Are Doritos Vegan? Which ones?

one orange, one black and one green packet of doritos

Looking forward to tucking into a bag of Doritos and some homemade chunky salsa but a nagging doubt pops up – are Doritos vegan?

Not to worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve pulled up all the available Doritos types right now and gone over the ingredients with a fine-toothed comb to rule out any that contain animal products.

Did you know? The original Doritos were actually made at Casa de Fritos in Disneyland in the 60s!

According to the Doritos website, as of May 2021, there are currently 17 different types of Doritos tortilla chips and snacks for sale in the US, and 12 types of chips and four types of salsa on sale in the UK!

So which Doritos are vegan? Well, some are and some aren’t, and it also depends on how strict a vegan you are. The main ingredients to be wary of are usually milk-based products, flavorings, and/or colorings.

NB: Always double-check the ingredients list as manufacturers may change ingredients at any time. This is particularly important for people who might not be vegan but have egg or dairy allergies.

Note that all Doritos chips are manufactured in factories where milk products are also handled so cross-contamination cannot be absolutely ruled out.

Scroll down to the USA or UK section in question and see if those Doritos that you’ve been salivating over are actually vegan. Use the jump links below to get to where you need to be. You can also check out are bagels vegan if that’s a thought that has crossed your mind.

USA Doritos
UK Doritos
Quick vegan Doritos chart
Vegan recipes using Doritos
Vegan sauces and dips for Doritos

USA Doritos

As we mentioned above, there are currently 17 different Doritos products on sale in the US. Below we’ll detail which products are on sale in the US, which ones are vegan, and which ones are not vegan.

All USA Doritos flavors

As of May 2021 Doritos products on sale in the US include:

Doritos 3D Crunch Spicy Ranch corn snacks
Doritos 3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho corn snacks
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho tortilla chips
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón tortilla chips
Doritos Nacho Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Cool Ranch tortilla chips
Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili tortilla chips
Doritos Dinamita Chile Limón rolled tortilla chips
Doritos Poppin’ Jalapeño tortilla chips
Doritos Spicy Nacho tortilla chips
Doritos Flamas tortilla chips
Doritos Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch tortilla chips
Doritos Salsa Verde tortilla chips
Doritos Tortilla Chips (taco flavor)
Doritos Tapatío tortilla chips
Doritos Simply Organic Spicy White Cheddar cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Simply Organic White Cheddar tortilla chips

At first glance, it does initially seem like there might be some good contenders for vegan chips to satisfy your every craving – after all, aren’t tortilla chips basically fried corn tortillas?

Vegan USA Doritos flavors

After carefully scrutinizing the ingredient information for all the Dorito flavors available in the United States, the following flavors listed below are vegan. Unsurprisingly, given how often cheese is named as part of US Doritos product names, there are very few vegan Doritos chips in the US.

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili tortilla chips (*disodium inosinate)

Namely, you got it, just one type of Doritos in the US is vegan. Good news for Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips fans, they have also been named vegan by PETA and so they should be above reproach.

*Disodium inosinate is a listed ingredient that is not always vegan, so we actually reached out via the Doritos website to check and will update here as soon as we receive an answer.

An open pack of chili doritos on a white background

Non-vegan USA Doritos flavors

Unfortunately, the following Doritos products are not vegan. Non-vegan ingredients used in these products include, but are not limited to: buttermilk, lactose, sour cream, cheese (cheddar, cream, parmesan, romano), skim milk, whey, whey protein concentrate, butter.

Additionally, certain products such as Doritos 3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho also contain artificial colors such as blue one (tested on mice, rats, and dogs), yellow six (tested on mice, rabbits, and rats), yellow five (tested on mice and rats) and red 40 (tested on mice, rats, caterpillars, and bovine serum).

Monoglycerides are also a listed ingredient in most of these products and while some monoglycerides are vegan, not all are. Similarly, disodium inosinate is also listed, which is usually derived from fish and meat but can also be produced from tapioca starch.

I have to be honest, I was quite surprised at some of these not being vegan. The Salsa Verde Doritos nearly made the cut except for some questionable food coloring and “natural” chicken flavor (ironically, artificial chicken flavor is sometimes vegan) – they are, however, suitable for those who are not vegan or vegetarian but have dairy allergies.

The Doritos taco flavor chips also looked like they would be vegan until the ingredients label revealed sour cream, cheese, butter, and lots of whey! It really just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its vegan-looking-cover, and must always check the ingredients list.

Doritos 3D Crunch Spicy Ranch corn snacks
Doritos 3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho corn snacks
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho tortilla chips
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón tortilla chips
Doritos Nacho Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Cool Ranch tortilla chips
Doritos Dinamita Chile Limón rolled tortilla chips
Doritos Poppin’ Jalapeño tortilla chips
Doritos spicy nacho tortilla chips
Doritos Flamas tortilla chips
Doritos Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch tortilla chips
Doritos Salsa Verde tortilla chips
Doritos Tortilla Chips (taco flavor)
Doritos Tapatío tortilla chips
Doritos Simply Organic Spicy White Cheddar tortilla chips
Doritos Simply Organic White Cheddar tortilla chips

Vegan Doritos alternatives in the US

Shocked and dismayed to find out you only have one vegan Doritos option in the US? No worries, readers hailing from the US of A can also enjoy these tasty vegan options from other popular brands:

Beanitos chips (four flavors are vegan including Hint of Lime, Pinto Sea Salt, Restaurant-style and Original OMG Sea Salt).
Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips (seven out of eight flavors, choose from Multigrain, Blue corn, Sweet potato, Blackbean, Guacamole, Jalapeño, and Kimchi).
Fritos Original corn chips.
Garden of Eatin’ Blue tortilla chips.
Great Value tortilla chips (Restaurant Style White Corn, Lightly Salted, Bite Size, Chili Garlic, Bowlz, Dipping Corn Chips. Salsa Verde looks vegan but not enough information is available on the artificial food flavors used).
Late July (Sea Salt, Chia & Quinoa, Sea Salt & Lime, Blue Corn, Sweet Potato, Sub Lime, Korean Barbeque, Jalapeño Lime, Bacon Habanero)
On The Border Café Style tortilla chips.
Paqui tortilla chips (four out of the six available flavors are suitable for the vegan diet – choose from Grilled Habanero, Haunted Ghost Pepper, Original Delights or Roasted Jalapeño).
Salsitas spicy salsa flavor.
Santitas totopos de maíz.
Taco Bell tortilla chips – available in three flavors (classic, mild, and fire) and they’re all vegan!
Tostitos (Bite Size, Black Bean & Garlic, Crispy Rounds, Original Restaurant Style, Lightly Salted, Cantina Thin & Crispy, Cantina Traditional, Simply Organic Blue Corn, all types of Scoops).
Beanfields chips (all seven delicious varieties).

UK Doritos

Over in the UK, there are 12 types of Doritos tortilla chips and four types of dipping sauces. One key difference between Doritos sold in the UK and Doritos sold in the US is that in the UK, not all Doritos tortilla chips are flagged as being made in factories where milk ingredients are handled, according to their labels, and as such there would theoretically not be a risk of cross-contamination.

However, we find this a little misleading when packets state this and the actual product contains dairy products. Will there be more vegan Doritos flavors than in the US?

All UK Doritos flavors

Doritos tortilla and dipping chips available:

Doritos Ultimate Cheese Stax
Doritos Sour Cream & Onion Stax
Doritos Mexican Chili Salsa Stax
Doritos Flamin’ Chicken Wings Stax
Doritos Flame Grilled Steak tortilla chips
Doritos Tangy Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Cool Original tortilla chips
Doritos Chilli Heatwave tortilla chips
Doritos Guacamole tortilla chips
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Tangy Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Lightly Salted tortilla Chips
Doritos Hint of Lime tortilla chips

Doritos dips:

Doritos Nacho Cheese Dip
Doritos Mild Salsa Dip
Doritos Hot Salsa Dip
Doritos Cool Sour Cream and Chives Dip

Vegan UK Doritos Flavors

A hand dipping a tortilla chip into guacamole with three packs of Doritos tortilla chips in the background

Out of the twelve different Doritos tortilla chips available on sale in the UK (as of now, May 2021), the following are vegan products:

Doritos Chilli Heatwave (*Disodium 5’-ribonucleotides)
Doritos Lightly Salted tortilla chips (**contamination)

*While Doritos Chilli Heatwave appears to be vegan, we do question the source of the Disodium 5’-ribonucleotides in the ingredient list and have reached out to Doritos UK for clarification. We will update here as soon as we receive a response. Disodium 5’-ribonucleotides, also known as E635, are composed of sodium salts that can be extracted from plants but are sometimes extracted from the skin of dead animals.

**Doritos Lightly Salted tortilla chips are one of the few Doritos UK packs that carry a warning that they are made in a factory that also handles milk, and as such, cross-contamination is a possibility and can be offputting for strict vegans.

Happily, two of the Doritos Dips made in the UK, Mild Salsa and Hot Salsa, are vegan, as tends to be the case with most tomato-based salsas.

Non-vegan UK Doritos flavors

The Doritos products below all contain at least one of the following ingredients, and as such, cannot be considered vegan: milk whey powder, buttermilk powder, butter oil, skimmed milk powder, processed cheese powder, lactose, milk protein.

The following E numbers are also present: E471 (which is sometimes animal-based), E322 (sometimes contains egg yolks). The two Doritos dips, Nacho Cheese and Cool Sour Cream & Chives are also not vegan.

Doritos Ultimate Cheese Stax
Doritos Sour Cream & Onion Stax
Doritos Mexican Chili Salsa Stax
Doritos Flamin’ Chicken Wings Stax
Doritos Flame Grilled Steak tortilla chips
Doritos Tangy Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Cool Original tortilla chips
Doritos Guacamole tortilla chips
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Tangy Cheese tortilla chips
Doritos Lightly Salted tortilla Chips
Doritos Hint of Lime tortilla chips

Vegan Doritos alternatives in the UK

Plain salted own-brand tortilla or nacho chips in most large supermarkets in the UK are usually a safe bet for vegans (do check the label just in case). When a craving hits for some salty tortilla chips or something with a little more flavor, and there are no Doritos Chilli Heatwave or Lightly Salted to be found, you can always pick up some of these vegan bad boys:

Amaizin tortilla chips (Paprika)
Gran Luchito Lightly Salted tortilla chips
Kettle tortilla chips (Sweet Chili Salsa, Sea Salt)
Manomasa (Chipotle & Lime, Green Lemon & Pink Peppercorn, Tomatillo Salsa, Lightly Salted, Cantina White Corn Chips)
McCoy’s Muchos tortilla chips (Smoky Chilli Chicken -ironically vegan!)
Mister Free’d tortilla chips (Cheese Flavour, Kale & Spinach, Blue Maize, Chia Seed, Beetroot & Onion)
Old El Paso (Sea Salt Tortilla Bowls, Nachips)
Redfern’s tortilla chips (Superfood, Protein, Kale)
RW Garcia tortilla chips (Blue Corn, Veggie Mix)
Sainsbury’s tortilla chips
Stockwell & Co Lightly Salted tortilla chips
Tesco tortilla chips (Lightly Salted, Hot Chilli Flavour)

Quick vegan Doritos chart

US Doritos Flavors at a glance:

Doritos Flavor	Is it vegan?
3D Crunch Spicy Ranch	No
3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho	No
Flamin’ Hot Nacho	No
Flamin’ Hot Limón	No
Nacho Cheese	No
Cool Ranch	No
Spicy Sweet Chili	Yes
Dinamita Chile Limón	No
Poppin’ Jalapeño	No
Spicy Nacho	No
Flamas	No
Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch	No
Salsa Verde	No
Taco Flavor	No
Tapatío	No
Simply Organic Spicy White Cheddar	No
Simply Organic White Cheddar	No

UK Doritos Flavours at a glance:

Doritos Flavour	Is it vegan?
Ultimate Cheese Stax	No
Sour Cream & Onion Stax	No
Mexican Chili Salsa Stax	No
Flamin’ Chicken Wings Stax	No
Flame Grilled Steak	No
Tangy Cheese	No
Cool Original	No
Chilli Heatwave	Yes
Guacamole	No
Flamin’ Hot Tangy Cheese	No
Lightly Salted	Yes
Hint of Lime	No

Vegan recipes using Doritos

Partial view of a bowl of white bean chili topped with cream, jalapeños and sliced avocado on a grey background — (Vegan white bean chili with loads of toppings, perfect for scooping up with chips)

Now that you’ve figured out which Doritos you can eat (or have completely given up and opted to pick up a packet of the Doritos alternatives we suggested), here are some delicious suggestions for recipes that you can use them in.

Vegan taco pizza with black beans
Creamy Vegan white bean chili – crumble your tortilla chips over or scoop it up!
Vegan chili with coffee, Guinness and cocoa – amazing deep rich taste!
Jackfruit tortilla soup
Tofu migas
Vegan taco salad
Sheet pan vegan buffalo chicken nachos

Vegan sauces and dips for Doritos

(Homemade chunky salsa, perfect for dipping)

Now that you’ve put in the effort and tracked down which Doritos you can eat, we highly recommend pairing them with these delicious vegan sauces and dips.