It’s a similar story to most foods, some Smucker’s Uncrustables flavors are vegan, whilst others are not. It is important to stay on the right side of the plant-based diet by checking the ingredients, and we have a full run-through for you.
Read on to make sure you are always eating vegan Uncrustables.
Ingredients
This depends on the flavor, but there are plenty of vegan options and we will run through both the good and the bad.
Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly
The iconic flavor that many people think of when it comes to Uncrustabels is vegan. The ingredients read as follows:
Bread: Enriched Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less of Salt, Dough Conditioners (Distilled Mono and Diglycerides, DATEM, Enzymes [with Wheat Starch, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Peroxide]).
Peanut Butter: Peanuts, Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.
Grape Jelly: Sugar, Grape Juice, Contains 2% or Less of Pectin, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).
As you can see, even peanut butter does not contain dairy.
We should mention that mono and diglycerides (made from triglycerides https://aocs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1007/s11745-003-1042-8) can be derived from both animal and plant sources. Most of the time, they are plant-based which is why not everyone strikes food continuing this ingredient off the menu.
Whole Wheat Strawberry
Whole wheat makes these a little healthier, but are they vegan? The answer is yes. Using pectin, a natural fiber that when combined with water, creates a gel (https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/pectin-uses-and-risks), it is a vegan-friendly alternative to gelatin. Because of this, Whole Wheat Strawberry is suitable for a plant-based diet.
Bread: Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Wheat Gluten, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Contains 2% Or Less of Salt, Dough Conditioners (Distilled Monoglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Datem, Enzymes [With Amylase, Lipase, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Peroxide, Azodicarbonamide, Wheat Starch]), Yeast.
Peanut Butter: Peanuts, Dextrose, Sugar, Mono And Diglycerides (Palm And/Or Soybean Oil), Contains 2% Or Less of Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Soybean And/Or Cottonseed And/Or Rapeseed), Salt, Molasses.
Strawberry Jam: Strawberries, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Contains 2% Or Less of Pectin, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).
Chocolate Hazelnut
Now we are in the nonvegan section. Unfortunately, the inclusion of milk and whey in the hazelnut spread makes this unsuitable.
Bread: Enriched Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of Salt, Dough Conditioners (Distilled Mono And Diglycerides, Datem, Enzymes [With Wheat Starch, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Peroxide]).
Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread: Sugar, Vegetable Oils (Palm And Canola), Hazelnuts, Cocoa Processed With Alkali And Cocoa, Skim Milk, Whey, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanillin (Artificial Flavor).
Peanut Butter & Honey
It is the inclusion of honey that is most problematic here. Because of this, the PB&H version is not vegan.
Bread: Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Enriched Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Yeast, Contains 2% or Less of Wheat Gluten, Soybean Oil, Salt, Dough Conditioners (Distilled Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, DATEM, Enzymes [with Wheat Starch, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Peroxide]).
Peanut Butter: Peanuts, Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.
Honey Spread: Sugar, Water, Honey, Pectin, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Caramel Color, Calcium Chloride, Natural Flavor.
How They’re Made
Essentially, these are two pieces of bread sandwiched together with a filling in the middle. The first piece is used to spread the filling on before the second has its filling added as well.
The pieces are then pressed together, crimped at the sides, and have the crusts removed. It is difficult to say if the same non-vegan Uncrustables are produced using the same machinery as the vegan options.
FAQ
Is There Any Milk or Dairy In Uncrustables?
Some versions are completely free from animal products, but the problematic variant in terms of milk is the Smucker’s Chocolate Hazelnut Uncrustables Sandwich. Because of its milk content. Also, it includes whey which is a cheese by-product and therefore not vegan.
Is There Any Egg In Uncrustables?
There is not. This is good news for the vegan versions as some homemade recipes may encourage you to use egg as part of the recipe.
Still, there are no eggs in any of the above recipes.
Final Word
Whilst there are two flavors to choose from, not every Uncrustable is vegan. The popular sandwich snack can be added to any vegans freezer as long as you stay clear of the flavors that are made with milk, whey, and honey.
