These New Chickpea Snacks Are Basically More Nutritious Cheesy-Puffs.

Finding a healthy and tasty snack at the grocery store can be overwhelming. There's a sea of products touting their supposed health benefits at every turn, but often the claims don't stand up.

So we were thrilled to find the new line of snacks from chickpea-specialist Biena were both very tasty, and pretty nutritious.

Biena Chickpea puffs are the chickpea answer to your favorite cheesy puffs. And they come in three craveable flavors—Aged White Cheddar, Blazin’ Hot, and Vegan Ranch—oddly only the ranch is vegan.

The flavors range between 140-150 calories per one-ounce serving (which is about 1/3 of a bag—not bad!).They're made from chickpeas and lentils, and boast seven grams of plant protein. While they are a bit higher in sodium than we'd like (ranging between 12% and 18% dv per serving), they're low in saturated fat and have just 11-13g carbs. But let’s get to the important stuff—the taste.

This was the most debated flavor of the puffs. Some of us thought they had a strange aftertaste while others said they were delicious. Testers definitely got the “aged” flavor taste. They have a slightly stiffer texture than a typical cheesy puff, and one tester couldn’t stop thinking about how eating too many might hurt the roof of his mouth. For those on a low-carb diet, this could be a great replacement for Pirate’s Booty.

Though these puffs were as blazin’ as advertised, many of our staff thoroughly enjoyed them. One tester wrote “I could eat this whole bag,” and another said “Makes you want to keep eating." A third staffer even compared them to Hot Cheetos. If you’re not a big fan of spicy food, one of our staff advises eating these with the ranch flavor to balance out the heat.

Looking for more healthy and delicious snack inspo?

• 10 High-Protein Snacks You Can Buy at Costco
• The 10 Snacks Registered Dietitians Agree You Should Buy from Whole Foods
• 6 Best Snacks for Anyone Cutting Out Sugar, According to a Nutritionist

Staffers loved the herby, salty flavor these plant-based puffs had and one called them “very snackable.” Some said they could tell they were vegan but still enjoyed them nonetheless. Think of them as your lighter option for Cool Ranch Doritos.

Biena Baked Chickpea Puffs retail for $3.99 per 3.2-ounce bag, and can be found in select retailers, including Amazon and Wegmans, later this month but are currently sold on Biena’s website. They will be making their way to Whole Foods in September.