This Savory Snack From Aldi Vanishes Instantly As Soon As I Bring It Home

Aldi is a snack lover's paradise. It offers plenty of popular salty snacks worth adding to your cart —  including some excellent crackers, dips, spreads, salsas, and more. In fact, as a passionate Aldi shopper, I would say I prefer the grocer's savory selections to its sweet ones (though even I can admit that some of the baked goods and cookies from Aldi are worth buying). 

One snack that I have gotten particularly attached to (read: I will riot if Aldi discontinues it) is very similar in appearance and flavor to a brand-name product I grew up eating: the Savoritz Family-Size Extra Toasty Baked Cheese Crackers, which bear a striking resemblance to Cheez-Its. Although I grew up feasting on Cheez-Its, I have pledged my loyalty to Aldi's more affordable version. 

A 21-ounce box of the Savoritz Family-Size Extra Toasty Baked Cheese Crackers costs $4.19. The same size box of Cheez-Its at Walmart? Almost $6. I didn't expect much of them, given that Cheez-Its are so iconic. But the toasted flavor adds dimension, and they have the same crunch. It's a good thing they come in such a large box, since everyone in my household shovels them into their mouths. 

I wish I could say that the love for these crackers is universal. However, it appears that folks either really love these crackers or think that they are a sorry attempt at Cheez-Its. The naysayers call this Aldi dupe all sorts of nasty things. "I think the extra toasty ones just tasted like saltine crackers," said one person on Reddit, while others whined that they didn't have enough salt. In a separate Reddit thread, another said, "They taste nothing like Cheez Its and they aren't even anywhere close to the marginal 'Cheese Nips' brand, which are a mediocre (at best) variant. All 3 Aldi flavors taste like plain unsalted saltine crackers."

I do find these claims slanderous, as I don't think these crackers are bland in the slightest, though I could see how someone who went from eating Cheez-Its would feel about a slightly different-tasting cracker making its way up the ranks. However, like me, several folks have come out of the woodwork to express their support for these crackers. Many people on one Facebook post thought the extra toasty variety specifically was better than the Cheez-Its version. Others suggested adding these crackers to meatloaf — that's, of course, only if you can resist the temptation to eat the whole box (one day, I will learn).