With 18g of protein and 6g of carbs per 165 calories, these Flaming Hot Protein Cheetos are an excellent example of turning a frown upside down.

Ingredients

  • 6 servings Liquid Egg Whites, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 5-6 drops Red Food Color (you can use beet powder mixed with water to make red food coloring)
  • 36 g (6 servings) Cheddar Cheese Powder ( homemade version if preferred, here is an example: https://www.tarladalal.com/how-to-make-cheese-powder-42964r )

Flavors

You can create whatever custom cheeto you want. If you like hot cheetos, don’t skip the cayenne. If you don’t like hot, then skip it. Feel free to add other flavors that are not listed. It’s up to what you like.

  • 1-2 tsp Paprika (optional)
  • 1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder, optional
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil with cooking spray.
  2. Use a whisk to mix your egg whites and cream of tartar on high for a few minutes until your egg whites form stiff peaks. (When you pull the whisk out, the mixture looks like mountain peaks where your whisk came out.) 
  3. Add your red food color and mix a few more seconds until uniform.
  4. Line a large bowl or shallow dish with your cheese powder and spices.
  5. Using a piping bag or sandwich bag with a corner cut off, create long, red, stick shaped egg whites onto your cheese mixture. The thinner your the hole in your bag is, the crispier these will be. If you like the puffs instead, you can make them larger, but you’ll want to watch closely to make sure the outside doesn’t burn before they’re fully cooked.
  6. Once in the cheese and spice mixture, spoon the mixture to fully coat each stick before placing it on your baking sheet. (If your Cheetos have trouble sticking together, your egg whites probably aren’t stiff enough. You can continue mixing them and retry - or go straight to the baking sheet and spoon the cheese/spice mixture on top.)
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes. (I found that spraying a tiny bit of cooking spray on the top before going in the oven reduced any burning/scorching of the spices.)

Nutrition Information

Recipe makes 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

  • Calories: 330
  • Total Fat: 9g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 12g
  • Protein: 36g

Key words not otherwise included

vegetarian snacks

Edit Log

  • 2023-10-12 11:23AM - improve formatting