Trader Joe’s Version of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Is Surprisingly Healthy

Flamin’ heat was the best thing that ever happened to Cheetos. Regular Cheetos were pretty good, but once they became spicy, look out.

Trader Joe’s famous Cheese Crunchies don’t have a particularly catchy name or slogan, and they don’t have a cool cartoon spokes-cheetah, but they’re crunchy and cheesy and they still make an excellent road trip snack. And now, finally, the Trader Joe’s version of Cheetos comes in its own hot flavor.

According to PopSugar, the new Spicy Cheese Crunchies snacks were spotted at Trader Joe’s by an Instagram user from Florida who goes by suzjojo, who promptly posted the packaging online to alert us all to their presence. They come in a matte black bag with red and white lettering, with a raised fist clutching a handful of the red corn snacks. The graphic design is very dramatic.

Suzjojo says the snacks are brand new, and another Trader Joe’s fan chimed in to say they’re gluten-free, and they taste similar to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, but not quite as hot. That’s a bummer, but what they lack in heat they make up for by being relatively healthy, for a Cheetos knockoff.

“These Spicy Cheese Crunchies were born to be a Mac ‘n’ Cheese topping,” wrote Trader Joe’s Pro on Instagram.

According to one reviewer, Trader Joe’s Spicy Cheese Crunchies are colored with paprika and turmeric, instead of red dye, to make them a bright reddish orange. They get their flavor from garlic powder, onion powder, and citric acid for heat. They reportedly have 130 calories per serving, 6 grams of fat (.5 grams of saturated fat), 17 carbs, and 210 milligrams of sodium per one-ounce serving. A 6.5-ounce bag reportedly sells for $1.99.

Would you try Trader Joe’s take on hot Cheetos?