Vegan Cereal Brands

cereal

Vegan Cereal

Just because you swap your regular milk for a plant-based milk doesn't mean your breakfast cereal is vegan. Like many other processed foods, not all cereal brands are plant-based.

Whether you're checking to see if a cereal you already have is vegan, or if you're looking for a new brand to pick up at the grocery store, this guide will help you quickly find the perfect vegan cereal brand for your needs.

Are you looking to see if a specific brand of cereal is vegan? If so, jump to my complete vegan cereal list!

This guide lists both vegan and non-vegan cereal products for each brand. It's just as helpful to know which brands aren't vegan as it is to know which brands are.

I can't possibly list every single cereal product out there, and if I only listed the products that were vegan,  you'd have no way of knowing if a cereal not included on the list wasn't vegan or if I simply didn't look into it.

If you don't have a specific brand in mind and are just looking for vegan cereal recommendations, skim through the highlights below to find products that you'd like.

 

Healthy Vegan Cereal Brands

While the term "healthy" is subjective, I can say that generally, vegan cereals are healthier than many other non-vegan brands of cereal. That's because cereal is always processed to some extent, but non-vegan brands tend to be more processed than their vegan alternatives.

To find a healthy vegan cereal, look for two things:

  1. a short ingredient list (fewer added chemicals and preservatives)
  2. an ingredient list with whole foods you understand (less processing)

Here are some go-to healthy vegan cereal brands:

Nature's Path

Nature's Path Cereal has many vegan options to choose from, and their website makes it incredibly easy to spot vegan options. Just look for the V under their cereal products to be sure it's plant-based.

Nature's Path Cereal is always organic and focuses on using real food ingredients that you can recognize on the label. See their website for more information.

See the complete list of Nature's Path vegan cereal

Cascadian Farm

While they don't have as many vegan choices as Nature's Path, the Cascadian Farm plant-based cereal options are pretty healthy choices.

All of the cereals are organic and use whole food ingredients with limited preservatives. For more information, see their website.

See the complete list of Cascadian Farm vegan cereal

356 Everyday Value

Another often organic cereal brand, 356 Everyday Value, has many vegan options to choose from. You can find this brand at Whole Foods store on Amazon. See their website here.

This brand offers many copycat popular cereal brands that are healthier than the original version — while also making them vegan!

See the complete list of 365 Everyday Value vegan cereal

 

High Protein Vegan Cereal

While many healthy cereal brands focus on whole grains and short, understandable ingredient lists, others focus on protein.

The problem with adding protein to cereal is that brands often add animal sources of protein, such as whey protein.

If you're looking for a protein-loaded vegan cereal, turn your attention to Kashi.

Kashi

If it's the protein you're looking for, you have to check out Kashi GO cereals. The other Kashi cereals are healthy, but the GO variety is focused on protein.

Each flavor has the protein per serving labeled on the front of the box, and many of the Kashi GO flavors are vegan! See their website for more information.

Check out the vegan Cinnamon Crisp variety — it has 14 grams of protein per serving!

See the complete list of Kashi vegan cereal

 

Gluten-Free Vegan Cereal

It can be tough to find cereal brands that are both vegan and gluten-free, especially considering the already small list of plant-based cereal brands.

Luckily, many brands that consider the plant-based eaters also look out for those who need to avoid gluten.

Here are some brands that offer gluten-free vegan cereal:

Nature's Path

Once again, Nature's Path tops the list. Not only is it incredibly easy to find vegan cereals in their long list of products, but it's just as easy to find those that are vegan and gluten-free.

While you're scanning their list of cereals, just look for the ones with both a "V" and "GF" listed at the bottom, which stand for vegan and gluten-free.

See the complete list of Nature's Path vegan cereal

Puffins Cereal

All but one of Barbara's Puffins cereals are vegan, and a few of these flavors are gluten-free! See their website for more information.

These are the plant-based, gluten-free Puffins varieties:

    • Multigrain
    • Protein Berry Burst
    • Pumpkin

See the complete list of Puffins vegan cereal

 

✅ CLICK BRAND FOR FULL DETAILS:

Vegan Cereal List

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Cereal Brands that are Not Vegan-Friendly

Apple Jacks

Apple Jacks Cereal is not vegan, as it contains vitamin D3. ** See Kellogg’s website for more information.

Annie’s

Annie’s Cereals (all varieties) are not vegan, as they contain one or more of the following non-vegan ingredients: calcium phosphate, honey, natural flavors. See Annie’s website for more information.

Cheerios

No varieties of Cheerios cereal are guaranteed vegan as they are all fortified with Vitamin D3. See Cheerios website for more information.

Chex

No varieties of Chex cereal are guaranteed vegan as they are all fortified with Vitamin D3. See Chex website for more information.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is not guaranteed vegan as all varieties are fortified with vitamin D3. See Cinnamon Toast Crunch website for more information.

Cookie Crisp

Cookie Crisp Cereal is not guaranteed vegan, as it contains vitamin D3. See General Millls website for more information.

Corn Flakes

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Cereal is not guaranteed vegan, as it contains vitamin D3. ** See Kellogg’s website for more information.

Corn Pops

Kellogg’s Corn Pops Cereal is not guaranteed vegan, as it contains vitamin D3. ** See Kellogg’s website for more information.

Fiber One

No varieties of Fiber One Cereal are guaranteed vegan. See Fiber One website for more information.

Frosted Flakes

All varieties of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Cereal are not guaranteed vegan, as they contain vitamin D3. ** See Frosted Flakes website for more information.

Fruit Loops

Kellogg’s Fruit Loops Cereal is not guaranteed vegan, as it contains vitamin D3. ** See Kellogg’s website for more information.

Golden Crisp

Golden Crisp cereal is not guaranteed vegan because it contains honey. See Post Consumer Brands website for more information.

Golden Grahams

Golden Grahams Cereal is not vegan, as it contains vitamin D3 and natural flavor. See General Mills website for more information.

HoneyComb

HoneyComb cereal is not vegan because it contains honey, natural flavor, and vitamin D3. See Post Consumer Brands website for more information.

Honey Bunches of Oats

No variety of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal is vegan because they contain honey and vitamin D3. See Post Consumer Brands website for more information.

Kix

No varieties of Kix cereal are guaranteed vegan as they are all fortified with Vitamin D3. See General Mills website for more information.

Krave

Kellogg’s Krave Cereal is not guaranteed vegan, as it contains vitamin D3, natural flavor, milk, and whey. ** See Kellogg’s website for more information.

Life

Life Cereal does not have any guaranteed vegan options. Read more about Life Cereal in the notes. **** See Quaker Oats website for more information.

Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms Cereal is not vegan, as all varieties contain one or more of the following: gelatin, vitamin D3, and natural flavor. See General Mills website for more information.

Mini-Wheats

Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Cereal is not vegan, as all varieties contain gelatin. See Mini Wheats website for more information.

OREO O’s

OREO O’S cereal is not guaranteed vegan because it contains the following ingredients that are not always vegan: natural flavor, inorganic sugar, and pyridoxine hydrochloride. See Post Consumer Brands website for more information.

Pebbles

All varieties of Pebbles Cereal are not vegan, as they all contain vitamin D3, and some contain natural flavor and gelatin. See Post Consumer Brands website for more information.

Reese’s Puffs

Reese’s Puffs Cereal is not vegan, as it contains vitamin D3 and natural flavor. See General Mills website for more information.

Rice Krispies

All varieties of Rice Krispies Cereal, including Cocoa Krispies, are not vegan. They are all fortified with vitamin D3.** See Rice Krispies website for more information.

Special K

Kellogg’s Special K Cereal is not vegan because all varieties are fortified with vitamin D3. ** See Special K website for more information.

Total

Total Cereal is not vegan because it is fortified with vitamin D3 and pyridoxine hydrochloride. See General Mills website for more information.

Trix

Trix Cereal is not vegan because it is fortified with vitamin D3, calcium carbonate, and pyridoxine hydrochloride. See General Mills website for more information.

Wheaties

Wheaties cereal is not vegan because it is fortified with vitamin D3, calcium carbonate, and pyridoxine hydrochloride. See Wheaties website for more information.

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Notes about the Vegan Cereal Guide

  • This buying guide includes products that have disclaimers like “may contain milk,” as this means there is a possibility of cross-contamination. If you have a food allergy, do not use this guide.
  • * Contains cane sugar, which may not be vegan. However, this is the only ingredient that is possibly not vegan-friendly, so I included it on this list.
  • ** Kellogg’s has provided a list of all of their vegan and non-vegan ingredients. The animal-derived ingredients in their cereals are eggs, dairy, gelatin, and vitamin D3. You can find this information here.
  • *** These varieties of Kashi Cereal contain natural flavor, which is not guaranteed vegan, but Kashi labels its products as vegan, so you don’t have to worry about this ingredient!
  • **** Life Cereal contains some ingredients that vegans should generally stay away from, such as calcium carbonate, natural flavors, and Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, so I reached out to customer service to determine if they are vegan.
    • They informed me that all of their products, besides Strawberry Life, are Kosher Dairy Certified, which means that although they may contain dairy, they cannot contain animal products, but they can still contain eggs.
    • Calcium carbonate is not a concern because it cannot be derived from animal bones.
    • Natural flavors in Life Cereal are also derived from plant sources. Their website reads: “Natural flavors are flavors obtained from essences or extracts of substances found in nature such as spices, fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, or herbs.”
    • However, I did not include any Life Cereal on the list of vegan cereals because the Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B-6) could still be derived from eggs.

Why Are Some Cereals Not Vegan?

If cereal is listed under the “not guaranteed vegan” section, it contained ingredients that are never vegan or ingredients that are only sometimes vegan (and they don’t specify whether or not it is vegan).

Ingredients that are never vegan:

  • honey
  • milk
  • whey
  • gelatin
  • vitamin D3

Ingredients that are sometimes vegan:

  • natural flavors (can be derived from plants or animal products)
  • calcium carbonate (can be derived from plants or animal bones)
  • sugar (always plant-based but sometimes vegan. Organic sugar is always vegan)
  • pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is vitamin D in cereal vegan?

If a brand of cereal is fortified with vitamin D, it is almost always vitamin D3, which is not guaranteed to be vegan. There are two kinds of Vitamin D: vitamin D2 and D3. Both of these vitamins are generated with the help of UV radiation from the sun, but they can come from two different sources.

Vitamin D2 can be derived from “plants, fungi, or invertebrates,” while vitamin D3 is mainly derived from vertebrates. Therefore, vitamin D2 is usually vegan, but vitamin D3 is rarely vegan or vegetarian, unless the manufacturer specifies that it comes from a plant source.

If a cereal brand is fortified with vitamin D3, it cannot be considered vegan unless it clearly states that it is plant-derived. Most cereal brands do not state this, and some brands (like Kellogg’s) have clearly stated that their vitamin D3 is from an animal source. So as a vegan, it is best to stay away from cereal that is fortified with vitamin D3, even though there is a slight chance that it might be plant-based.

If there is a brand of cereal you want me to review and add to this list, let me know in the comments below!

✅ See more Vegan Food Guides:

2 thoughts on “Vegan Cereal Brands”

  1. I want to know if cereal-Goodbelly Probiotics – flavor peanut butter is vegan friendly? It’s sold at target stores.

    Reply

    • Hi Jeanette, I checked out Goodbelly Probiotics’ website, and according to their FAQ page, none of their cereal products are vegan-friendly at this time.

      Reply

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