Are Tortilla chips vegan? You’ll be surprised!

The diet of veganism is currently rising in popularity more than ever. That being said, it can be difficult to find out what is safe to eat or not without breaking the said diet. Being a vegetarian is much more simple as it excludes meat however, vegan diets exclude any product that comes from an animal, which can include more hidden ingredients that you probably weren’t aware of.

Speaking of tortilla chips, they are usually vegan when made of traditional ingredients: corn flour, vegetable oil, and salt.

Table of Contents

• What is veganism?
• Are tortilla chips safe for a vegan diet?
  • Branded tortilla chips that are vegan friendly
  • Vegan-friendly tortilla chip brands
• Vegan dips
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is veganism?

Veganism is the philosophy and lifestyle choice of excluding and avoiding all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty and instead promoting the use of animal-free products as more sustainable and harm-free alternatives. These alternatives can be a range of products varying from materials such as faux leather, or ingredients such as soy milk and other food items without animal fat.

This diet is also said to be all about maintaining your health and living a balanced life with healthy food, exercise, and a good mindset. It proves to go further than just the diet and instead focuses on a lifestyle of health and care for yourself and everything around you.

There are many reasons to go vegan, but it is also quite a difficult transition as you are more limited to what food and products you can consume, as well as vegan food tends to be more expensive than the non-vegan alternative.

Are tortilla chips safe for a vegan diet?

Without being too liberal with the title ‘vegan-friendly’ it is safe to assume that most tortilla chips are as such. This is because the ingredients for basic tortilla chips are:

• Ground corn flour
• Vegetable oil
• Water
• Salt

As you can see from these ingredients, brand or homemade tortilla chips are made from entirely natural substances which are not excluded from the vegan diet.

There is one element of tortilla chips that you should be cautious of, however. Many commercial brands are flavored or colored using substances that do not comply with the vegan lifestyle.

Normally you can find salted tortilla chips which are completely vegan but ‘nacho cheese’ and other flavored tortilla chips will often be full of animal products that are not safe for your consumption.

Branded tortilla chips that are vegan friendly

Doritos are the biggest brand for vegan tortilla chips, no questions asked. So it may be a bit of a saddening shock to learn that most of these flavored tortilla chips are not vegan, except for two of their flavors which are:

• Toasted corn tortilla chips vegan
• Spicy sweet chili Doritos

Aside from Doritos, there is another well-known brand of tortilla chip called “Takis” and they have a larger selection of vegan-friendly flavors, although not by much. The Takis vegan tortilla chips flavors are:

• Zombie
• Nitro
• Fuego
• Salsa Brava

As you can see, the selection is not looking too varying. However, there are a lot of strictly tortilla chips vegan brands that come in many flavors and only use vegan ingredients. With this being said, it is still a nice surprise that these flavors from popular brands are accidentally vegan because you can at least still try them. Unless you want to exclude these brands as their other products are not made with exclusively plant-based ingredients.

Vegan-friendly tortilla chip brands

Thankfully you can find a lot of vegan brands for flavored tortilla chips. A quick search on Amazon, or in the special diet aisle in a supermarket will reveal a fair few options. Some of the main brands for vegan tortilla chips are:

• Beanfields
• Siete
• Late July
• Hippeas
• Organic blue corn tortilla chips
• Fritos original corn tortilla chips
• Life plentils tortilla chips

All of these brands have varying flavors to keep you entertained and happy, while also only using plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients that are naturally vegan. These brands exclude all animal products so that you are not even in association with anything that goes against your diet.

The companies mentioned also offer other vegan products and snacks for those who want to explore beyond tortilla chips.

Vegan dips

It is almost impossible to eat tortilla chips without dip, it just adds so much to the experience. Thankfully while eating tortilla chips, vegan dips are available as well. It may come as a shock because their tortilla chips are not vegan, but Doritos have their own dips and every single one of them is vegan-friendly.

Other than this, your choice consists of a lot of variety as the majority of dips will be made from plant-based ingredients, all you need to do is visit your local grocery store and see what the packaging says. Although, some of them may include dairy ingredients.

If that isn’t for you, then you could always try your hand at making your own vegan selection of dips such as salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

Frequently Asked Questions