If you haven’t heard of saltine crackers, they are tasty and yummy snacks that are salty, light, and crispy. In short, they are the perfect combination for a light snack on the go. You can enjoy them on their own, pair them with yummy toppings like cheese, cherries, or jam, or use them as a dip in some nice sauces. They are one of the oldest snacks, and almost everyone has had them. Some people wonder “Are saltine crackers vegan?”. Let’s find a comprehensive answer.
However, with the new emerging lifestyles and diet options, many people are turning vegans. The choice of vegans, as we know, is limited to non-meat and non-dairy food items and which also sometimes do not include animal-based products like honey.
Are Saltine Crackers Vegan Or Not? And Why?
So the question that most people ask is, “Are saltine crackers vegan?” Let’s find out.
The original saltine cracker recipe included enriched wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and yeast.
It Uses Salt
Salt is one of the key ingredients because its quantity is more than typically necessary, and also it gives the crackers their yummy salty taste. Vegans are worried that fine granulated salt looks exactly like fine granulated sugar. It does not help that sugar manufacturing involves the use of bone char. So vegans think salt manufacturing also involves using bone char to give the same look and feel. But this is not true. Salt does not include any bone char or any other animal product. Salt is 100% vegan.
It Uses Enriched Flour
Even though they use an enriched version of the flour to make the crackers whiter, it’s still dough that is 100% vegan. Processing of flour removes the outer husk and coating of the grain, leaving only the whiter inner flesh to be used. The flour is enriched with iron and B vitamins supplements to compensate for the loss of nutrients. Enriched flour is always 100% vegan.
It Uses Yeast
Yeast is considered a vegan product since it contains organisms and not animals. And organisms are everywhere around us.
It does not use milk derivatives: Saltine crackers do not use milk (or milk-based products) because the base recipe is simple and tasty, so there is no need to twist it and add any milk products. Though milk-based products can be added, they defeat the purpose of saltine crackers, and the product will end up becoming anything but saltine crackers.
As we can see, the entire list of ingredients is vegan-friendly products. So as long as any company or bakery sticks to this set of ingredients, the result is a 100% vegan product.
Please Note: However, enriched flour is different than fortified flour. Fortified flour is enriched with Vitamin D supplement, a non-vegan product since Vitamin D is obtained from animal sources. Fortification involved the addition of those nutrients to a particular food item that was never really present in it. This is done to increase the overall nutritional value.
Saltine Crackers Vegan Brands
So there is no guarantee that a particular brand of saltine crackers is vegan. It all depends on company to company and whether they want to manufacture a vegan product specifically. Let’s look at some products and understand if they are vegan.
Sunshine Krispy
List of Ingredients:
- Enriched Wheat Flour (enriched with Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B], Folic Acid),
- Soybean Oil (with TBHQ for Freshness),
- Sea Salt
- Contains 2% or Less of Corn Syrup, Baking Soda, Yeast, and Soy Lecithin.
The Sunshine Krispy brand of Saltine Crackers ingredients is 100% vegan products. They are safe for consumption by vegans.
List of Ingredients:
- Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid),
- Canola Oil, Palm Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil,
- Sea Salt, Salt,
- Malted Barley Flour,
- Baking Soda and Yeast
The Nabisco brand of premium saltine crackers has used entirely vegan ingredients, giving you a guaranteed vegan product. Nabisco is also a brand you can trust, as it’s the company that brought about the entire saltine craze. They have vegan ingredients, but they have also been certified by none other than PETA themselves for their vegan-friendliness. While this is the salted version, the unsalted version is also 100% vegan. This is a US-based product packed, labeled, and sold under a different name in Canada, which is Christie’s Premium Plus Crackers. While the name and the packaging may look different, rest assured that the ingredients and the whole product are still 100% vegan and safe to consume.
Keebler Zesta
List of Ingredients:
- Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid),
- Soybean Oil (With TBHQ For Freshness),
- Salt,
- Corn Syrup.
- Contains 2% Or Less Of Baking Soda, Yeast, Soy Lecithin
The Keebler Zesta range of saltine crackers is a brand that Kellogs own. Products sold under both brands have different names but the same ingredients, 100% vegan. After Nabisco products, Kellogs own the next famous brand of saltine crackers.
Winco Foods
List of Ingredients:
- Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin, Folic Acid),
- Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Corn Oil (Vegetable Oil),
- Salt, Invert Sugar, Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate (Leavening), Yeast,
- Wheat Gluten, Malted Barley Flour
The Winco Foods Saltine Crackers ingredients have 100% vegan ingredients. However, they are not gluten-free, which can be an issue for some vegans who are also health-conscious. Find out some gluten free snacks you can get.
Harris Teeter
List of Ingredients:
- Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid),
- Soybean Oil With TBHQ And Citric Acid For Freshness, Palm Oil, Canola Oil (Vegetable Oil),
- Contains 2% Or Less Of Enzymes, Yeast, Malted Barley Flour,
- Sodium Sulfite, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda)
The Harris Teeter Saltine Crackers range comes in salted and unsalted versions, both of which are 100% vegan.
Wegmans
List of Ingredients:
- Unbleached Enriched Flour (wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid),
- High Oleic Safflower Oil, Salt,
- Contains 2% Or Less Of Baking Soda,
- Enzymes, Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Soy Lecithin
The Wegmans Saltines Saltine Crackers range are 100% vegan.
Market Pantry
List of Ingredients:
- Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin [vitamin B2], Folic Acid),
- Soybean Oil With TBHQ and Citric Acid for Freshness,
- Contains 2% or Less Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda, Yeast),
- Malted Barley Flour, Sodium Sulfite, Enzymes
The Market Pantry Saltine Crackers range is 100% vegan.
Final Words
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