We got a bag of Chill Ranch Outstanding Puffs to try! Here's what we thought of these cool ranch-style vegan cheese puffs.
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We had a super fun episode this week! The amazing Dianne Wenz joined us. We chatted about cold drinks, vegan tacos, Ben & Jerry's nondairy ice cream, and Outstanding Puffs. Definitely give it a listen!
If you're just here for the Outstanding Puffs review, check it out below.
Outstanding Puffs review
If you're new to Outstanding Foods, you might remember them from the ads for their Porkless Pork Rinds on Instagram. We even reviewed the porkless rinds on the pod a while back.
We decided to try the Chill Ranch flavor of the Outstanding Puffs, because it seemed like they were going for a Cool Ranch Doritos vibe. And who wouldn't want to eat that?
These puffs didn't give any of us Cool Ranch vibes, but we did enjoy the flavor quite a bit. It had a mildly cheesy, oniony flavor that we all really enjoyed.
The flavor of the Chill Ranch Puffs was pretty mild, though, compared to what Doritos are giving. I'm pretty sure this is because they wanted to keep these healthier, especially by limiting the amount of sodium.
For me, a bit more acidity and salt would have pushed these over the edge. As-is, though, they're still a solid snack that we enjoyed!
The Outstanding Puffs come in five flavors:
- Chill Ranch
- Pizza Partay
- White Chedda
- Hella Hot
- Kansas City BBQ
I definitely want to try some of the other flavors! Are any of them calling to you?
If you want even more vegan cheese puffs to try, check out our review of Vegan Rob's Puffs!
You can find Dianne on Instagram at @diannewenz and on Twitter at @diannewenz on Instagram.
The price
These are on the pricey side, at $15 for a three-pack (as of this writing). Outstanding Puffs are pretty new, though, so hopefully the price will go down over time.
The ingredients
Outstanding Puffs are completely vegan. They even specify that they derive their ingredients from vegan sources, right on the label. Here is the full ingredients list:
Rice, High-Oleic Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil, Pea Protein, Chill Ranch Seasoning (Pea Protein, Sea Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor*, Yeast Extract, Tomato Powder, Spices, White Distilled Vinegar, Tapioca Solids, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid*), Pea Grits, Brown Rice Protein, Calcium Carbonate, Nutrients from a Proprietary Blend (Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet Potato, Sunflower Seed, Kelp, Chlorella, Maitake Mushroom, Shitake Mushroom). (*Derived from vegan sources)
The puffs are rice- and pea protein-based, and they are clearly being marketed as health food. They're definitely healthier than a chip. Each puff contains a good bit of protein and is comparable to a cracker (rather than a chip) in salt content.
I'm not qualified to say whether that makes them healthy, but they're definitely a snack I'd like to have around the house!
Where to listen
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Got a favorite vegan treat that you think we should cover on the podcast? Send your suggestions to [email protected]!
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