New Spicy Queso Ritz Bits, Our Honest Review

Ah, Ritz Bits. The magical combo of buttery mini Ritz crackers with a thin patty of a powdery Cheez Whiz-like substance or equally powdery peanut butter sandwiched in between. And do not take my description of them as dismissaI—I love the darn things, I’m just tellin’ it hows I sees it. So if you, like me, enjoy an occasional pack of buttery crackers and almost-cheese, then you’ll be happy to know that for the first time in almost a decade Ritz decided to spice things up with a new flavor of Ritz Bits: Spicy Queso Ritz Bits. Yes, these are essentially nacho cheese Ritz Bits and yes, we were champing at the bit to…well…chomp on these bits. So without further ado, read on to see if we are in on the bits.

New Product!

Ritz Bits Spicy Queso

Amazon

Pros: The spice is there, although it is not crazy. If you eat these all in one bite they taste exactly the same as the regular cheese Ritz Bits until there is a small kick of spice at the very end. That said, if you take apart your Ritz Bits like an Oreo and eat the “creme” (cheese) on its own (like the good Ritz lord intended), it’s a whole different experience. The cheese on its own is gritty and powdery like a regular Ritz Bits, but it tastes like Jalapeño Cheddar Cheeto dust (which we love) was made into a paste and then shaped into a puck and placed between two Ritz crackers for us to enjoy. The filling is delightfully balanced, cheesy, and jalapeño-forward, and even just having it with one of the two crackers of the sandwich is delightful.

Cons: If you eat these in one bite and don’t separate out the cheese, the main flavor you will get is Ritz Cracker, which all but overpowers the hint of cheese and a small amount of heat on the finish. I think if they really wanted these to taste strongly of cheddar and jalapeño, they would’ve needed to up the cheese flavor and jalapeño flavor and spice to be able to stand up to the surrounding crackers that are three or four times the volume of the cheese. Would this have made the cheese on its own less balanced and pleasant? Maybe, but I guess it just depends what Ritz was going for. Regardless, if you like Ritz Bits and want to try something new, I say go for it—just be forewarned that these will not be all that different from the cheese Ritz Bits you grew up on.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks