The gluten-free snack aisle is always a gamble. My mom is gluten-free so for a non-gluten-free person, I have tried a lot of gluten-free snacks and have found that, while I’m occasionally pleasantly surprised by a snack that tastes close to the real thing, I am more often than not, disappointed with a bland and overly crunchy imposter. So when Cheeez-It announced they were launching a gluten-free version of their iconic crackers, the stakes were high.
As reported when the announcement first dropped, the internet lost it. Comments ranged from “Best day of my life” to references to the Office’s iconic “EVERYBODY STAY CALM” scene. The hype was real and anticipation was building.
For years, I have watched my gluten-free friends settle for objectively inferior snacks while I happily crunched away on the original squares, or my personal favorite, the white cheddar ones. Cheez-It has been on a roll lately– from launching a pop-up diner in Woodstock complete with Cheez-It milkshakes and burgers to constantly dropping new flavor collaborations, this gluten-free launch was overdue. After weeks of searching, I finally got my hands on the elusive gluten-free Cheez-Its and gathered my gluten-free friends for the ultimate taste test.
Abbie Allhusen, a recent Boston College graduate who’s been gluten-free for five years, went to four different stores before finally finding a box. “I follow a lot of gluten-free food accounts, and one that focuses on snack foods posted about them,” she told me. “I literally dropped everything and went to the grocery store.” She found them at Albertsons, and has since purchased two more boxes because as she says “they’re the closest thing to real Cheez-Its” she has found.
Sami Segal and Emma Levine, both gluten-free Tulane students, have been dying to try them but continue coming up empty-handed. The demand for these new snacks has gotten so intense that people are reselling boxes on eBay for $25. Twenty-five dollars for a box of crackers; the gluten-free snack struggle seems very real.
What do gluten-free people think of the gluten-free Cheez-Its?
For Abbie, Cheez-Its were her absolute favorite snack. They got her through college, and losing them when she went gluten-free five years ago was a major loss. She has tried other gluten-free options and was disappointed (especially by you, Simple Mills). “Maybe it’s the five-year hiatus from the real ones,” she admitted, “but I might think these are even better and crispier.”
Tulane student Danny Heller has been gluten-free since fourth grade, when he was basically robbed of his favorite childhood snack: Cheez-Its. So when he recently went to a friend’s house and spotted a box of gluten-free Cheez-Its sitting in the pantry, he was psyched. He tried them immediately and declared them “crunchy, cheesy and delicious”. It took 12 years, but Danny finally got his favorite snack back.
Jordan Hirsch, a Tulane student, who went gluten-free within the last year, sprinted to her nearest Jewel-Osco the second she heard they were available. Her review? “They taste exactly like Cheez-Its. They are my new thing. I’m obsessed and my life has changed.” She noted that there is a slight difference in texture if you are really paying attention, but overall, if you didn’t see the big GF label on the front, you would never know. She even confirmed that her entire non-GF family devoured them, which is perhaps the highest praise a gluten-free product can receive.
Elliot Dyroff, a Boston College senior who tries her best to stay gluten-free agreed they taste the same and would recommend them to anyone. “It’s snacks like these that make my GF journey easier to stick to,” she said.
The consensus among my gluten-free friends was unanimous. The main complaint wasn’t about taste or texture, but was about the fact that they are nearly impossible to find. Gluten free students at the University of Richmond, Tulane, Boston College, and Harvard and all complained about the same thing: scarcity.
What do non-gluten-free people think about the gluten-free Cheez-Its?
As someone who’s been a Cheez-It loyalist for years, I went into this taste test with high expectations and a lot of skepticism. I have tried enough GF alternatives to know that “tastes like the original” is often generous. But I do have to admit that these are really good. They have the same sharp cheddar flavor and satisfying crunch that make the originals addicting. Are they identical to the original? In my opinion, not quite. But they are close enough that I would happily eat them whether or not I needed to avoid gluten.
Gluten-free Cheez-Its have earned their hype — they are remarkably close to the original and a perfect addition to a snack plate. The only real problem? Finding them. If you spot a box in the wild, buy two or three. Your gluten-free and cheez-it loving friends will thank you, and based on the resale rates, you may even be able to make a profit.