Are Cool Ranch Doritos Vegan?

Doritos are among the most popular chip on the market today, and their Cool Ranch flavor is one of the two most eaten. So are cool ranch doritos vegan? Unfortunately these chips contain lactose, whey, and nonfat milk. All of these are animal byproducts and obviously make these chips not vegan.

They also contain buttermilk and cheddar cheese, two more non vegan ingredients.

Just about every Dorito flavoring has some problem that makes it non-vegan, except for the "Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos" which are 100% vegan (and delicious)! These Doritos are a relatively new addition to their product line and one that is designed to be friendlier to vegans like you.

This makes them an excellent alternative for those who love Doritos but want to stay vegan. A homemade Cool Ranch Dorito alternative will be mentioned below.

Cool Ranch Doritos Ingredients

There are many different ingredients used to make these delicious chips. As mentioned above, while non-vegan, they do have many vegan-friendly items. A full ingredient list includes:

• Whole Corn
• Vegetable Oil
• Corn Maltodextrin
• Salt
• Tomato Powder
• Corn Starch
• Lactose
• Whey
• Nonfat Milk
• Corn Syrup Solids
• Onion Powder
• Sugar
• Garlic Powder
• Monosodium Glutamate
• Cheddar Cheese
• Dextrose
• Malic Acid
• Buttermilk
• Natural and Artificial Flavors
• Sodium Acetate
• Red 40
• Blue 1
• Yellow 5
• Sodium Caseinate
• Citric Acid
• Disodium Inosinate
• Disodium Guanylate

Is The Sugar In Doritos A Problem?

While sugar is used in just about every Doritos variety, it is important to gauge whether or not this is vegan. Sugars are, technically, not an animal product. They come from no animal and are strictly based on elements. That said, sugar may be processed in a way that contaminates it with animal products.

This problem is true specifically of refined sugars. For example, refined sugars may end up getting processed with animal bone char. This ingredient is problematic because it can infect the sugar and lead to a non-vegan food source.

However, even if it doesn't get infected with char, the use of it may lead many vegans to claim that any food with refined sugar is not vegan. What is particularly frustrating about this problem is that not all sugars get processed using bone char. Even worse, there's no way to tell which have been.

In the end, it will all depend on how severe you want to be with your vegan lifestyle. Finding products that didn't use some form of animal processing is tough, if not impossible. However, you can do it if you are dedicated and serious enough about your new lifestyle.

A Homemade Cool Ranch Doritos Alternative

Unfortunately, just about every type of ranch tortilla chip is going to use some dairy product. Thankfully, it is possible to make your own cool ranch tortilla chips at home! This particular recipe is an adaptation of two separate dishes, one suggested by the Simple Vegan Blog and the other by Organic Authority.

Start by cutting four tortillas into chip shapes and them spreading olive oil on top of them. Now you bake them in an oven for three minutes at about 390-400 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, they should be cooked, but a little soft. This softness is necessary, as you will be cooking them again a little bit later after applying your ranch sauce.

The original recipe calls for an application of various powders, such as onion and garlic, on the chips. However, you should skip that step and instead move on to making your ranch flavoring.

This sauce calls for mixing one cup of vegan mayonnaise, one-quarter cup of unsweetened almond milk, a teaspoon of lemon juice, a half-teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder, and a quarter teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper. Blend all of these ingredients together and then stir in a half-teaspoon of fresh chives and a teaspoon of chopped parsley

Once your ranch is done, carefully layer it over the top of your tortilla chips evenly. Now, put them back in the oven for another five minutes or so. This extra cooking time will create a very crunchy and delicious chip that has absolutely no animal products and which tastes a lot like Cool Ranch Doritos.

Make sure to check out these must try vegan tortilla brands!