Cheese Stuffed Doritos

close up shot of Dorito crusted cheese triangles on wire rack garnished with sea salt

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5 from 1 vote

Doritos are great, but Cheese Stuffed Doritos are even better!!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Finger Food

Cuisine: American

Servings: Doritos

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

3 Large Shallow Dishes (for dredging)
Food Processor or Zip Lock Bag and Rolling Pin (optional - for crushing Doritos)
Cast Iron Skillet or Large Deep Pot (suitable for deep frying)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Kitchen Thermometer
Paper Towels
Slotted Spoon
Wire Rack

Ingredients

1x 14oz / 400g block of Mozzarella (see notes)
1x 6.4oz / 180g bag of Chilli Heatwave Doritos
4 cups / 1 litre Vegetable or Sunflower Oil, or as needed to deep fry
1/3 cup / 50g Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
1 tsp EACH: Smoked Paprika, Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper plus extra salt to serve (flaky sea salt best to serve if you have it)

Instructions

Cut Cheese: Slice the cheese into squares around 1/3" thick, then slice diagonally into triangles. You should get 24 triangles from a 14oz/400g block.
Crush Doritos: Crush the Doritos to a texture similar to Panko breadcrumbs. You can do this in a food processor or just pound them in a zip-lock bag. Failing that just use your hands to scrunch them up in the bag. If you're doing this just make sure you do it over a bowl, as sometimes the bottom of the bag can pop open.
Prep Coating: Line up 3 bowls - the first with flour, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt & black pepper, the second with 2 beaten eggs and the third with the crushed Doritos.
Dredge Cheese: One by one coat the triangles in the seasoned flour, then in the egg, then in the crushed Doritos. Really make sure you thoroughly coat the cheese at each stage, especially in the Doritos. Carefully transfer to one side, ensuring you don't knock off too much of the coating, then repeat. Allow to sit for 10-15mins, just to allow the coating to glue together with the cheese.
Fry Cheese: Heat enough oil to comfortably cover the Doritos to around 180C/350F. In batches, fry the Doritos for 1-2mins or until the cheese starts to leak out (this happens quite quickly, so just be vigilant). Place on a wire rack with paper towels underneath and bring oil back up to temp between batches.
Serve: Sprinkle with salt as they rest, then serve up and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) What kind of cheese to use? - I find mozzarella works great here. You can pick up mozzarella cucina (the low-moisture cuboid shaped stuff) from Sainsbury's and Waitrose I believe. You could also use a block of cheddar, however I'd consider double dunking (see below) as it leaks out much quicker than mozzarella. In all cases make sure it's low-moisture cheese.

b) Do they have to be triangular? - Nope! Mini mozzarella balls or even squares work just as well.

c) Double Dunking - You can add the coated cheese back into the egg and into the crushed Doritos again to build up a thicker crust. This does leave the Doritos more crunchy and helps prevent the cheese leaking out, but it is more time consuming and a lot messier, hence why I just single dunk. If you are double dunking you'll need an extra egg and another bag of Doritos.

d) Can I bake or Air Fry these? - I have tested doing both, and they don't come out quite as well because the cheese tends to melt before the coating gets crunchy. If you are opting to bake or air fry you'll want to freeze the coated cheese for a few hours beforehand. And potentially consider double dunking, just to build up a thicker crust. I recommend 200C/400F for both air fryer and oven. Oven took around 5-6mins from frozen, the air fryer was around 3mins.

e) Can I use different flavoured Doritos? - The seasoning here is best suited for spicy Doritos. You could use other flavours (cheesy or cool original) but the seasoning won't quite match.

e) Serving - These are awesome with a Dip! Sour Cream and Chive, Garlic and Herb, Salsa or Marinara Dip are my faves.

f) Calories - Per Doritos assuming 1/2 tsp oil soaked up per Dorito (slight over estimate as not all the flour and egg gets used up).

Nutrition