Are Doritos Vegan?
Reviewing All the Flavors You Can Have

Being a vegan doesn’t mean you can’t eat junk food. Corn tortilla chips are my weakness. Unfortunately, lots of them contain animal enzymes and dairy, making them unfit for veganism.

Since Doritos are one of people’s favorite chips, I decided to investigate them. Are Doritos vegan? Keep reading to find out!

Table of Contents

What are Doritos?

Doritos are flavored corn tortilla chips. Frito-Lay, the US snack giant, and PepsiCo subsidiary produce these crunchy snacks.

Casa de Fritos, a fast-food restaurant in Disneyland, California, created Doritos in the 60s. They’re based on the traditional Mexican snack called “totopo” [1].

Frito-Lay Doritos are now available in many countries globally. The selection includes many flavors. Some are limited edition, some country-specific.

I’ll talk about the flavor options in greater detail later.

What are They Made from?

Like other vegan chips, Doritos are made from ground corn, vegetable oil, and salt, with added natural and artificial flavors. The flavor range a wide variety of ingredients ranging from dairy products and animal ingredients to vegan-friendly ingredients.

The ingredients depend on the flavors. So, you’ll have to check each flavor’s ingredient list to get all the details.

 

Vegan-Friendly Doritos

canola oil and garlic powder

As I said, the majority of Doritos are not vegan and have animal products. Luckily, some Doritos are vegan. Vegan Doritos differ from country to country, like Doritos with animal-based ingredients.

They all contain plant-based ingredients, such as:

  • Sunflower oil
  • Onion powder
  • Citric acid
  • Corn protein
 
  • Caramel color
  • Disodium guanylate
  • Disodium inosinate
 
  • Garlic powder
  • Hydrolyzed soy protein
  • Canola oil, etc.
 

Vegan Flavors in the US

We established that most Doritos are not vegan. Out of 17 available flavors, only two are considered vegan in the US:

  1. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos
  2. Salsa Verde Doritos

They contain vegan, plant-based ingredients, making it an ideal plant-based snack. But, they may include allergens like soy sauce, soybean, and wheat.

Vegan Flavors in the UK

The Britons looking for delicious vegan junk food can enjoy these Dorito flavors:

  1. Stax Mexican Chili Salsa
  2. Chili Heatwave
  3. Lightly Salted

They contain plant-based ingredients but can contain allergens like soya sauce, soybean, and wheat.

Vegan Flavors in Australia

Australian vegans can enjoy the flavor of Doritos Original. And that’s it, only one flavor.

 
 

Non-Vegan Options

flavored dorito chips

Sadly, the majority of Doritos are not vegan and have animal products. I’ve done thorough research, and here are all the non-vegan flavors I found. Though, you should always check the label for the ingredients. The following Doritos are made with animal-based ingredients and are non-vegan:

  • Doritos 3D Spicy Ranch—milk ingredients (buttermilk, butter, cream, skim milk, cream cheese, parmesan cheese).
  • Doritos 3D Chilli Cheese Nacho—contains Cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes).
  • Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho—Cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), buttermilk, Romano cheese (cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, lactose, skim milk, and milk protein concentrate.
  • Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón—contains Cheddar cheese (milk, salt,  cheese cultures, enzymes), whey, Romano cheese (cow’s milk, cheese cultures, enzymes, salt), buttermilk, and whey protein concentrate.
  • Doritos Nacho Cheese—Cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, enzymes, salt), whey, buttermilk, Romano cheese (part-skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, enzymes, salt), whey protein concentrate, lactose, skim milk.
  • Doritos Cool Ranch—contains lactose, whey, milk, Cheddar cheese (cheese cultures, enzymes, milk, salt), buttermilk.
  • Doritos Dinamita Chile Limón—contains Cheddar cheese (cheese cultures, milk, salt, enzymes), whey, Romano cheese (part-skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, enzymes, salt), buttermilk, whey protein concentrate.
  • Doritos Poppin’ Jalapeno—whey, buttermilk, Romano cheese (cheese cultures, cow’s milk, salt, enzymes), Cheddar cheese (salt, enzymes, milk, cheese cultures), lactose, skim milk.
  • Doritos Spicy Nacho—contains whey, buttermilk, Romano cheese (salt, enzymes, cheese cultures, cow’s milk), lactose, milk.
  • Doritos Flamas—contains Cheddar cheese (salt, enzymes, milk, cheese cultures), natural extractives of bees, whey, vraiCint’atese (part-skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, enzymes, salt), buttermilk, whey protein concentrate.
  • Doritos Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch—buttermilk, whey, sour cream (cultured cream, skim milk), cream, Cheddar cheese (salt, cheese cultures, milk, enzymes), blue cheese (salt, cheese cultures, milk, enzymes), Monterey jack cheese (milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), butter (cream, salt), swiss cheese (salt, cheese cultures, milk, enzymes).
  • Doritos Taco Flavored Tortilla Chips—whey concentrate, whey, Cheddar cheese (cheese cultures, milk, salt, enzymes), buttermilk, sour cream (cultured cream, skim milk), butter (cream, salt), modified corn starch, blue cheese (cheese cultures, milk, salt, enzymes).
  • Doritos Tapatio—Cheddar cheese (cheese cultures, milk, salt, enzymes), whey, buttermilk, Romano cheese (part-skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, skim milk.
  • Doritos Simply Organic Spicy White Cheddar—contains organic sweet cream buttermilk, organic Cheddar cheese (organic milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), organic Romano cheese (organic cow’s milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), organic whey, organic skim milk.
  • Doritos Simply Organic White Cheddar—organic Cheddar cheese (cheese cultures, milk, salt, enzymes), organic sweet cream buttermilk,  organic Romano cheese (cow’s milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), organic butter (cream, salt), organic skim milk, organic cream.
 

Are Other Products from Doritos Vegan?

US-based vegans are limited only to the flavor of Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili and Doritos Salsa Verde. However, the UK—based vegans have more luck. They can also enjoy Doritos Hot and Mild Salsa Dips.

Australians also have three vegan dip options—mild, medium, and hot Doritos salsa.

 

The Cross-Contamination Issue

Please, remember that no Doritos pack is labeled as “vegan” or “non-vegan.” The UK Doritos website states that their products are ‘Made in a factory that also handles: Milk.’ It means that there’s a chance of cross-contamination. The US website doesn’t have this info, but be careful.

 

Which Vegan Doritos Flavor Will You Choose?

To sum it up: some Dorito flavors are vegan. Sadly, Doritos vegan choices are limited. As I said—most Doritos are not vegan and contain animal-based ingredients. However, there are a couple of Doritos vegan flavors made with plant-based ingredients. Depending on the country you live in, you can choose between two or three favors.

So, which flavor will it be—Spicy Sweet Chili or Salsa Verde chips?

About the author
Jason Hughes
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