Best vegan snacks to eat on the go – and the hidden ingredients to watch out for

From tasty vegan snacks you can buy in stores to fun vegan snack recipes to make at home, we’ve got the lowdown on plant-based snacking…

Who doesn’t love a snack every now and then? Whether it’s a cinema snack, a post-workout boost, or something to get you through an afternoon at work, sweet and savoury snacks can be a lifeline for hungry vegans.

But which snacks are suitable for vegans? With limited options and animal products seeming to lurk on every label, it can be hard for vegans to know what to snack on.

But that doesn’t mean we have to resort to lettuce leaves or plain, uncooked tofu when hunger strikes.

We live in a golden age of vegan snacking. Free From products make it particularly exciting because there are plenty of dairy-free versions of our favourite chocolates, sweets, crisps, biscuits and even ice creams readily available in stores.

Some of them may be gluten-free too, but that’s a bonus for those of us who need to follow a gluten-free diet whilst also wanting to live a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Beyond the Free From aisle, there are actually lots of accidentally vegan products and intentionally vegan snacks we can choose. And if our favourite isn’t available yet, we can always make our own.

From vegan versions of favourites like Jaffa Cakes, to deliciously unique plant-based nibbles like beetroot jerky, there’s a vegan recipe to satisfy every craving.

So, have a browse and learn how to find the best accidentally vegan snacks, and how to make a few of your own.

• Accidentally vegan sweets
• Accidentally vegan cakes, pastries and biscuits
• Accidentally vegan crisps and savoury snacks
• Recipes for vegan snacks

Accidentally vegan sweets

There are plenty of vegan-friendly sweets out there if you know where to look. In fact, many mainstream brands are starting to label their sweets as vegan, making it even easier to seek out a sweet treat.

Meanwhile some previously non-vegan sweets have been reformulated to plant-based ingredients, like Fruitella which changed its full range of iconic chews over to a vegan recipe in 2023.

Accidentally vegan sweets in the UK include:

• Skittles
• Fruit Pastilles
• Jelly Tots
• Drumstick Lollies
• Millions
• Chewits Juicy Bites
• Starburst
• A range of Swizzels products including Love Hearts, Refreshers, and Parma Violets

What to look out for:

When checking the label of sweets, one of the most prevalent non-vegan ingredients to look out for is gelatine. This is often used in jelly sweets, but can also be found in some unlikely places, or used in the coating of some products.

Visitors from overseas should be aware that while Sour Patch Kids are vegan in the US, the UK recipe does contain gelatine.

Vegans should also be on the lookout for milk, honey-based sweeteners and carmine, a food colouring derived from insects.

Accidentally vegan cakes, pastries and biscuits

Traditionally baked goods are often made with milk, butter, eggs, or a combination of all three.

It’s fortunate for us vegans, then, that many commercially produced cakes and biscuits have turned to vegetable oils in their recipes, making their products accidentally plant-based.

While some vegetable oils may not make the most nutritious options, none of us are eating chocolate cake as a health food so these are fine as an occasional treat.

Accidentally vegan cakes and baked goods in the UK include:

• Soreen malt loaves and bars
• Some supermarket doughnuts – including Co-op Bakery Custard and Jam Doughnuts
• Jam Tarts
• Mr Kipling Apple & Blackcurrant Pies
• Mr Kipling Treacle Tart
• Warburtons Crumpets

If you like to bake your own accidentally vegan snacks at home, you can opt for one of these baking kits:

• Jus-Rol Pain Au Chocolat
• Jus-Rol Cinnamon Swirls
• Most varieties of Betty Crocker cake mix. The pre-made buttercream icings are often accidentally vegan too!

When shopping for accidentally vegan biscuits in the UK, we’re spoiled for choice. Here are just some of the vegan biscuits available to dunk in your tea:

• Oreos
• Party Rings
• Jammie Dodgers
• Hobnobs
• Lotus biscuits (including the cream-filled varieties)
• Some brands of Digestives, Nice biscuits, Bourbons and Rich Tea are also suitable for vegans.

What to look out for:

While most vegetable oils are suitable for vegans, many baked products use palm fats in their recipes.

Palm oil is plant-based, and can fit within the definition of veganism (particularly if RSPO certified.) However, many vegans choose to avoid this ingredient wherever possible.

Be aware that baked products may contain honey as a sweetener, or may use egg wash for a shiny finish.

When shopping in the Free From aisle for cakes and tarts, it’s easy to be drawn in by ‘milk free’ products. Remember that these can often still contain egg, so it’s always important to check the label, even on allergy-friendly dairy-free products.

Accidentally vegan crisps and savoury snacks

A lot of crisps and savoury snacks appear to be vegan by default. After all, what could be non-vegan about fried potato slices or salted nuts?

Well, the ingredients of crisps can be surprising. It’s a pleasant surprise to spot a ‘suitable for vegans’ label on Frazzle-style bacon rashers or roast chicken flavour crisps. Conversely, it’s an unpleasant surprise to find milk in your favourite salt and vinegar crisps.

If you’re looking for accidentally vegan crisps, you can’t often go wrong with ready salted. There are plenty of plain or flavoured choices of accidentally vegan crisps including:

• Walkers
• Kettle Chips
• Pringles (ready salted only)
• Pom Bears
• McCoys salt and vinegar
• Off-brand Frazzles (but not the name brand)
• Skips
• Chilli Heatwave Doritos.

When branching out into other snacks you’ll find that plenty of types of nuts are suitable for vegans. You can also enjoy salted popcorn, Bombay mix, Twiglets, and some flavours of rice cake.

What to look out for:

Milk is one of the most common non-vegan ingredients to look out for in savoury snacks. It’s often found in cheese or sour cream flavour snacks, but can also be used as a binding or bulking agent in the flavourings for all sorts of crisps and nuts.

Be on the lookout also for meaty flavourings in your crisps. It’s easy to skim the ingredients for allergens like milk in bold text, but far easier to miss the less obvious ingredients like ‘beef flavouring, often tucked at the end of the list of ingredients.

As a general rule, if the ingredients don’t contain milk, eggs or honey and the product is marked as vegetarian it’s usually suitable for vegans too. In some products ‘natural flavourings’ can include animal-derived ingredients, so if in doubt give it a miss.

Recipes for vegan snacks

Plenty of snacks are accidentally vegan, but for everything else, there are vegan dupes. Make your own delicious vegan snacks with these recipes for old and new favourites.

1. Vegan Jaffa Cakes

Whether you consider them a biscuit or a cake, you’ll be over the (full) moon to taste these veganised Jaffa Cakes.

With a tart, citrusy blood orange jelly and a coating of your favourite dairy-free chocolate, you’ll want to snack on these all day long.

2. Vegan Chocolate Mini Rolls

With a soft chocolate sponge swirled with a simple cashew cream, these mini rolls are the perfect vegan substitute for the chocolatey lunch box treat.

Why not get creative by adding mint or strawberry flavouring to the filling? Or you could decorate the outside of the rolls to make mini caterpillar cakes.

3. Golden Flapjacks

Flapjacks are the ultimate in easy but delicious vegan snacks. And you can make them as plain or as fancy as you like.

Keep them simple with golden syrup and a drizzle of chocolate, or add any combination of fruit, nuts, and even sweets to create the flapjack of your dreams.

4. Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

When you need a sweet snack, you just can’t beat a classic chocolate chip cookie.

This vegan recipe features flaxseed and oats for extra nutrition while still tasting amazing. Perfect for dunking in plant-based milk!

5. Beetroot Jerky

For ex-jerky fans, this beetroot snack really hits the spot. With a smoky, earthy flavour and a satisfyingly chewy texture, it’s a tasty choice for on-the-go munching.

It’s lower in fat and calories than traditional jerky, and contains plenty of fibre, vitamins, and minerals.

6. Fruit & Nut Brittle

This extra fruity twist on peanut brittle might just be the tastiest way to snack on nuts and seeds.

Colourful shards of this sweet, crunchy brittle make a wonderful snack, gift, or cake decoration.

7. Mocha Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

These chocolatey, crispy peanut butter fudge bars are the ultimate in indulgent snacking.

Rich, coffee-spiked chocolate fudge is studded with crispy rice pieces and doused in a sweet peanut butter drizzle for a moreish treat to enjoy any time of day.

8. Welsh Cakes

Traditional Welsh cakes make a lovely mid-morning snack served with a comforting cup of tea.

These vegan versions are easy to make with dairy-free alternatives.

9. Paprika Popcorn

This popcorn is a fiery twist on a movie night classic.

The spicy flavour of this popcorn pairs well with a margarita or cerveza on a Friday night

10. Chocolate Popcorn Clusters

If you prefer your popcorn sweet, you’ll love these nutty, chocolate-drizzled popcorn clusters.

These bitesized treats are filled with flavour and are perfect for a light but satisfying snack.

11. Peanut Butter Cup Doughnuts

Crush two cravings with one vegan snack by making these raw vegan doughnuts topped with peanut butter cup chunks.

These deliciously decadent treats are loaded with wholesome ingredients and are great for those who prefer to avoid refined sugars and processed foods.

12. Pink Bounty Bars

This fruity, coconut-filled chocolate bar is a perfect pink dupe for the popular chocolate bar.

With pink dragonfruit powder and a coating of bittersweet dark chocolate, it’ll soon be your new favourite snack.

13. Vegan ‘Snickers ‘Crisp Rice Slice

This nutritious take on the classic hunger-busting Snickers bar is filled with wholesome ingredients like Medjool dates, peanut butter, and brown rice.

It features a smooth date caramel, studded with peanuts and crisp rice pieces, all topped with a generous layer of rich, dark chocolate.

14. Hemp & Pumpkin Seed Energy Bars

If you need an easy grab-and-go snack that’ll fuel you for the day ahead, look no further than these delicious energy bars.

Loaded with fruit, nuts, and seeds, this simple tray-bake recipe makes a batch of wonderful homemade vegan snacks.

15. Ojas Energy Balls

‘Ojas’ is the essence of vitality, and these vegan energy balls offer plenty of that!

Filled with highly nutritious ingredients, these snacks will give your body the boost it needs.

Palm oil appears in lots of accidentally vegan snacks, but is palm oil vegan?

Featured images courtesy of respective brands, compiled by VFL