CHEESE CRACKERS

Information updated October 2023

Cheese Crackers . . . It’s crackers and cheese in one! Yum!

Homemade Cheese Crackers are relatively simple from an ingredient perspective: Flour, Water, Butter or Oil, Cheese and Salt. We’ll use this ingredient listing as a reference as we look at the leading manufactured Cheese Crackers.

According to Statista 2023, Kellogg’s Cheez-It is the #1 Cracker Brand in terms of sales in the U.S. among all crackers.

#1 KELLOGG’S CHEEZ-IT CRACKERS ARE BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS: Cheez-It Original Crackers contain Tert-Butylhydroquinone (a.k.a. TBHQ) which is a man-made Chemical Preservative that is banned at Whole Foods. (Sources: Kellogg’s Cheez-It Web site 10/23; Amazon Whole Foods Web site 10/23)

Cheez-It Crackers also contain ingredients which are Not In Kitchen™ >> ingredients we would not have in our kitchens if we were making Cheese Crackers at home from scratch. Not In Kitchen ingredients in Cheez-It may include commercial Oils with TBHQ such as High Oleic Soybean Oil, Soybean Oil and Palm Oil >> have you ever had these commercial oils at home? In addition, these crackers may contain Canola Oil with TBHQ, added extracts for color and Soy Lecithin.

KELLOGG’S CHEEZ-IT COMPARISON: Original vs. Extra Cheesy: You may think the only difference between these two crackers is that one has more cheese than the other. Presumably, the Extra Cheesy Cheez-It Crackers contain more cheese vs. Original Crackers, but the Extra Cheesy Cheez-It Crackers also include multiple additional ingredients, three of which are Flavor Enhancers banned at Whole Foods: Monosodium Glutamate (a.k.a. MSG), Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate. (Sources: Kellogg’s Cheez-It Web site 10/23; Amazon Whole Foods Web site 10/23)

Extra Cheesy Cheez-It Crackers also contain Yeast Extract, Lactic Acid and Citric Acid which is an FDA-recognized Chemical Preservative. (Source: U.S. FDA 2023)

Extra Cheesy Cheez-It Crackers have many more added ingredients than just extra cheese, including MSG, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Natural Flavor and Chemical Preservatives.

CHEESE (FLAVORED) CRACKERS WITH INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN: These three Cheese Crackers below have ingredients Not In Kitchen including Added Sweeteners, Added Flavors and Flavor Enhancers, Commercial Oils and Acids. B&G Foods’ Back to Nature Cheddalicious which contains no real cheese, Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins Cheddar Cheese, Mondelez International’s Nabisco Ritz Cheese Crispers Cheddar. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/23)

According to Statista 2023, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish is the #2 Cracker Brand in terms of sales in the U.S.

Seen below, CHEDDAR CRACKER COMPARISON: Campbell’s Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Cheddar vs. General Mills Annie’s Organic White Cheddar Bunnies: Annie’s Organic White Cheddar Bunnies have no Soybean Oil, no Annatto, and no Autolyzed Yeast Extract, all of which are found in Goldfish Cheddar crackers. (Sources: General Mills Annie’s Web site 10/23; Campbell’s Goldfish Web site 10/23; Campbell’s Foodservice Web site 10/23)

Annie’s added Organic Cane Sugar to their Organic White Cheddar Bunnies in 2022 which removed them from the Closest To Homemade® list.

Campbell’s added Soybean Oil to Goldfish Cheddar in 2020.

Soybean Oil was not present in the Cheddar Goldfish ingredient listing in 2019 >> Soybean Oil was introduced in 2020. (Source: Campbell’s Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Web site 11/19 and 10/20)

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Cheddar contain Autolyzed Yeast Extract. The FDA does not allow products with Autolyzed Yeast Extract to say “No MSG” on packaging; Autolyzed Yeast Extract is a flavor enhancer which is kin to Monosodium Glutamate because they both contain potentially harmful glutamates. (Source: U.S. FDA 2023)

#1 CHEEZ-IT PRODUCTS: Since Cheez-It is the #1 Cracker Brand in the U.S., let’s look at a few more offerings . . .

As with many U.S. Brands with a long history, Cheez-It was once just a single product >> Cheese Crackers. Over the decades, as the Cheez-It Brand evolved beyond its initial offering, the ingredients for line extensions have been designed to create superior taste profiles. Unfortunately, the ingredients which win taste tests also tend to be those ingredients which are Far From Homemade™.

The following Kellogg’s Cheez-It products — and all Cheez-It products — are banned at Whole Foods for multiple ingredients, and also contain numerous ingredients Not In Kitchen: (Source: Kellogg’s Cheez-It Web site 10/23)

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE CHEESE CRACKERS: Here are two Cheese Crackers which are Closest To Homemade with No Sweeteners, MSG, TBHQ, Yeast Extract, Artificial Colors, Soybean Oil or Added Flavors. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/23)

These include General Mills Annie’s Organic White Cheddar Squares and Simple Mills Almond Flour Certified Gluten-Free and Non-GMO Project Verified Farmhouse Cheddar Crackers.

*Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list*

Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.

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