New Doritos! Our Review of Flamin’ Hot Korean BBQ Doritos

Meet Flamin’ Hot Korean BBQ Doritos, the newest addition to both the Flamin’ Hot lineup and the growing wave of Korean-inspired snack flavors. Could these new Doritos truly deliver on the smoky, savory-sweet magic of Korean barbecue? As a die-hard KBBQ fan, I certainly hope so. 

With products like Korean BBQ Spam and Kettle Brand Gojuchang Chips coming out over the past year, the K-wave is finally taking over our American name-brand snack food, and I’m all for it. Plus, as someone who dropped $60 on Korean BBQ last weekend without batting an eye (not because I can afford it, but because that’s a price I’m willing to pay for a little bit of joy as we inch closer and closer to the collapse of modern society), I was pretty stoked to review this new Doritos flavor. They come out officially on March 31st, exclusively to Walmart—but we got a sneak peek.

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Flamin’ Hot Korean-Style BBQ Doritos

Pros: The more I continued to munch on these new Flamin’ Hot Doritos, the more they actually grew on me. It’s hard to pinpoint right away, but there is a pretty specific Korean BBQ dipping sauce flavor similar to ssamjang that comes through. In fact, fans who love Flamin’ Hot Doritos might like these more than casual snackers—the sweetness really complements the heat. 

Cons: These “new Doritos” may or may not be Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos with a dusting of Flamin’ Hot powder, slightly tweaked to fit the Korean BBQ theme. I can’t say for sure; I didn’t have the spicy-sweet version on hand for a live comparison, but that sweet chili sauce flavor is pretty familiar. I can tell you pretty confidently that no matter what, you won’t be wowed by these. They aren’t particularly bold, and they lean too sweet to fully capture the essence of Korean barbecue—you know, the smoky, umami-packed experience of charring fresh cuts of meat over an open flame. Literally the most bare-bones definition of “savory” you can get. They’re definitely worth a try, but this probably won’t be your new favorite Doritos flavor. Sorry, Doritos!

Credit: Liv Averett / Doritos