charred bacon flavor was way too weird and accurate to be found in a sugary pastry.
I’d rather have more maple flavor, or, better yet, the return of those Maple Oatmeal Delights Pop-Tarts!
Thanks for the thorough review! You have confirmed my worst fears and, rare as it is, I will be skipping this one. I usually try anything and everything that comes down the pike but it appears you have saved me some misery! Lol
Now I wish the Pink Lemonade flavor would hurry and get here! Should’ve came out with the Watermelon but didn’t for some reason.
These pop tarts are so gross… I took one bite and had to spit it out the flavor is overpowering and salty.. I want my money back. =(
MY NEW FAV… PERIOD..
They are now off the shelves in my area. I just ordered six boxes from Amazon! My favorite flavor ever!
I had them. Will not buy them again. No bacon flavor at all and it was like I was chewing straight granulated sugar. Over the top sweet. The maple flavor was ok, but that does not over come the no bacon and half pound of sugar in each pastry.
Isn’t is strange that one can’t find the ingredient list ANYWHERE. I would love to know the chemicals used to derive such flavorings. More of the same chemical garbage passed off as ‘food like substances’ to further erode the health of my intestinal wall lining…leading to more auto immune disease. Bet you’re using GMO wheat flour, too. That gives us a sprinkling of Roundup to go with the bacon, right? Thanks, Kelloggs. Can continue to count on you to maintain our health and wellness….not.
I found they taste reminiscent of a McDonald’s McGriddle.