Are Hot Cheetos Vegan?

If you’re a big fan of savory, flavorful snacks that set your taste buds on fire, it’s probably a safe bet to assume that you’re also a big fan of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. These cheese-flavored snacks are packed with flavor and spice in every crunchy bite, and they’ve developed a massive and loyal fanbase over the year as a result.

But if you’re thinking about making a switch to a vegan diet, it might get you wondering, “Are Hot Cheetos vegan-friendly?”

Let’s talk about what ingredients can be found in Hot Cheetos, and how you can still satisfy your craving for spicy chips no matter what your dietary restrictions are. 

What makes something vegan-friendly? 

Veganism is a lifestyle in which someone avoids consuming animal-based foods and products. Unlike vegetarianism, which focuses solely on eliminating meat from their diet, veganism also eliminates any ingredients that are made from animal byproducts. 

For example, some common ingredients that a vegan may choose to eliminate from their diet include: 

  • Meat 
  • Poultry
  • Fish 
  • Milk 
  • Cheese 
  • Eggs 
  • Honey 

People may choose to switch to veganism for a variety of reasons. For example, one of the most popular reasons people choose to go vegan is due to the questionable ethics that come with using animals and their byproducts for human consumption. Other vegans may make the switch for religious reasons, or because eating a plant-based diet is considered to have a smaller environmental burden than eating animal products. Finally, there are also some considerable health benefits that can come from eating a vegan diet, like less consumption of unhealthy fat consumption and more anti-inflammatory plant-based nutrients. 

In short, someone who is vegan will likely avoid consuming any food product that involves animals in the process and stick to consuming plant-based foods instead. This means that when it comes to eating foods, and especially processed foods with multiple ingredients, there are several ingredients that vegans need to be on the lookout for. 

Are Hot Cheetos vegan?

Unfortunately, no, Hot Cheetos are not suitable for a vegan diet. 

Cheetos are perhaps most well known for their intense cheesy flavor, which is present in all of their different varieties including the Flamin’ Hot line. Unfortunately, cheese is not vegan, since it is a dairy product that comes from cows. Every Flamin’ Hot Cheetos recipe (original, Lime, Puffs, and XXTRA Flamin’ Hot) uses dairy products like cheddar cheese, whey, and buttermilk as part of their flavoring agents. 

So, unfortunately, this means that someone who is vegan would not be able to eat Hot Cheetos while adhering to their plant-based lifestyle. 

What are the ingredients in Hot Cheetos?

In case you’re curious about what other ingredients can be found lurking in your bag of Hot Cheetos, read on for a list of the complete ingredients for each of the Hot Cheeto variants. All of these ingredients are found on the official Cheetos website

You may notice that they all include dairy products like buttermilk, whey, and/or cheddar cheese flavoring (we’ve bolded them here for easy identification). These ingredients effectively rule out Hot Cheetos and all their variants as vegan-friendly snacks. 

Original Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos recipe: 

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Sunflower Oil), Flamin' Hot Seasoning (Maltodextrin [Made from Corn], Salt, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Artificial Color [Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5], Sunflower Oil, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Onion Powder, Whey, Whey Protein Concentrate, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor, Buttermilk, Sodium Diacetate, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate), and Salt.

Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Limón Cheetos recipe: 

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Sunflower Oil), Flamin' Hot Limón Seasoning (Salt, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Artificial Color [Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5], Corn Syrup Solids, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Sunflower Oil, Onion Powder, Whey, Lime Juice, Maltodextrin [Made from Corn], Whey Protein Concentrate, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor, Buttermilk, Sodium Diacetate, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate).

Crunchy XXTRA Flamin’ Hot Cheetos recipe: 

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Sunflower Oil), Xxtra FLAMIN' HOT® Seasoning (Salt, Maltodextrin [Made From Corn], Sugar, Yeast Extract, Monosodium Glutamate, Citric Acid, Artificial Color [Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5], Sunflower Oil, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Onion Powder, Whey, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate, Buttermilk, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Diacetate), and Salt.

Cheetos Puffs Flamin’ Hot recipe: 

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, and Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola and/or Sunflower Oil), Flamin' Hot Seasoning (Maltodextrin [Made From Corn], Salt, Sugar, Artificial Color [Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5], Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Sunflower Oil, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Onion Powder, Whey, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate, Buttermilk, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Diacetate, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Sodium Caseinate, Skim Milk).

Vegan Hot Cheeto Alternatives

Unfortunately, Hot Cheetos are not suitable for someone looking to live a plant-based lifestyle. However, the good news is that there are now several vegan-friendly options on the snack market to help satisfy your craving for cheesy, spicy chips! 

An alternative option for vegan Hot Cheetos are Peatos Fiery Hot Crunchy Curls, a spicy snack made with peas, lentils, and fava beans for extra nutrition.

If you’re looking for an extra-healthy Hot Cheeto alternative, you can always recreate the flavors in your own kitchen! Buy your favorite brand of vegan chips (or, if you have the time, make some in your own oven or air fryer), then sprinkle them with seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and your favorite vegan cheese product. 

Conclusion

Hot Cheetos are a staple snack for many spice-lovers around the world, but it just isn’t a good choice for someone who is vegan or plant-based. Luckily, the popularity of Hot Cheetos means that there are now a couple of suitable vegan-friendly options on the market that can help satisfy your craving for spicy goodness without compromising on your vegan diet. 

 

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

 

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