The Worst Cheez-It Flavor Doesn't Actually Taste Like Cheez-Its At All

Cheez-It's flavor lineup has never shied away from boldness. From pizza-inspired twists to spicy offshoots, the brand's variations have flirted with snack genius — or at least passable lunchbox filler. But when Daily Meal ranked Cheez-It flavors from worst to best, one flavor didn't just miss the mark — it tanked entirely. Extra Cheesy landed dead last, a shocker considering the name sounds like a safe bet. After all, more cheese means more snack joy, right?

Not this time. Daily Meal's review focused solely on flavor — a category where Extra Cheesy flopped hard. The taste didn't double down on cheddar as much as it veered off-course entirely, landing somewhere between synthetic salt bomb and ghost-of-Cheese-Nips. The reviewer struggled to name a single redeeming quality, citing an odd lack of crunch and a heavy, dusty coating that felt less like "extra" and more like a mistake.

It's worth noting that white cheddar was previously crowned a winner — a cleaner, sharper flavor with balance. Extra Cheesy, meanwhile, barely qualifies as a Cheez-It. It's loud where it should be nuanced, powdery where it should be crisp, and ultimately, a misfire that left more orange dust on fingers than flavor on the tongue.

If the official taste test didn't seal Extra Cheesy's fate, the public reaction might. Across Reddit and Cheez-It's own product page, snackers were united in their confusion — and disappointment. Multiple reviewers claimed the flavor had changed, with one writing, "These are so bad the squirrels and rats in my yard won't even touch them." Others echoed the same sentiment: Stale crunch, muted cheese, and a powder level that either vanished completely or clung to everything like snack dust with a vendetta.

Longtime fans seemed especially rattled. One buyer reminisced about the Extra Cheesy they loved a year ago, only to open a new box and find what tasted like regular Cheez-Its in disguise. Others said the updated version had "no extra powder" or "tasted like cardboard" — a far cry from what was once marketed as a cheese-forward upgrade. And while a few defenders on Reddit claimed it was the only flavor with "punch" left, even they admitted the taste skewed artificial.

It's the kind of misstep that becomes even more noticeable when there are cheez-it imposters that measure up just as well. Several off-brand lookalikes have managed to capture the signature crunch and real cheese bite better than the real deal — and without the orange fingerprint situation. Cheez-It may have pulled off bolder moves — like when it collaborated with Hidden Valley Ranch crackers — but Extra Cheesy fails on home turf.