Doritos After Dark Review: Trying Sweet Chili Chicken Bites & More

Doritos are already a go-to late-night snack, but the company is taking it to the next level with a Doritos After Dark ghost kitchen. Yep, it’s just like it sounds — crave-worthy snack foods like chicken bites and nachos, all made with Doritos. The limited-time creations will be available from Dec. 16 to Dec. 21 in select cities, and I had a chance to taste the entire Doritos After Dark menu. This review dives into each dish made with different Doritos flavors so you know exactly what to expect.

There’s something so satisfying about a midnight snack, whether you stumble out of bed after being woken up by a growling stomach or stay up past your bedtime. The new Doritos After Dark menu has the brand expanding beyond being more than your go-to chips. If you already love DIY Doritos recipes such as a Doritos Walking Taco or Doritos Taco Bake, you’ll want to peek at the delivery-only menu available via a new Doritos ghost kitchen in select cities. The menu starts with solid snack options like chicken bites and corn dogs and incorporates all your favorite Doritos flavors from Doritos Nacho Cheese to Spicy Sweet Chili, Cool Ranch, and Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch, so you already know the food is going to slap.

The Doritos After Dark menu will be available to night owls in New York City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas from Dec. 16 through Dec. 21, and there are more than a few reasons you’ll want to give it a try if it’s in your area.

Doritos After Dark Review

Prepare yourself for a late-night feast because Doritos After Dark is coming in hot with so much food and flavor. My box of Doritos After Dark arrived complete with Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and mini packets of Doritos for snackin’. I was slightly disappointed that most of the menu items were no longer hot when they arrived, but it was nothing that a microwave and an air fryer couldn’t fix. And once they were heated up, the flavors were worth putting in a little extra work

Doritos Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Corn Puppies:

These fried triangle-shaped Corn Puppies were inspired by trendy Korean corn dogs, and I was expecting “triangles filled with gooey cheese and beef hog dogs,” according to the press release. Not as advertised, there was seemingly no gooey cheese and only a bite-sized hot dog, leaving the snack to be mostly batter. You’re supposed to dip them in ranch (which was very tasty) and roll them in crushed Doritos Flamin' Hot Cool Ranch chips, but I was still left wanting more from the snack overall.

Doritos Nacho Average Nachos:

No one enjoys soggy nachos, so I’m glad I was able to assemble these myself. I piled on a mix of queso, guac, salsa, sour cream, and ground beef into the box of Doritos Nacho Cheese chips and dug right in. The spices from the Nacho Cheese Doritos definitely elevated these snack and gave it a flavor kick. You can’t go wrong with queso, and it complemented the chip’s flavor while the salsa balanced out the richness. These nachos were fun to DIY and the ingredients were so easy — I’ll definitely be recreating it for my next party.

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Bites:

Hands down, this was the best dish on the Doritos After Dark menu. I couldn’t stop munching on these crunchy Chicken Bites, one after the other. (Pro tip: Throw them in the oven or air fryer for a couple minutes for extra crispiness.) The breading on the chicken was seasoned to perfection with a light coating of sweet and spicy sauce, which made it ideal for dipping into the crushed Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips to get that next level crunch. The chicken itself was super tender and didn’t taste too oily, despite being deep-fried. Needless to say, I’m a fan.

Doritos Cool Ranch Loaded Pita:

Keeping in the theme of triangular foods, the Doritos Cool Ranch Loaded Pita brings Mediterranean vibes to your door. The pita pocket is filled with chopped, roasted chicken, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, with a side of yogurt sauce and crushed Doritos Cool Ranch chips. Nothing surprised me about the pita but the yogurt sauce and Doritos chips added a twist with creamy tanginess. The chicken was dry, but the key was loading on the sauce.

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Sammie:

This was the most filling item on the menu. The sammie is inspired by a Vietnamese banh mi with seasoned beef, Asian slaw, sriracha aioli, and fresh cilantro. The bread was tough and lacked the crispy bread crust typical of a banh mi baguette, but the filling kept me going back for more. Adding in bits of the Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips reminded me of the classic sandwich and chips pairing. I’d honestly use this flavor hack to spice up any sandwich.

How To Order Doritos After Dark:

The limited-edition menu, created in partnership with PepsiCo Foodservice Digital Lab and Popchew, is a delivery-only menu run out of ghost kitchens — meaning the kitchens are operated at real restaurants, so you can trust that the food is legit. You can place an order through Popchew by visiting www.DoritosAfterDark.com, or you can order directly from DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats by searching “Doritos After Dark” and entering your address to check if you’re in the delivery range.

It’s available from Dec. 16 to Dec. 21, starting from 4 p.m. until late each night in New York City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

How Much Does Doritos After Dark Cost?

The Doritos After Dark combo is priced at $14.99 for a dish (any one of the above options) with chips and a drink. Share the Doritos love with friends, and try the full spread in a $59.99 party pack for four people, according to an email Doritos shared with Elite Daily. In the party pack you’ll get two Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Sammies, eight Doritos Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Corn Puppies, and Doritos Nacho Average Nachos, as well as four bags of Doritos and four drinks.

Not every Doritos After Dark offering is a home run, but whatever you do, snap up some of the Chili Chicken Bites.