Are Pretzels Vegan?
Some are hard; others are soft. Some are simply salted while others are covered in cinnamon-sugar or filled with peanut butter. No matter what kind of pretzel you’re searching for, you have to ask, are pretzels vegan?
Here’s the short answer:
✅ Many brands and varieties of pretzels are vegan. But, always read the label to be sure. Bagged, hard pretzels are more likely to be vegan than fresh, soft pretzels.
Why Are Some Pretzels Not Vegan?
It seems like pretzels should always be plant-based, but you always have to be careful with processed foods. As the ingredient list grows, so do the chances that an animal product is included.
Hard, salted pretzels usually found in bags at a grocery store are usually plant-based, but you have to check the label to be absolutely sure. You can also check my easy Vegan Pretzel Brands guide if you don’t want to do the research.
The base ingredients in pretzels are usually flour, salt, and yeast, which are all plant-based. However, many ingredients are usually added before the final product is bagged — either to preserve the product or enhance flavor — and you have to make sure that all of these ingredients are vegan.
The non-vegan ingredients added to pretzels are endless, and brands are constantly adding new flavors to the shelves. It’s always possible that a brand can change the ingredients to a once-vegan product, making it no longer vegan.
Even if you have been buying the same brand of pretzels for some time now, always double-check the ingredients list to look out for changes in the recipe.
Fresh, soft pretzels, on the other hand, are more likely to contain animal products. When you eat at a bakery that sells pretzels, like Auntie Anne’s, they are more likely to add non-vegan flavor enhancers, like butter.
When you buy a fresh pretzel, always ask the server for an allergen guide to check for any non-vegan ingredients. You can also ask them if you can modify the pretzel to make it vegan, like making it without butter.
How to Tell if Pretzels are Vegan
Whether you’re grocery shopping and want to pick up a bag of pretzels to snack on or about to pick up a fresh pretzel from a bakery, the steps to figure out if the pretzels are plant-based are the same.
If the pretzels are not certified vegan, you have to obtain a list of ingredients for the pretzels you wish to buy.
This is very simple for store-bought pretzels. Just flip the bag over and read the list of ingredients to make sure each one is vegan.
But this can be more difficult when buying fresh pretzels. For these, you have to do a little more research to determine if they are vegan, and you might even have to contact the company and ask. Sometimes a company will want to keep its ingredients a secret, but you can still ask them if they are vegan-friendly.
When you have the list of ingredients, make sure that each one is vegan. For help, here are some vegan and non-vegan ingredients often found in pretzels.
✅ Common Ingredients that are Vegan-Friendly:
-
- flour/wheat flour
- salt
- corn syrup
- water
- yeast
- malt/malt syrup
- Added minerals:
- niacin
- folic acid
- riboflavin
🚫 Non-Vegan Ingredients to Watch Out for:
- honey
- milk and cheese flavorings (ex: cheese, cheddar flavor, milk powder)
- natural flavor (unless they specify where the flavor comes from, it could be an animal product)
- disodium insonate or guanylate (sometimes vegan, but usually not)
When you can’t find an ingredient list and the manufacturer won’t contact you, there are a few more resources you can seek out.
Go to a brand’s website and see if they have an allergen guide. Because milk and eggs are common allergens (and on every vegan’s do-not-eat list), food manufacturers usually have to list these allergens somewhere on the package or on their website. If they contain one of these allergens, you know that they are not vegan-friendly.
You can also look at a brand’s FAQ page to see if someone has already asked about vegan products. If enough people ask, they probably don’t want to keep responding to the same email!
Doing this research can be time-consuming. That’s why I spent some time putting together an easy guide for what brands of pretzels are vegan.
Instead of wasting time contacting manufacturers, looking up every ingredient, and searching for an allergen guide, check to see if the brand you’re looking for is listed below.
But remember, ingredients can change at any time, so use this guide as a reference but always double-check before buying.
Vegan Pretzels Brands Guide
| Brand | Vegan Pretzels Products |
| Rold Gold |
|
| Snyder’s |
|
| UTZ |
|
| Snack Factory (Pretzel Crips) |
|
| Herr’s |
|
| Dot’s |
|
Notes about the Vegan Pretzels Guide
- *Some of the pretzels listed contain cane sugar, which is plant-based but is not guaranteed to be vegan. I’ve included varieties with sugar so you can decide for yourself or contact the manufacturer if it is a concern.
- This Buying Guide for Vegan Pretzels includes products that say “may contain milk,” as this means there is a possibility of cross-contamination. If you have a food allergy, do not use this guide.
- **Two of Snyder’s flavored varieties – Buffalo Wing and Jalapeño — seem vegan but contain disodium insonate, which is typically derived from an animal product. Contact Snyder’s directly if you have any questions about these ingredients.
This guide shows which brands of hard pretzels are vegan, as these ingredients are less likely to change. If you’re going to buy a fresh pretzel, check out the frequently asked questions below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Disney pretzels vegan?
- Yes, Disney’s Mickey soft pretzels are vegan! Just ask for no cheese dip.
Are Auntie Anne’s pretzels vegan?
- You can make most of Auntie Anne’s pretzels plant-based; just ask for no butter when you order!
Are Cinnabon pretzels plant-based?
- There are no vegan options at Cinnabon at this time. We will update this if anything changes.