Do Doritos Expire or Go bad?

This tangy triangle is America’s favorite chip, with billions of bags of Doritos sold yearly.

But when it comes down to finishing off this delicious cheesy chip, it can be a challenge, especially when you tuck into the family-size bag. Is there a way to maintain that cheesy tangy crunch, or are we faced with stale Doritos?

Who doesn’t love a Dorito or two? They are perfect for dipping or eating chips with friends and family.

This article will take a look at the ubiquitous Dorito and find out if and when they expire or go bad so you can get the most out of your Doritos.

Let’s get into it.

How long are Doritos good for?

It depends on how they are stored. Unopened Doritos are good for around a month to six weeks if kept in a cool pantry in their factory packaging. Doritos have been flushed with nitrogen to remove the oxygen from the bag, making them last longer.

Once you have dipped into the Doritos, they should keep their crunch for three or four days, depending on how you have sealed the bag.

Keep opened Doritos in an airtight container to extend the crunch.

Can you eat expired tortilla chips?

Yes. When Doritos are manufactured, they are constantly dehydrated. Dehydration is an integral part of the process that gives Dorito tortillas a stable shelf life, meaning they last for some time.

Having a low moisture content means that you should be able to eat Doritos maybe three months after the expiry date, and they will still have their crunch.

But having a low moisture content doesn’t mean Doritos can’t go moldy and bad. They can and do. So, when eating Doritos or chips after the expiry date, you should proceed cautiously and check for mold in the bag and on the Doritos.

Are Doritos made from flour and water?

The year was 1961 when Doritos entered the chip arena and threw down the challenge to become the best-selling chip in the US and possibly the world. By 1988 Frito-Lays first tortilla chip was the largest selling chip worldwide.

How are Doritos made to become so delicious and finger-licking good?

Doritos are a variation of masa. It says it’s tortilla chips. But tortillas are softer and pliable when bending and folding, whereas Dorito has a crunch, so how is that done?

Doritos are made by bringing fresh corn kernels that are cooked to soften the husk and add moisture to the corn, so the corn absorbs some of the water, making it plump and juicy. It then goes through a crushing or mashing process before transforming into masa, but it is not flour.

Soft dough is extruded into thick sheets and stamped into familiar triangle shapes. After this process, they traverse into a series of 500℉ hoit boxes where the Dorito starts to take shape.

You may be surprised to read that after passing through the hot boxes or ovens, the tortilla chips are not crunchy and have become more tortilla textured and pliable.

But guess what? The tortillas are fried for one minute at 300℉, after which they take on their golden crunch texture, but it is still not complete for your enjoyment.

Enter the cheese and lots of cheese. Did you know it takes about ten thousand cows working overtime to create all of the cheese needed for Doritos in one year?

The cheese recipe is top secret, but it is known to include Roman, Cheddar, and fantastic Parmesan with some spices to keep you coming back for more and more.

Doritos is a derivative of the Spanish word Dorado, meaning gilded or small pieces of gold.

What constitutes a low moisture point of food?

Low moisture is essential if you want a staple shelf life for a product. It’s designed into the food, such as Doritos and other chips. Manufacturers know that moisture is a big no and causes chips to have a short shelf life and introduce the dreaded mold spores, which consumers hate to see.

In technical terms, low moisture foods are foods with a water activity (aW) equal to or less than 0.85.

Do Doritos go bad if unopened?

Yes. If Doritos are left indefinitely, they will go bad, the product has a shelf life, and after that shelf life, the product starts to degrade with every day that passes.

Dorito tortillas are natural food, and no preservatives are added to extend the life of the tortilla chips. Eventually, all organic food types will become inedible regardless of moisture content.

The good news is that Doritos are self-stable, and an unopened pack of Doritos will last 3 to 4 months and retain the crunch.

How long do Doritos stay good after the expiration date?

Understanding expiration dates can be confusing, so think of the expiration date on your Doritos as a guideline from the manufacturer. The expiry date says that the product may not be at its best after this date. It’s not saying it needs to be thrown in the garbage bin.

Despite all of the do-gooders saying you have 2-3 weeks after the expiry date before the Doritos are bad is nonsense. You can find videos online of Doritos being eaten a year after expiry, and they are great. They still crunch, and the flavor profile is the same as new.

However, if the bag is open, then the lifespan of your Doritos has dropped dramatically, and if you want to experience the crunch, eat them after a few days. Otherwise, they will become stale and absorb some moisture from the air.

What does expired Doritos taste like?

Let’s assume that you have kept your Doritis on the bottom shelf of your pantry for years, maybe five years, and you think to yourself should I try and see if they are still ok?

You will first notice that the opened bag may smell odd, like old cardboard, cat food smell, and wax crayons.

So, you still feel brave or hung over, and you go in for the taste test, and they still crunch. How amazing is it that an old bag of Doritos still has the crunch? The good news ends there.

The Doritos are inedible, and you would be well advised to stop after the first taste, or you could risk becoming sick.

Should you keep opened Doritos in the fridge?

It sounds like a great idea, but the truth is you will not gain anything. In fact, you may speed up the process of the Dorito chip becoming soggy.

Your fridge may be cool, but because the fridge door is frequently opened, moisture is being introduced, contaminating your open bag of Doritos, making them soft and stale.

If you do prefer to keep your open Doritos in the fridge, place the Doritos in an airtight container to lock in the freshness and the crunch, but the life is still going to be 3-4 days max.

Does freezing Dorito tortilla chips keep them fresh?

Did you know that tortilla chips can be frozen? They’re still fresh and crispy! They turn out perfectly if you eat them sporadically. If you have had leftover corn tortilla chips, wrap them in an airtight bag and put them in the freezer.

Freezing Doritos only works if you eat them sporadically, you will lose some crunch and will be replaced by a brittle texture. Other than this, they will be fine, and you can considerably extend the chips’ expiration.

How should you store your Doritos?

Unopened preferably. Keep the Doritos out of direct sunlight. Many bags of chips react poorly to being in sunlight, it may be the UV or the heat, but they never taste the same after prolonged exposure to the sunlight.

Store your Doritos in a cool pantry. If not in the kitchen cabinet is fine, out of the way of the kid’s fingers, so they are not all eaten immediately.

The store opened Doritos in an airtight container and ate within a few days to get the best from the product.

What happens if I find mold on a Dorito?

Don’t eat it and throw the bag away. Think of mold as like a tree. When it’s time, the leaves are green, but the roots run deep underground, and you can’t see them. This is how mold works.

Final Thoughts

Doritos do expire and eventually go bad. They are a natural food product. However, if you have a bag of Doritos a few months past the expiry date, they are possibly still edible and as good as the day you bought them home from the grocery store.

The expiry date is not the end of the road for Doritos and should be treated as the best-before date, and it’s an advisory to let you know your product still tastes excellent at this point.

Unopened Doritos last for a long time, and freezing Doritos can extend the expiration date and prevent Doritos from going bad.

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