Are Pop Tarts Vegan?

When it comes to our diets sometimes convenience and taste win. After all, we all need a little nostalgia and convenience in our lives and this is where pop tarts can come into their own. Packed full of flavour and toasted in your toaster they are a great snack on the go or a treat breakfast. But if you follow a vegan diet then you may be wondering are pop tarts vegan? I wanted to explore this and share with you a little more about it. 

What are pop tarts? 

We might know and love them as pop tarts, but a more generalised explanation for them is calling them toaster pastries. The pop tarts date back as far as 1964 when a gentleman called Bill Post developed them for Kellogg's. The ideas was to create a new, long shelf-life product that would become a convenient breakfast food. Hopefully resembling the taste and comforts of good old toast and hame. There were four original pop-tarts flavors which were unfrosted. There was apple currant jelly, strawberry, blueberry, and brown sugar cinnamon. 

They did introduce frosted versions which is a pop tart more recognisable today in 1967. They also added different flavours to the glazed including Dutch apple and raspberry. They introduced icing as it can be a great way to keep the pastries cooler to touch when they have popped from the toaster. In total there have been more than 30 different flavors of pop tarts over the years with strawberry and brown sugar cinnamon being the two most popular choices. 

Are pop tarts vegan? 

While pop tarts may appear to be suitable for a vegan diet the vast majority of the flavours available are not vegan and this is due to one detail, the icing. Within the pastry or filling you will find they are dairy and egg free making them a suitable option for a vegan diet, but the icing has gelatin and egg whites which means that the frosted variety usually contains the main non-vegan ingredients. The ingredients used in Pop-Tarts vary depending on the flavor, so it's important to check the label to determine if a particular flavor is vegan or not. Generally speaking, some of the fruity flavors like Strawberry, Blueberry, and Raspberry, are vegan as they do not contain any animal-derived ingredients.

However, other flavors like Frosted Strawberry, Frosted Cherry, and Frosted Blueberry contain gelatin, which is not vegan as it is made from animal bones and connective tissue. Additionally, some flavors contain milk or other dairy products, which are not vegan. It's always a good idea to check the ingredient list and look for any animal-derived ingredients if you are following a vegan diet.

Pop Tart Ingredients

The specific ingredients in Pop-Tarts can vary depending on the flavor, but here are the general ingredients you can find in a typical Pop-Tart:

• Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid)
• High fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup
• Dextrose
• Soybean and palm oil (with TBHQ for freshness)
• Sugar
• Cracker meal
• Wheat starch
• Salt
• Calcium carbonate
• Leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate)
• Citric acid
• Gelatin
• Caramel color
• Soy lecithin
• Natural and artificial flavors

In general pop tarts tend to have questionable ingredients. Not only do they contain animal products and palm oil, but they are also full of white sugar (cane sugar can contain bone char which strict vegans won't consume) and other controversial and unpronounceable ingredients such as artificial flavors, monocalcium phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, xanthan gum and soy lecithin. Some contain high fructose corn syrup which is another high sugar ingredient.

Can you make your own pop-tarts? 

When it comes to pop tarts and making one that you are confident is vegan, then you can have a go at making your own. The issue with some of the pop tarts available to buy today is the icing, so you could make a vegan-friendly option that you can enjoy on top of the pastries and fillings. 

Using a food processor you will easily be able to whip up a vegan pastry using vegan butter and also create amazing filling combinations using natural flavourings for your own pop tarts. Instead of toasting them, you might need to bake them on a baking sheet but they will still taste delicious. Making your own means that you can have confidence that you will use natural flavors, no artificial colors, and there will be no animal ingredients in them.

You can make so many different vegan flavors using natural plants so you will have the added nutrients such as vitamin B, vitamin D and folic acid - so much better! Try to use a more natural form of sugar to sweeten them (such as maple syrup or coconut sugar). Frost them with a vanilla glaze made from icing sugar and dairy free milk. Here is a list of vegan pop tart recipe ideas you can use as inspiration...

I hope this has helped you answer the question are pop-tarts vegan? Pin this post to help others answer the same question!

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