This article looks into one of the most frequently asked questions regarding snacks that are vegan friendly: Are Funyuns vegan?
Unfortunately, both Flamin’ Hot and Original Funyuns contain milk ingredients that are not vegan-friendly. Therefore, both flavors of Funyuns are not vegan. However, there are some great vegan alternatives to these popular snacks. Read on for full Funyuns ingredients and vegan alternatives.
Note: Ingredients in each variety are from Frito Lay’s website.
Original Funyuns
The original flavored Funyuns contain the following ingredients:
Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Corn, and/or Canola Oil), and Less than 2% of the Following: Salt, Corn Starch, Sugar, Corn Flour, Buttermilk Powder, Maltodextrin (Made from Corn), Onion Powder, Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavors (Including Natural Onion Flavor), and Gum Arabic. Contains Milk Ingredients.
As the original flavored Funyuns contain buttermilk powder in their ingredients, they are not vegan friendly.
Flamin' Hot Funyuns
Flamin’ Hot Funyuns contain the following ingredients:
Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, And Folic Acid), Corn And/Or Soybean Oil, Salt, Corn Starch, Buttermilk, Sugar, Corn Flour, Monosodium Glutamate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Sunflower Oil, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Artificial Color (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake), Citric Acid, Whey, Onion Powder, Corn Syrup Solids, Lactose, Garlic Powder, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Corn Maltodextrin, Nonfat Milk, Sodium Caseinate, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Diacetate, Extractive of Onion, And Gum Arabic. Contains Milk Ingredients.
As the Flamin’ Hot Funyuns contain buttermilk and Cheddar Cheese in their ingredients, they are not vegan friendly.
Vegan Funyuns Alternatives
Wise Onion Rings
If you are looking for a great vegan Funyun alternative to satisfy your need for crunchy onion-flavored rings, look no further than Wise’s Onion Rings. As Peta has pointed out, these onion rings are a perfect substitute to Funyuns.
Wise’s Onion Rings contain the following ingredients:
Modified Corn Starch, Tapioca Starch, Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the Following: Corn, Cottonseed, Soybean, or Sunflower Oil), Onion Powder, Potato Flour, Salt, Sugar, Torula Yeast, Hydrolyzed Torula Yeast Proteins, Hydrolyzed Brewers Yeast Proteins, Monosodium Glutamate (Flavor Enhancer), Garlic Powder, Paprika, Spice Extractive Flavorings, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Red No. 3, Blue Number 1.
As all of these ingredients come from plant-based origins, Wise’s Onion Rings are vegan friendly.
Wise’s Onion Rings can be purchased on Amazon here.
Munchos Flamin' Hot Potato Crisps
It’s hard to find your Flamin’ Hot fix on a vegan diet as most of the Flamin’ Hot products contain milk or cheese based ingredients. However, Munchos Flamin’ Hot Potato Crisps are an exception to this rule. Peta has stated that Munchos are one of the few vegan friendly Flamin’ Hot snacks. These crisps are perfect vegan alternative to Flamin’ Hot Funyuns.
Munchos Flamin’ Hot Potato Crisps contain the following ingredients:
Modified Corn Starch, Tapioca Starch, Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the Following: Corn, Cottonseed, Soybean, or Sunflower Oil), Onion Powder, Potato Flour, Salt, Sugar, Torula Yeast, Hydrolyzed Torula Yeast Proteins, Hydrolyzed Brewers Yeast Proteins, Monosodium Glutamate (Flavor Enhancer), Garlic Powder, Paprika, Spice Extractive Flavorings, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Red No. 3, Blue Number 1.
As all of these ingredients come from plant-based origins, Munchos Flamin’ Hot Potato Crisps are vegan friendly.
Munchos Flamin’ Hot Potato Crisps can be purchased on Instacart here.
Summary
Even though neither flavors of Funyuns are vegan, Wise’s Onion Rings and Munchos Flamin’ Hot Potato Crisps provide great alternatives to these crunchy snacks!
Read about other vegan snack options here.
