Look out! Chester Cheetah and his mischievous buddy Sparky are unleashing their wild sides again, this time blasting fiery clouds of spicy, neon red Cheetle all over poor, unsuspecting Cool Ranch Doritos. What exactly is fueling this fire? Did the folks at Frito-Lay accidentally make way too much Hot dust and the solution to this abundance is to dump it on everything?
Okay, I’m a little biased. I enjoy spicy foods but just can’t get behind Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It isn’t that they’re too hot, but I find whatever the hot stuff is detracts from my enjoyment of the classic Cheetos taste. I acknowledge that I’m in the minority here because Flamin’ Hot Cheetos have a fierce and loyal following, and Frito-Lay knows it. It’s no accident that they’re sprinkling this seasoning on every product they make. More red dye 40 means more sales. Hot is popular and it’s my own fault I’ve never warmed to the concept.
With probable disappointment in mind, I still couldn’t help but pick up the familiar blue Cool Ranch bag, now featuring its corny triangle engulfed in flames. A peek inside revealed the expected aggressively red powder, and I figured I knew what I was in for. Some of the chips are liberally coated, but others seem almost like regular Cool Ranch Doritos that were spared the dousing of hell pollen.
I ate one. Then three more. These chips still taste like Cool Ranch! In fact, Cool Ranch is the first thing I taste and continue to taste, even if my fingers are bright red. I have to eat several of them before the heat starts creeping in, and when it does make its presence known, it doesn’t overwhelm. It’s a pleasant pepper heat, and the ranch flavor never takes a back seat to it. I actually like these. I like them a lot.
How hot are they? I’m not sure I’d call them Flamin’ because I have to eat a lot of these before I even begin to feel the need to reach for a cooling beverage, and they certainly aren’t so hot that I ever need to take a break from eating them. My almost empty bag can attest to that. I think a pretty perfect balance has been struck here. These taste like the chips everyone already loves but pack just slightly more of a punch. I can’t say that I prefer them to regular Cool Ranch Doritos, but I can embrace them in a way I’ve never been able to with Flamin’ Hot editions before.
Now that this door has been opened, does it mean I should finally make that box of Flamin’ Hot mac and cheese that’s been sitting in my cupboard for a year and a half? If I do, you can be sure I’m going to pour these Dorito crumbs on top.
Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 9 1/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (28 grams – about 12 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
I tried these. They were okay. My batch did not have as much Cool Ranch flavor as a regular bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and the Flamin’ Hot flavor was milder than what you get in the Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos
This inspired me to mix Cool Ranch Doritos with Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos, and the result was awesome!
However, my review doesn’t mean I think Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Doritos aren’t tasty. It’s a good choice if the normal Flamin’ Hot products are too spicy for you.
I like this idea of mixing the two, I’m going to have to try that. I agree that the Flamin’ Hot on these is definitely on the mild side.
Flamin Hot Cool Ranch huh? Tamme Cool Ranch would have been a much better name.
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Spot on review, Erin. I picked up a bag this morning. I’ve only had 10-15 chips, but you can definitely taste the cool ranch at first, and then the spice builds after a few. Favorite Flamin Hot product this far. I hope they keep these around. I got the bag from Kroger just a little while ago and the shelf was almost empty, so the word may be out about these.
My store seems to be going through them quickly too. When I got my bag it was at the perfect time when an employee was clearing the shelf of several empty boxes of these but hadn’t yet opened up the new ones so I got to hover around awkwardly waiting for him to pop one open. Please, sir, may I have some chips?
I really enjoyed the Flamin Hot Cool Ranch Doritos. I’ve gone back and bought five or six bags from my work now can’t get enough of them.
“hell pollen” hahahaha lol, hehe. Thank you for that!
Taco Bell will have a Doritos Locos shell in this flavor coming out next month.