Dorito Popcorn – Gluten free & Vegan
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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.
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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.
- The BEST 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.
Great Northern Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Popper
I love that this popper is stainless steel (not aluminum) -- no shaking needed and makes up to 5 quarts in minutes!
“Dorito” Popcorn – dairy free, gluten free, vegan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (organic preferred)
- 2 – 3 tablespoons coconut oil (for popping)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules (if you would like to make your own garlic granules, see Easy Homemade Granulated Garlic)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder or granules
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (if you would prefer homemade chili powder, see The “Best” Basic Chili Powder)
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Prepare popcorn using oil with your preferred method. This Healthy Stovetop Popcorn post has more information about popping and about my favorite stovetop popcorn popper. Air popped popcorn won't work without additional oil since the seasoning needs moisture from the oil to adhere to the popcorn.
- Combine all spices, and salt in a small bowl.
- Blend seasonings in a spice or coffee grinder, or blend in blender to make a fine powder.
- Sprinkle seasoning over popcorn and toss to coat.
Notes
- 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.”
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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 :)?
Your website is one of my favorites. I really appreciate your posts about candida and all your thrifty recipe ideas. I’m trying to keep our family especially our kids away from so much sugar, artificial colors, and junk food. I just started a website a few weeks ago for an online class. It’s
a blog and has affiliate links for detox books that I have enjoyed.
Hello Elona – thanks so much – I really appreciate the kind words! I am sorry but I don’t allow self promotion on my platform and really didn’t understand what your blog is named. Feel free to reach out to me at wholenewmom {at} gmail {dot} com with your information. Take care!
I made this over the weekend, it was awesome! I had been experimenting with different spices like curry, and cumin which are good, but this was over the top. Second time I made it I add a little a little grated Parmesan to the spice mix. It was fantastic. This is one of my new popcorn mixes. Thanks.
So great -glad you liked it. Great idea for the parmesan!
This is missing the most important ingredient in Cool Ranch doritos, tomato powder is where all of the tang comes from.
Hi there. I didn’t say that these were Ranch Dorito-like. I mentioned them in the post, but these are more of the regular dorito flavor. I’d love to try another one soon – thanks for reading!
This is an amazing recipe! Somehow, it really does taste like Doritos! I just recently stumbled upon wholenewmom.com—this is the first recipe I have tried—but am really enjoying this site. (I have shared this recipe (and of course this website) with multiple people already.) I’m excited to further explore wholenewmom.com and discover additional recipes, articles and resources. Thank you for this website!
Thank you – you made my night! I can’t say that all of my recipes are fantastic (there’s one I will likely remove) but most of them are “us” and other approved. Thanks again!
Made this tonight as a snack while watching lightning and rain with my hubby. OMG it was absolutely amazing! So delicious! Your son is very lucky to have a caring mom who is also a genius in the kitchen! I thoroughly enjoyed my dorito popcorn. Will be making it again and again!
So glad – thanks for coming back to let me know!
Just made this tonight. (ive only ever had the really buttery processed popcorn, and I’ve never been a fan!)
This was. So. Good!
Would this store well if made in a large batch? Thanks.
Yes, it does!
Hi,
It’s probably because I’m on my phone, but I can’t find the recipe on the page. I really miss doritos and would love something similar. Unfortunately my recently aquired allergies include not only milk and wheat, but corn, I’m in major withdrawl. I’d love to try the recipe, though I’ll need to find something else to put it on.
Hi there – no we had a problem with the blog last night – it’s fixed now. Enjoy! Try these maybe? https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/green-bean-chips/
You should try popping sorghum. So yummy…very similar to popcorn but the popped pieces are much smaller and don’t have the annoying hull that can get stuck in teeth 🙂 . I’m planning to use this recipe on some this afternoon!
Does it really work easily? I can’t recall if I tried it or not.
I made this and we all agreed it didn’t taste like Doritos but it does taste like chili, which we like too! I’ll try making this again with a lot less chili powder and see what happens.
Thank for your wonderfull recipe. I love it!
:)!
Yum! I’m going to make this tomorrow ? I have Bob’s Redmill Nitritional yeast and am wondering if you know if it contains the synthetic folic acid? Thanks!!
Yes, I think it does. Very few do not. There is a link in the post to one that doesn’t.
Thank you! I will check out the one that you posted /)
Great! I know it’s hard but I think more companies are thinking about this!
Do you absolutely have to use the nutritional yeast? I would have no problem using it but I don’t have it and it will be awhile before I get it… just wondering if I can make it taste like Doritos with just the spices?
Hi Amanda. The flavor will be good without the yeast but you won’t have the cheesy flavor without it. I hope you can get some soon!
Okay thanks! The cheesy flavor is what I’m looking for so I will wait thx so much can’t wait to make this!!
O.M.G.
Never been a fan of chips, but I made a batch for my sister’s S.A.D.-addicted family (I’ve moved in to get them all healthy, but sometimes I forget to satisfy those cravings, and then I find all the old YUK filling the pantry again)…
THANK YOU for this recipe!!!!!!!!!!! I DEVOURED half the batch, lol!!!!
YAY – I was eating some today too – LOVE it!
HI there, I just made this seasoning and as one commenter suggested, I used a coffee grinder to turn it into a fine dust. I used only 1/2 the amount of salt and found it perfect for my taste. But I didn’t use it on popcorn…yet. I made actual “Doritos chips” using corn tortillas, brushed with oil, then a generous amount of this seasoning, cut the tortillas into triangles and baked them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until crisp. On my goodness! Reel me in ’cause I am hooked!! Thank you!
YAY – thanks for taking the time to comment. Hope to see you around again!
Brilliant!!! I just discovered microwaving popcorn (eureka!) and your tip of grinding into a fine powder sounds like it will really work. I just made my first batch and I wasn’t sure if I should spray the kernels before or after microwaving them. I just put some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. It tasted good, until I got to the bottom. 🙁 ok, I’ll stop babbling, but thanks for the tip!
This was really tasty, we air popped our popcorn instead of using coconut oil and it was difficult to get the spices to stick. I ended up pouring a Tbsp of melted butter over the popcorn and also using a bit of spray oil, then I turned the popcorn into another bowl and left the spices on top. I’m wondering if you have any other suggestions for getting the spices to stick. We really enjoyed this, but also seemed to have a large amount of leftover spices in the bottom of the bowl.
So glad to hear it! We always have leftover spices and just put them in a container to reuse. Or we “press” the popcorn into the bottom of the bowl and eat up as much as we can. Popping in oil will make it stick better, of course and I think it’s healthier b/c the fat reduces the glycemic load. Hope that helps!
I blend the spice mix in my Blendtec to get a very fine powder, which I find sticks to the popcorn better. I’m sure a regular blender would work, too.
Great tip!
This turned out awesome! It’s been a year since I last had doritos and I miss them but this hit the spot perfectly, thank you!!!
So glad to hear it!!
Too much talky talky
Hi Karen.
So are you saying that I write too much in my posts?
If so, sorry you feel that way. I try to share background information on recipes and not just the recipe itself. You are, of course, free to skip that part and just go to the recipe and print it out. 🙂
thanks for the background info! keep doing what you are doing!
Thanks for the encouragement, Stephanie :). Hope to see you around again.
I like having background information! Makes a connection and feel like we are “family”! ?
🙂
I was wondering if you have the caloric/nutritional info on this delicious popcorn? So good!!!
Sorry, but I do not. Typically I don’t provide such calculations due to the variations in my recipes, but I will consider it. There are other online calculators that you can use. Glad you like it!
This is very good! It kind of reminds me of one of those popcorn seasoning salts you can buy, except better tasting. (And healthier) Thanks for the recipe!
Yay – glad you like it!
I want to try this as I LOVE popcorn! I have brewers yeast flakes on hand and am wondering if this is what your referring to with Nutritional yeast?
They are very different. Brewers yeast I find to be unpalatable, but I wish I liked it. Nutritional yeast is cheesy and nutty-flavored. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m glad some one posted this question. Free talking with a friend about odeas for popcorn she raved about putting brewers yeast on it. I “tasted” a sample at the health food store and thought it would be terrible on popcorn so I never tried it and never talked to the friend about suggestions on popcorn again. I came across this recipe and am now wondering if my friend meant nutritional yeast instead! I will definitely try this and then tell her about it if it as good as it sounds it is!
Brewer’s is TERRIBLE! I bet that’s it. Enjoy!
Yup! This recipe is AWESOME! The husband declared it “Delish” and wanted me to make more. Compliments to you and my friend that suggested brewers yeast will get an earful tomorrow!
So great!!! Yeah, thumbs down on the Brewer’s Yeast! Ha!