If You're In The Mood For Cheetos, Avoid This Flavor At All Costs

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Cheetos aren't just the crunchy cheesy snack their name implies, but a growing selection of heavily seasoned corn puffs with inventive and intriguing flavors. So, if you're in the mood for Cheetos, you've got a lot more choices. However, one flavor you should avoid at all costs is Cheetos Crunchy Buffalo.

We tasted and ranked 12 different Cheetos flavors based on taste, texture, and how well each flavor measures up to the real thing. So, with crunchy buffalo cheetos, we were expecting that spicy, zingy, buttery flavor you'd find in homemade buffalo sauce or even store-bought buffalo sauces that we've likewise ranked. Unfortunately, the only name these Cheetos live up to is the "crunchy" part. But, living up to a crunchy texture is a given when it comes to any Cheetos variant. It won't compensate for a complete failure in the flavor realm. 

You'd have no idea that these Cheetos were buffalo-flavored if it wasn't printed on the bag. The hint of tangy heat was almost imperceptible. Perhaps an effort to keep these Cheetos out of the "flamin' hot" category backfired by muting not just the buffalo flavor, but the classic cheese flavor too. You're better off either sticking with classic cheese Cheetos or pivoting to a buffalo-flavored potato chip brand; we ranked Buffalo-Style Chicken Dip as our favorite Publix potato chip flavor.

There was no shortage of negative reviews for Cheetos Crunchy Buffalo flavor. Customers at Target, as well as snack lovers on YouTube and Reddit all complain about the subpar flavor of these Crunchy Buffalo Cheetos. The buffalo flavor was described as gross and disgusting at worst and flavorless at best. Many said that the cheese flavor wasn't just bland, but almost tasted stale. Furthermore, they said the cheese flavor clashed with the buffalo sauce flavor Cheetos was trying to mimic. Reviews on TikTok advised just sticking with the Flamin' Hot varieties if you're looking for spice and heat.

Flamin' Hot Crunchy Cheetos was our No. 1 pick, so we can't fault customer reviews for suggesting you ditch the buffalo flavor for them. You could even crush Flamin' Hot Cheetos to make a crunchy coating for chicken wings, bridging the gap between Buffalo wings and chips. You can even tame their heat by making them the crust for your next batch of mozzarella sticks.