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A good cheese straw is mostly cheddar and butter held together by the smallest amount of flour the recipe can get away with, extruded through a star die and baked until it snaps rather than bends. The bad ones are cheese-flavoured breadsticks. That is the whole difference, and it comes down to three things you can judge from the bag: how sharp and how <em>much</em> cheddar is in the ingredient list, whether the fat is real butter or shortening, and how much cayenne the baker was willing to commit to. Most of the brands worth eating are small Southern bakeries — Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas — that have been running the same recipe for decades and sell mainly by the tin at holidays. A few now ship nationally through Amazon in resealable pouches, which is what makes this list practical rather than a road trip. Below are ten brands actually available to order, sorted so you can find the one that matches how you like them: mild and buttery, aggressively sharp, or hot enough to notice on the second bite.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mama Geraldine’s Aged Cheddar Cheese Straws | $8–$14 per pouch | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | Mama Geraldine’s Pimento Cheese Straws | $8–$14 per pouch | Amazon |
| 3 | Flathau’s Fine Foods Sharp Cheese Straws | $18–$30 per 16 oz can | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | Byrd’s Famous Cookies Classic Cheese Straws | $10–$20 | Amazon |
| 5 | Betsy’s Cheese Straws (Priester’s Pecans) | $10–$20 | Amazon |
| 6 | Southern Straws Original Cheese Straws | $10–$20 | Amazon · eBay |
| 7 | Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory | $12–$25 | Amazon · eBay |
| 8 | Dee Dee’s Gourmet Cheese Straws | $10–$22 | Amazon |
| 9 | Old School Brand Traditional Cheese Straws | $8–$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 10 | West Country Legends Cheese Straws | $8–$18 | Amazon |
The picks, in detail
Mama Geraldine’s Aged Cheddar Cheese Straws
The category benchmark and the one most people mean when they say “cheese straws”. Made in Georgia by Geraldine’s Bodacious Food Co., these lead hard with aged cheddar and finish with a clean, restrained cayenne warmth rather than heat for its own sake.
- Aged cheddar as the dominant ingredient
- Bite-size length rather than long straws
- 4.5 oz pouches, sold singly or in six-packs
- Zero sugar, low carb
- Traditional, cheddar, parmesan herb and pimento varieties
- The most consistently available brand nationally
- Sharp, genuinely cheesy rather than salty
- Bite-size pieces travel well and don’t shatter in the bag
- 4.5 oz disappears fast at a party
- Heat level is mild if you want a real kick
- Priced per ounce above supermarket snack crackers
Mama Geraldine’s Pimento Cheese Straws
The same base recipe with pimento worked in, which softens the sharpness into something rounder and slightly sweet. Worth buying alongside the aged cheddar if you’re putting out a board — the orange colour and mellower profile give you contrast rather than a second version of the same thing.
- Pimento pepper folded into the cheddar dough
- Distinctly orange colour
- 4.5 oz single packs and multipacks
- Savoury gourmet baked snack, not fried
- Same bite-size format as the cheddar
- Milder and rounder — the pick for people who find sharp cheddar too much
- Reads as something different on a snack board
- Same reliable texture as the flagship
- Less cheddar bite than the aged cheddar version
- Harder to find in stores than the original
- Pimento flavour is subtle enough that some won’t spot it
Flathau’s Fine Foods Sharp Cheese Straws
A Mississippi family bakery running since 1995, and the buttery end of the spectrum — these taste more of butter-rich pastry carrying sharp cheddar than of cheese alone. The 16 oz can is the practical buy if you’re feeding a room.
- Sharp cheddar with a pronounced buttery bite
- 16 oz resealable can, also sold in gift tins
- Family owned and baked in Mississippi since 1995
- Full-length straws rather than bites
- Finalist, 2024 Sweets & Snacks Most Innovative New Product Award
- The 16 oz can is far better value per ounce than pouches
- Can keeps them crisp after opening
- Rich, properly buttery — not dry
- Long straws break in transit more than bite-size pieces
- Very mild heat
- The tin is bulky to store
Byrd’s Famous Cookies Classic Cheese Straws
Savannah’s Byrd Cookie Company has been baking since 1924, and their cheese straws are the sharp-and-peppery school — crisp, boldly cheddary, with a cayenne finish you’ll actually register. Their rosemary version is the most interesting variant anyone on this list makes.
- Sharp cheddar with a distinct peppery finish
- Classic and rosemary varieties
- Century-old Savannah bakery
- Sold in pouches and collectible tins
- Thin, crisp, snappy texture
- One of the few brands with real cayenne presence
- The rosemary variant is genuinely different, not a gimmick
- Tins make good gifts without extra wrapping
- Thin and crisp means more crumbs at the bottom
- Peppery finish may be too much for kids
- Tin packaging pushes the price up
Betsy’s Cheese Straws (Priester’s Pecans)
Handmade in Alabama by Priester’s from a generations-old recipe, using real butter and sharp cheddar. The reason to pick Betsy’s over the others is the range — classic, pecan and blue cheese, and the pecan version is a legitimately good idea nobody else executes.
- Real butter and sharp cheddar, no shortening
- Classic, pecan and blue cheese varieties
- Handcrafted in small batches
- Golden, crisp texture
- All-natural ingredient list
- Butter-forward flavour that shortening-based brands can’t match
- Pecan variety is unique and works well
- Small-batch consistency
- Small-batch production means occasional stock gaps
- Blue cheese version is polarising
- Premium pricing
Southern Straws Original Cheese Straws
A traditional Southern recipe with a rich cheddar body and — unusually for the category — a subtle kick that arrives at the finish rather than the front. If you’ve found most brands too polite, start here.
- Traditional Southern recipe
- Rich cheddar with a back-of-palate heat
- Original plus seasonal and flavoured varieties
- Bags and gift tins
- Baked, not fried
- Actual heat, applied with restraint
- Strong cheddar depth rather than just salt
- Regular seasonal flavours worth trying
- Less widely distributed than Mama Geraldine’s
- The kick is too much for heat-averse guests
- Fewer size options
Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory
A cherished family recipe turned into a small factory, and the spiciest mainstream option here — described by the makers themselves as spicy cheddary morsels. These are a Southern-party staple for a reason and are best bought in the larger tin.
- Noticeably spicy cheddar recipe
- Multiple flavours beyond the original
- Sold in tins and gift assortments
- Made in Yazoo City, Mississippi
- Small-batch family production
- The heat is real, not decorative
- Excellent alongside a cold drink or a bloody mary
- Long-established regional reputation
- Too hot for a general-audience snack bowl
- Mostly direct-order rather than mainstream retail
- Shipping cost matters on small orders
Dee Dee’s Gourmet Cheese Straws
The most flexible ordering of any brand here — original, jalapeño or pimento, in either full straws or mini snack bites, across several sizes. The jalapeño is a different kind of heat from the usual cayenne: greener and brighter.
- Original, jalapeño and pimento recipes
- Choice of full straws or mini snack bites
- Multiple package sizes
- Gourmet small-batch production
- Direct online ordering
- Jalapeño version stands apart from cayenne-based competitors
- Bite format is better for parties, straws for a cheese board
- Easy to buy a variety pack and compare
- Limited third-party retail availability
- Jalapeño can overpower the cheddar
- Not commonly stocked in grocery stores
Old School Brand Traditional Cheese Straws
Straightforward, honest cheese straws made with 100% real aged cheddar and no attempt at novelty flavours. The pick when you want the classic done properly and don’t want to pay gift-tin prices for it.
- 100% real aged cheddar
- Traditional single recipe, no flavour variants
- Simple resealable bag packaging
- Baked, crisp texture
- Available on Amazon
- Short, clean ingredient list
- Better value than the gift-tin brands
- No novelty flavours to wade through
- Plain packaging makes a poor gift
- One recipe only
- Mild heat
West Country Legends Cheese Straws
The British take, and the outlier on this list. These are flaky puff-pastry straws with a lighter, more delicate crumb than the dense Southern cheddar shortbread — a different snack, and worth having if you find the American style too rich.
- Puff-pastry style rather than dense shortbread
- British West Country cheddar
- Light, flaky, shatter-crisp texture
- Smaller retail boxes
- Imported, available online
- Much lighter — easier to eat several without fatigue
- Pairs well with soup rather than as a standalone snack
- A genuine point of difference on a mixed board
- Far less cheddar intensity than the Southern brands
- Fragile — expect breakage in shipping
- Import pricing and patchy availability
Buying tips
- Read the ingredient list for the order of cheese and flour. The best straws list cheddar at or near the top. If flour and shortening lead and cheese appears fourth, you’re buying a cheese-flavoured cracker.
- Butter beats shortening, and you can taste it. Butter-based straws (Betsy’s, Flathau’s) have a richer, shorter crumb; shortening keeps costs down and shelf life up but leaves a flatter finish.
- Bites travel, straws present. Full-length straws look better on a board but arrive broken more often. If you’re shipping a gift or throwing a bag in a picnic basket, buy the bite-size format.
- Heat varies enormously between brands. Mama Geraldine’s and Flathau’s are mild; Byrd’s, Southern Straws and Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory all bring real cayenne. Buy accordingly if kids or heat-averse guests are involved.
- Cans and tins keep them crisp; bags don’t. Cheese straws go soft fast in humidity. A resealable tin is worth the extra cost if you won’t finish the batch in a week — otherwise decant into an airtight container.
- Refresh stale straws in the oven. Five minutes at 300°F (150°C) on a dry sheet pan brings back the snap on straws that have gone slightly soft. Cool completely before eating or they’ll seem greasy.
- Freeze what you won’t eat. Cheese straws freeze well in a sealed bag for up to three months and crisp back up in the oven, which makes the larger, better-value tins worth buying.
- Buy tins in November if you want them for the holidays. Nearly every one of these bakeries is a small operation and the gift-tin formats sell out in December.
As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.