Photo Credit: Tostitos Instagram
Tostitos are one of the two brands of tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay (the other being Doritos). Since the initial product introduction in 1979, Tostitos have went on to be one of Frito-Lay’s most successful product launches and now have 16 flavors of chips and 13 flavors of dip. In this article we look to answer the question: “Are Tostitos Vegan?” while evaluating all flavors of both chips and dip.
As pointed out on Wikipedia, some of Frito-Lay’s products contain pork enzymes in their production. While some Tostitos products contain these enzymes, none of the products listed as vegan in this article do. All products listed as vegan in this article have been cross-referenced with Frito-Lay’s “Products Made Without Pork (Porcine) Enzymes” article for verification.
A full vegan-friendly analysis of each flavor of Tostitos chips and dips can be found in the following sections.
Scoops
At the time of this writing, Tostitios’ website features 3 varieties of scoops shaped chips: Scoops, Multigrain Scoops, and Baked Scoops. The only ingredients in these chips are Corn, Vegetable Oil, and Salt. The Multigrain variety also adds Brown Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, and Sugar. All of these ingredients are plant-based.
Therefore, all varieties of Tostintos Scoops are vegan!
Triangles
By far the largest variety of Tostitos (9 favors) comes in the triangle shape. The chip base of all these flavors is the same: Corn, Oil, and Salt. As is these chips would be vegan-friendly, but some of the flavors have non-vegan components. Below is a breakdown of the triangle shaped Tostitos that are and are not vegan friendly.
Vegan Triangle Tostitos
- Original Restaurant Style
- Lightly Salted
- Black Bean & Garlic
- Simply Organic Blue Corn
- Cantina Thin & Crispy
- Cantina Traditional
Non-Vegan Triangle Tostitos
- Hint of Lime (Sour Cream and Whey)
- Hint of Jalapeno (Sour Cream and Whey)
- Roasted Red Pepper (Sour Cream, Skim Milk, Whey Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Concentrate, Lactose, and Buttermilk)
Rounds
Tostitos features varieties of their round chips: two traditional flavors in different sizes and two salsa flavors. Both of the salsa round flavors contain milk-based ingredients and are not vegan. The two traditional varieties are vegan. A breakdown of the flavors is below.
Vegan Round Tostitos
Non-Vegan Round Tostitos
- Sabritas Salsa Verde (Whey)
- Sabritas Salsa Ranchera (Natural Flavors – Milk Based)
Dips
To go along with their variety of tortilla chips, Tostitos also has 13 flavors of dip. These dips range from simple salsas to creamy spinach dip. As a general rule, all of the salsa varieties are vegan-friendly, while the other dips are not. A full breakdown of which dip varieties and which are not is below.
Vegan Tostitos Dips
- Chunky Salsa (Mild)
- Chunky Salsa (Medium)
- Restaurant Style Salsa (Medium)
- Splash of Lime Flavored Chunky Salsa (Mild)
- Roasted Garlic Chunky Salsa (Medium)
- Chunky Habanero Salsa (Hot)
- Simply Organic Chunky Salsa (Medium)
Non-Vegan Tostitos Dips
- Salsa Con Queso – Medium (Nonfat Milk and Cheese)
- Smooth and Cheesy Dip (Cheese and Whey Protein)
- Queso Blanco Dip – Medium (Cheese, Whey, Buttermilk, and Milk Protein Concentrate)
- Southwest Cheese and Corn Dip (Cheese, Butter, and Milk Protein Concentrate)
- Fiesta Bean & Cheese Dip (Nonfat Milk and Cheese)
- Creamy Spinach Dip (Whey Protein Concentrate)
Summary
As seen in this article, Tostitos has some flavors of chips that you wouldn’t expect to include animal products. The most surprising of these are the Hint of Lime, Hint of Jalapeno, and Roasted Red Pepper flavored chips. In general, all non-flavored varieties of Tostitos chips and all salsas are vegan friendly.
You can read about other vegan snack options here.
