Wendy’s has made several forays into the grocery store in recent years, starting with its canned chili, then ground beef patties in select stores, and now it’s entering the cracker and chip aisle. After a recent Takis collaboration at Wendy’s restaurants, we can also find its popular Baconator lending its flavor to Cheez-Its. Does the taste of those bacon-topped square burgers translate to the orange squares of Cheez-It crackers?
Well, like many snacks that try to replicate meat flavors, these are going to be divisive. After opening the package, I didn’t find the smell to be particularly strong, but when I got a little closer and actually sniffed a cracker, I didn’t like the scent of these at all, nor did I think they smelled like something I would choose to put in my mouth. They look much like a standard Cheez-It but have more powdery speckles of seasoning. I expected them to lean into the bacon part of the flavor and have an artificial smoky taste like many things that try to mimic bacon, but I didn’t get much of that here. In fact, I don’t think they remind me of bacon at all. They have a strongly savory, umami aspect to them, and in addition to the regular cheesy flavor, I mostly picked up on onion and garlic. I think those were included to enhance the burger flavor, but a Baconator itself doesn’t actually have onions, so it seems like an odd choice to me that they’d come through this prominently.
I thought I was going to hate these after first smelling them, and there is no doubt they have a strong flavor that will put off many people. My husband is one of those people; he equated the smell to a urinal (I thought it was more BO) and instantly spit the single cracker he tried into the trash can. I can’t honestly say I would pay money to eat these again, but I also didn’t hate them as much as he did. They’re salty and kind of compel me to eat more, even when I’m not sure I actually want to. A look at the ingredients offers a possible explanation for this: these Baconator Cheez-Its contain MSG. I personally have no problem with MSG, and it’s probably the reason I’ve made it through as much of this box as I have.
The back of the box features a code to scan that gives you a coupon for $2 off a Baconator in the Wendy’s app, which could be some consolation if you hate these so much that you have to trash them all and immediately need to eat an actual bacon cheeseburger to cleanse your palate. Will I finish this box of Baconator Cheez-Its that taste nothing like a Baconator? Yes. Will I try to share them with anyone else? No, for fear that anyone I offer them to may no longer trust any food I give them again.
Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 12.4 oz box
Purchased at: Jewel
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (26 crackers) 150 calories, 7 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 0 grams of total sugar, and 3 grams of protein.
