Cheetos Vs. Doritos: An In-Depth Head-To-Head Comparison

Cheetos Vs. Doritos

Undoubtedly, Cheetos and Doritos are the US’s best sellers. To be honest, I can commit to a junk-free diet unless I see a packet of either of these lying around. Nothing can beat the flaming hot spices that hit you as you bite into Cheetos. Similarly, the crisp crunch and cheesy flavour of Doritos are unmatchable too. But, which one is better?

The main difference between these two is in their appearances and taste. Doritos quite clearly seems to possess lower fat, sodium and calorie with a distinct tortilla-based taste. Moreover, while Cheetos has a stick-like appearance, Doritos has a smaller triangular shape.

However, in this article, we will look into a few more factors, to see if they have any similarities and, most importantly, to review what sets them apart.

So, let’s dig in (not literally, yet) and decide which of these shall be crowned the king of chips.

History Of Doritos:

In 1960, Doritos made its first appearance in Disneyland in a restaurant known as Casa de Fritos or, in the present day, Rancho del Zocalo. The restaurant owner was named Fritos. The creation of Doritos came from the restaurant’s surplus of tortillas that were reused or discarded in the form of deep-fried tortilla triangle chips. These were served to the restaurant’s guests for free.

However, since their popularity grew, Frito-Lay decided to capitalize on the snack and brought them to the USA nationwide back in 1966. Now, Doritos is another brand owned by Pepsico, created through Frito-Lay just like Cheetos.

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History Of Cheetos:

Pepsico owned Cheetos as one of their brands and was made by Frito-Lay, a snack-food subsidiary company. The first corn puff was sold back in 1948 in the United States.

Originally, Cheetos was innovated by Charles Elmer Doolin, with Herman W. Lay as his partner, who focused on the national distribution of the brand. Later in 1945, the Lay’s company united with Frito and became Frito-Lay. However, in 1945, Frito-Lay also became a portion of Pepsi as both the companies incorporated in June of 1965.

Appearance:

Cheetos have a stick-like appearance with a topping of finely spiced cheese. These also look like corn puffs, except they’re not around and mimic a crooked stick.

On the other hand, Doritos are triangle tortilla chips but also have crooked and uneven corners and edges. Doritos have a generous coating of nacho cheese flavouring.

Taste:

The classic Doritos Nacho Cheese flavour has become a staple in many households and has been for quite some time now. It comes with a generous layer of nacho cheese dusted coating, which makes every bite delectable. The chips also give a nice crunch and flavorful hits until they’re swallowed.

The best part about these? Licking the nacho cheese coating off your fingers, of course!

There are many other Doritos flavours that people love, and you could try them out if you’re feeling adventurous. Check out the list below to get familiar with some of their names.

Doritos Flavors

  • Cool ranch tortilla chips
  • Nacho cheese tortilla chips
  • Flaming hot tortilla chips
  • Spicy sweet chilli tortilla chips
  • Poppin’ jalapeno tortilla chips
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Cheetos, on the other hand, is an airier and lighter chip with a cheesy flavour. Even though the puff versions are lightweight even in the mouth, they will give that satisfying, ASMR-worthy loud crunchy sound when bit into.

Like the Doritos chips, Cheetos also comes in different shades of orange, depending on the flavour. These are crunchy and will get you addicted in no time. Here’s a small list of what flavours Cheetos has to offer.

Cheetos Flavors

  • Crunchy flamin’ hot cheese
  • Crunchy cheese
  • Crunchy extra flaming hot cheese
  • Crunchy flaming hot Limon
  • Puffs cheese flavoured

Ingredients:

To understand better how Cheetos and Doritos differ, let’s dive in to know what their ingredient lists hold. We will look into the ingredient list of Doritos Nacho Cheese and Cheetos Crunchy Cheese chips as they’re the most popular ones and contains most of the base elements that all other flavours hold.

Doritos IngredientsCheetos Ingredients
Corn, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Cheddar cheese, Whey, Monosodium glutamate, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese, Artificial & Natural Flavor, Lactose, Artificial Color, Lactic & Citric AcidEnriched Corn Meal, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, Whey Protein, Monosodium glutamate, Milk, Cheese Culture & Seasoning, Artificial & Natural Flavor, Enzymes, Artificial Color, Lactic & Citric Acid

As we can tell, most of the primary flavours and their sources are the same. Needless to say, even after these similarities, Doritos and Cheetos taste pretty different. I mean, you can’t give someone Cheetos and trick them into thinking it’s Doritos, and it’s just not because of the shape.

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Moreover, none of these ingredients list points out ‘healthy’ factors, and we all know by now that these snacks must be an occasional indulgence rather than everyday snacks or meals. Last but not least, it all simmers down to personal preference when it comes to the taste of these chips.

Nutritional Value:

Of course, none of us will pretend that these are ‘healthy’ snacks. Nevertheless, you must be aware of what you’re putting in your body, especially if you’re a parent whose kids love to guzzle down chips. There aren’t significant differences between the two, but you will notice that the sodium, fat, and calorie ranges are much lower in Doritos.

NutritionDoritos Nacho Cheese 28gCheetos Crunchy Cheese 28g
Fat8g10g
Calorie150160
Sodium210mg250mg
Carbohydrates18g15g
Fibre1g<1g
Sugar1g<1g
Potassium50mg50mg
Calcium40mg10mg
Iron0.3mg0.4mg

Final Words:

Phew, this was tougher for me to write than for you to read and drool. But, this intense research tells us the following.

Doritos has lower fat, calorie and carbohydrates than Cheetos. Although the tastes vary significantly, Doritos and its cheesy coating don’t contain high fat and calorie content. Besides personal preference, Doritos has to be the better option as snacks like these aren’t necessarily healthy but, the lower unwanted contents, the better right?

So, which one do you like better?

While you decide, I will take my leave because I’ve decided that today’s a cheat day, and I need to stuff my face with Doritos right away!

More Resources:

  1. Sprite Vs. Coke: What’s The Difference?
  2. Sprite Vs 7Up: Which One Tastes Better?
  3. Ragu vs Prego: What’s the Difference and Which One is Better?
  4. Heath Vs Skor: The Ultimate Battle of The Toffees
  5. Tropicana Vs Simply Orange: Which One is Better?
  6. ­­Twix vs Snickers: Which One is Better?
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