Amazing Doritos Corn Salad (Or Dip)
This Doritos corn salad is so delicious for parties and cookouts, you won’t believe it until you try it. It’s got yellow corn, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, bell peppers, and Spicy Nacho Doritos for a marriage of flavors you’ll find irresistible. You can serve this make-ahead recipe as a dip for game day too!
This makes a great dip or side dish to serve at a Super Bowl party or tailgating event. It’s an ideal potluck dish, and the orange color makes it great for fall or Halloween, too.
This is one of those dishes that if you’ve never had it before it’s hard to emphasize how tasty it is. There’s sweetness from the corn, freshness from diced vegetables, and a depth of flavor from ranch dressing and Doritos chips. It’s a party in your mouth!
Why You’ll Love It
- Versatile. As I say over and over, this is a summer side dish OR an appetizer dip. It’s the perfect recipe for a host’s repertoire.
- Make-ahead. You can make this up to a day ahead, or at least 2 hours ahead so the flavors can marry together.
- Easy. You can put this together in about 15 minutes with little prep work. Minimal chopping and shredding is all that’s required; then just mix and chill.
Ingredients
- Canned yellow corn. Using cans makes this so easy; just open and drain to use.
- Block cheddar cheese. You need to shred the cheese yourself to get the best texture and flavor.
- Mayonnaise. Use your favorite brand, even light mayo if you want.
- Bottled ranch dressing. Use a good brand for this because some generic brands don’t taste great. My go-to choices are Ken’s, Hidden Valley or Kraft.
- Red bell pepper. Red peppers are a little sweeter than green, plus the color looks pretty. You can substitute with yellow or orange peppers.
- Green onions. I love the flavor that green onions provides. It tastes great without the bite of regular onions.
- Spicy Nacho flavored Doritos. This flavor is perfect for this salad, however you can experiment with other flavors as noted below.
- Tortilla chips. If you want to use this as a dip, you’ll need chips for dipping. I like to use corn tortilla chips, Fritos Scoops, or extra Doritos.
How to Make It
- Combine all ingredients except the Doritos.
- Crush the Doritos chips into bite-size bits or smaller. They will soften over time and have the texture of a soft tortilla. Crush them with your hands as you sprinkle them into the dip, or put them in a large zipper bag and use a rolling pin to roll over and crush them. NOTE: The finer the crumbs are the less texture you’ll get, but still have the flavor.
- Mix the chips into the corn mixture, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Serve with more Doritos and tortilla chips if you like, or add Fritos corn chips or scoops on the side.
Quick Tip
Crush the Doritos chips into fine crumbs to get the flavor without the texture. Then sprinkle freshly crushed chips onto the top just before serving, to keep the crunchy texture.
Variations
- Use different flavors of Doritos: classic Nacho flavor, Taco flavor, Cool Ranch flavor, or Spicy Sweet Chili flavor.
- Use different cheese such as Pepper Jack, white cheddar, Monterey Jack, or smoked gouda.
- Add in some crumbled bacon.
- Add some diced jalapeno for heat.
- Sprinkle in chopped fresh cilantro for a fantastic addition.
More Corn Recipes
- Best hot corn dip with cream cheese
- Classic easy cowboy salsa (aka redneck caviar)
- Easy corn salad with tomatoes, feta and basil.
- Easy creamed corn casserole without Jiffy
- Grilled corn on the cob with parmesan butter
- Jiffy cornbread casserole
I took this Doritos corn salad to a neighborhood pool party and kept it safe by placing the serving bowl on a bed of ice that was inside a larger bowl.
Let me know how much you love it and how you serve it!
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Doritos Corn Salad
This easy corn salad with Doritos is delicious and addictive! Make it ahead for easy entertaining and serve it as a side dish for cookouts or casual parties. Or, use it as a dip for tortilla chips!
Ingredients
- 2 (14-oz) cans yellow niblet corn, drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (do not use pre-shredded for this)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup bottled ranch dressing
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup green onion, diced
- 2 (10 oz) bags Spicy Nacho flavored Doritos
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together, except for the chips.
- Crush 6 cups of Doritos using your hands, or put them in a large Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to roll over and crush them finely.
- Stir them into the corn mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Serve with tortilla chips on the side for dipping if you like.
Notes
Half the recipe to serve it as a delicious dip.
I was inspired by this recipe, but gave it a couple of alterations to suit our taste.
I first shared this recipe on Homes.com.
Looks good! Pinned! 🙂
Thanks Courtney. It’s such a crazy idea but totally works!