Is Maple Syrup Vegan?

Is Maple Syrup Vegan?

If you’re searching for a natural sweetener substitute, you’ve probably had maple syrup recommended many times. Like many products we use in our everyday lives, you probably never thought of the source of this condiment before transitioning to a plant-based diet. Before pouring it on your pancakes or using it as a sugar substitute, you have to ask, Is Maple Syrup Vegan?

What is Maple Syrup?

To learn if a product is vegan, you have to look to how it is made. Maple Syrup is made by tapping maple trees. That is, a hole is drilled into a maple tree, and as the sap pours out, it is collected. Afterward, the sap is boiled until it thickens into a syrup.

This is how pure maple syrup is made. But, during the manufacturing process, other animal products can be used to clarify the syrup, which may or may not be listed in the ingredients. But, organic maple syrup cannot be processed with animal products.

Because the final product and production of organic, pure maple syrup do not involve any animals or animal byproducts, it is a vegan syrup.

How to tell if Maple Syrup is Vegan

What makes Maple Syrup Vegan is that in its purest, unprocessed form, it does not include any animal byproducts. However, when a brand adds other ingredients to either add flavor, clarify, or reduce the price, the syrup may no longer be vegan friendly.

To be sure that you are using pure maple syrup, read the label and make sure it is the only ingredient listed and that it is either certified vegan or organic. If there are other ingredients listed on the label, you have to make sure that all of the added ingredients are vegan as well.

Red Flags that your Maple Syrup is not Pure:

• more than one ingredient (maple syrup) is listed
• the name reads “Maple-Flavored Syrup” instead of “Maple Syrup”
• the name includes a flavor word like “honey-,” “sweet cream-“, or “caramel-” maple syrup
• it is not certified vegan or organic

Non-Vegan Ingredients to Watch Out for:

• honey
• butter
• cream

✅ If the brand only contains one ingredient, maple syrup, and it is organic or labeled vegan, then you can be sure it is a Vegan Maple Syrup.

If it contains more than one ingredient, then you have to do some investigating. Some commonly added ingredients that make a syrup not vegan are honey, butter, and cream.

If you come across any of these ingredients, it is not a plant-based maple syrup.

Recipes with Maple Syrup

Plant-Based Maple Syrup can be used as a natural sweetener substitute for many recipes.

Recipes with maple syrup: 

• Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Chia Seed Pancakes

Vegan Maple Syrup Brands

Here are some popular brands of vegan maple syrup:

• Butternut Mountain Farm Maple Syrup
• 365 Everyday Value Maple Syrup
• Purely Canadian Maple Syrup
• Coombs Family Farms Maple Syrup
• Maple Grove Farms Maple Syrup