How many calories is a doritos locos taco

I’ve gotten a tremendous number of hits the last few days from people doing a Google search about the calories in a Doritos Locos taco from Taco Bell, all because when I heard the fast-food-meets-junk-food object of desire was being test marketed in areas with relatively low overall incomes and high overall health problems, it set me off on what qualifies as a rant for me. You don’t have to dig around any more. Here is the answer to the question you seek, straight from Taco Bell: Doritos Locos Taco:

• serving size: 78 grams
• calories: 170
• calories from fat: 80
• saturated fat: 3.5 grams
• total fat: 9 grams
• trans fat: 0 grams
• cholesterol: 25 mg
• sodium: 340 mg
• carbohydrates: 13 grams
• dietary fiber: 2 grams
• sugars: 1 gram
• protein: 8 grams

Doritos Locos Supreme Taco:

• serving size: 113 grams
• calories: 200
• calories from fat: 100
• saturated fat: 4.5 grams
• total fat: 11 grams
• trans fat: 0 grams
• cholesterol: 35 mg
• sodium: 370 mg
• carbohydrates: 15 grams
• dietary fiber: 2 grams
• sugars: 2 grams
• protein: 9 grams

Taco Bell managed to keep the Doritos Locos taco calories exactly the same as its crunchy taco counterpart. The sodium in the Doritos Locos taco is 50 mg higher than the crunchy taco. What does it all mean? I like this, from a great analysis by Johanna Weiss of the Boston Globe:

In truth, when you examine nutrition data on the company website, the Doritos Locos Taco is no worse for you than the rest of the menu. It just sounds more disgusting, which is part of its appeal: A taco to eat out of spite.

A taco to eat out of spite – what a concept! Over 100 million of the things were soldin the first 3 months or so of their existence; I presume not too many of those were consumed just to be contrary. But I do wonder – how does that nutrition information compare to something similar people make at home? We make tacos, assembled with two tablespoons of Rosarita vegetarian-style refried beans, an Old El Paso crunchy taco shell and 1/4 ounce of Monterey jack cheese; all regular stuff from the grocery store, nothing super healthy or organic. I did some math and figured each of those tacos weighs in at about:

• serving size: 62 grams
• calories: 113
• calories from fat: 43.2
• saturated fat: 2.35
• fat: 4.8 grams
• carbohydrate: 12.6 grams
• sodium: 256 mg
• dietary fiber: 2.6 grams
• protein: 4.75 grams

Sour cream and salsa are extra, on my homemade as well as on the standard Doritos Locos taco. So there you go. Click here to find out how many calories there are in a Domino’s Bacon Cheeseburger Feast pizza. What’s for dinner tonight? If you’re cooking, check out this great recipe for potato-filled tacos and my homemade taco seasoning recipe.