Doritos Cool Ranch Taco Bell Tacos Coming 'Later This Year,' Possibly By Summer

Like the coming of winter and the deepening of Justin Bieber's voice, the introduction of Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell is all but inevitable.

The Nacho Cheese-flavored (read: orange) Doritos Locos Tacos, after all, have already been a smash success for the brand, both in terms of public awareness and sales. Some have even said that they could save Taco Bell. So many have taken it for granted that Taco Bell would bring other flavors of Doritos to bear on its food -- eventually.

But when?

As early as this summer -- if rumors swirling around the blogosphere this week can be trusted.

The idea can be traced back to a Tweet from Taco Bell headquarters yesterday. Responding to a query about Cool Ranch Tacos, the Yum brands social media peon on duty wrote:

@TacoBell
TACO BELL

@tyleroakley We're coming out with a cool, new taco this summer. #HintHint

April 4, 2012 7:00 pm via web Reply Retweet Favorite

That seems pretty close to a confirmation to us. Still not convinced? There have also been sightings of Cool Ranch-flavored taco shells at various Taco Bell locations around the country -- assumedly test sites for a potential new product. So the debut of Cool Ranch Doritos Tacos really does seem imminent. It would, in any case, make a pretty great 50th birthday present for Taco Bell.

UPDATE: A Taco Bell spokesperson confirmed that Taco Bell is "releasing Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos later this year on the heels of the successful introduction of Doritos Locos Tacos, the biggest launch in Taco Bell history." He declined to say when exactly they would be released -- but summer counts as "later this year," right?

Want to prepare your taste buds for the adventure by adding Cool Ranch Doritos to some other favorite fast food items? Click through our slideshow of other fast food items with Nacho Cheese Doritos for some inspiration:

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• Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco

  <strong>The Method:</strong> The one that started it all uses a proprietary taco shell-shaped Doritos chip as its wrapper, and comes swathed in a special cardboard holder to prevent Doritos powder from coating eaters' hands. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Very positive reviews all around; most agreed that the tacos had been improved by the extra salt and savoriness of the Doritos shell. The biggest complaint was that there wasn't enough Doritos flavor -- it seemed as if the seasoning had been tamped down vis-a-vis the normal chips. To solve this problem, we tried adding more Doritos in the middle of the taco. It didn't help.

• Cosi Signature Salad

  <strong>The Method:</strong> We tossed crumbled Doritos into Cosi's signature salad, which contains mixed greens, gorgonzola and cranberries. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Pretty solid! The chips added some much needed saltiness and crunch to what is usually a sweet, mushy salad. On the other hand, the signature Doritos flavor didn't really stand up to the salad's vinaigrette and ingredients; almost any chip would have improved the salad. In the words of one taster, "Since there is blue cheese in the salad, it feels like the two are competing for attention."

• Chipotle Burrito

  <strong>The Method:</strong> Since we were too bashful to ask our Chipotle assembly line wrapper to crumble the Doritos into the middle of the burrito, we ended up stuffing it ourselves ex post wrappo. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Funny! But not good-tasting, sadly. One taster said that the pairing was "good texturally," but most agreed that the subtle, natural flavors of a Chipotle burrito clashed with the artificiality of Doritos.

• Wendy's French Fries

  <strong>The Method:</strong> Grind the chips into a powder, then shake them up with the fries to coat them evenly. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Possibly the worst of the pairings. One taster compared them to "dry cheese fries," while another noted that, "Ketchup does not go with Doritos." Blech!

• McDonald's Big Mac

  <strong>The Method:</strong> Added whole Doritos on top of both the burger's beef patties. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Bravo! Most tasters agreed that this was almost as good a match as Eddard and Catelyn Stark on "Game of Thrones." (Full disclosure: they did not use a "Song of Ice and Fire" analogy to convey their enthusiasm.) One said, "The creamy sauce complements the crunchy texture of the chips," which, another added, "makes it more satisfying, because usually it's one-dimensional."

• McDonald's Chicken McNuggets

  <strong>The Method:</strong> We stuck Doritos into the McNuggets, as our photographer put it, "like shards of glass." <strong>The Verdict:</strong> These were divisive. Some tasters hated the combo, finding the McNugget flavor and texture overpowering. But others said that dipping the Doritos-adorned nuggets into barbecue sauce made for a revelatory melding of flavors.

• Subway Spicy Italian Sub

  <strong>The Method:</strong> Lay whole chips right up in the middle of the sub. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> One of the better matches. One taster even called it "delicious," noting that salami and Doritos have mutually beneficial flavor profiles. Another taster, though, quipped that, "This does not taste discernibly different because normally when I eat a Subway sandwich I'm also stuffing Doritos in my face." (It's not clear that this was a criticism.)

• Dunkin' Donuts Glazed Donuts

  <strong>The Method:</strong> Because we had three donuts, we decided to try a few things... we stuck them in as with the McNuggets, we stuffed them in the middle as with the Big Mac and we sprinkled their crumbs on top as with the Wendy's Fries. <strong>The Verdict:</strong> Another divisive dish. Though one taster praised the Doritos donuts for their "nice cheesecake taste," others picked up artificial, bitter flavors that they said ruined the meld. Everyone thought they LOOKED awesome though!

Comments

[Uhhhhdel]

11:41 AM on 01/30/2013

This would be awesome news if they sold the shells at the grocery store. But if the only way to get one is by buying sub-standard meat, no thanks.

[ppakan77]

04:38 PM on 04/29/2012

When will Dorito make the shells available to consumers.? Would love to buy a case of them so as to make my own different filllings at home !!!

[Sean Hobbins]

10:08 AM on 04/17/2012

"How can we improve sales and keep using the 40% beef "beef" mixture?"
"Tell stoners we're making tacos out of Doritos now"
"Utter genius"

[Godiva]

02:10 PM on 04/13/2012

I make my loaded nachos with Cool Ranch, seasoned ground beef, diced black olives, tomatoes and scallions, covered with lots of Monterey Jack Cheese.

[baxtron]

09:57 AM on 04/09/2012

should have used cool ranch in the first place.

[Nakai317]

03:39 PM on 06/05/2012

i hoped that happened 2 plus i wish 4 the cool ranch 1s 2

[Dr Gachet]

02:30 PM on 04/07/2012

Had the dorito taco. Not a real dorito--normal taco shell with some dorito dusting. Disappoint.

[Robert Mansfield]

04:30 PM on 05/29/2012

Then they made it wrong.. cause the new DLT shells are thinner, as they are made with the exact recipe that the original Doritos chips use...

[bmwracer]

01:17 PM on 04/06/2012

As if there weren't enough reasons not to go to Taco Bell.

[jenniferkizzy]

03:02 PM on 04/08/2012

ew gross

[California Beach Bum]

11:23 AM on 04/06/2012

I can't wait!!! Taco Bell needs to bring back the Bellbeefer!

[antipodal2u]

11:21 AM on 04/06/2012

China owns taco bell, KFC and pizza hut...'Wheres da beef?'

[antipodal2u]

11:20 AM on 04/06/2012

Let me guess. Beef???

[dmm1047]

11:00 AM on 04/06/2012

Hey, they ever get that "mystery meat" thing squared away?

[wil1601]

10:52 AM on 04/06/2012

What makes Taco Bell so successful is its relative blandness- other than sour cream or a couple of other ingredients, there's nothing in their food that you couldn't get at McDonald's. They got rid of any ingredients over the years that might actually give the food any kind of unique spiciness like green onions, black olives, etc. Much like a Chinese take-out- all of the menu items are interchangeable. Here's an example of what I'd REALLY like to see- I'd like to see Taco Bell partner up with Dave's Gourmet sauce company and offer tacos and burritos laced with Insanity Sauce, and as a "first" in the restaurant industry (as far as I know), restrict the sale of them to minors (customers must show proof of ID). I figure, anything that's restricted must be pretty amazing, don't you?

[Samearn]

10:45 AM on 04/06/2012

I'm not personally against Taco Bell or Doritos, but the more concoctions like this we develop, the fatter we are going to get... And we're already at 2/3 of the population beng overweight or obese.

[John Hazelton Smith]

12:11 PM on 04/06/2012

the food is not the problem; it's how much of it people eat. Let's put the blame in the correct place.

[Samearn]

03:43 PM on 04/06/2012

I agree. We are responsible for what we put in our bodies. Period.

But let's not be so naive to think we can allow every form of temptation possible to be thrown in front of us and still expect everyone to make the best choices. We shouldn't support an environment that encourages us to fail.

[CynAnne]

11:03 PM on 04/06/2012

As long as you don't eat them everyday (and exercise regularly, of course), I don't see a problem with a quick n' tasty treat...and we do likes that 'Cool Ranch' flavor. ;)

[gopalsingh]

01:34 PM on 04/08/2012

Our national food will never improve, nor our health problems disappear, so long as anyone thinks of stuff like this as a 'treat'.

"As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular." Oscar Wilde

The same goes for our food.

[PutYourNameOnIt]

10:35 AM on 04/06/2012

There must be 2 people in every town that eat fast food all the time to keep all the restaurants open. If you go by the posts, no one ever eats fast food because its so gross and bad for you and they only eat healthy.
I want them to use the taco flavored Doritos to make the shell for a taco out of.

[mspat44417]

10:34 AM on 04/06/2012

It isn't "brand new" it's just some of their other items rearranged... I like Taco Bell but it's nothing new...