The Snack Attack: New Velveeta Cheesy Bites Are Ooey, Gooey Goodness [TASTE TEST]
Kraft's Velveeta is pretty much the creamiest cheese you can find. I don't know about you but when it comes to macaroni and cheese, I'm all about the Velveeta shells in cheese. Sure I lived off Easy Mac in college, but that powdered cheese stuff just doesn't compare to the Liquid Gold that is Velveeta.
Which is why I literally freaked out when I saw these new Velveeta Cheesy Bites in the freezer section of my local grocery store.
The oven-baked snack comes in two flavors: Original and Salsa Con Queso. YES, queso! Drunk girls everywhere rejoice! (What? I know I'm not the only one with an insatiable craving for queso.) These products are so fresh, they aren't even listed on the Velveeta website yet. The boxes say they contain over 20 bites, so you know I had to count them -- and both boxes, surprisingly, had 31 bites.
These are basically like little grilled cheese bites. Fresh out of the oven, the cheese is very creamy and gooey -- just like you'd expect. But unlike the descriptions on he box, the breading on these things is anything but crispy. Don't let that stop you from eating them, though. Even without the crispy coating, they are still delicious and have everything you love about Velveeta.
A word of caution before throwing these in the oven: you need to pay strict attention to the cooking time and keep a close eye on them as they bake. The directions call to bake at 425 degrees for four minutes, then flip and put back in for four-and-a-half minutes. I feel like my oven runs a little cooler than most, so I decided to put these in the oven for five minutes, flip, and then back in for four-and-a-half minutes. What's an extra 60 seconds, right? Apparently a lot, because the Original flavor was exploding when I checked through the window with 45 seconds left to go.
Original Velveeta Cheesy Bites
Creamy bites of Velveeta cheese in a crispy breading
Despite the eruption, even the ones that lost some of their loads were still extremely cheesy. Now I can see why they exploded, because these things are packed with cheese. It almost sounds silly to say, but this flavor tastes EXACTLY how you'd expect: melty Velveeta cheese. The best way I can describe it is like taking a bite out of the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich -- lots of cheese with just a little bit of buttered toast. Even though the breading isn't super crispy, it doesn't take away from the cheesy taste. The best way to eat these would be alongside a bowl of warm tomato soup, dipping them in along the way. As the cheese cools, it does thicken up a little bit but still stays creamy. Rating: 7 out of 10
Salsa Con Queso Velveeta Cheesy Bites
Creamy bites of Velveeta cheese blended with salsa in a crispy tortilla coating
Even though these are supposed to have a crispy tortilla coating, the breading tastes exactly the same as the "crispy breading" that's on the Original flavor. The cheese also seemed a little thinner than the Original version, but that's probably because it is mixed with salsa. Even as they cool, the cheese retains the same smooth consistency. If you're worried these might be on the spicy side, throw those reservations right out the window, because they aren't. They are packed with peppers and they do have a light pepper flavor, but there isn't any heat associated with the spice. Actually, I wish the salsa flavor was just a little bit stronger, but it still satisfied my queso cravings. Rating: 8 out of 10
The Snack Attack is a feature on CBSDetroit.com that centers around all things food. Know of a new snack we should attack? Send an email and we'll be sure to add it to the list.
