The Dollar Tree Chip Dip That Knocks Fritos Down A Peg

There's just something about a glossy nacho cheese dip that can't be matched. That's why, in our taste test of nine Dollar Tree items, we tried pitting a version of the dollar store canned cheese dip against name-brand Fritos Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip. And it turns out, the discount version came out on top. Though we found that Dollar Tree's Home Style Select Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip is fairly similar to Frito's version, the Dollar Tree product is the one we'd go for regularly.

Our taste tester found a few key things: One was that the jalapeño flavor in the Home Style dip was more up front, which made it more attractive. (The Fritos' version was cheesy in the beginning, with a jalapeño aftertaste.) The cheese flavor in the Dollar Tree version was also more tame in an appealing way. "After a few bites of each," wrote our tester, "I decided that I preferred the milder cheese flavor of my Home Style dip — it tasted more like cheddar, whereas the Fritos cheese was more akin to an artificial Cheez Whiz." It doesn't hurt that the Dollar Tree version is naturally cheaper, too, priced at $1.25 compared to $3.98 for Frito's dip at Walmart.

We're not the only ones who find Dollar Tree's Home Style Select Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip a fitting dupe for Fritos' chip dip, if not better. Popular TikTok user dollartreedinners gave this dip a shoutout in one of her videos, in which she shows how to make Taco Bell's popular Beefy 5-Layer Burrito at home. She suggested using Fritos Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip for the burrito, but added, "Dollar Tree's version is super close, and it is a lot cheaper."

A YouTube reviewer in a video by El Compa Felix said of the Dollar Tree version, "It tastes the same [as Fritos]," scoring the Home Style Select Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip an enthusiastic five out of five. It's not always that dupes win in our taste tests (for example, Burger King's Chicken Fries still beat out Aldi's version), but in this case, cheaper doesn't mean it's an inferior product — with the Home Style Select Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Dip, it happens to be the final selling point. And while you're there picking up snacks, try the Reese's cup Dollar Tree dupes too; people say the Dollar Tree version gives the original version a run for its money.