Dorito Popcorn – Gluten free & Vegan

Do you like DORITOS but want a healthier option? Try this Dorito Popcorn Recipe to get the flavor of Doritos but without the chemical topping. Delicious and dairy-free too!

If you've been around my blog, or my family, for awhile, you know that we love popcorn – I've got a bunch of homemade popcorn recipes on my site from Healthy Peanut Butter Popcorn to one of our faves Surprisingly Good Seasoned Popcorn. And of course, there is Basic Healthy Stovetop Popcorn for the popcorn purist. But one thing you likely don't know is that I love Doritos.

But I don't eat them anymore.

In fact, no one in our home eats them.

We did have an unfortunate episode with a Ranch Dorito® long ago that led to a near anaphylactic reaction in my oldest, but that's not why we don't have them around.

Since I've become a natural-whole foodie, GMO corn and the chemical concoction on top of the crispy chips are not welcome in our home anymore.

The ingredients in Doritos are just nothing that I want in neither my nor my family's bodies.

When you think about it, would you really choose to have your chips topped with monosodium glutamate, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate?

Me neither.

I actually have a few funny things to tell you about Doritos first.

Why Our Oldest Didn't Know What Doritos Were

When I found some Dorito seasoning recipes on the internet and told my boys that I would be making Dorito Popcorn, my youngest asked what Doritos are.

I know that sounds pretty ridiculous to some folks, but since we've never had them in our house, and we don't watch much TV, my son didn't know what they are.

Hint: If you are trying to whole-foodify your family's diet, avoiding TV is a huge help. And avoid the center aisles of the grocery store too. That's where almost all of the processed stuff lurks. Just waiting to tempt you to spend too much and put chemicals and additives into your body.

The Only Dorito My Oldest Son Has Ever Had

When my son was about 5 months old, he was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies to 3 foods (later other foods were added to his “off limit” list). You can read Eczema and Food Allergies–from Despair to Healing to learn more about all we went through.

Dairy, egg whites, and peanuts have not been in his diet. Ever.

Well, mostly.

When he was about 1 1/2 years old, we were at a church party.

Suddenly, I noticed my son had hives all down one side of his face and was holding a half-eaten chip.

I grabbed the chip and quickly figured out what had happened.

My suspicions were verified when I found the offending chip's bag.

Ranch Doritos. They contain MILK powder.

Another small child had placed his unfinished plate of Doritos down little kid level and my son had gotten a bite.

We quickly gave him Benadryl and called his allergist who assured us he was in no danger as long as the symptoms didn't progress to vomiting or breathing. Which they didn't.

So:

• between the one son who didn't know what Doritos are
• the other who has only had a small bite ever cross his lips and
• Mom who just loves Doritos but can't stomach the ingredient list,

we were all super excited to work on making a seasoning that we could put on popcorn and have that delicious Dorito flavor without all the allergy problems and chemical and GMO ickiness.

And now you can enjoy it too.

Where to buy Quality Spices?

I personally LOVE Frontier spices for their freshness and quality. I buy almost all of my spices from them in bulk because we do so much cooking from scratch.

If you prefer small amounts, Simply Organic is Frontier's section of products in smaller quantities.

Recipe Notes and Substitutions for Dorito Popcorn

• Nutritional Yeast: Oh–and as a side note, nutritional yeast is a non-candida-feeding yeast that has a nutty-cheesy flavor. Vegans tend to use it a lot for a cheesy taste without dairy.
  And if you're trying to avoid synthetic folic acid (almost all nutritional yeast has it), here is a brand to try.
• THM: This recipe is a “crossover” if you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, unless you use air-popped popcorn, which will make it an “E.”

Other Popcorn Recipes

If you love popcorn as much as we do, you'll love trying out these other recipes.

• Homemade Popcorn Seasoning – everyone asks for this recipe
• Herb Popcorn – a surprisingly delicious recipe
• Sugar-free Kettle Corn – amazingly good!
• Peanut Butter Popcorn – which can also be made into Almond Butter Popcorn as well.

The BEST Stovetop Popcorn Popper

We've had this popper for many years and we love it.

Most crank-style poppers are made of aluminum, but this one is made from stainless steel — much better for your non-toxic lifestyle.

I hope you love this Dorito Popcorn as much as we do!

What is your favorite way to eat popcorn?
Do you still eat Doritos :)?