Cheese cups are a popular food amongst kids and teens, and the Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cups are a great solution for schools.

Let’s review the product!

Where to Buy Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cups

These come in cases that contain 140 individual cups. I haven’t seen the product in smaller quantities at local grocery stores, but I hear that a few Kroger grocery stores stock it.

Regardless, you can buy the 140 ct cases from a local distributor or order online at an outlet like Amazon.

Packaging and Storage

The cheese dip comes in 3 oz plastic cups with a foil lid.

The instructions state not to microwave, not just because of the foil lid, but because it boils on the edges very quickly which damages the plastic.

However, you can serve them at room temperature or put them in a warmer to serve heated.

It’s also important to note that these cups cannot be frozen. They guarantee a 90-day shelf life, so they have to be used within 3 months. Since it can’t be frozen, the shorter shelf-life can sometimes create an issue for schools. Keep this in mind before ordering before going out over summer break.

Also know that the product comes bulk in boil-in-bags, if you prefer bulk over individual cups.

First Impressions

The foil lid was easy to open, which is important if you plan on serving in elementary schools.

There was a slight sheen of oil sitting on top of the cheese dip, but not enough to make it look unpleasant.

Trying to consume it at room temperature posed a challenge for me. My chips kept breaking when trying to dip. However, I suppose a kid could use a spoon to assist.

Taste & Texture

At room temperature, it’s obviously more solid than if it is heated. The texture is more gelatinous – it holds its shape when scooping.

If it’s warmed, it gets velvetier and easier to dip.

For being a reduced fat, reduced sodium product, the taste is still good. You can taste the mild cheddar cheese, and it’s still sufficiently salty.

Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cups Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for the Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cup:

Lets talk about a couple:

Cheddar Cheese & Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

They do use a blend of regular and reduced fat cheeses to help reduce the amount of fat and saturated fat in the product.

Thickeners

This product contains a couple thickeners: maltodextrin and carrageenan. This is likely contributing to the gelatinous texture I mentioned earlier; however, having been made with skim milk and reduced fat cheese, the thickeners are likely needed.

Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cups Nutrition

Here are the nutrition facts for the cheese dip:

Saturated Fat

To keep K-5 meals compliant with the saturated fat limit, you need to keep the entire meal below 7.2g of saturated fat. This 1 M/MA item is already accounting for 6g, so it doesn’t give you much wiggle room for the rest of the meal (a carton of 1% milk contains 1.5g).

Luckily, it’s a weekly average, so you can balance this offering with lower saturated fat items later in the week.

Protein

Each cup contains 10 grams of protein, which is surprisingly high for cheese dip! Ideally, we want a little more protein in each meal, but this could be paired with meat or beans to boost the protein content of the meal.

Calcium

Each cup contains a whopping 333mg of calcium, which is 25% of the daily needs for students 9-18 years old! With milk intake declining in children, this is a great high-calcium offering to help make up the difference.

School Uses

One cheese cup credits as 1 oz meat/meat alternate in the school nutrition program.

This could be served along with Mexican-American menu items, like tacos, burritos, or nachos. Another idea is to put it in grab & go meals, like nacho or soft pretzel kits.

As a 1oz M/MA, it can also be used in the afterschool snack program, served alongside tortilla chips or pretzels.

It does not meet the Smart Snack standards, so be sure to only sell it if it is part of an entree on the menu.

A Dietitian’s Recommendation

Given the amount of total fat, saturated fat, and sodium in the product, this is a product I recommend using less frequently.

However, it is a way to incorporate calcium-rich dairy for students that are not milk-drinkers.

Procurement Tips for Schools

For school nutrition programs, here is a suggested specification:

Cheese dip, cups, reduced fat, reduced sodium, one serving to credit as 2 oz M/MA

For more tips on writing product specifications, check out this article.

Comparable products for “or equal” consideration

• Tabatchnick #99848
  • This one is also frozen, which could be a good thing if you struggle with the 90-day shelf-life of the Land O’Lakes product. However, it could be negative if your kitchens have limited freezer space.
  • Theirs is a 3.65oz cup that credits as 2 oz M/MA. This may or may not be more attractive to you, depending on how you plan on menuing it.
  • Since it’s a larger size, it does contain more fat (18g), saturated fat (10g) and sodium (810mg). I’d have a hard time fitting this into our menus if it were me.

Summary

The Land O’Lakes Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Dip Cups are a convenient, student-favorite that would need to be menued sparingly to meet the school meal requirements.