Is popcorn vegan? Your answer would always be yes, right? How can it be not when it is made of corn, popped inside the microwave. This part of the story is correct because it really is just corn kernel, but when it is placed inside wrappers, is it still vegan?
Is there something else added that makes it not vegan? We’ve added our favorite vegan popcorn brands, too!
Popcorns - Vegan or Not?
Popcorns are kettle corn prepared with oil and then seasoned with salt and sugar.
That is how traditional popcorn is prepared, which makes it vegan. Many popcorn brands are still following the same process, but adding flavor to their product turns it into something non-vegan.
So, is microwave popcorn vegan? Yes, if these are plain popcorn where the seasoning is just sea salt, then that popcorn is vegan—the story changes when butter and other additives are added, known to contain animal products.
How To Tell If It Is Vegan
Microwavable Popcorn
Popcorn is vegan if it is stated on the back of the label that it has no milk or dairy content. Since it is microwaveable, is Jolly Time popcorn vegan? Yes, Jolly Time Popped Sea Salt and Kettle Mania is. This and some others are vegan popcorn.
Pre-popped Popcorn
The same situation applies to pre-popped popcorn when determining whether to be vegan. Corn kernels are vegan; as long as the oil used is not palm, it remains vegan. If the manufacturers use butter or any dairy ingredient, it will be stated on the labels.
Movie Popcorn
Is movie popcorn vegan? These popcorn favorites in movie theaters are surprisingly vegan, especially in natural flavors, since canola oil is usually used. It becomes non-vegan when seasonings are added, as well as other flavorings.
Ingredients To Look Out For
Palm oil
This is plant-derived but strict vegans are condemning the process of producing this product. It destroys the soils and damages the natural habitat of animals living near the production area of this product.
Artificial Colors
The source of artificial colors is usually synthetic, which does not make it an animal byproduct; however, the ethical views of the vegan community condemn the use of animals when these are tested.
Sucralose
Sucralose (1) is also another product that is synthetically made. Therefore, it does not derive from plants or animals, but it also uses animals for testing, which is against the ethical views of the vegan community.
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7 Vegan Popcorn Brands You Should Try
1. Pop Secret
Is Pop Secret popcorn vegan? There are eight vegan popcorn options that you can try from this brand. You have to look for Kettle Corn, Sea Salt, Sweet' n Crunchy Kettle Corn, Pumpkin Spice, Kidz First Order Kettle Corn, Sweet' n Crunchy Caramel, Popfetti, and 94% Fat-Free Kettle Corn. So, is Pop Secret Vegan? Some are vegan friendly while the others are not.
2. Angie's Boom Chicka Pop
Angie's Boom Chicka Pop products have both vegan and non-vegan varieties. This is also gluten-free, Non-GMO, and it is Kosher certified. It uses sea salt, sunflower oil, and cane sugar with its vegan varieties such as Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn, Sea Salt Popcorn, Light Kettle Corn, Sweet Barbeque Popcorn, Salted Caramel Popcorn, and Chili Lime Flavored Popcorn. This is one of the best vegan popcorn brands we’ve tasted as they’re delightful and delicious.
3. Orville Redenbacher
Is Orville Redenbacher popcorn vegan? The Orville Redenbacher Kettle Corn, SmartPop Kettle Corn, Naturals Simply Salt, and Naturals Lightly Salted Simply Salt. All these use healthy pop kettle corn and are vegan popcorn flavors. However, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, Movie Theater Butter, and Light Butter are just two of the popcorn that contains dairy butter.
4. Newman's Own
Newman's Own Popcorn has two completely vegan flavors: Tinder White Popcorn and Sea Salt Popcorn. Unfortunately, the rest of their products contain real butter and milk. It is quite common for microwave popcorn to have white cheddar since these add flavor to the finished products.
5. SkinnyPop
Good news to butter lovers out there because Skinny Pop Butter flavor is one of the top vegan microwave popcorn brands. This popcorn brand uses natural non-dairy butter flavor mixed with their popcorn. They may add butter, but this is certainly one of the vegan options along with its Sea Salt flavor.
6. Smartfood
Smartfood only has one flavor that does not contain any non-vegan ingredients: Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn Smartfood Popcorn. The other flavors they have either contain milk products or other non-vegan contents. Like other food products in the market, you have to scrutinize the product label to ensure all contents are safe and vegan.
7. 365 by WFM
The No Oil or Salt Added flavor is the only popcorn vegan can eat from this brand. However, they have organic popped corn kernels. Organic popcorn is very healthy as standard popcorn. It has Vitamin E and is vegan friendly until dairy products and other additives are added.
FAQs
Yes, you can pop vegan microwave popcorn on the stove. You can make your own popcorn by placing it in a pan with a tight lid. Put it on high heat, pour oil, either coconut oil or olive oil, pour your popcorn in, and wait for it to cook.
Yes, butter or any type of oil used in cooking any popcorn brand affects popping if you are doing it inside a microwave. It could be that the kernel was not coated with enough butter that is why it did not pop.
Final Thoughts
Being vegan does not mean you have to deprive yourself of tasty popcorn because there are many vegan popcorn brands that you can try. Several movie theater popcorns and microwave popcorn brands offer amazing options. You just have to be cautious and see if these are indeed vegan-friendly.
A vegan popcorn brand sticks to its natural flavor and uses vegan ingredients like avocado oil to make sure the popcorn is vegan, like lightly sweet kettle corn.
Reference:
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-sucralose
About Author
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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