Are the Pringles vegan?

Pringles have been beloved potato chips by many for decades. With their fun, memorable shape and plethora of flavors, they have been a favorite snack option for the masses.

One of the things that makes Pringles unique is how many different flavors they have and how they constantly update the list and create new and unique combinations.

However, with so many different flavors, it can be difficult for vegans to figure out if Pringles are safe to consume, especially with so many different flavors on the market.

So are Pringles vegan?  The only Pringles in the United States that are vegan are the Original, the Original Low-Fat, and the Original Lightly Salted. All other US flavors contain an animal product such as milk or whey.

Read on for the history of Pringles and their popularity, nutritional information for the vegan and non-vegan Pringle flavors, and to find out if Pringles are also vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, or kosher.

The Pringles Story

The development of Pringles began because people were fed up with greasy, stale, and unsatisfying potato chips.

In 1956, the Procter & Gamble company asked a chemist named Fredric J. Baur to help them create the most perfect potato chip.

Baur was successful in his design and was the one who came up with the infamous resealable tin and smile-shaped potato chip we’ve all come to love. This design of both the packaging and the chip was (and still is) unlike any other chip on the market.

The only problem? The fries still tasted horrible.

A few years later, Procter & Gamble tried again to create the best potato chip on the market, using Baur’s methods but changing the recipe for the potato chip to be a mixture of dehydrated potatoes, rice, wheat, and corn.

Sure, the adjustments worked and Pringles were born in 1968.

There were some problems with the shape of the Pringles and a lot of people were annoyed that they were even called potato chips.

Throughout the ‘70s, it seemed like Pringles were never going to take off, as many people had different qualms about them. However, as the 1980s rolled around, the demand and popularity of Pringles increased.

There’s no definitive answer as to why, some say it was due to a Brad Pitt ad, while others attribute the success to Procter & Gamble’s “Pringles Taste Fever” campaign.

Regardless of how or why people came to love them, Pringles became a superstar in the potato chip market.

They are now sold in over 140 countries with an average of 30-40 flavors on the market at a time (they have created nearly 200 different flavors worldwide!)

Pringles are truly unlike any other potato chips on the market and their unique shapes and flavors have made them popular all over the world.

Are the Pringles vegan?

If you’re vegan, it can be hard to find conventional snacks that fit into your diet. Many chips on the market contain dairy , so it’s hard to find a potato chip that is ethical for you to eat.

Well, for those who follow a vegan diet I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the Original Pringles flavor is vegan ; however, the bad news is that none of the other American flavors currently on the market are.

vegan pringles

As we just mentioned, there aren’t many vegan Pringles options here in America.

If you were to travel to another country, such as the UK or Australia, you would discover that some of their other flavors are vegan.

For example, in the UK they have other vegan flavors like Paprika or their barbecue version, the Texas BBQ flavor. However, Pringle’s US BBQ is not vegan, and neither are any of the other popular flavors.

Thus, the vegan options in the United States are the original Pringles and the reduced-fat, lightly salted version of the originals.

original pringles

The original Pringles come in their signature tube packaging, with a resealable lid, in a classic red color.

Original Pringles contain the following ingredients

• dried potatoes
• vegetable oil
• corn cotton seed
• high oleic soybeans
• sunflower oil
• Degermed yellow cornmeal
• cornstarch
• rice flour
• maltodextrin
• mono and diglycerides
• Salt
• Wheat starch 

As you can see, all of these ingredients are consumables for vegans. They may not be the healthiest of ingredients, but they are free of animal products and are acceptable for a vegan diet.

Original Pringles have a fairly salty taste and a slightly rough texture.

Rice flour, wheat starch, and cornmeal give them a different texture and bite than any other potato chip on the market, especially ones made predominantly with potatoes.

So when you bite into Pringles, they have a nice crunch, but one that differs from other potato chip products.

Pringles also makes a “wavy” version of this potato chip that is also vegan.

Original lightly salted

Original Lightly Salted Pringles are almost identical to the Original variety except for one thing: that’s right! The amount of salt

They even come in the same signature red packaging, but with a design change as it contains a large cloud shape on the front indicating less salt.

While the original Pringles taste quite salty, the lightly salty variety keeps the sodium to a minimum . Specifically, they advertise that this variant has 50% less sodium than the original, but with the same texture and crunch.

Original Lightly Salted Pringles contain the following ingredients

• dried potatoes
• vegetable oil
• corn cotton seed
• high oleic soybeans
• sunflower oil
• Degermed yellow cornmeal
• cornstarch
• rice flour
• maltodextrin
• mono and diglycerides
• Salt
• Wheat starch 

As you can see, they are exactly the same ingredients, even in the same order. Therefore, they are also vegan and may be a slightly healthier option as they contain less salt.

The only difference is in the taste, as the Original variety is much saltier than the Lightly Salted variety.

Original Reduced Fat

Pringle Original Reduced Fat is also almost identical to the original, except that it contains less fat. 

They come in the same packaging and look the same as the Lightly Salted version, with a cloud shape on the front indicating it’s reduced fat rather than reduced salt.

Like the previous two varieties, the reduced-fat version of these chips contains exactly the same ingredients. The only difference is in the fat content, where the Original has 9 grams of fat while the Reduced has 7 grams.

However, with only a 2-gram difference in fat content, these reduced-fat Pringles taste very close to the original.

non vegan pringles

So if you’re a vegan looking for Pringles in the US, your options are very limited.

You can enjoy Pringles in their original form or some variety of the original form, but there are currently no other flavors of Pringles on the market that you can enjoy.

The reason for this is that there are two main ingredients that Pringles uses in its flavoring:

Milk, buttermilk and cheese.

Almost every Pringle flavor on the market today contains some form of dairy. The most common ingredients are milk, buttermilk, and some form of cheese.

Even the flavors that don’t seem to have dairy, like Salt and Vinegar, Jalapeno, or Barbecue, have some form of dairy.

Not only the original style of Pringles, but also its new version called the Wavy chip (which is a crested chip that is comparable to a Ruffle chip) all include dairy in their flavor.

buttermilk

The second ingredient that is used quite often in Pringle flavorings is buttermilk.

Whey is a protein that is obtained from dairy products. In the process of making cheese from milk, once the curd is separated, an aqueous part of the milk remains. That liquid is the whey.

Often in the flavoring for Pringles there is whey and another type of dairy product, such as milk, buttermilk, or cheese . Therefore, all flavors except the original are not considered vegan.

Possible non-vegan ingredient: Mono and Diglycerides

There is another ingredient that is listed in all Pringles that some vegans may steer clear of: mono- and diglycerides.

Mono and diglycerides are fatty acids that are food additives. They are traditionally used as emulsifiers in foods.

They can come from plants or animals. So the issue here is that food companies like Pringles don’t have to specify where they come from on their ingredient list.

Although Pringles has a “vegan” and “vegetarian” sticker on its Original flavor, leading consumers to believe that mono- and diglycerides come from plants, if you’re really concerned about this, you may want to stay away completely.

Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you’re comfortable trusting the label on the Original Pringles bottle.

Non-Vegan Pringles Flavors

Now that we’ve looked at Pringles that are vegan, let’s take a closer look at the most popular flavor of Pringles that are always in original flavor variety packs that aren’t vegan:

sour cream and onion

If you’re a non-vegan and Pringle consumer, chances are you’ve tried the Sour Cream and Onion variety.

This famous green resealable tube that houses the Sour Cream and Onion flavor is by far the most popular in stores. Often, you’ll even see this flavor and the Original sold together in a variety pack.

What makes Sour Cream and Onion Pringle so popular is the salty, rich, and creamy flavor you get when you bite into it.

The main ingredients of the sour cream and onion variety are similar to the original, but what gives it its unique flavor is a blend of cream, skim milk, buttermilk, yeast extract, sour cream, buttermilk, and onion powder.

So, while they are delicious, these ingredients that make them show that they are not even remotely vegan.

Barbecue

Another popular Pringles flavor is BBQ, as they also often come in a variety pack.

Presented in a deep purple tube, these smoky, sour, and salty potato chips are absolutely delicious, getting their flavor from buttermilk, garlic powder, spices, onion powder, tomato powder, and other flavoring agents. 

However, as you can tell by the inclusion of the buttermilk, these barbecue fries are also not edible for vegans, even if you don’t expect that with a barbecue flavor.

So unfortunately they are also not acceptable for vegans.

cheddar

The last flavor that is considered to be the most popular is Cheddar, which from the name we can assume is not vegan.

Cheddar Pringles are bright orange crisps, with a matching bright orange resealable tube, and they taste incredibly cheesy, salty and rich.

They get their cheese flavor from onion powder, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, buttermilk, butter, and skim milk.

As you can see, there are multiple dairy products in the cheddar variety, making them definitely not vegan.

Other non-vegan flavors

Some of the other non-vegan flavors of Pringles currently on the market are Salt and Vinegar, Jalapeño, Pizza, Ranch, Pickle, and Honey Mustard. 

Pringles also have a wavy variant that has the same curved shape, but instead of a smooth surface it has ribbing that looks like waves (hence the name!)

The Wood Smoked Cheddar Ripples, Fire Roasted Jalapeno, Sweet & Spicy BBQ and other flavors are not vegan. 

However, Pringles is quickly putting new flavors on the market! Make sure you always check the label because you never know when a vegan flavor might hit the market.

Related questions

Now that we’ve answered the question of whether or not Pringles are vegan, let’s take a look at some related questions!

Are Pringles vegetarian?

Almost all Pringles currently on the US market are vegetarian. As vegetarians can consume animal, but non-animal products, all the flavors that we have listed in this article can be consumed by vegetarians.

Even Wendy’s Grilled Chicken and Spicy Chicken flavors can be eaten, since they don’t use meat for flavor. Instead, they use other natural flavors to achieve the meaty flavor.

Many of the Pringles packages have a vegetarian box on the package for easy shopping. So if you’re concerned, be sure to check it out.

Are Pringles gluten free?

Unfortunately, there are no Pringles on the US market that are currently gluten-free. 

All Pringles flavors, including Original, contain some form of wheat (most likely wheat starch), making these crisps inedible for those with a gluten allergy or intolerance.

Are Pringles dairy free?

Unfortunately, the only dairy-free Pringles on the market are the Original, the Lightly Salted Original, and the Reduced-Fat Original. These three varieties do not contain any dairy products.

All other Pringles flavors include some type of dairy product, such as milk, buttermilk, cheese, and/or buttermilk.

Be careful when buying Pringles that may seem dairy-free by name, such as Salt and Vinegar or Jalapeño, as even these contain some type of dairy product.

Are Pringles kosher?

Good news for those who are kosher: all flavors of Pringles made in America are kosher approved!

On some cans, you can even see written in Hebrew what a Kosher certification stands for to make it easier for Kosher eaters.

However, as Pringles is constantly updating flavors and introducing new products, always make sure to check the packaging before consuming.