You know when you eat food that tastes like other food that isn’t actually that food?

That’s the whole trip of Frito-Lay’s new limited edition Flavor Swaps featuring Ruffles Cool Ranch, Doritos Cheddar & Sour Cream, and Cheetos Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue. My brain felt like a whirring 2000s gaming PC pushed to overdrive, but ultimately settling into a happy, joyful hum. Frito-Lay delivers, but to varying degrees of success, and we’ll get into that.

The three bags each feature a different creator or group — and look to be honest, I had no idea who any of them were, but people in my household did, which makes me adjacently cool and hip, right?

There’s Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Madison Beer on the Cheetos Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue, trick-shot legends Dude Perfect on the Ruffles Cool Ranch, and marathon streamer IShowSpeed on the Doritos Cheddar & Sour Cream. Each has their signature on the bag, which feels very “I endorse this” — and per the press release, that’s mostly what it was. Maybe with the next Flavor Swap, they will actually get to design the mash-up themselves.

Ruffles Flavor Swap Doritos Cool Ranch

I started with the Ruffles Cool Ranch because I thought it would be my favorite. The vision: take the bold, tangy flavor of Cool Ranch Doritos and mash it up on the ridges of a Ruffle. The first thing I noticed was how perfect and intact the chips were – not a crushed one in the bag.

Second thing: the seasoning was generous. That Cool Ranch green and red dusting looked like Christmas came early, and y’all, I was here for it. The flavor delivered – tangy, herby, unmistakably Cool Ranch – but with that satisfying Ruffles crunch, which is crisper than Doritos.

Cheetos Flavor Swap Lay’s Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue

Riding what I thought was the peak, I moved to the Cheetos Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue — and was even happier. The vision: take the iconic crunch of a Cheeto and mash it up with the sweet, smoky flavor of Lay’s Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue. Fair warning, though: the smell is a little off-putting at first. Barbecue, yes, but also something I can only describe as…tofu? But, the flavor was a full evolution — it opens sweet, builds into spicy, with barbecue flavor as the through line.

The Ruffles Cool Ranch was great. This Cheeto, however, was a revelation. Though, I feel like a Flamin’ Hot variant would be an improvement.

Doritos Flavor Swap Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream

Last up, Doritos Cheddar & Sour Cream chips. The vision: take the legendary Doritos crunch and mash it up with Ruffles’ rich, velvety Cheddar & Sour Cream. These looked almost unseasoned at first glance, a uniform light orange that had me worried. But on closer inspection, they were actually well seasoned — the coating was just so even that it read as bare.

The bigger issue, though, is that swapping from a potato base to a corn base mutes everything — the cheddar comes through fine, but the sour cream tang gets swallowed by the corn and mostly disappears. After the Cheetos revelation, it was hard not to feel a little let down. Not bad, just the clear third-place finisher.

So, varying degrees of success as mentioned. The Cheetos surprised me most, the Ruffles delighted me as expected, and the Doritos taught us that corn and potato bases are not always interchangeable. Two out of three landing is impressive for the first year. I’d love to see this next year, but bigger and wilder (Cool Ranch Gatorade anyone?), and for the love of snacks, someone get Flamin’ Hot on speed dial!

Purchased Price: $3.97 each
Size: 9.25 oz (Doritos), 8 oz (Ruffles), 8.5 oz (Cheetos)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Doritos), 7 out of 10 (Ruffles), 9 out of 10 (Cheetos)
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz/28 g) Doritos Cheddar & Sour Cream – 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein. Ruffles Cool Ranch – 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein. Cheetos Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue – 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of total sugars, and 1 gram of protein.