Flavors: Nacho Cheese, Sweet & Tangy BBQ
Nutrition Facts (10 chips): 150 Calories, 8g fat, 8g carbs, 10g protein
I run an entire blog devoted to buying and eating protein snacks, and even I have to admit that we’ve taken this whole “protein” thing way too far.
So when I saw that Doritos was now selling Protein Doritos, my first thought was: why?
It’s not that I don’t think we could use some more great protein chips on the market, it’s that I’m really tired of products adding a minuscule amount of protein to a product and calling it a protein snack.
Assuming that is exactly what Doritos was doing, I was not very excited.
But if I’ve learned anything throughout my protein snack journey, it’s that you always need to be prepared to be surprised. And Protein Doritos did exactly that.
Is this a necessary snack? Probably not. Did they do Doritos justice? Absolutely.
First and foremost, the macros of these chips are servicable. While they can’t compete with the likes of Quest Chips or Legendary Chips, the 10 grams of protein is at least respectable. True protein chips typically have around 20 grams of protein, so there’s a bit of a sacrifice here.
But if these actually deliver on a true Doritos experience, that tradeoff might be worth it.
It’s worth noting that Doritos did something many large companies avoid, and that is using a complete protein source in the product. Many products that set out to capitalize on the protein trend add wheat protein or another incomplete protein source to their product to cheaply bump up the protein, but Doritos used casein protein, giving you a complete 10 grams.
Oddly enough, Doritos decided not to start with Cool Ranch as one of the flavors. I’d be willing to bet a large sum of money that those are coming next, but right now we only have nacho cheese & sweet and tangy BBQ to review.
Nacho Cheese Protein Doritos
Right out of the bag, these are indistinguishable from regular Doritos. It’s all there: the cheesy coating, the specks of seasoning, and the bubbly surface.
The smell of these chips is slightly different than Doritos, leaning more towards cheddar cheese powder and less of the overall seasoning, and the flavor reflects that.
Overall, it tastes like a slightly dulled-down version of a regular Dorito. If you were doing a blind taste test, you would 100% know that this was a Dorito, but if you were to eat this side-by-side with a regular Dorito, the flavor difference would be evident.
Still, it’s close enough to a regular Dorito that it would absolutely satisfy the craving.
The texture experience is pretty much what I expected- you get a great crunch, but the chip itself is slightly thicker and denser than a regular chip. These get stuck in your teeth the same way other protein chips do, but not nearly to the same extent.
I mean, you cut the protein in half compared to other protein chips, so you can basically expect half of the texture differences. Reasonably so, these sit right in between Doritos and Quest Chips in terms of texture.
The overall experience is very similar to a regular Dorito, just slightly dulled down both in flavor and texture.
Sweet & Tangy BBQ Protein Doritos
I’m sure everybody will have a slightly different experience based on the batch they receive, but for me, the sweet & tangy BBQ version tasted much more like a regular chip.
I found these to not be quite as thick or dense, so the experience felt like I was eating a regular chip, although I’ll admit it still did get stuck in my teeth a bit.
Flavor-wise, I loved these. It’s strange that Doritos went with a flavor with no direct comparison to their regular line, but maybe that was strategic for the launch.
The BBQ flavor is very much balanced between sweet & tangy, and I love that these aren’t as smoky as some BBQ chips tend to be. The overall flavor of these tasted much stronger than the nacho cheese chips.
If these were handed to me as a regular chip without any protein, I would be really happy; that’s how much I enjoyed the flavor as a sweet BBQ fan.
Protein Doritos: Overall Thoughts
I’ve been hearing nothing but great things about these chips, and I now understand the praise.
While there’s no denying that this is a cash grab to hop on the current protein trend, Doritos did a fantastic job creating a chip that offers a true Doritos experience.
If you buy these, make sure you set the proper expectations for yourself. I see so many people out there saying these are identical to Doritos, and that is simply not the case. If Doritos are a 10/10 snack in your eyes, prepare yourself for an 8 out of 10 here. That’s still a great chip, but it’s a step down from regular Doritos.
If Doritos are a staple in your life, I can see these being a great replacement to keep in your pantry, as they will absolutely satisfy the Dorito craving.
I’d still go for Quest chips over these, as I’d much rather a snack with double the protein, but price is obviously going to play a huge factor in that. If Protein Doritos can keep their prices down, they’re going to stick around for a while.
