Vegan Cheetos with More Than 7 Grams of Plant-Based Protein

If you’ve ever wondered how Cheetos achieve their mysterious texture and flavor, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that they’re not the healthiest snack!

Enter homemade Cheetos: This recipe is low in oil, preservative-free, and contains zero artificial flavors. While the final result differs slightly from traditional Cheetos, it might be even better! This baked version is cheesy, savory, and mouthwateringly good.

The coating is made primarily from nutritional yeast, which is great for two reasons – it contains a multitude of nutrients like vitamin B12, thiamine, and plant-based protein, and secondly, it’s just downright delicious!

Ditch packaged snacks for a version you can make in your very own kitchen. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to store-bought again!

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Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Cost: $4.13 recipe | $0.59 serving (~10 Cheetos)

Vegan Cheetos

Makes 70 Cheetos

Ingredients

Cheetos:

½ cup all-purpose flour ($0.03)
¼ cup cornmeal ($0.09)
6 tablespoons nutritional yeast ($1.50)
½ teaspoon garlic powder ($0.02)
½ teaspoon turmeric ($0.02)
½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
4 tablespoons chilled vegan butter ($1.16)
½ cup ice-cold water ($0.01)

Coating:

¼ cup nutritional yeast ($1.00)
1 teaspoon garlic powder ($0.03)
1 teaspoon onion powder ($0.02)
½ teaspoon paprika ($0.01)
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste ($0.01)
2 tablespoons olive oil ($0.22)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cube the vegan butter, then leave it to chill in your freezer for a few minutes.
In the meantime, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, turmeric, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the chilled vegan butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork.
Slowly add the ice water until you are able to form a dough ball (try not to overmix).
Break off pieces of dough about 1 teaspoon in size. Roll between your fingers to roughly form Cheeto shapes. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and firm. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Coating

Mix the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt in a Ziplock bag. Add the olive oil to a small bowl.
Brush the cooked Cheetos with olive oil, then transfer them to the Ziplock bag and shake to coat. Transfer to a plate to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Notes:
To help the coating stick better, blend the nutritional yeast beforehand.