Bottom Line: Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Pretzels and Zapp’s Voodoo Pretzels offer two of the newest kicked-up pretzel entries on the market.
Pretzels appear to be all the rage with the snack industry these days as they are popping up on the shelves in all sorts of varieties of late. And that’s not a bad thing because they offer a slightly healthier snack option seeing as they are not fried, though they do pack in a fair amount of carbs. But I am a particular lover of pretzels, especially when they season them up and add some heat. Here’s a look a two new varieties that have hit the shelf and are worth checking out.
Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Pretzels: The Flamin’ Hot flavor is big business for Frito Lay’s these days and they seem to be adding it to everything (keep an eye out for Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew). Adding the seasoning to pretzels makes a whole lot of sense, though, and they have finally gotten around to that. Sort of. These are more like pretzel-shaped crackers with one side having the smooth surface you expect from a pretzel and the other having a rougher cracker texture to pick up more of the “Cheetle” flavoring.
They have that immediate tang that you expect from the Flamin’ Hot flavor and they also bring a fair amount of pucker. The cracker is fairly dense and really does not taste much like a pretzel. It has a little bit of sweetness to it and that counters the sour of the seasoning to a degree, but it is still there. The “Cheetle Side” definitely picks up more of the very abundant spices and you get more of a punch if you put that side to your tongue first. Cheese is part of the ingredients as you would expect from something with “Cheetos” in the name, but you don’t taste that too much in the seasoning.
Heat-wise, these are above Mild on my scale, but not quite to Medium (unless you get one with a lot of seasoning), and the pucker beats out the burn. I would have enjoyed these more if they were regular pretzels, even if that makes it harder for them to hold the seasoning. Overall, I liked them okay and found them to be quite addictive, but they would not be my first choice when selecting a snack from the shelf.
Zapp’s Voodoo Pretzel Stix: Zapp’s is best known for their New Orleans-style chips with Cajun Crawtators as one of their most popular flavors. But apparently they have decided to get into the pretzel business as well and have released two varieties of “sinfully seasoned” stix: Jazzy Honey Mustard and Voodoo. The latter is a flavor they have also used for their chips, and now it is getting the pretzel treatment. These come in the twisted stick shape that is very similar to Dot’s pretzels, and the bag even resembles that company’s product, so you know who the main competition is.
The pretzels have an immediate sweetness to them followed by a hint of smokiness and a bit of Cajun season flavor. They also have a slight mustard tang, though I don’t see that condiment mentioned in the ingredients. I like these better than the potato chips that use the same seasoning, as the pretzels seem to pair better with the spices. Heat-wise, though, these have no burn, just like the chips. They don’t even reach Mild on my scale, but I still find them to be quite tasty. Some might consider them too sweet, but I rather enjoyed them and would get them again.
Nutrition Info:
Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Pretzels
Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Corn Oil, Salt, Corn Syrup, Less than 2% of the Following: Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Yeast Extract, Monosodium Glutamate, Sugar, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Corn Syrup Solids, Artificial Color (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake), Garlic Powder, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Malt Extract, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Diacetate, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate.
Serving Size: 28g (About 10 pretzels)
Calories: 130
Fat: 5g (1g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 19g
Sodium: 360mg
Zapp’s Voodoo Pretzel Stix
Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (corn Oil, Sunflower Oil, Cottonseed Oil And/or Canola Oil), Salt, Sugar, Sodium Diacetate (artificial Flavor), Monosodium Glutamate, Torula Yeast, Dextrose, Onion Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Tricalcium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Yeast, Paprika (color), Garlic Powder, Calcium Silicate, Spice, Paprika Oleoresin (paprika Extract, Soybean Oil), Turmeric (color), Smoke Flavoring.
Serving Size: 28g (About 15 pretzels)
Calories: 120
Fat: 5g (0.5g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 17g
Sodium: 400mg