Are Doritos Gluten Free? The DETAILS!

Doritos brand chips, specifically the Cool Ranch Doritos, have been a personal favorite of mine since I was a child. Of course I had to know… are Doritos gluten free?!

A Super Bowl tradition of mine when I was in middle school through college was I would eat an entire full size bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a 2 liter of Cherry Pepsi while watching the game… Don’t judge me!

Now that I’m 37, I have to watch what I eat little more, but I still find myself devouring Cool Ranch Doritos like a cool kid.

I want to answer your question, are Doritos gluten free? It’s not as clear cut as you may want it to be, but the key is to understand the difference between “certified” gluten free, and “not containing gluten ingredients.”

Certified Gluten Free vs Not Containing Gluten Ingredients

There is a difference….

Certified gluten free means just that…. some independent third party organization like the Gluten Intolerance Group, has put their stamp of approval on the product. This is their logo, not the Doritos brand. They pay extra for this. This greatly reduces the risk of cross contamination.

“Not containing gluten ingredients” means their ingredient list is true, there is no wheat, barley, or rye in Doritos, but they cannot promise there won’t be cross contamination in the manufacturing process. This is area where most Doritos products live.

So now that we have cleared that up! Let’s keep it moving!

Are There Certified Gluten Free Doritos Products?

To my knowledge, there is only one Doritos product that is certified gluten free and that is the DORITOS® Simply Organic White Cheddar Flavored Tortilla Chips.

I will be honest though, I have not seen these in the store. The only image I’ve found is the one above and although the Frito Lay website says they are certified gluten free, I don’t see the GIG certification on the bag.

Let me know if you find them and can confirm! Leave a comment or shoot me a message and I’ll update my post!

Doritos products not containing gluten Ingredients

Most of Doritos products fall in this category. If you have celiac disease where you are concerned with cross contimantion, Doritos may not be for you. You will have to use your best judgement.

The following are Doritos remaining products that do not contain gluten ingredients according to the Frito Lay website:

3D Crunch Chili Cheese Nacho Flavored Corn Snacks
3D Crunch Spicy Ranch Flavored Corn Snacks
Cool Ranch® Flavored Tortilla Chips
Dinamita® Chile Limón Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips
Flamas™ Flavored Tortilla Chips
Flamin’ Hot® Limon Flavored Tortilla Chips
Flamin’ Hot® Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips
Flavor Shots Fiery Habanero Triangles
Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips
Poppin’ Jalapeño Flavored Tortilla Chips
Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla Chips
Spicy Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips
Taco Flavored Tortilla Chips
Tangy Pickle Flavored Tortilla Chips
Tapatio® Flavored Tortilla Chips
Twisted Lime Flavored Tortilla Chips

Now from what I have read, there are some folks with Celiac disease that don’t have an issue with Doritos chips.

At the end of the day, it comes down to what’s best for you. I’d love to hear in the comments about any experiences or perspectives you may have.

Who owns Doritos?

Doritos is actually owned by Frito Lay just in case you were wondering. They make several different products such as Fritos Chips, Cheetos, Lay’s, Ruffles, and Tostitos to just name a few.

So… Are Doritos Gluten free?

Well, let’s get right down to it. There is only one true Doritos brand chip that is certified gluten free. Their remaining line up does not have any gluten containing ingredients.

If that does not concern you, then go ahead and enjoy. If cross contamination is a worry for you, there are some alternatives out there for you like Late July, who make very good certified gluten free chips and nachos!

I would like to hope that a company as large as Frito Lay would see the value in certified gluten free products, but so far it appears they have not made the commitment. I would love to see certified gluten free Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch Doritos… maybe one day!