Are M&M’s Vegan? Definitive Answer in 2024!

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M&M’s, introduced first time in 1941, became a favorite delicacy in more than 100 countries. But Are M&M’s vegan? Follow this article for the complete answer.

M&M’s, the popular chocolate candies, has always been loved among the folks. An eye-catching shape, with chocolate filling and a candy shell, makes M&M’s unique in their appearance.

Why M&M’s are so famous?

M&M’s are one of the world’s famous candies. M&Ms are, in fact, our all-time favorite. Who, let’s be honest, doesn’t adore them? Of course, no one. But why are M&M’s so popular throughout the world?

M&M’s has become an all-time favorite snack because of its artistic creation. The idea of multi-colored coatings with a chocolate filling was really admired by the people. The popularity this candy has gained over time motivated the M&M’s company to launch different variants of this candy. You can have fun enjoying the plain, caramel, pretzel, dark chocolate, and peanut butter M&M’s. M&M’s may appear pleasant to the eyes due to their beautiful colors and flavors, but I have got a piece of heart-breaking news ahead for vegans.

The vegans might be wondering about M&M’s being animal-free or not. This article delves into one of the most often asked questions about M &M’s: Are M&M’s vegan?

Are M&M’s Vegan?

I’m sorry to break the news to you, but M&Ms aren’t vegan. It’s not me, but the UK M&M’s itself tweeted that “M&M’s are not vegan because they contain traces of the animal products”. On being asked about the exact ingredients that make M&M’s non-vegan, M&M’s UK refused to disclose it. The non-vegan ingredients are only present in trace amounts; they’re not specified in the label. As too many ingredients are used to obtain optimum texture and flavor so, they are not able to provide too many details.

But do not worry, Unreal store makes vegan M&M, get them here

Why are M&M’s not cruelty-free?

Veganism is all about love for animals that co-inhabit with us. A true vegan shows his care towards animals by abandoning the use of milk or milk products.

M&Ms do not belong to vegans since they include a lot of dairy products and use food coloring that has been tested on animals. It’s not only about milk, but there are a few other ingredients that are not vegan.

Let the list of ingredients speak for the fact

Ingredients in M&Ms

Here are the ingredients in M&m’s Chocolate Candies

Milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, natural and artificial flavors), cornstarch, sugar, no more than 1%-corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5 lakes, blue 1 lake, yellow 6 lake, red 40 lake, blue 2 lake, blue 2), gum acacia, and carnauba wax.

Non-Vegan Ingredients in M&M’S

Here I’ve listed some ingredients that make this candy non-vegan. Milk chocolate filling in the M&M’s is made by adding in three non-vegan ingredients listed as follows.

• Skim milk

• Lactose

• Milk fat

Being a true vegan, the presence of dairy products in any cuisine, no matter how much delectable it is, is really a concern for you.

The next disaster ingredients which actually make M&M’s a tempting candy are

• Natural flavor

• Food Coloring

Natural flavor

The term “Natural” implies the use of any natural source to obtain the flavor. As M&M’s have a variety of non-vegan ingredients, there is a probability of natural flavors being non-vegan too.

Food Coloring

The rainbow-like appearance of M&M’s is achieved using artificial colors. These artificial colors are not obtained from any animal source, hence are cruelty-free. The reason behind mentioning food colors in the non-vegan ingredients list is their testing, being done on the animals.

It’s the chocolate that melts in your mouth, the flavor which provokes you to have one, and the beautiful colors that attract your eyes. If these ingredients are not cruelty-free, then there is no point for the vegans to enjoy M&M’s.

Are M&M’s vegetarian-friendly?

A true vegan whole-heartedly avoids everything that is derived from the animals. Vegetarianism is a less strict form of veganism. Vegetarians usually avoid foods made up of meat but can eat dairy products. M&M’s do not contain even traces of meat, flesh, or any enzyme. So, M&M’s are vegetarian-friendly. let me clear one thing that US M&M’s are more vegetarian-friendly rather than their UK counterparts.

Some UK M&M’s contain carmine color and beeswax as additives. These additives are obtained from an animal source. On the other hand, US M&M’s uses Red 40 and carnauba wax as their coloring and glazing ingredients, respectively. It makes US M&M’s more vegetarian-friendly. It is also possible that US M&M’s might have the minute quantities of animal traces in them, but it’s not worth worrying about vegetarians. The vegans believe in animal care and reducing animal sufferings so they cannot tolerate even the traces of animal products.

Best vegetarian M&M’s flavors

These are some vegetarian M&M’s flavors, you can go for

• Dark Chocolate M&M’s

• Caramel M&M’s

• Crispy M&M’s

• Mint Dark M&M’s

• White Chocolate M&M’s

Vegan alternatives to M&M’s

Let M&M’s go, put a big smile on your face, and enjoy these equally yummy M&M’s vegan alternatives with a similar texture and flavor. I’m sure you’ll miss out on nothing except that letter “m”.

• Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate Pieces

• Little Secrets – Dark Chocolate Pieces

• Choco No No’s

• No Whey! Foods – Chocolate No No’s

• No Whey! Foods – Peppermint No No’s

• Unreal’s Dark Chocolate Crispy Quinoa Gems

• Chocomels Chocolate Sea Salt

Conclusion

M&M’s was once announced as the official snack of the Olympics game, OMG, how demanding it is, but not among vegans. No variant of M&M’s is vegan-friendly. I know, it’s sad knowing this. That’s why I’ve listed some popular M&M’s alternatives. You’ll be glad to know that many of them are truly tasty and you won’t regret trying them. They will satisfy your cravings as well as your soul in an ethical way.

I hope you received answers to all of your M&M-related queries. If so, please let me know in the comments section.

See Also: Vegan M&M cookies recipe