Herbs and spices are from plants, and vegans only eat plants. It should be a no-brainer that herbs and spices are vegan…right?
Plain herbs and spices are ALWAYS vegan-friendly because they’re from plants. Some seasoning blends (mixtures of herbs, spices, and sometimes other ingredients like sugar) contain non-vegan-friendly ingredients, which is the only time an herb or spice wouldn’t be considered vegan.
We’ll point out the #1 type of ingredient in herbs and spices that is NEVER considered vegan, as well as explain more about potential non-vegan-friendly herb and spice blends in this article to clear up any questions you might have.
Recap of the vegan diet
A vegan diet is the strictest plant-based diet, even more so than a vegetarian diet. A vegan diet only includes plant-based foods and avoids all meat, eggs, dairy, and other animal byproducts. Vegan dieters usually adopt a vegan lifestyle and don’t use leather, animal hair, or any other animal-derived products, even if they aren’t edible.
Are herbs and spices vegan?
A vegan diet includes only plant-derived foods without any animal byproducts, including gelatin and honey. Herbs and spices are from plants, which are the backbone of the vegan diet. Vegans don’t eat any animal-derived ingredients like meat or dairy products, which aren’t found in plain herbs and spices. That means that every single plain herb and spice is vegan!
That’s right – from allspice to thyme, you can enjoy any plain herb or spice on a vegan diet without even a second thought. Herbs and spices are a great way to add flavors to special diets like vegan diets as well as paleo, keto, and even Whole30.
Are there any non-vegan herbs and spices?
You might have noticed that we specified plain herbs and spices as being vegan. Herbs and spices with added ingredients – such as seasoning blends – can contain additional ingredients that might not be vegan-friendly. While still small, there is a possibility that some of these blends might not be vegan-friendly.
Sugar and the vegan diet
Some vegans avoid (refined) white sugar because it can be mixed with bone char (derived from animals) to whiten it. Most white sugar is processed without the use of bone char, but some sugar refineries still use it. For that reason, some vegans choose only vegan-certified or organic cane sugar to ensure that it doesn’t use bone char.
Some seasoning blends contain sugar, which some vegans might avoid unless it’s specifically vegan-friendly. That means that some seasoning mixes might not be used by all vegans. In addition, any seasoning mix that contains honey isn’t vegan-friendly.
Examples of non-vegan-friendly seasonings
Here are a few examples of seasoning blends that are NOT vegan-friendly:
McCormick Grill Mates Honey Hickory Rub
Ingredients (bold= never vegan, *=some vegans avoid)
- Demerara Sugar*
- Salt
- Brown Sugar*
- Onion
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Garlic
- Honey
- Spices (Including Black Pepper and Red Pepper)
- Yeast Extract
- Silicon Dioxide
- Citric Acid
- Natural Flavor (Including Hickory Smoke)
- Extractives of Turmeric
- Corn Syrup
Frank’s Red Hot Stingin’ Honey Garlic seasoning blend
Ingredients (bold= never vegan, *=some vegans avoid):
- Sugar*
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Garlic
- Honey
- Tamari Soy Sauce Powder (Soybean, Salt)
- Modified Corn Starch
- Refinery Syrup*
- Salt
- Fumaric Acid
- Spice
- Onion
- Molasses
- Sodium Diacetate
- Citric Acid
- Silicon Dioxide
- Garlic Oil
Some other popular seasoning blends like taco seasoning can contain sugar, which likely is vegan-friendly – but some vegans might choose to avoid it unless they can confirm with the manufacturer that the sugar doesn’t contain bone char.
FAQs:
Condiments that include honey, fish- or meat-derived ingredients, or milk aren’t vegan-friendly. Some examples include Worcestershire sauce (usually contains fish), anchovy paste, honey mustard, and Ranch dressing (usually has buttermilk).
It’s important to check the ingredients label on condiments to ensure it doesn’t contain any animal ingredients if you’re following a vegan diet or any other special diet.
Spices are vegan-friendly since they’re from plants. The only time spices might not be vegan-friendly is if they are combined with non-vegan ingredients, such as certain spice blends or seasoning mixes. For example, any seasoning blend that contains honey is NOT vegan.
Herbs like cilantro, peppermint, and oregano come from the leafy green parts of plants, so all herbs are vegan-friendly. Any herb combined with non-vegan ingredients (such as in a seasoning mix that contains honey) isn’t vegan-friendly.
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