Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar Chickpea Puffs: Nutrition & Labelgrade B- (73/100)
B- 73 / 100 — A baked chickpea-and-pea puff with no saturated fat, no real sugar, and a genuine little hit of fiber and plant protein. The Labelgrade ceiling is sodium density — high per 100g, as it is for nearly every savory snack. Honest read: a better-than-average cheese puff, not a protein source.
🛒 Buy on Amazon →The short answer
Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar Chickpea Puffs deliver 2 g of protein and ~1 g of fiber for 60 calories in a 14 g serving (USDA FDC 2670667) — about 14 g of protein per 100 g. It earns a B- (73/100), which is a genuinely strong score for the cheese-puff aisle. The whole story is the base: most cheese puffs are built on corn and rice, but Hippeas leads with chickpea flour and yellow pea flour, and those legumes are why this puff carries roughly double the protein-per-gram and real fiber that a corn/rice puff simply doesn’t have. The cheddar flavor is dairy-free — yeast extract and spices doing the work — so it’s vegan and gluten-free too. Be honest about what it isn’t: at 2 g per serving, this is a better-built version of a junk-food format, not a protein delivery vehicle.
Why the B-
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | B- | 71 / 100 | ~14 g per 100 g — strong for a puffed snack thanks to the chickpea + yellow pea base, but only 2 g per 14 g serving |
| Ingredient quality | B- | 72 / 100 | 12 recognizable ingredients: legume flours, sunflower oil, salt, spices, yeast extract. The cane sugar and “natural flavor” keep it just out of A territory |
| Saturated fat load | A+ | 100 / 100 | 0 g — sunflower oil is almost entirely unsaturated, and there’s no cheese fat |
| Sugar load | A+ | 96 / 100 | Under 1 g per serving — effectively none |
| Fiber | B+ | 80 / 100 | ~1 g per serving (~7 g per 100 g) — courtesy of the chickpea flour, and rare for a snack puff |
| Sodium load | F | 26 / 100 | 110 mg per 14 g (~786 mg per 100 g) — high by density, the one real knock |
The grade is a tug-of-war between the base and the seasoning. The chickpea-and-pea flour earns three of the strong marks — protein, fiber, and (via sunflower oil instead of cheese) zero saturated fat. The salt-driven cheddar flavor is what drags it down: an F on sodium density. That tension is structural for any savory snack, and a B- is about as high as this format climbs.
The chickpea base is the whole product
Strip away the flavoring and Hippeas is, fundamentally, a legume puff — and that one decision drives every number that matters. Chickpea flour and yellow pea flour both carry far more protein and fiber than the corn meal and rice that anchor a typical cheese puff. That’s why the panel reads ~14 g protein and ~7 g fiber per 100 g instead of the ~7 g protein and 0 g fiber you’d get from a corn/rice base. Rice flour is still on the list — third by weight — because pure legume flour doesn’t puff as light or crisp; it’s there for texture, not nutrition. The legumes do the work.
The dairy-free “white cheddar” is the second engineering trick. There is no cheese, whey, or buttermilk anywhere on the label — the cheesy note is built from yeast extract, natural flavor, and onion and garlic powder. That’s how a snack named for cheddar stays fully vegan, and it’s also why it sidesteps the saturated cheese fat that shows up in dairy-based puffs.
Hippeas vs Pirate’s Booty: the real shelf decision
The white-cheddar puff most shoppers are choosing between is Pirate’s Booty, so it’s worth being direct. At equal weight, the chickpea base wins the macro fight cleanly:
| Per 100 g | Hippeas (chickpea) | Pirate’s Booty (corn/rice) |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | ~14 g | ~7 g |
| Fiber | ~7 g | 0 g |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | ~3.5 g |
| Dairy | None (vegan) | Aged cheddar, whey, buttermilk |
(Hippeas per 14 g; Pirate’s Booty per 28 g — figures normalized to 100 g from USDA FDC 2670667 and 1861633.)
Roughly double the protein, real fiber where Pirate’s Booty has none, no saturated fat, and dairy-free. What Pirate’s Booty offers back is real aged-cheddar flavor and a slightly gentler sodium density (~500 vs ~786 mg per 100 g). Neither is a protein source — this is a contest of which savory crunch is built best, and on the nutrition panel Hippeas takes it.
What 2 grams of protein actually buys you
It’s worth grounding the headline number so it doesn’t get oversold. One serving’s 2 g of protein is about 6 g of cooked chicken breast — two bites. Even a full 1 oz handful (~4 g) is roughly the protein in a single egg white. That math isn’t a knock; it’s the honest frame. Snack puffs are a texture-and-flavor experience, and this is an above-average one — baked, vegan, gluten-free, with a cleaner panel and better macros than the cheese puffs it sits next to. If you want crunch without much nutritional cost, it delivers. If you’re trying to hit a protein target, a hard-boiled egg or a meat stick does far more per calorie, which is exactly why this page lists beef sticks among its comparisons.
Ingredients
Chickpea flour, rice flour, yellow pea flour, sunflower oil, salt, cane sugar, natural flavor, yeast extract, onion powder, garlic powder, citric acid, rosemary extract. (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2670667.) No dairy, no gluten, no artificial colors or sweeteners.
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 1 oz (28 g, ~2 servings)
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1 oz (28 g, ~2 servings)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 60.1 |
| Protein | 2g |
| Total Fat | 2.5g |
| Saturated Fat | 0g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 9g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.994g |
| Total Sugars | 0g |
| Added Sugars | 0.994g |
| Sodium | 110mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Calcium | 9.94mg |
| Iron | 0mg |
| Potassium | 70mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar Chickpea Puffs (6 oz (170 g)) · UPC 810122080220. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains no listed animal products
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar Chickpea Puffs?
2 g of protein per 14 g serving (USDA FDC 2670667) — about 14 g per 100 g, or roughly 4 g in a 1 oz (28 g) handful. That's roughly double the protein-per-gram of a corn-and-rice puff like Pirate's Booty (~7 g per 100 g), but the per-serving total is still small. Treat the protein as a bonus, not the reason to buy.
Why does a chickpea puff have more protein and fiber than a corn or rice puff?
The base is the difference. Hippeas leads with chickpea flour and yellow pea flour — legumes that carry meaningfully more protein and fiber than the corn meal and rice that anchor a snack like Pirate's Booty. That single swap is why this puff lands ~14 g protein and ~7 g fiber per 100 g where a corn/rice puff sits around 7 g protein and 0 g fiber. Rice flour is still in the Hippeas recipe (third by weight) to get the light, crispy puff texture, but the legumes do the nutritional work.
Are Hippeas actually vegan, despite the 'white cheddar' name?
Yes. The cheddar flavor is built from yeast extract, natural flavor, and onion and garlic powder — no dairy at all. The USDA ingredient list contains no milk, cheese, whey, or buttermilk (all of which are in dairy-based white-cheddar puffs like Pirate's Booty). It's a plant-based snack engineered to taste like a cheese puff.
How much sodium is in a serving, and is that a problem?
110 mg per 14 g serving — about 5% of the FDA's 2,300 mg daily limit, which sounds fine. The catch is density: per 100 g it works out to ~786 mg, which is high and is exactly what caps the Labelgrade at B-. The realistic serving is two-plus handfuls, not 14 g, so the whole-bag sodium adds up fast — the same trap as any chip or puff.
Is it gluten-free and free of artificial sweeteners?
Yes on both. The base is chickpea, rice, and pea flour — no wheat — and Hippeas labels it gluten-free. There are no sugar alcohols, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, or saccharin; the only sweetener is under 1 g of cane sugar per serving, which is why the sugar dimension scores A+.
Hippeas vs Pirate's Booty — which is the better-built puff?
For macros, Hippeas. At equal weight it carries about double the protein (~14 vs ~7 g per 100 g), real fiber (~7 g vs 0 g), zero saturated fat (vs 1 g per oz), and it's dairy-free and vegan. Pirate's Booty counters with real aged cheddar flavor and a slightly lower per-100 g sodium. Neither is a protein source — this is a contest of which savory crunch is built best, and on the nutrition panel the chickpea base wins.
When was this data last verified?
2026-05-28, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 2670667. Macros vary by Hippeas flavor and pack size, so check the bag you buy if you have allergies or dietary restrictions.