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!
Today I'm sharing with you one of our favorite snack recipes--Dorito Popcorn!
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 nut buttery popcorn to one of our faves (with an unusual origin)--Surprisingly Good Seasoned Popcorn. And of course there is healthy stovetop popcorn for the popcorn purist. Seriously - that one is ALWAYS a hit no matter where we take it.
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--each one about one of my sons
Dorito® Popcorn & What's a Dorito, anyway?
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 at "little tyke" 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.
We made a whole bunch of batches of popcorn this past weekend (it was seriously a big-time popcorn fest) but we finally think we've come up with the one that tastes the most like Doritos. (Nacho Cheese Doritos, that is. Maybe I can work on another flavor in the future. Updating the post here. A few readers have said that this tastes more like Taco flavor so it's back to the drawing board on Nacho Cheese....)
And just so you know, this Dorito Popcorn really does taste like Doritos. I shared some with a friend today and she said it really did--and then we took it to a picnic and someone said that our popcorn really smelled like Doritos. Ah---culinary success :).
This is basically the same as the popper that we use:
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
- Other Recipes: We just love this new addition to our much beloved popcorn recipes.
If you love popcorn as much as we do, you'll love my other recipes:
- The BEST Popcorn Seasoning (everyone asks for the recipe for this one).
- Herbes de Provence Popcorn
- Sugar-free Kettle Corn
- Nut Buttery 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."
Recipe
"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 preferred method. My Basic 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 in order 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.
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 :)?
For an oil free option, lightly spray with "braggs liquid aminos" as popcorn is flying out of the air popper - this will allow the spices to stick to the popcorn.
Oh interesting--does the Bragg's taste good w/ these spices?
yes, it's actually quite delicious!! The hard part was finding a spray bottle for it, it's the key, you just want a light mist.
Some people might say oil taste much better (and some days it does)...but this is a great healthy alternative 🙂
That's so great! Coconut aminos would be great too, then!
Thanks for the recipe, Adrienne! I also have been making it for years and I love it! Also really good on kale chips. 🙂
You are so welcome! So glad you like it! Hopefully more popcorn recipes coming soon!
I have been making this for my kids for years, and keep coming back to this page... I realized I never commented after all these years. This is a wonderful recipe that my oldest calls "spicy popcorn" Thank you, we love this!
Aww - how sweet! Thank you so much! I've had a rough year and a half (or more) and haven't put too many recipes up but I'm about to get a new one up this week....hope to have more posts etc soon and would love to hear from you anytime :)!
A+ absolutely tastes like Doritos. Will make again.
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
I have come back and used this recipe over and over for the past several years and it just occurred to me that I have never commented on how wonderful it is. My kids refer to it as The Popcorn Salt (they are little so all seasonings are "salt" to them regardless of whether there is salt in it or not). The only modification I usually make is not using any cayenne and reducing the chili powder (my small kids don't like spicy). I like it as written however. Wonderful recipe!
Aww thanks, Nikki! That means so much! I haven't been blogging as much recently but I hope to have some more recipes up soon including more popcorn! Thank you!!! 🙂
Question: Could I add the seasoning in with the oil while the corn pops or will the seasoning burn? Its just so hard to get seasoning to stick to popcorn without adding more fat to it after its popped, especially nutritional yeast. Its just sinks to the bottom of the bowl :/
Hi Jen! Have you has this as a problem when adding seasonings to popcorn that is popped in oil? How much are you using? I would think adding more oil should help. I haven't tried what you are suggesting but I have heard that you can do it. If you stir it frequently it might work out. Let me know how it goes!
Made this for my husband. I told him it was a nacho cheese flavor, I didn’t want to have to apologize later for it not measuring up to the Doritos name. He ate one handful and said “It taste like Doritos.” Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s delicious.
Wow - that's so great! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know :)!
MSG isn’t bad for you, if you’re allergic you can’t basically eat any fruits, potatoes, tomatoes. It’s natural, and it gets a bad name from a racist medical revisionism. Lol can you stop pushing this racism? Thanks!
Hi there. Actually MSG is synthetic and the components in tomatoes, etc. is natural glutamic acid. I'm aware that there is information out there stating that reactions are not frequent and that they aren't severe, but there is some talk of the effects being cumulative which would be difficult to test in a formal testing situation. I would prefer to avoid synthetic additives to my food whenever necessary. It has nothing to do with racism :). And there are other ingredients in Doritos that I would prefer to avoid as well :). Thanks for reading and for commenting.
"LOL" what on Earth are you on about? There's plenty of legitimate racism in the world that you should be focusing on rather than throwing that word at innocent people and using spurious claims. Pathetic.
Love this recipe!!! I “lost” it. So glad to have found it. Yum yum!
Oh great! Glad you found it and thanks for taking the time to share!
I love this recipe! I did find that using less cumin helped it taste more like Doritos and a little less like Mexican food otherwise it's a really good recipe I've already shared it with two families with lots of food restrictions!
Thank you!!
OMG I love nacho cheese doritos but I also have eczema and my sister and niece have allergies to MSG so they are out! I am so excited to try this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this.
So hope you like it! It's not completely like Doritos b/c you can't really copy it w/o all the additives but we love this. Thanks and hope you enjoy!
It's probably close enough for me. I haven't had any doritos in Years. I probably would;t like the taste of them anymore. so this is GREAT!!
Thanks! Look forward to hearing what you think. We love this one: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/perfect-popcorn-recipe-3/
and hopefully more to come as well!
It does taste good, but it only sort of tastes like doritos. I would definitely make it again.
Thanks much! Hope to try to perfect it later! Someone did think it was good enough to steal and put on All Recipes :(. Sigh ...
Thanks for reading and supporting my blog!
Great recipe, but do we really need 5 minutes of reading about your food philosophy and family history before we get to the actual recipe?
Hello Ron--first of all, thanks for reading.
Second, you must have missed it but there's a handy dandy "jump to recipe" button at the top of my recipe posts for those who either don't wish to read the information, or for those who are coming back for the recipe.
So the answer is, no--you don't have to read it, but you can if you'd like and often there are helpful tips near the recipe as well.
I am a blogger and a writer and not a "recipe site" where all you get is recipes. I have a connection with my readers and build relationships rather than just having recipes and DIY info. There are both types of sites--but since I added those buttons you can use mine in both ways. Hope that helps :).
Adrienne, I enjoyed reading your post! I appreciate the kind way you handled that, as well. I’m sure it can be frustrating at times to receive criticism when you’re working hard to share your stories and helpful info (like this recipe), but just keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll keep coming back for more! Thanks again! ??
Thank you so much! I hope to see you around again for sure :).
Wonderful recipe, Adrienne, and what a kind response to Ron. Adrienne, you're a class act and I appreciate all you do for your readers. 🙂
Awww--thank you. It can be hard sometimes because I am a human like everyone else but I really appreciate your kind words. Thank you!!
WOW, Ron! How RUDE!
Seriously rude Ron! If you don't want to read it then Don't it's like changing the channel if you don't want to watch something rather than complaining. You should know by now that the recipe is at the bottom of the page. Scroll down!
I add some tomato powder to my dorito popcorn.
Fun idea! To this recipe?
I really like this Dorito popcorn recipe. I really liked the mexican 'cheezy' flavor it had, does it taste like Doritos? I think it does a little bit(more like a yummy taco)!
5 star
Thank you so much! Yes, it probably does have more of a taco flavor. I think I should take another run at it with some new ingredients that I thought of. Thanks!
I tried this. I tasted nothing like Doritos. It just tasted like a bunch of spices thrown together. I was very disappointed as I had really hoped it was going to be Dorito tasting.
Interesting how a lot of people love it and say it's really close and others say no. Maybe different taste buds? Of course there is no MSG in this and of course it's spices. Not sure how it's not supposed to taste like spices. Could you explain that, please?
Definitely delicious! Almost a Doritos taste. I'll be making this often!
P. S. If you mist your popcorn with a little water the seasonings stick without needing oil. Guilt free snack!)
So glad you liked it! I used to do that as well w/ water but I started changing my thinking on dietary issues and felt that the added fat was good to balance the carbs....but yes if you are avoiding oil for some reason that works great! Thanks again!
These recipes are great as my wife has type 2 diabetes and I also love these recipes
So glad to hear it!
Fantastic flavor! Thank-you for sharing this!
Thank you and so glad you enjoyed it!
I'm excited about trying this recipe for a Christmas party this evening. I'm just wondering if I use the whole recipe of spices on the amount of popcorn specified in the recipe. Thanks.
I sprinkle it on to taste. Hope you like it. I would try a small amt first. We love it but this one is I think our fave. https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/perfect-popcorn-recipe-3/
I have a few more in the works :).