Instant, delicious, and affordable are some of the reasons why SpaghettiOs are a favorite among pasta aficionados who on a lazy night want to whip up something quick and easy for dinner.
SpaghettiOs are available in different flavors, including the Original, Franks, and Meatball-flavored pasta.
Unfortunately, none of the SpaghettiOs flavors are vegan because they contain animal ingredients, more specifically milk and meat. The Original SpaghettiOs are essentially comprised of pasta in tomato and cheese sauce, which makes it an obvious non-vegan product.
In this article, I’m going to look at the ingredients in SpaghettiOS in more detail (including the other most popular flavors), and I’m also going to provide you with vegan alternatives, as well as a vegan recipe to do at home, which may be interesting for someone that absolutely loves SpaghettiOs.
SpaghettiOs Ingredients
The three most popular SpaghettiOs flavors are The Original, Meatball, and Franks.
Yes, even though additional varieties exist, those are not so different from these three in terms of the ingredients they contain.
SpaghettiOs Original
The SpaghettiOs Original contains the following ingredients:
Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Enriched Pasta (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Calcium Chloride], Water, Disodium Phosphate, Enzymes), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/Or Soybean), Enzyme Modified Butter, Skim Milk, Beta Carotene For Color, Citric Acid, Paprika Extract, Flavoring.
SpaghettiOs with Franks
The SpaghettiOs with Franks contains the following ingredients:
Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Chicken And Pork Frankfurters Made With Chicken, Pork And Beef (Mechanically Separated Chicken, Pork, Water, Corn Syrup, Salt, Beef, Modified Food Starch, Dextrose, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Nitrite, Natural Flavors), Enriched Pasta (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Prepared Mustard (Distilled Vinegar, Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, Turmeric, Paprika, Spice, Garlic*), Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Calcium Chloride], Water, Disodium Phosphate, Enzymes), Salt, Flavoring, Citric Acid, Enzyme Modified Butter, Reconstituted Skim Milk, Monopotassium Phosphate, Garlic.
SpaghettiOs with Meatball
The SpaghettiOs with Meatball contains the following ingredients:
Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Meatballs Made With Pork, Chicken And Beef (Pork, Chicken, Mechanically Separated Chicken, Water, Beef, Bread Crumbs [Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Dextrose, Salt, Yeast, Soybean Oil], Soy Protein Concentrate, Salt, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Garlic, Flavoring), Enriched Pasta (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Calcium Chloride], Water, Disodium Phosphate, Enzymes), Vegetable Oil, Citric Acid, Yeast Extract, Enzyme Modified Butter, Reconstituted Skim Milk, Flavoring, Onion Extract.
Vegan Alternative to SpaghettiOs
Frankly, a lot of people know that SpaghettiOs are not vegan. What they do not know is whether or not vegan alternatives with a similar flavor profile exist.
I’ve actually managed to find one product that might closely resemble SpaghettiOs.
Heinz Spaghetti Hoops
Heinz Spaghetti Hoops is a similar alternative to SpaghettiOs, but it doesn’t contain any of the animal ingredients in Spaghettios, nor the embedded cheese sauce that combines beautifully with the tomato sauce.
More flavor profiles exist, but only this flavor seems to be suitable for vegans.
However, there also seems to be a version of the Heinz Spaghetti Hoops that contains vitamin D derived from lanolin, which makes it not vegan.
This version sold on Amazon doesn’t seem to contain any animal ingredients:
The Heinz Spaghetti Hoops sold in UK supermarkets do not seem to be vegan, even though they were in the past.
How to Make Vegan SpaghettiOs at Home
One of the first things that pop up when type “vegan SpaghettiOs” on google is a recipe by Plant-Based Jane, where she shares a homemade recipe of vegan SpaghettiOs using the following ingredients:
- anellini pasta
- tomato sauce
- tomato paste
- nutritional yeast
- vegan cream cheese
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
These ingredients are easy to come by nowadays, and you can easily find them in any co-op or supermarket, or even through Amazon Pantry.
What’s more, the recipe only has two steps, which makes it just as easy and quick as regular SpaghettiOs.
If you wish to learn more about this recipe, be sure to check out Plant Based Jane’s website.
Summary: SpaghettiOs Are Not Vegan
Unfortunately, the SpagetthiOs are not vegan because they contain animal ingredients. This encompasses all of the flavors, namely the Original, Franks, and Meatball.
A vegan alternative I have found is the Heinz Spaghetti Hoops, however, it seems that it’s not vegan everywhere.
I found the one selling on Amazon to be vegan, but the ones being sold in UK supermarkets contain Vitamin D3 derived from lanolin, which is wax extracted from sheep.
Keep in mind that it’s very important to always verify the ingredients before purchasing a product, as we never know how that product may change in the future.
