Pizza Hut and Cheez-It Created the Ultimate Salty Snack Mash-Up
I can easily eat an entire box of Cheez-Its in one sitting. It’s been one of my favorite snacks since I was little—there’s something so irresistible about the overwhelmingly salty, savory flavor, and before long, 10 Cheez-Its turns into 20, then 30, before all that remains are little orange crumbs at the bottom of the bag. While I’m (obviously) perfectly happy eating them plain, I’ve also experimented with them in some recipes, such as using the crackers to create a crunchy coating for chicken fingers. Combining Cheez-Its with pizza, on the other hand, was something that never crossed my mind—but as soon I heard about Pizza Hut’s new collaboration with the cheesy cracker company, I knew I had to give it a try.
On September 17, Pizza Hut announced “The Stuffed Cheez-It Pizza,” a limited-time-only collaboration targeted toward college students (because said demographic apparently loves Pizza Hut and Cheez-Its). While you might expect, as the name suggests, a pizza literally filled with a layer of Cheez-It crackers, the “pizzas” that arrived for us to try were actually more akin to Hot Pockets. Think a giant, Cheez-It-esque flaky orange square of crust loaded with two different filling options—pepperoni and cheese, or just plain cheese. With the first bite of the pepperoni square, I was immediately sold. The flavors packed a salty punch; the soft, crispy exterior paired perfectly with the melty filling inside. It reminded me of a super-sized Totino’s Pizza Roll, down to the little cubed pepperoni chunks. Each order came with four squares and marinara sauce on the side, for dipping—I chose to eat my jumbo stuffed pepperoni Cheez-It plain, to get the true experience. I could, however, see the marinara sauce working well with the plain cheese-stuffed “pizza,” which was essentially a square-shaped mozzarella stick.
If you want to try out the collaboration yourself, the stuffed squares are available now on Pizza Hut menus nationwide, priced at $6.49 a pop. As an added bonus, the Cheez-It pizzas will also join Pizza Hut’s $5 N’ Up menu on September 24, meaning that you can score it for $6 when you buy two or more $5 N’ Up Lineup menu items. If only the "Wine & Cheez-It" pairing box wasn't a limited-time-only product—served with the pizzas, it would make the ultimate Cheez-It lover's meal.
