REVIEW: Guacamole Doritos (2025)

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Chips and dip: a tale as old as time.

Chips flavored like dip: a tale nearly as old as time.

People clamoring about bringing back discontinued chips that taste like dip from the glory days of pre-iPhone America: a tale as old as two decades.

Yes, for the first time in nearly 20 years, since this website’s inception, Guacamole Doritos are back on shelves. Originally running from 2003-06, this green-clad bag of vibrantly green tortilla chips has been the source of constant internet buzz and early aughts nostalgia. I am sure I had these at some point, but I have no recollection of, or specific love for, the original, so I’m going into this with an open mind and fresh tastebuds.

Biting into my first well-seasoned chip (always gotta pick a properly dusted one to start), there is no doubt these taste like guacamole. I immediately get that distinct, fatty, earthy avocado taste, rounded out by garlic, onion, and a touch of citrus. It truly tastes like I dunked a crispy chip into squishy dip. Quite marvelous.

Interestingly, the more I eat, the more the flavor moves away from avocado and into cheesy corn territory. This isn’t bad; it’s just different and not avocado. Some chips have a flavor that stacks, especially spicy ones, where the profile is initially subtle and then builds into a crescendo of flavor. These are different. They start boldly guac-y and then taper down to a spiced (not spicy) creamy cheesy taste with a hefty dose of corn chip. Still good, but that big-bowl-o-guac party vibe is drastically toned down.

Taking a look at the ingredients list, I’m not surprised to find sour cream, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, whey, AND butter all in the mix. Yet there is no powdered avocado or other science-adjacent ‘cado in sight. I am still remarkably impressed by how on-the-nose the guacamole presence is on the first couple of chips, and how this myriad of other components, combined with “natural and artificial flavors,” created such a perfect impersonation.

The good news is that even if the flavor does dwindle a bit, what’s left is still very good and worth the purchase of at least one bag for Doritos lovers. However, something tells me that the nostalgia chasers may not enjoy them as much as I do, or at least as much as they did in 2004, since our new, matured experiences can rarely live up to the memories we hold dearly in our minds.

Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 2 5/8 ounces
Purchased at: Circle K
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (11 chips, 28g) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Bacon Grilled Cheese Potato Chips

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It’s been far too long since we’ve experienced a Lay’s Do Us a Flavor contest. It’s been so long that I don’t even remember when the last one was or what the flavors were without having to Google it.

This year’s crop of flavors includes Valentina & Lime, Korean-Style Fried Chicken, and Bacon Grilled Cheese. Unfortunately, unlike previous years, there’s no definite oddball loser among them that allows the food scientists at PepsiCo to flex their flavor alchemy at the cost of poor sales. So, no Cappuccino potato chips to freak out our taste buds.

Instead, all three of 2025’s Do Us a Flavor finalists have a legitimate chance of winning. However, all the past contests have shown us that the safest flavor wins. So here’s a review of the winner because I believe it’s the safest — Bacon Grilled Cheese.

(NOTE: I haven’t tried any other finalists because, for some reason, when I picked this up at Target, none of them were in stock.)

They’re not the most aromatic chips I’ve had. I notice the smokiness and the cheese, but they’re surprisingly light, even when I shove my face into the bag. Although, I could blame vog allergies for that.

Fortunately, the flavor is noticeably stronger than its scent. Between the cheddar cheese and the bacon, it tastes like there’s a bit more smokiness. If you’ve had the bacon or BLT-flavored Lay’s that come back occasionally, you’ll recognize that these chips have a similar smokiness. The cheese mostly reminds me of cheddar, but the ingredients also list blue cheese, sour cream, and buttermilk, which explains the chip’s pleasant tanginess. With its combination of tastes, I imagine Lay’s could repackage and rename this product without any changes as “Smoked Cheddar” in the future.

Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Bacon Grilled Cheese is a fine finalist, which is surprising because I believe Lay’s Bacon Potato Chips are mediocre. The addition of cheese to the smokiness makes a tremendous difference. However, while these chips are good, they don’t excite my taste buds as much as cheddar & sour cream or sour cream & onion. I wouldn’t be sad if I never got to try these again.

With that said, this chip is good enough and safe enough that it’ll probably win. However, if you love it and it doesn’t win, don’t fret. Like many previous Do Us a Flavor losers that aren’t Cappuccino, Lay’s has brought them back for a limited time.

Purchased Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 7 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 16 chips – 28 grams) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Signature Select Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips

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While Lay’s isn’t giving us any weird sweet flavors with this year’s Do Us a Flavor contest, there is an oddball seasonal flavor on shelves right now if you happen to live near any Safeway/Albertsons stores or any of their sister grocery chains that are too numerous to list. Signature Select Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips is part of a massive rollout of lemon-flavored products that are too numerous to list and have been around since spring began.

The idea of lemon-flavored potato chips seems odd to me, but also not so strange at the same time. During my dinner recipe searches, I’ve encountered lemon-flavored dishes that include potatoes, so combining the two isn’t so foreign. But this is the first time I’ve actually tasted lemon and potato anything because I’m too lazy to cook those dishes I found. Also, these chips don’t seem so odd because citrus-flavored tortilla chips are common.

When I first tried them, the lemon was so mild that I was disappointed. With more chips, the sweet and sour citrus flavor somewhat built up, but it sadly never reached a point where I wanted to pucker. The masochist in me had hoped the lemon would be bold enough to force some kind of facial expression that shows uneasiness. Instead, it had a mild citrus flavor that teetered between weird and okay. However, my wife ate two chips, grimaced, handed the bag back to me, and told me they had an odd aftertaste. Apparently, I liked them more than her.

While I didn’t find the flavor offensive, I disliked the cheap quality of the potato chips which seemed thinner than what Lay’s offers and not as crispy. But I guess that’s what you get with store brands sometimes.

Did Signature Select’s Limited Edition Lemon Potato Chips convince me that Big Chip should do a lemon flavor? I’m not sure. But if it happens, I’m always down to try two things that usually don’t go together again. If you have the same spirit and a Safeway/Albertsons or sister store nearby, perhaps allow your taste buds to experience a little adventure.

Purchased Price: $3.49 (on sale)
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – 30 grams) 180 calories, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Funyuns Sour Cream & Funyuns

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Initially released in 1969, Funyuns remained entirely unchanged from its cornmeal and onion powder origins for over thirty years until several short limited runs like Wasabi and Chili & Limon surfaced during the 2000s. Now, the circular snack can be found with the original ’69 flavor profile, as well as Flamin’ Hot, Spicy Queso, and my favorite: Steakhouse Onion. Yet, over 50 years since the chips’ inception, we get possibly the most on-the-nose and least outside-the-box limited release in recent memory — Sour Cream & Funyuns.

While it may not be the most creative of concepts, I enjoy the simplicity of this idea. Oftentimes, new flavor twists, especially from other Frito Lay brands like Doritos, are meant to wallop you over the head with flavor, and this one aims to combine the onion with the onion in perfect seasoning-meets-form-factor harmony — and it works!

Sour cream and onion is one of the most popular potato chip seasoning choices, so it’s no surprise that it works really well on an onion-shaped circle of corn meal. Looking at the rings, you can tell immediately that these aren’t your grandma’s summer of love Funyuns. These have little green specs and an even more prominent funky flavor aroma than the original, and the simple mashup delivers delicious results.

The airy crunch is the same as always, starting with a sweet onion that then evolves into a bit of garlic and finishes with a legitimate sour cream tang. That tangy flavor absolutely stacks when eating more rings, and the sour bite lingers for a couple of minutes afterward. This is essentially 75% of the Funyuns you already love (or hate) with a touch more bite and a creamy finish, which, for me, is a subtle but effective improvement on the original.

While I may never love Funyuns in the way that I do Fritos, Doritos, Cheetos, or any other fried corn delight, Sour Cream & Funyuns constructs the ideal seasoning setup for this spherical snack to contend with the big boys of the Frito Lay brand.

Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 2 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 pieces, 28g) 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle

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There are pickle-flavored things EVERYWHERE.

In the same way that the early 2000s brought us bacon-flavored everything, it seems we’re in the middle of a pickle-flavored time period. Perhaps capitalizing on the TikTok trend of dipping a pickle into cream cheese and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Frito Lay has recently launched Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle.

Like its original Flamin’ Hot brethren, this snack is an enticing fire engine red color courtesy of Red 40 Lake and Yellow 6 Lake. I was half expecting to see little dill flakes here and there but my eyes didn’t pick up on any.

Although the bag provided a hefty waft of undeniable pickle scent upon opening, I couldn’t tell from the ingredient list if vinegar or dill were actually added or if they were swept up under the “Natural Flavors” or “Spices” ingredient declarations.

But WHOA, these do taste like pickles. The overwhelming flavor is brine-y vinegar with a lingering dill aftertaste. The heat from the Flamin’ Hot “cheetle” is absolutely in the mix as well. In fact, the vinegar flavor’s acidity and the heat compound on each other, which give these Flamin’ Hot Cheetos another sensory experience from the O.G. Flamin’ Hot. For many minutes after I was done eating, the tingling sensation of the spice hung on to my pallet, along with an intense dill and garlic flavor.

If I could make any critique at all, it would be that the brine and acidic flavors overpower any cheese flavor or dairy notes from getting through at all. This is a hot, zingy snack. There’s almost no detectable cheese. I’m saying this as someone who prefers the undeniably cheesy Flamin’ Hot Queso Ruffles. But that’s a personal preference.

Overall, I’d say Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle really nailed a cultural moment on the nose. It successfully combined the expectations of Flamin’ Hot with the tang of a dill pickle brine.

Purchased Price: 2 for $7 (on sale)
Size: 8.5 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 21 pieces) 150 Calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

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