Cheez-It Protein Crackers: 7 Grams per Serving, in Stores in October

• Cheez-It Protein Original is a new version of the classic cracker with 7 grams of protein per serving, made with 100% real cheese.
• It starts rolling out to stores nationwide in October, at a suggested price of $4.49 for a 7.3-ounce box.
• The regular Original has 3 grams of protein per 27-cracker serving, according to its label.

Cheez-It is adding protein to its best-known cracker. Cheez-It Protein Original, announced on Monday, Sept. 28, promises the same cheesy, crunchy, salty square with 7 grams of protein per serving, and it’s made with 100% real cheese, the brand says.

The new box begins rolling out on store shelves nationwide in October, with a suggested retail price of $4.49 for 7.3 ounces. Here’s what’s different from the Original box you already know, and what the brand has and hasn’t shared yet.

How much protein is in Cheez-It Protein?

Seven grams per serving, according to Cheez-It. That’s the headline number on the front of the box, next to a seal that says “made with 100% real cheese.”

Cheez-It hasn’t posted the full nutrition label for the Protein box on its website yet, so the serving size behind those 7 grams, along with the calories, fat and sodium, isn’t public on the brand’s pages. The label on the box will have it when it reaches stores.

“The introduction of Cheez-It Protein offers our fans a convenient way to add protein to daily snacking routines in a format they know and love,” Nicole Sorensen, Cheez-It’s vice president of marketing, said in the announcement.

How is it different from regular Cheez-It Original?

The regular Original is the benchmark. Its label, on Cheez-It’s SmartLabel page, lists a serving as 27 crackers, or 30 grams, with 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar and 200 milligrams of sodium.

It has 3 grams of protein per serving. So the Protein version, at 7 grams, more than doubles the brand’s own number per serving, though how the two serving sizes compare will only be clear once the new label is out.

The Original’s ingredient list starts with enriched wheat flour, vegetable oil and cheese made with skim milk, followed by salt, paprika and yeast. Cheez-It hasn’t published the Protein box’s ingredient list yet, so what adds the extra protein isn’t public.

The boxes are close in size. The 7-ounce Original box holds about seven servings, and the Protein box is 7.3 ounces. The Original also comes in bigger boxes, up to 48 ounces; Cheez-It has announced only the one size for Protein.

When and where can you buy Cheez-It Protein?

The rollout starts in October 2026, nationwide, at the stores that carry Cheez-It. The brand hasn’t named launch retailers, and the $4.49 price is a suggestion: stores set their own. For news on new snacks, Cheez-It points fans to its Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts.

Why Cheez-It made a protein cracker

Shoppers are looking for more protein, Cheez-It says, citing a Nielsen shopper study from October 2025, a 2025 Circana snack survey and its own consumer research from December 2025. The brand pitches the box for 3 p.m. hunger, snacks on the go and gaming sessions.

The announcement came from Mars, which now lists Cheez-It and Pringles among its brands after combining with Kellanova, the crackers’ maker. The brand’s current ad, the source of the lineup photo above, is below.

More snack and food news: Hostess has one new Halloween snack and five returning ones, Red Bull’s 2026 Advent Calendar is out, and Popeyes launched a $5 Honey Chicken Biscuit. More in Food.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: Mars, Incorporated announcement, “Cheez-It Meets Demand for More Protein in Snacking Options With All-New Cheez-It Protein Original Crackers” (Sept. 28, 2026), with remarks by Nicole Sorensen, vice president of marketing for Cheez-It; Cheez-It Original Snack Crackers product page and SmartLabel nutrition label, 7-oz box (checked Sept. 28, 2026); Cheez-It, YouTube. Photos courtesy of Cheez-It and Mars; lineup image from Cheez-It’s official video.