There’s nothing quite like the sensation of licking that thick bright-orange coating of nacho cheese dust from your fingers after polishing off a bag of Doritos. The savory, cheese-dusted tortilla chips have always been a part of my life. I remember the joy of discovering a small bag packed alongside my PB&J in day camp lunches, and girls passing big bags around at sleepover parties while we watched TV shows slightly too old for us. These days I have nothing against a good packaged, mass-produced snack from time to time, but I also really enjoy my own DIY version of Doritos.

With the help of my air fryer, they’re easy and fun to make. In my homemade version of the popular crunchy chip snack, corn tortillas are cut into quarters and air fried until crisp, then tossed in my custom cheesy, savory seasoning blend that tastes pretty darn close to the original Doritos seasoning.

But let’s face facts: Doritos tortilla chips, which are perfect in every way and universally loved by almost everyone, cannot truly be produced without the assistance of factory machines and perhaps a dedicated team of lab-coated scientists. I will leave that to the experts at Frito-Lay. My goal with this recipe was to create a fun-to-make stand-in that will make you pause and say, “Hey, these really do taste like Doritos!” not an exact replica.

A Very Brief History of Doritos

Before we talk about how to get that signature Doritos flavor, let’s learn a little about this beloved snack, which was invented at Disneyland in the early 1960s and introduced nationwide in 1966. It may be surprising to learn that the original Doritos flavor was Toasted Corn, not the ever-present Nacho Cheese, which wasn’t invented until 1972. In 1967, a year before I was born, a mild “Taco” flavor hit the shelves. It has just a hint of taco seasoning, which perhaps was considered bold at the time. 

Tips for Making Air-Fryer “Doritos”

Start with my homemade super savory “Doritos” blend. The combination of salty and savory powdered cheese, dried buttermilk, nutritional yeast, dried tomato powder, savory spices, and a touch of monosodium glutamate (MSG) is what makes my copycat Doritos blend taste so good and so close to the real thing.

For the powdered cheese, I like to use Yellow Cheddar Cheese Powder. It’s the closest match both visually and in flavor to real Doritos. King Arthur Baking’s white cheese Better Cheddar is also excellent. The seasoning makes a full cup, which is enough for two batches of chips, and it stores well at room temperature for up to a month. I also like to mix the seasoning blend with cottage cheese or sprinkle it over popcorn or hard boiled eggs for flavorful snacks. You can even mix it with sour cream or Greek yogurt for a flavorful dip.

Choose from three seasoning blends. These days there are all kinds of wild Doritos flavors: Coffee in Australia, Roast Mediterranean Chicken in Taiwan, and even a Late Night Loaded Taco flavor in North America. The main recipe includes my spin on Doritos’ classic Nacho Cheese flavor blend, but I’ve also included two time-honored flavor variations: Taco and my personal favorite, Cool Ranch.

Let the air fryer do the work. I love my air fryer and use it whenever I can. Not only is it a somewhat healthier and much less messy alternative to deep frying, but thanks to the air fryer’s ability to heat quickly and its constant air flow, foods cooked in the appliance come close to the crispy fried texture of deep fried foods. It’s why I love to use it to make my own tortilla chips. But even air-fried food needs some fat to get crispy, so be sure to lightly coat the corn tortillas with neutral oil before quartering and air frying them to ensure that they brown and crisp evenly. The bit of oil will also help the seasoning cling to the chips. 

Use fresh corn tortillas. I found in testing batch after batch of chips that the seasoning blend will not adhere properly to stale or dried out tortillas. Store-bought packaged tortillas work great, but make sure they are soft and pliable. If you hear a popping sound towards the end of the cooking time, this is totally normal and nothing to worry about, and actually a good thing—it’s just the chips blowing around inside the air fryer, a sign they are almost fully crisp. (Although in my experience, this popping sound doesn’t occur with every batch.)

Season the chips while hot. This is critical for the seasoning to properly cling to every chip. You can toss everything together in a bowl, but I prefer to shake it all up in a sealed gallon-size zip-top bag. It’s a fun bake and shake experience. 

I’ll admit my DIY Doritos aren’t exactly the same experience as popping open a bag of the real thing, but they’re still pretty darn close, with the bonus of being a lot of fun to make.