Frederic Melton
Cheetos are a crunchy corn-cheese puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They were invented in 1948 by Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin and are currently sold in over 36 countries. While Cheetos are made with real cheese, it is dehydrated Wisconsin cheddar cheese. The cheese is sprayed onto an enriched cornmeal base, which is then deep-fried. The enriched cornmeal base contains various vitamins and minerals, including riboflavin and folic acid.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Enriched corn meal, vegetable oil, whey, salt, cheddar cheese, maltodextrin, disodium phosphate, sour cream, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, citric acid, artificial colors (including Yellow 6) |
| Cheese type | Wisconsin white cheddar cheese |
| Cheese state | Dehydrated derivative |
| Nutritional value | RDA of calcium, antioxidants |
| Other nutrients | Riboflavin, folic acid (vitamin B9) |
| Calories | 2,000 per day |
| Other products | Pepsi-flavored Cheetos, Mountain Dew-flavored Cheetos, Cheetos Whoosh, Sweetos, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Cheetos popcorn, Cheetos mac n' cheese |
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What You'll Learn
Cheetos contain real cheese
Cheetos are a crunchy corn-cheese puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They were invented in 1948 by Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin and have since become the top-selling brand of cheese puffs in their primary market of the US.
While Cheetos are made with cheese, it is not clear whether this cheese is organic. The cheese used in Cheetos is a dehydrated derivative of Wisconsin Cheddar. The cheese is powdered and sprayed onto the corn puffs after they have been deep-fried. The full list of ingredients in Cheetos includes:
- Enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
- Vegetable oil (corn, soybean, or sunflower oil)
- Whey
- Salt
- Cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes)
- Partially hydrogenated soybean oil
- Maltodextrin
- Disodium phosphate
- Sour cream (cultured cream, nonfat milk)
- Artificial flavor
- Monosodium glutamate
- Lactic acid
- Artificial colors (including Yellow 6)
- Citric acid
The first ingredient in Cheetos is enriched corn meal, which is made from corn meal with added vitamins and minerals. The second ingredient is vegetable oil, which is likely used to fry the corn puffs. The third ingredient is whey, a byproduct of cheese-making that is not actually cheese itself. The fourth ingredient is salt, followed by cheddar cheese as the fifth ingredient.
While the cheese in Cheetos may not be organic, it is real cheese, and the snack does provide some nutritional benefits. The proper daily serving of Cheetos has been found to contain the recommended daily amount of calcium. Cheetos also provide antioxidants, which are a byproduct of the chemical melding process used to produce them.
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It is dehydrated Wisconsin cheddar
Cheetos are a crunchy corn-cheese puff snack made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They were invented in 1948 by Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin, who cooked early test batches in the Frito Company's research and development kitchen in Dallas, Texas. The cheese-flavored snack sold quickly, but Doolin did not have the production or distribution capacity to support a nationwide launch. This led him to partner with potato chip businessman Herman W. Lay for marketing and distribution, and Cheetos were introduced nationally in the U.S. in 1948.
The original Crunchy Cheetos are still in production, but the product line has expanded to include 21 different types of Cheetos in North America alone. As Cheetos are sold in more than 36 countries, the flavor and composition are often varied to match regional tastes and cultural preferences. For example, in 2025, Cheetos were reintroduced in Indonesia and are available in two flavors: Cheese and Roasted Corn Cheese.
While Cheetos are made with real cheese, it is unclear whether this cheese is organic. However, it is dehydrated Wisconsin cheddar. The cheese is dehydrated to create a powdered cheese product that is sprayed onto the cornmeal base. This process is similar to the cheese powder in a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. The cheddar cheese used in Cheetos contains milk, cheese cultures, salt, and enzymes.
In addition to the cheese, the Cheetos cornmeal base also contains ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid. Riboflavin is necessary for the synthesis of various chemicals in the body, and folic acid is important for preventing diarrhea and nerve damage. However, it is worth noting that the processing of cornmeal can eliminate up to 60% of naturally occurring riboflavin, so it is added back in along with the other nutrients.
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The cheese is powdered
Cheetos are a crunchy corn-cheese puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They were invented in 1948 by Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin and were first distributed nationally in the United States in the same year.
The cheese used in Cheetos is powdered and made with real cheese, specifically dehydrated Wisconsin Cheddar. The cheese is powdered and added to the Cheetos during the production process. Firstly, an "enriched cornmeal" is created, which is basically cornmeal with added ingredients such as ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid. This mixture is then fed through an extruder that heats the liquid inside, causing it to pop like popcorn and creating an uneven texture. The product is then deep-fried and sprayed with the powdered cheese mixture.
The cheese powder contains ingredients such as whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), canola oil, maltodextrin (made from corn), salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, natural and artificial flavors, lactic acid, citric acid, and artificial color (Yellow 6).
The cheese powder provides a bold, cheesy flavor to the Cheetos, contributing to their popularity as a snack food. Cheetos have been ranked as the top-selling brand of cheese puffs in the United States, with worldwide annual retail sales totaling approximately $4 billion as of 2010.
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Cheetos were invented in 1948
This led him to partner with potato chip businessman Herman W. Lay for marketing and distribution. Together, they introduced Cheetos nationally in the US in 1948, along with a potato product called Fritatos. The success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger of their two companies in 1961, forming Frito-Lay Inc.
At the time, Cheetos was one of four large snack food brands produced by the company, which had annual revenues of $127 million. In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company to form PepsiCo, which prompted further distribution of Cheetos outside of North America.
The original Crunchy Cheetos are still in production, but the product line has expanded to include 21 different types of Cheetos in North America alone. As Cheetos are sold in more than 36 countries, the flavour and composition are often varied to match regional tastes and cultural preferences. For example, in Japan, Pepsi-flavoured Cheetos were introduced in 2013, and Mountain Dew-flavoured Cheetos were available in 2014. In India, Cheetos Whoosh are sold, which are made with ingredients like whole grain and vegetables.
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They are owned by PepsiCo
Cheetos are made with real cheese, including Wisconsin white cheddar cheese in the Natural Cheetos line. They are owned by PepsiCo, which was formed in 1965 when Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company. Frito-Lay itself was formed in 1961 when The Frito Company merged with H.W. Lay & Company. Charles Elmer Doolin, the creator of Fritos, had invented Cheetos in 1948 and partnered with Lay for marketing and distribution.
PepsiCo is currently responsible for the production, marketing, and distribution of Cheetos under three different operating divisions: PepsiCo Americas Foods, PepsiCo Europe, and PepsiCo APAC and AMESA. This allows for the sale of Cheetos in more than 36 countries, with localized versions produced to match regional tastes and cultural preferences. For example, in Japan, Pepsi-flavored Cheetos were introduced, and in India, Cheetos are made with whole grain and vegetables.
As of 2010, Cheetos was ranked as the top-selling brand of cheese puffs in its primary market of the U.S., with worldwide annual sales totaling approximately $4 billion. This made Cheetos the 11th-largest PepsiCo brand. The success of Cheetos has led to the expansion of the product line to include 21 different types in North America alone, such as Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Cheetos Mac n' Cheese.
In addition to its global presence, Cheetos has also granted licenses to other companies for distribution in specific regions. For example, PepsiCo granted a license to the Strauss-Elite company to distribute Cheetos, and in 2021, PepsiCo and Indofood announced that Indofood CBP had purchased all the shares of Fritolay Netherlands Holding B.V., an affiliate of PepsiCo. This resulted in the production of Cheetos, Lay's, and Doritos brand snacks in Indonesia being stopped, and the Cheetos brand in the country was renamed into new variants of Chiki.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Cheetos are made with a dehydrated derivative of Wisconsin Cheddar.
Cheetos are made by creating an "enriched cornmeal" with various vitamins and nutrients, which is then fed through an extruder that heats the liquid inside, creating an uneven texture. It is then deep-fried and sprayed with powdered cheese product.
Cheddar cheese is used in Cheetos, specifically dehydrated Wisconsin Cheddar.
Yes, Frito-Lay introduced Natural Cheetos in the mid-2000s, which touted all-natural ingredients and real Wisconsin white cheddar cheese. The Natural brand was rebranded to Simply in 2014.
Cheetos are not a healthy snack. While they do provide calcium and antioxidants, they also contain high levels of salt and artificial ingredients, including Yellow 6, an artificial dye that has been linked to tumors in animal tests.
