Dig if you will the picture: you’ve walked into a convenience store, grabbed your favorite drink, and now it’s time to load up on snacks. You do a quick scan of the chip aisle when your eyes lock on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. A classic! Grab ’em!
BUT WAIT! What’s that right next to them? Takis Fuego?
Now you’re dealing with a dilemma. Do you go for that combination of cheddar and spice or reach for the snack that crackles on your tongue with a zesty blend of citrusy lime and chili powder? Which will it be?
If you’re a person of good taste, you’re going Takis every time. The flavor of Takis Fuego just tastes… more harmonious. The spicy powdery cheddar of Cheetos has its moments, don’t get us wrong, but what Takis offers are flavors that layer together into something more than the sum of its parts. It’s a near-perfect spicy snack that offers legitimate levels of heat, a nice audible crunch, and a zesty semi-sour lift on the backend that seems to almost squeeze the taste buds and leaves your mouth watering for more.
In celebration of all things Takis, we’ve decided to round up every Takis product we could find for the ultimate roundup. From Fuego to Nitro, chips, to nuts, popcorn to meat sticks to… more chips — we’ve tasted every Takis product and ranked them from worst to most delicious.
14. Takis Fuego Meatsticks
Price: $9.42
Tasting Notes:
Made by Cattleman Cuts, these Fuego-flavored meatsticks are absolutely FOUL.
That’s right, we’re busting out the all-caps for this one. This is hands down the worst spicy snack I’ve ever tasted. It’s sour, salty, and spicy in all the worst ways and… it tastes like death. Really, there are no redeeming qualities to this thing, it tastes like the lowest quality jerky you’ll ever eat with a truly awful texture and a smell that makes it difficult to even take a single bite.
I’m not sure if this is an official Takis branded product. It uses all the Takis Fuego marketing but it says on the package “Inspired By The Intesity Of Takis Fuego.” Not “made in collaboration,” or anything like that.
I love Takis, but this is truly the worst thing I’ve ever eaten from a gas station convenience store. That’s saying something.
The Bottom Line:
Do not eat this under any circumstances. Not fit for human consumption.
13. Takis Fuego Chippz
Price: $3.49
Tasting Notes:
Takis Fuego Chippz take a good thing — the Takis Fuego flavor — and apply it to one of the most basic potato chips I’ve ever eaten. It’s not that the Chippz are bad, it’s that they’re so mediocre that almost any other chip option in any other flavor is better than this. The potato chip it’s built on is stale with a dull cardboard texture and a serious lack of flavor. That familiar Fuego burn is there on the backend, but I’m not getting much of the lime and the potato-flavor just makes the whole experience dull on the taste buds.
The Bottom Line:
It’s a fine idea but Takis should stick to what it does best: corn chips.
12. Takis Guacamole
Price: $3.48
Tasting Notes:
I have a few friends who swear by this Taki flavor variety but it’s just not working for me. It has a very artificial guacamole flavor, it’s sort of vegetal but lacks that buttery complexity that makes guacamole so special. It’s a little hard for me to eat this without wishing I just had a regular bag of Takis Fuego and an avocado so I could make my own guacamole.
After all, a good guacamole is incredibly easy to make you only need a ripe avocado, some lime, salt, and black pepper. You’re better off making your own than buying this.
The Bottom Line:
Takis and guacamole is a winning combination but this artificial rendition is seriously lacking.
11. Takis Fuego Waves
Price: $2.19
Tasting Notes:
Takis Chippz are straight-up bad but the Waves take things up a step offering a better texture and balance of flavors. The Waves have a more pronounced lime flavor than the Chippz and hold the spicy powder much better, delivering a heavier dose of that familiar Fuego flavor. They’re still a bit stale and could do with a heavier helping of chili powder but these are definitely worth a pick-up if you’re curious.
The Bottom Line:
A fine Ruffles-style chip with that familiar Fuego flavor.
10. Takis Kettlez Jalapeno Typhoon
Price: $2.98
Tasting Notes:
Takis Kettlez line is pretty solid. My main gripe with the Chippz and Waves was the stale potato-chip flavor, by using a kettle cook method Takis remedies that lack of flavor with something that tastes wonderfully caramelized. It has a much thicker cut than the Chippz and Waves but this Jalapeño Typhoon flavor comes across as a bit too weak.
If you can’t handle heat but you want a bit of a burn on your kettle-style chips, this is the pick for you. Alas, as a Takis fan, I know the brand is capable of better.
The Bottom Line:
Takis does kettle-style chips pretty damn well but this is easily the weakest iteration on the form.
9. Takis Fuego Popcornopolis
Price: $69.99 (Pack of 12)
Tasting Notes:
Made in collaboration with Popcornopolis, this is a simple Takis Fuego take on popcorn and it works as well as you’d expect it to. It’s light a fluffy with that familiar citrus and spice flavor combination. Unlike most Takis products, the heat hits your tastebuds first with the lime flavor acting as a sort of aftertaste. After the first few bites, it’s going to taste a bit weird, there is something slightly off about the combination of popcorn and lime to my palate… but a few handfuls in, I was sufficiently addicted.
It definitely grows on you once your tastebuds adjust to the idea of lime-spiked popcorn.
The Bottom Line:
The first few tastes of this spicy and citrus-flavored popcorn might taste a bit off but give it time, it grows on you in the best way.
10. Takis Kettlez Habanero Fury
Price: $2.98
Tasting Notes:
I’m a bit torn on these, on the one hand, I like them a lot, but with a name like “Habanero Fury” I’m expecting a strong level of heat and this just doesn’t have it. It leans much more on the bright flavors of habanero but it doesn’t taste nearly as spicy as Takis stock Fuego flavor. Like the Jalapeño Typhoon, that caramelized potato flavor is delicious, but it leaves me wanting for heat. A bit of a burn develops in the back of the throat after a few chips, but nothing that even the most spicy-averse couldn’t handle.
The Bottom Line:
Tasty, but if you’re expecting intense heat from the use of habanero, it’s just not here.
7. Takis Hot Nuts Fuego
Price: $1.98
Tasting Notes:
I’m almost certain that this product was made solely so Takis could call something “Hot Nuts.” It’s a horrifying image but you know what? These tastes pretty f*cking great. The peanuts are coated in a light layer of corn tossed in the Fuego chili powder and result in a more subtle and nutty take on the familiar flavor. Takis could’ve simply dusted some peanuts in chili powder like so many other brands, but by coating them, it presents something that is truly unique to the brand and definitely worth a pickup if you’re a fan of spicy nut snacks.
It may be blasphemous, but I’d totally add some of these into a Spicy Chex Mix for the perfect hybrid snack.
The Bottom Line:
Spicy corn-coated nuts for those occasions when regular spicy nuts just aren’t enough.
6. Takis Nitro
Price: $2.33
Tasting Notes:
Now, this is what I’m talking about! Takis Nitro combines the bright flavors and strong pronounced spicy kick of habanero peppers and infuses it into the Takis rolled corn chip form factor. It’s incredibly spicy, with a strong almost cough-inducing heat that hits the back of the throat as soon as you take a single bite. Takis Nitro is the flavor for people who want more of what Fuego offers, more heat, more citrus, more EVERYTHING.
Having said that, I think it comes across as a bit too overwhelming. More isn’t always better, and the Takis Nitro is just too much. If for some reason you’re trying to lessen the number of chips you eat this might be a good option because a small handful is enough to satisfy. But if you’re looking to kill a whole bag, this is going to overwhelm you a bit too quickly.
The Bottom Line:
Too much of a good thing.
5. Takis Crunchy Fajita
Price: $2.59
Tasting Notes:
Takis Fajita dials things back for a more subtle flavor than what Nitro offers. The name “Fajita” may lead you to believe this flavor packs some vegetal bell pepper and onion notes, but it doesn’t (what a missed opportunity!), instead, it offers a more subtle take on spicy flavors than what you’d expect out of Fuego. It’s a bit more balanced, spice isn’t the star of the show here, it’s merely a feature of the flavor.
The heat slowly builds here, it never gets to levels that are mouthwatering or uncomfortable, and it totally lacks that spicy finish that Takis is famous for.
The Bottom Line:
A milder and more balanced version of that famous Fuego flavor with less heat and no citrus zest.
4. Takis Blue Heat
Price: $3.48
Tasting Notes:
There is something seriously disturbing about eating a blue-powdered corn chip, but Takis Blue Heat truly offers something that fans of spicy chips would want: that famous Takis heat without the lime. Crunchy Fajita took out that bright lime finish that makes Takis easy to pick out from a blind line-up but offered a milder flavor, Blue Heat goes the other way, it brings the heat.
Blue Heat comes across as slightly spicier than Takis OG Fuego flavor and is a bit drier on the throat, but I wouldn’t say it’s radically spicier. That dryness makes it a bit less palatable, but if you’re looking for a truly spicy snack that sends you into a coughing fit, this is going to get the job done.
The Bottom Line:
That strong spicy kick of Takis Fuego without the bright citrusy lime finish.
3. Takis Kettlez Fuego
Price: $2.98
Tasting Notes:
There is a reason most of the Takis products are reinterpretations of the Fuego flavor — it’s the reason Takis are so beloved. The Kettlez Fuego brings the famous combination of intense heat and bright citrus to the kettle chip form factor and it’s delicious. The caramelized potato has an almost onion-esque flavor to it which pairs perfectly with the intense heat of Fuego.
What I desperately want is a Nitro version of this chip so that I can squeeze fresh lime over it for a more natural result. But until that product is made, this is the next best thing.
The Bottom Line:
Easily the best Kettlez flavor.
2. Takis Stix Fuego
Price: $4.69
Tasting Notes:
Maybe I’m ranking this a bit too high but ever since first trying the Takis Stix, which was for this article (I would’ve never tried them otherwise) I’ve been obsessed. The Stix aren’t all that different from regular Takis, they’re made of corn but the distribution of flavors here is totally different. Instead of a pronounced corn chip flavor and texture, the Stix have a very faint corn flavor, allowing the blend of spicy chili powder and lime to take center stage.
Part of me loving this so much is that it’s a subtle change-up of the OG Takis flavor, but it’s different enough that it comes across as exciting for seasoned Takis fans.
The Bottom Line:
If you’ve been passing these up because they seem redundant, I strongly encourage you to give them a try. On some days these are even better than OG Takis Fuego.
1. Takis Fuego
Price: $4.98 (Fiesta Size)
Tasting Notes:
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but the best Takis product is the OG Fuego flavor. It just doesn’t get better than this when we’re talking Takis. On first taste, you’re hit with a nice sustained burn on the tongue that builds as you eat chip after chip.
What makes Takis superior to Hot Cheetos is the way the chili pepper powder embeds itself into the rolled tortilla’s folds, offering up an uneven delivery of spicy notes. That sounds like a bad thing but it’s not, it makes each bite a surprise with a shifting balance of spice and zesty lime notes that constantly teeter-totters between the two extremes.
The Bottom Line:
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Takis Fuego is the flavor that started it all for a reason and it remains the best iteration of the Fuego flavor.