Frito-Lay

REVIEW: Doritos Protein Nachos Cheese Tortilla Chips

Vin / May 1, 2026 / Reviews / 4 Comments

I really wanted to rant about the meaty-oric rise of protein snacks.

I wanted this review to drip with sarcasm and cynicism about brands slapping a measly gram or two of protein into their recipes and deceptively marketing their junk as some kind of quasi-health food.

I wanted to get on my soapbox and give a FED Talk about how we’re all being bamboozled into believing that a little protein turns everything into a “fitness hack,” but then I realized, it would be I who is the hack.

I’m not anti-tein, I’m pro-tein!

(Please remind me to never say that out loud.)

I feel like we’re close to reaching a tipping point. Maybe it’s just me, but my algorithm has been taken over by influencers screaming at me to add more protein to my diet. Big Protein is locked in on me. It’s stressing me out… and when I’m stressed, I gorge on snacks… snacks like new Doritos Protein!

Who’s ready to get yoked on nacho cheese dust?!

Protein chips aren’t an untapped market, but they’re still fairly new. I like Quest Tortilla Chips, but of the maybe ten flavors I’ve tried, I’d probably only recommend about three.

It shouldn’t shock you to learn that Doritos probably just released the best tasting protein chip. However, if you’re expecting a classic Dorito, I’d temper my excitement a bit.

A serving is ten chips and ten grams of protein, which really isn’t terrible. It’s not Quest-level, but it’s more than a lot of cash grab “PROTEIN” boasting snack releases from legacy brands.

They’re made with casein protein, which is derived from milk. I know what you’re thinking, “No whey!?” Way, it’s casein. Not a bad protein source.

You’re getting eight more grams of protein and nine fewer carbs per serving of these versus regular Doritos. That’s good! If you’re expecting gainz, you’ll get ‘em, but only in the bad way you’d get said gainz with regular Doritos, because everything else is basically the same.

As for the taste, they’re like a solid knockoff of Doritos. The nacho flavor – which they should have called “Macho Cheese,” IMHO (in my hacky opinion) – is close, but you’ll still think you’re eating cheaper alternatives. Something is off, and it’s likely due to the texture.

These are thicker, crunchier, and drier than the regular tortilla chip. They’re like stale, double-fried “restaurant style” Doritos, with a nacho flavor that seems a little spicier because of how dry they make your mouth.

The protein chip textural experience is never a pleasant one. They mash down into a long-lasting, gritty protein paste that turns into cement in your teeth, and I absolutely hate that.

All in all, I guess these are a mild success? We all wanna think we’re living healthier, right? Like me today, I did Bis and Tris! I went to the gym, struggled through a few sets of biceps, and then ate about forty Doritos triangles.

Ya know what, I don’t even know if I recommend these. I didn’t feel particularly satiated. They look like Doritos, smell like Doritos, but in the end, I just yearned for real Doritos. Maybe stick with a small bag of the NKD Doritos and add an extra half scoop of powder to your protein shake.

Purchased Price: $4.47
Size: 7 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (10 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, 8 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 10 grams of protein.

Ruffles, Doritos, and Cheetos Flavor Swap 2026 Review

Tiffany / March 25, 2026 / Reviews / 5 Comments

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.

Cheetos Chips Doritos Frito-Lay Ruffles

REVIEW: Tostitos Mexican Street Corn Tortilla Chips

Vin / February 12, 2026 / Reviews / 3 Comments

Ya know, I’ve never actually had Mexican Street Corn.

Growing up near NYC, I’ve eaten many street pretzels, various street meats, street nuts… and while I’m talking about the literal gutter, I’d kindly ask to keep your mind out of it. Street gum is another big one! There’s a veritable rainbow of delicious street gum on every block, and it’s there for the picking, Buddy the Elf buffet-style.

However, Elote eludes me. I just never WANT corn on the cob, especially if I don’t have floss nearby. All that said, I’ll absolutely demolish some Elote-flavored snacks. I love Mexican food, and I love that Elote flavor profile, so when I saw Tostitos dropped a Mexican Street Corn chip, I hit the streets in search of them.

These chips probably mark the seventh or eighth “Mexican Street Corn” flavored snack I’ve tried, and they’ve all been good. If I had to choose the best, it would be Trader Joe’s “Organic Elote” Corn Chip Dippers. I’d rank these Tostitos just below those.

What you get here are restaurant-style tortilla chips made with whole corn kernel masa, the “traditional way.” I don’t know the exact Aztecan process, but I can tell you that these are larger and denser than a typical Tostito. You get some “thiccc boys,” as no one still says.

I wanted to guess the ingredients before reading the label and landed on a hint of “Hint of Lime,” mixed with a soft cheese/queso-adjacent flavor (representing the cotija), mixed with maybe some sour cream, and a chili-like powder providing a flash of heat. In the end, I almost nailed it.

Seriously, you can envision a little bit of every flavored Tostito that came before this while chomping down on one of these massive triangles – Hint of Lime, Queso, Salsa Verde, Black Bean and Garlic – their spirits live in these chips. If I had to describe the flavor, I would call these Tostitos All Dressed.

These pack so much flavor that they’re almost a Dorito. You get savory, tangy, and spicy all in one. It’s everything you’d want from Mexican Street Corn without the strings of the cob stuck in your teeth.

I had a stack with turkey chili, and they were money. I’d imagine they’d be versatile enough to work with literally any of the Mexican-style dips on the shelf.

All that said, there is one thing that bugged me a bit.

I don’t usually harp on the nutrition of the snacks I review because it’s junk food, no one’s under the impression it’s healthy… but I gotta say, these things are highly caloric. Six chips are 140 calories. For context, Nacho Cheese Doritos are twelve for 150, so while six of these chips are basically the size of a taco shell, try not to indulge too much.

The “big game” is over. If it weren’t, I would tell you to grab a bag along with every dip you can find. But ya know what? There will be more big games that call for big chips. Hit the streets.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 11 oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (6 Chips) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of total sugars, 1 gram of dietary fiber, and 2 grams of protein.

Chips Frito-Lay Tostitos

REVIEW: Cheetos Simply NKD Puffs

Vin / December 29, 2025 / Reviews / 8 Comments

Allow me to get political for a second…

Don’t worry, I’ll try to toe (tow?) the line like a spineless coward.

Where are we at with the health administration discourse? Are these food dyes we devour every day really a crisis, or is eliminating them just a gimmicky distraction? Shocking to no one, I’ve heard both arguments.

I’m a little cynical. On one hand, it feels like an absolute bare minimum the food industry can do to pretend they’re feeding us “healthier” food. However, I also see no reason why synthetic food dyes and artificial flavors should exist if there’s even a 1% chance they’re harming us.

No matter your stance, Frito Lay has started the process for you. It’s begun phasing out synthetic food dyes and artificial flavors with a new Simply “NKD” line of snacks, because no one, and I mean NO ONE, likes Cheeto fingers.

That is my nonpartisan way of interpreting this.

Let’s stop arguing about things we should all agree on and focus our energy on real debates, like whether it’s “toe the line” or “tow the line,” because I’ve never been confident and couldn’t commit to either one. I’m sorry, I’m just a moderate on this issue.

“Chee-to the line.” There it is.

Do you like Cheetos Puffs? Well, hopefully you liked them for their flavor and not their color, because “NKD” might be the wave of the future.

Warning: nudity ahead, this review may be NSFW!

Cheetos are good and will remain good. I can’t say it any more simply … as these are technically “Simply” Cheetos, which I didn’t even know still existed. I thought that was the discontinued line that gave people gastrointestinal issues.

I reviewed the “NKD” Cheetos against regular old classic puffs, and honestly didn’t taste much of a difference. It was minor, and that was comparing a regular Cheeto vs. a “Simply,” which is marketed as a “cleaner” cheese puff that uses “real” ingredients.

These are devoid of color but still have plenty of flavor. If anyone tells you there’s a big discrepancy, they’re just outraged by change. I think the NKD puffs taste just a little blander, and that’s the “Simply” of it all, as I don’t believe the orange dust was a flavor enhancer, but classics do “pop” with a tiny bit more long-lasting flavor.

If this is how we have to enjoy Cheetos moving forward, we’re gonna be fine. We’ll heal, hopefully together.

I like the puffs, but I don’t love the branding. I can’t help but feel like the bag is designed to trick people into thinking they’re a fancy health food. Don’t slack off on your diet, just because they un-dye it.

Speaking of vibes, I hate the “we’re a hot new start-up” style name, “NKD!” Did they really need to remove the “a-e?” Maybe they’re just holding them back as an “i-o-u.” … and sometimes “y!”

It’s quite literally stripped down, unlike that very complex vowel joke.

Oh, and Chester Cheetah is nude on the bag. He goes by “Chest-hair Cheetah,” now.

Just kidding, that perv has always been naked.

These Cheetos may be a bit less dangerous, but they are, like my comedy stylings, still “dangerously cheesy.”

So, they’re a little less fun looking. Oh well. We’ll live… if the government lets us. Vote or Dye!

Purchased Price: $3.97
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 pieces) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of total sugars, 1 gram of dietary fiber, and 2 grams of protein.

Cheetos Chips Frito-Lay

REVIEW: Doritos Collisions Stranger Things Stranger Pizza & Cool Ranch

Marvo / October 21, 2025 / Reviews / 2 Comments

To be honest, I know little about the Netflix show Stranger Things, which is strange because the Netflix algorithm has been suggesting it to me for years, and my wife has watched every episode. I can’t name any of the characters. I have referenced Demogorgon several times on this site, but that’s only because I worship Satan.

Is one of them named Friday? Or am I somehow getting confused with the main character of Netflix’s Wednesday? Or maybe I’m thinking of Monday from the Netflix movie What Happened to Monday? Or I’m misremembering Tuesday from Tuesday, another movie on Netflix. Or perhaps I’m thinking of Miss All Sunday (Nico Robin) from the live-action One Piece show on Netflix.

Netflix has been on a Stranger Things marketing rampage, getting the Stranger Things logo slapped on almost every type of product in a grocery store. I’d make a list, but going through it would take as long as fans have had to wait for new seasons of the show. One of the latest collaborations is this Doritos Collisions Stranger Things with Stranger Pizza and Cool Ranch flavors.

I’m not one of those diehard ranch-on-pizza kind of people. But I understand the appeal. If you are one of those folks, these chips may disappoint you.

The chips smell like every pizza-flavored snack I’ve ever had. However, my nose couldn’t detect the equally familiar scent of Cool Ranch Doritos. Though visually, it’s easy to determine which chip is which. The darker ones are pizza-flavored, while the lighter chip is Cool Ranch.

Pizza-flavored Doritos have been a thing, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever had them. My memories might be mistaking them for all the other pizza-flavored snacks I’ve munched on over the years, all of which remind me of Totino’s Party Pizzas. However, there is something a little different about these from all those other snacks. There’s a very light spiciness, as if Doritos was aiming for a spicy pepperoni flavor. It was surprising, and I totally dig it.

With the two flavors being in the same bag, I thought there would be some cross-pollination, but that didn’t happen. The Cool Ranch chips tasted like Cool Ranch, while the pizza-flavored ones tasted like pizza without a hint of Cool Ranch. Combining the two flavors in one bite also doesn’t make a difference in creating more of a mashup flavor because the stronger pizza flavor overwhelms the Cool Ranch seasoning. I’m not going to complain about that because I love pizza-flavored products, and I’ve been loving these chips.

However, if you’re hoping for a unique flavor that combines the two chips, you won’t taste it.

Purchased Price: $5.19*
Size: 9 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 11 chips – 28 grams) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

Chips Doritos Frito-Lay

REVIEW: Doritos Protein Nachos Cheese Tortilla Chips

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Ruffles, Doritos, and Cheetos Flavor Swap 2026 Review

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REVIEW: Cheetos Simply NKD Puffs

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REVIEW: Doritos Collisions Stranger Things Stranger Pizza & Cool Ranch

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