On the face of it, crisps feel like one of the safest snacks for a vegan. Potatoes. Oil. A bit of salt. How complicated could it possibly be?
As it turns out: quite. Because once you move beyond the sacred ground of Ready Salted, you’re in the wild frontier of smoky bacon that isn’t bacon, cheese & onion that sometimes contains no cheese, and “natural flavourings” that are anything but.
The surprisingly vegan ones
Somewhat wonderfully, a lot of meat-flavoured crisps don’t contain meat. Walkers Smoky Bacon, for instance, is entirely plant-based. Roast Chicken? Also vegan. This is the magic (and occasional terror) of flavour chemistry — these crisps taste meaty, but they’re built entirely from flavour compounds and savoury seasonings that just happen to resemble Sunday lunch.
Other common vegan-friendly flavours:
- Ready Salted (almost always)
- Salt & Vinegar (usually)
- Prawn Cocktail (sometimes)
- Roast Beef (occasionally)
It’s a case-by-case basis. Always check the label.
The obviously non-vegan ones
As soon as you see the words “cheese”, “sour cream”, or “butter”, you’re probably out of luck. These flavours almost always contain:
- Milk powder
- Whey powder
- Lactose
- Sometimes actual cheese (imagine that)
It’s not just dairy to watch for. A few artisan or premium brands cook crisps in beef dripping or duck fat — which is glorious, unless you’re avoiding animal products.
Flavour enhancers: the grey zone
Ingredients like disodium inosinate (E631) or guanylate (E627) have murky reputations. They can be derived from meat or fish, though they’re often synthetic or made from yeast. Unless a product is marked vegan, assume nothing.
The easiest way to be sure
Look for crisps that carry the Vegan Society logo or are labelled vegan by the manufacturer. Some brands are increasingly good about this — Kettle, Tyrrells, Properchips, Hippeas, and many supermarket own-labels are upfront when they are vegan-friendly.
If in doubt? Go plain. Or even better, write to the crisp brand. You’d be amazed how responsive they are when someone emails about the molecular sourcing of E631.
