Are Pringles Vegan? [Flavor Breakdown]

Pringles are some of the most popular chips all around the globe. Because many of their flavors are based on meat or animal products, vegans often assume that Pringles chips are not vegan friendly.

Although it is true many Pringles products are inspired by animal-based foods, several of the Pringles flavors are vegan friendly. However, many of the flavors are not. You will need to look at your individual Pringles product to determine if it is suitable for your vegan diet.

To learn which of the Pringles chips are vegan friendly, read on. This article examines all Pringles products and most flavors so that you can know which Pringles are safe to eat. Read on to learn more.

Vegan Pringles Flavors At A Glance

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Here is a list of Pringle flavors and whether they are vegan:

Base Pringle Ingredients

Pringles Original serves as the base for all Pringles flavors. Luckily, Pringles Original is vegan. Here is a list of all of the ingredients found in Pringles Original:

• Color: Food coloring; normally derived from the achiote tree
• Corn flour: Maize or corn-derived flour
• Dehydrated potatoes: Potatoes where water has been removed
• Maltodextrin: Polysaccharide sourced from plant starch
• Rice flour: Rice-derived flour
• Salt: Sodium
• Vegetable Oil: Oil sourced from vegetables
• Wheat starch: Starch sourced from wheat (plant) 
• Yeast extract: Extract of yeast, a fungus
• Yeast powder: See above

Even though you might not be familiar with all of these ingredients, all you need to know is that all are vegan, meaning that they are either derived from plants or fungus.

Which Pringles Are Vegan?

The most popular Pringles chips are the classic Pringles. That is the rounded Pringles chips that are not wavy and come with the standard amount of flavoring or powder. If you are a fan of Pringles chips, your best bet for finding vegan flavors is with the classic Pringles chips.

Original, Paprika, and Smoky Bacon are often the favorite vegan flavors of choice, but they are not the only flavors you have to choose from. Here are all the Pringles original chips that classify as vegan:

• Pringles Original
• Pringles Paprika
• Pringles Smokey Bacon
• Pringles Texas BBQ Sauce
• Pringles Sweet Chili

As a rule of thumb, nearly all Pringles Original and Salted products, regardless of chip type, are vegan. The same cannot be true of the barbecue flavors, though. Many of the barbecue chips, with the exception of the Texas BB Sauce, include animal products.

Which Pringles Are Not Vegan?

Over the years, Pringles has released many flavors, most of which being not friendly for vegan diets. You can easily predict whether or not a Pringles chip is vegan by its name. If you see honey, ranch, cheese, or cream in the title, it most likely is not vegan-friendly. This applies to Pringles Original chips, as well as their other products.

Here’s a comprehensive list of original Pringles that include animal products:

• Pringles Salt; Vinegar
• Pringles Cheesy Cheese
• Pringles Cheese and Onion
• Pringles Prawn Cocktail
• Pringles Roast Chicken; Herbs
• Pringles Hot; Spicy
• Pringles Sour Cream; Onion
• Pringles Honey Mustard
• Pringles Jalapeno
• Pringles Memphis BBQ
• Pringles Pizza
• Pringles Ranch
• Pringles Screamin’ Dill Pickle
• Pringles Buffalo Ranch

Milk and milk-derived products are the most common animal products used in Pringles chips. This includes milk, cheese, cream, lactose, and whey.

Non-Vegan Ingredients Found in Many Pringles Products

Most of the non-vegan Pringles products include the same animal-based products. It can be helpful to know these ingredients so that you can look out for them in case Pringles releases a new flavor that is not covered in this list.

Here is a rundown of the most commonly found non-vegan ingredients in Pringles chips:

• Buttermilk: Buttermilk is cultured milk, somewhat comparable to natural yogurt or Kiefer. You can find buttermilk in most of the cheese-flavored Pringles, such as Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar; Sour Cream, and Pizza.
• Cheese: There are many types of cheese used in Pringles products, but Cheddar Cheese and Blue Cheese are the most common. Most of the cheese-based flavored chips include one or more types of cheese.
• Cream: Cream is the top, fat heavy layer of milk. You can find cream in Pringles Pizza and Sour Cream; Onion.
• Honey: Although some vegans eat honey, honey is made by bees. So, we are not considering it a vegan product. Honey is used in the Honey Mustard flavor.
• Lactose: Lactose is found in milk. It is the sugar that many people cannot digest properly. Lactose is found in Pringles Honey Mustard and Salt; Vinegar.
• Milk: You can find different types of milk in various Pringles flavors. In addition to buttermilk, nonfat milk, cultured nonfat milk, and “contains milk” are all listed in most of the non-vegan-friendly flavors.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream is made whenever a certain bacteria is added to regular cream, creating a tart flavor. This ingredient can be found in all sour cream flavored chips.
• Whey: Whey is one of the proteins that can be found in milk. Many of the non-vegan chips include whey, such as BBQ, Jalapeno, and Screamin’ Dill Pickle.  

Before picking up a bag of Pringles, skim the back for one of these ingredients. Most Pringle products that are not vegan will have one or more of these ingredients.

What About Wavy Pringles?

Of Pringles WAVY, only the Classic Salted flavor is vegan friendly. All of the rest include animal-based products. Like in the Pringles Originals, lactose, milk, cream, and whey are responsible for the majority of the flavors not being vegan friendly.

• Pringles WAVY Classic Salted – Vegan
• Pringles WAVY Applewood Smoked Cheddar – Not vegan
• Pringles WAVY Fire Roasted Jalapeno – Not Vegan
• Pringles WAVY Sweet; Tangy BBQ – Not vegan

What About Lighter Side Pringles?

Some Lighter Side Pringles are safe for vegans. Both the Light; Salted Original and Reduced Fat Original are vegan friendly. Reduced-Fat Sour Cream; Onion, however, is not because it contains milk products.

What About Pringles Rice?

Unfortunately, no Pringles Rice products are vegan. These products are different from the Original chips because they use rice flour as the main ingredient. All of the Pringles Rice chips include milk products, such as lactose.

• Pringles Rice Fusion Indian Tandoori Chicken Masala – Not vegan
• Pringles Rice Fusion Japanese BBQ Teriyaki – Not vegan
• Pringles Rice Fusion Malaysian Red Curry – Not vegan
• Pringles Rice Fusion Peking Duck with Hoisin Sauce – Not vegan

What About Pringles Xtra?

No Pringles Xtra chips are vegan friendly. All four flavors have milk-derived products. This includes the Pringles Xtra Cheesy Nacho Cheese, Pringles Xtra Spicy Chilli Sauce, Pringles Xtra Kickin Sour Cream; Onion, and Pringles Xtra Saucy BBQ.

What About Pringles Tortilla?

Of the Pringles Tortilla Chips, only the Original is vegan. Pringles Spicy Chili Tortilla Chips, Pringles Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips, and Pringles Sour Cream Tortilla Chips are not vegan because they include cheese and milk.

About Pringles

Pringles are known for their resealable tubes that keep their chips flavorful and crunchy. Although Pringles were first sold in 1967, they remain one of the most popular chips to date. As a result, there are many Pringle’s lines and flavors, and the flavors differ from nation to nation.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of Pringles but vegan, don’t hesitate to purchase most of the Original and Salted flavors, as well as a few additional and surprising flavors. After all, these Pringle products are vegan.

Just because some Pringles chips are vegan, does not mean all are, though. The majority of Pringles chips include animal products, especially milk. If you are unsure whether or not your favorite Pringles are vegan friendly, you can simply read through the ingredient list and see if it includes any of the ingredients discussed above.