Snack of the Week: Crisp Power's protein pretzels are a welcome twist

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

The key to making a good protein snack is to make it not taste like protein.

I’m not talking about natural protein snacks like beef jerky or a hard boiled egg. I’m talking about protein crisps and bars and generally any food that packs a lot of muscle-building nutrients while trying to shake the unmistakable aftertaste of wheys and protein powders.

Quest fixed this problem by leaning into chip flavors that already tasted like the lactose base from which it sources its protein. Wilde did it by making thin chicken crisps with seasoning you’d expect from chicken. And Crisp Power’s jumped into the fray by taking an already bland starting point — the humble pretzel — and burying it under tried-and-true flavors.

Crisp Power’s pretzel rings pack 28 grams of protein into a bag that clocks in at 210 total calories, making them more efficient than many protein shakes. But that doesn’t matter if they taste like butt. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Everything pretzels: B-

First off, these smell incredible. The everything bagel spice blend mixes salt, garlic, sesame and more into an appealing bouquet. Which is a weird sentence to write about a pretzel, but here we are.

Pouring them onto a plate unleashes that smell but also points out a Crisp Power flaw; each 1.75-ounce bag promises “about 2 servings per pack” but this isn’t much food — especially since we’re talking pretzels, which go down about a half-pound at a time. But the massive protein content (28 grams per bag) suggests this will fill me up without leaving me feeling full.

The pretzels themselves are denser than regular versions but much more crumbly. They break apart in layers like a biscuit, leaving you with something that feels more like a thick Cheez-It than a pretzel.

The taste is a bit overpowering. That strong smell that was such a selling point when you open the bag manifests in a lot of big flavors that combat each other. Pepper and garlic and salt work together on some bites and go entirely too hard on others, making me rethink my “make Doritos with twice the Cool Ranch dusting” path to prosperity.

When they hit right, they’re great. The protein comes from carob, soy and wheat so you don’t get the cheesy taste of dairy-based protein within like you do with Quest’s snacks. That dense, crumbly texture creates a satisfying crunch similar snacks lack.

Dial the volume of the seasoning down and this is a winner. As is, it’s just fine.

Sesame Pretzels: B

These smell a lot more like protein snacks than the everything variety; a dense, bready layering of wheat protein that still smells fine, just not as spicy or enticing as the previous round. While that was a product of too much seasoning, the sesame pretzels opt for a lighter touch.

The result is a pretzel with big sesame stick vibes. The salt is light and the pretzel of it all really just comes down to the brown color and rings. These would be proper breadsticks — in fact, it would probably be great to crush a bunch of these up and layer them on top of a bowl of chili or soup.

On their own, they’re a perfectly snackable food. The endearing texture remains, giving you a satisfying crunch with each bite. The light hint of salt and just-enough sesame make for a low-key flavor that’s easy to come back to. It’s easy to zone out and absent-mindedly crush a whole bag, which is the highest compliment a snack can receive. Fortunately, at 210 calories per bag, it won’t set you back in the gym.

Sea Salt: A-

Again, you’re getting biscuit-y goodness from a pretzel. The layers give Crisp Power a potent crunch that’s satisfying to crush between your molars, making that texture the star of the show.

The sea salt here is minimal, creating a nice soft touch but allowing that soy protein to remind you this is at least partially a health food. That won’t stop you from enjoying it, but will keep you from thinking these are regular pretzels.

There’s not too much else to this, which again makes it a very crushable snack. The dry salt isn’t overpowering but is slightly addictive, making it easy to dive back in. This is where the 1.75-ounce bags come in handy, as the standard one ounce would probably leave me wanting more but this extra serving leaves me satisfied. While I’d like it if there was a little more flavor here, you instead get a classic pretzel that still tastes pretty damn good.