Home > Categories > Food > Biscuits and Crackers > Pretzel Crisps - Gluten Free review
Gluten Free Original Pretzel Crisps offer the wholesome goodness and simple ingredient list that our fans love while providing gluten sensitive snackers with a delicious and guilt free snack to nosh, top and share.
One bite and you'll Rethink Your Pretzel!
Product reviews...
We are a gluten free family and gluten free products can be very tricky to find in NZ, especially savoury things. Miss 9 was delighted to find these at our local store and couldn't believe that they were gluten free. She is not a fan of baked things, or biscuits but loved these. She tried them as suggested with toppings, but just preferred them plain, eaten from the pack like chips. They didn't last long.
The only fault we had with them, and this may have been the stores fault rather than the makers,. but many of them were quite broken up in the packet. It didn't matter so much when they are eaten chip style, but if you wanted them to put toppings on, as suggested on the front, then you would have been out of luck for most of them. She liked how crisp they were-not as dense as regular pretzels and that they were not too fancy and loaded with flavours (which can often be not that good anyway, full of additives etc). We have had trouble getting them so they must be popular! It is nice to find more and more gluten free products out there for those with allergies and auto immune conditions.
We do a lot of entertaining over summer at our home, attending friends homes, on the boat and at the beach. There is always fun, food and lots of people! What I have noticed is that more of our friends are gluten free and the gluten free options I was putting on platters to serve were not all that tasty. I was delighted to find these Snack Factory Gluten Free Original Pretzels. I am now dubious about gluten free snacks but was very surprised to find that the Snack Factory pretzels had a great crunch, good flavour, just enough saltiness and were so versatile. They are easy to serve with cheese, hummus, spreads or just to snack on by themselves. What also surprised me was the fact that they are a healthier option to potato chips or tortilla chips as they only have calories per serve yet are more satisfying than chips. The ingredients list is full with items I understand and aware of, and there are no nasty additives or numbers that are unidentifiable on the list.
The pros of the Snack Factory Gluten Free Original Pretzels are that they are versatile, liked by everyone I ™ve served them to, not crumbly so there is no mess to clean up after snacking on them on the boat and they are acceptably priced at $5.99 a bag.
The only con is that the bag we received had more broken bits than together pretzels but this likely happened in transport and when I purchase them at the supermarket I listen to the bag to see if I can figure out if they are more intact than pieces before I buy them.
The bright colours on the bag make it a product that is easily identifiable and catches my eye " which makes me think I should pop those in my shopping basket. I love that the bag is resealable and keeps the pretzels fresh and crunchy.
These have been a perfect addition to the children ™s lunch boxes and the adults too! I would happily have this product in my pantry to serve to guests and our family knowing that it is a good choice compared to other options that are out there in this category of snacking food.
I enjoy pretzels and love having different snacks for the kids in the cupboard, so jumped at the chance to try these! Being gluten free is an added bonus, as although we are not a coeliac family, I try to limit things like gluten.
I really like the packaging, as it is light and bright and even shows the actual size of the pretzel crisps. The packet itself is a bit difficult to open nicely - with the tear strip ending up making it very uneven and nearly unable to seal it up again. It is a foil packet, meaning the crisps should stay fresher for longer, although they barely lasted a single occasion let alone be saved!! The packing has all the nutritional info on there too. These are quite low in sugar, but a reasonably high amount of salt. However with a serving size of four crisps (yeah, right said the kids as the grabbed more), that would not be so much of an issue. I did note that they are certified kosher - great info for those looking at them.
Opening the bag up, I looked inside - and was pleasantly surprised - they actually are the size on the package - like mini flattened bread pretzels. Offering them to my Mum first she took some and remarked the same thing - that they were lovely looking, after having a few, she was sold on them too! I grabbed a few out and had them plain, then decided to put avocado and cheese on mine - and I found them fantastic for staying crunchy and just the right size for a mouthful. The salt is very obvious on these - and to be honest, maybe a little salty, but when you added a topping, there was no need for extra salt!
After Mum and I had tried some I got the kids to have a few - they are aged 10, 7 and 5. Every one of them really liked them and remarked how crunchy they were. I did have the willpower to put them away for another day, and the first snack the kids asked about! Safe to say, these are a hit!
I would like to try the other flavours of these - knowing how popular they were in my house already. Would definitely buy these again, they are a nice, tasty and different snack to have!
I enjoy a pretzel but after having these pretzel crisps I am sold they are amazing. Wow when I first tried them I could not stop eating them and same with my partner, we were just saying how yum they were as we ate more and more and decided what else we could eat with them. I had made some home made hummus that day so I dipped the pretzel in the hummus and it was so yum. I find these pretzel crisps are both good on their own and also good with dips or salsa. We also tried with cucumber salsa as suggested at it was yum. My partner told me I had to take them away from him before he ate the lot.
Well worth the price and I would love to buy these again and look forward to putting them on a platter and seeing what my mates have to say about them. We love our nibbles when we catch up so I know they would love them as well. And I find it great cause they go with dips, cheeses and would be nice with salami as well or sun dried tomato.
I love the packaging and I love how simple the packing is but eye catching. The images of the pretzels look exactly how they look inside the bag and on the front says actual size which it is, and I love the fact that they are gluten free. Low sugar which is great and appealing. My partner loves the fact they are low in sugar as well and gluten free. He can't wait for me to buy another bag in the next shop, so I will be keeping an eye out for them.
I've had pretzel crisps before, in fact, there is one flavour that I can never get enough of (garlic and parmesan), I hadn't tried a plain salt one before and having a mother who is considering going gluten free, I thought that it was high time I try them. Opening them up proved to be a bit tricky, there is a handy little slit for you to tear it at but it only ripped off halfway and then trying from the other end also didn't work so well, so I ended up with a very wonky top of the packet. Added to this, despite it being resealable, it was still stuck together and I ended up having to cut it open, rendering its reseal-ability useless...
It was easy to see the salt on these, nice little bits of sea salt, and these are all a decent size so even if they've broken up on the way to ending up in your hands, the pieces aren't too small. We tried some of these plain and we all liked how salty they were but I found them to be a bit thicker and denser than I would have liked and so quickly moved on to the topping phase. We tried these with various cheeses, hummus, dip and garlic butter, and each time had no big problems with any dripping out of the holes. In the end, the only person who absolutely loved them was my eleven year old, who polished the remainder off on his own. I, personally, wouldn't eat these again and my mum and daughters weren't sold on them, but for the hard to buy snacks for mr eleven, these were a hit.
Before this item even came up for review I started seeing pictures all over social media saying 'Rethink your Pretzel' and having pictures of pretzels topped with various items - the pictures looked amazing and I could not wait to experiment. I commented to my husband about it and he replied with 'I doubt it the fillings will fall through the holes' and I thought yeah your probably right and forgot all about it till this came up for review. I jumped at the chance.
I did laugh when I looked at the packet and it had a picture of a pretzel with tomatoes, red onions, cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro and sour cream. When my husband came home from work he saw these and said yummy lets try them tonight and I said no need to get the fillings and the discussion about it dripping through the holes started again which led to us having a bet to see who was right. That weekend I got sour cream, tomato, red onion and cucumber and said I am going to recreate the image (less the jalapeno and cilantro).
Opening the packet was kind of weird there is a tear line indication which is really easy to open but then the packet is sealed shut. No matter how hard I pulled I could not open it so instead had to get scissors and cut just about the reseal line. There is a picture on the front of the packet that says 'actual size' and I was surprised when I placed a pretzel up against it and they are right it is the actual size. So they worked out more bite size. I took one and it tasted very crunchy and quite salty. But, true to any pretzel it does leave you wanting more - so as I was preparing the afternoon snack for everyone I found I was doing 'one for them and one for me' sort of scenario.
Preparing them was actually not that hard I had placed my salsa items in a dish and my daughter would spoon the sour cream on and I would place the topping on. As the holes are not really that big and the sour cream is quite firm it did not seep through the holes. Presenting the dish to my husband he did have to eat his words in between going back for more as, as a combination it was yummy. The salt did not impact at all against the other flavours and I found it was just like eating a cracker.
We are excited to see what other flavours we can put on top next time, a couple of suggestions have been thrown around including salami or ham and my husband said pickles (thats a no from me) or cheese. It was a different way to eat a pretzel that is for sure and even if you just decided to eat the old way of putting your hand in the bag and eating one at a time that would work also. A very yummy treat.
I am always looking for new snack ideas, especially ones that are nut free as I work in a nut free childcare centre and struggle to find snacks that are reasonably healthy that I can take to work. I wasn't 100% sure what these would be like, as they are gluten free and my experience with gluten free products in the past has been varied. Nonetheless I put my request in and was lucky to receive a bag in my latest review parcel.
I became quite frustrated early on with this product - I ripped the tear tab to find that it wasn't far enough down to open the packet. I then found a pair of scissors and used them to cut along the dotted line, only to find that that also wasn't down far enough and I still couldn't get into the packet. Unfortunately we have been spoiled with easy to open products, that sometime as simple as this can cause a lot of frustration especially when first trying to open a new product! I cut again further down the bag and was eventually in, luckily enough I was still able to make the most of the resealable bag although I did have to cut pretty close to the resealable part to get it open.
I hadn't really read the information on the front of the packet so was quite surprised to find that the pretzels hiding inside were very thin. Reading the packet properly this time I did notice that it said they were thin! Having seen the picture of a pretzel with topping on the top, it was easy to see that they were suitable for this. Trying one of the pretzels I first noted just how crunchy they are. It was quite pleasant, although I'm sure if others around it would probably prove to be quite a loud item to eat! Having seen the picture on the front I had made up some of my own onion dip to try them with. This is how I liked them best - as I'm not a huge salt fan, so found the saltiness of the plain product a little bit much. Adding the dip took some of the salty flavour away, and the vinegar flavour in the dip went very well with the saltiness. The next day I put some pretzels in my reuseable beeswax wrap and put some dip in a wee container. These made for a perfect at work snack, and even made some of my workmates jealous!
While they wouldn't be my first choice, they are something I would purchase again occasionally as a different snack idea. I do think they would go well on a platter for a party or gathering, especially with some dips or pesto.
My family is a huge fan of pretzels but I must admit that I am fussy when it comes to the processed variety. A lot of brands I've tried taste artificial, are too processed and over salted. I like a pretzel to remind me of those big fluffy doughy pretzels that you buy in America and thankfully, I found it with Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps. The Pretzels come in a handy, resealable, tin foil lined bag which meant they stayed nice and fresh in between servings. There is a picture on the front of an 'actual size' pretzel and I put one of the pretzels up against the picture and can confirm that it is true! They are a decent size and are baked which I think also adds to the lovely flavour and texture.
My family all tried a couple and they got the thumbs up from everyone. In fact, I'd say it's been hard to save some for this review! My husband commented on how authentic they tasted as he grabbed another handful. My daughter said she 'liked everything about them' whilst the other said they were 'lovely and crunchy'. The pretzels have a flat base which make them easy to put toppings on and most of the pretzels were in tact in the packet. The pretzels weren't overly salty and tasted great but were also extremely versatile with the potential to add lots of different toppings. I decided to add some ham and feta on a few and these were gobbled up in no time!
I have seen lots of different topping idea's for these on social media and one suggestion had a strawberry covered in chocolate which had been dipped in crushed pretzel pieces so the only limit with these pretzels is your imagination! I will definitely be buying these again and if I'm entertaining, I will definitely be using these as aperitifs! The added bonus of these pretzels is that they are gluten free (not that you would know it to taste them!)
We struggle to find snacks that our 10 year old daughter can enjoy. Since she has Coeliac disease, and can't have gluten of any sort, when I saw there was pretzel crisps that were GLUTEN FREE I kinda got excited, I told miss 10 and she got even more excited. She wanted to give these a go and so did I as I like to taste the gluten free items to see what the difference is if there is one.
The packet is a decent size with the words Gluten Free clearly on the front with a red background so you aren't mistaking it for non gluten free. On the front of the packet shows the actual size of the crisp, and says its baked. On the back gives the serving size which is 5 so about 13/14 crisps each depending on how many are broken in the bottom of the packet sadly that was a few for us. It gives a small recipe on the back that takes 10 seconds I didn't have time to try that with the crisps.
Now yes they are gluten free and someone that has tasted a lot of gluten free products this isn't too bad, I like more salt to my pretzels though, they are thin which is great for a crunch they seem more like a cracker than a actual pretzel. I guess being flat gives you that chance to add toppings onto them to try them a different way. My partner states needs more salt too but I caught him a few times going back into the packet to get more. The 10, 8 and 2 year old loved them, they were gone pretty fast as they couldn't stop eating them. I think they would work well with a dip as they act a little like a ready salted chip.
One thing I was a little disappointed with was how big the packet was compared to how much was actually in the packet. I do feel $6 for a packet is a bit high, but I guess once in a while I would buy them in conjunction with normal ones so only one person is eating the gluten free ones. These will make a great addition to lunches, or starters before a family dinner. I would recommend them to our Coeliac community and other family members that I know that need to be Gluten Free.
Pretzels are an absolute favourite snack in my household with Miss 5 and myself, we often buy the Snack Factory's other Pretzel Crisps when they are on special as we just love them and all of the flavours which are available in the range. When I saw the Gluten Free Pretzel Crisps up for review I was rather excited, as although I am not gluten-free myself I have friends who are and also look after children at the daycare where I work who can't have gluten, I also knew that the Snack Factory's products are absolute quality so I was pretty certain that these would taste amazing even for those who are used to gluten.
First of all I loved the packaging, it was well presented and I loved how it clearly states that this is a gluten-free product, the packaging also shows an image of the product in its actual size which is great for those who may be buying these for a special purpose, the resealable packaging is also very handy as it means they will stay fresh in the packet (that's if you can get them too long enough of course). The packaging states that there are 5 servings per packet which equates roughly to 14 crackers, which is a fairly decent serving especially as I found these to be rather filling, even when eaten on their own without dips or toppings, this did surprise me and I put this down to the gluten-free ingredients used as I don't normally tend to find that a handful of normal pretzels to be a very filling snack as I did here.
The pretzels are thinner than your usual pretzels and for this reason have a lovely crunchy texture to them which I really loved, they also seemed to hold there shape well when bitten into, the flavoring is spot on and they have just the right amount of salt, and from a non-gluten intolerant person's perspective they taste amazing there is no way you would know that they are gluten-free, I shared these with Miss 5 who said they were "very yummy" and asked for more and I was surprised to see my partner (hater of all dry biscuits and crackers) putting his hand in the bag to try some, and then telling me that "they have a nice crunch to them", even more, surprised was I when he went to the fridge grabbed out the Kiwi onion dip and returned for a second helping. I must say that the dip really paired well with the crunchy pretzels and it wasn't too overpowering at all.
Lately I have seen the "Re-think your pretzel" slogan all over facebook and I really wanted to get creative with my bag of pretzels to see what I could come up with by doing so, but I have to be honest and say that the pretzels sadly didn't last long enough to do so as they were far too good to save for another time. As far as pretzels go these are one of the best ones out there, I love that I now having a yummy crunchy treat I can serve up on a cheeseboard or similar when I have gluten-free visitors. This is a product which I'll definitely purchase again as soon as they can be located, I'd love to see some other flavor combinations added to the range too, especially if the great price remains the same.
I was fortunate to have a work session booked with a friend who is gluten intolerant, so I asked if he would mind sampling this product with us. He assured us that he would be delighted to help, and asked what he could contribute. We ended up with a combination that might complement the crisps nicely: fruit (kiwifruit and grapes), olives, cheese, and tzatziki. None of these items contained gluten either so would be perfect to provide a range of taste combinations.
Although neither my partner nor I is gluten intolerant, we were happy to try some too and offer our own feedback as well. All three of us tried the crisps on their own first. We all liked them after our initial surprise at the texture. My friend has only recently been diagnosed with a sensitivity to gluten, so he still remembers eating conventional crisps and pretzels. He was intrigued, therefore, to find that these were lighter and thinner than those he had eaten previously. (I had deliberately not shown either of them the packaging before we started, or they would have been prepared for this!)
However, having adjusted to the unexpected texture, all three of us decided we really liked them. After sampling a couple on their own, we tried them with the tzatziki. The combination was delicious; this time we did not stop at two each but managed to finish more than a dozen between us. The fresh creamy taste of the dip was perfect with the saltiness of the crisps, so it was hard to stop and move on to the next pairing.
We tried the cheese next. This was pleasant enough although no more exciting than cheese with any other similar product. Possibly this was because the cheese was quite strong; it might work with a mild cheese like Edam, or maybe a thin layer of cream cheese. The olives were also a little disappointing because the mix of two salty items did not work - it meant it was salt overkill. The kiwifruit, too, was not quite right: it was rather tart so did not have the sweetness to offset the salt.
The grapes, however, were tailor made to be used with salty pretzels. In fact, I don't think I will eat another grape on its own again - and my partner and friend were in full agreement. All of us liked the combined taste and texture so much that we finished the rest of the packet with all the rest of the grapes! I think the lesson here was that the crisps are lovely on their own, but if they are combined with another foodstuff it should be sweetish and not too strongly flavoured. And as my friend said, it was great to have a product he could enjoy without worrying about the after-effects.
I'll just come outright and say that I am NOT gluten intolerant. So I am unable to talk about how effective the product is as a gluten-free product. If it did have gluten in it, I would not be able to tell. So I will be disregarding that section of the product. I do know people that have such dietary restrictions though. And as such, I have a curiosity to find some products that appeal to me, so I can literally share snacks with my gluten-free friends without causing them health issues. So much like a meat-eater who is curious to see whether vegetarian/vegan alternatives to meat stand up to the real thing in flavour and texture, I am doing the same thing to these pretzels.
In a surprising twist of fate, I was impressed with this product. The product comes in a resealable foil packet, which is instantly a positive before I've even eaten one. The product is pretty good at describing what the food is. These are not pretzels. These are "thin, crunchy, baked pretzel crackers"). The nutritional is very straightforward in that 14 crackers equals one serving and adds up to 110 calories. The packet even provides two suggestions of topping combinations. The photos of the product show both actual size and an enlarged size to how the texture of the product. Combine all of this information with the crisp, clean colour scheme, it is obvious that a lot of effort and attention to detail has gone into the marketing of the product.
The one area that the packaging let me down, was getting the packet open. Tearing the "easy tear" tab, the packet was still sealed. The tab was above the dotted line, so I grabbed some scissors and cut the packet below the dotted line. Still sealed shut. I ended up having to slice the packet open right on the resealable line. Perhaps it kept my Pretzel Crisps super fresh, but was not the easiest to open.
But how does it taste? Gluten-free breads are generally somehow solid and/or fall apart very easily. It's really best to forget the terms pretzel or crisp. These are crackers, that happen to be shaped like squished pretzels. Quite solid along the surface, they remind me of the tough surface of water, cornish, mazo, or cream varieties of crackers. There is definitely no give when you bite into these crackers; nothing but crunch, and I really like it. In these modern days where the robust CC's and Aztec Corn Chips have been replaced by the delicate Doritos, these Pretzel Crisps are providing something capable of scooping up large amounts of kiwi onion dip or salsa. Something that doesn't immediately go soggy if you put tomato or cucumber on it. An actual versatile cracker.
As far as flavour, these are salted, and are done so generously that it holds great appeal to me. There is that breaded flavour of the cracker, but the salt gives a great flavour kick. I am more than happy to munch on these straight out of the packet without any toppings. That is how well salted these are. I could not approve of these any more. I hope these are in stock at my local supermarket, because the packet is almost empty already and I need to get some more.
Random listing from 'Food'...
5 rich, moist, dark chocolate fudge brownies with a stripe of luscious raspberry on top.
Note: Does not come with dipping sauce.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"I don't necessarily agree with everything I say."
Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1980)