Doritos and Cheetos colored with veggies? Here's a look

PLANO, Texas — It’s not easy swapping out artificial dyes to make Doritos and Cheetos with colorful vegetables and spices.

PLANO, Texas — It’s not easy swapping out artificial dyes to make Doritos and Cheetos with colorful vegetables and spices. But that’s the challenge PepsiCo has taken on at its global headquarters for food research and development as it reworks the recipes for beloved snacks like Nacho Cheese Doritos, Cheetos Puffs and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Instead of Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6, the snacks will be colored with a mix of beets, radishes, paprika, annatto and turmeric.

“They come with their own flavor, right, just like a vegetable would, and we’re blending them into those seasonings,” said Denise Lefebvre, senior vice president of global foods research and development at PepsiCo. “So you really have to manage those flavors together.”

Naturally colored Doritos.Kayla Steinberg / NBC NewsHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration have been pushing food makers to phase out artificial dyes by the end of 2026 — with a new “Make America Healthy Again” report this week re-upping the administration’s call for limits on food dyes. But PepsiCo said it’s actually been working on naturally colored snacks for years.

“We were already progressing on this journey and really responding to consumers’ needs and desires,” Lefebvre said.