Vegan Guides

Are Chocolate Chips Vegan: What You Need To Know

When it comes to baking chocolate chips are king. In muffins, cakes, cookies, pastries and so much more. They are a genius invention and they make everything sweet all that much sweeter. 

However, there’s an issue… chocolate usually has milk in it doesn’t it? Oh no! Does this mean no chocolate chips are vegan?

Wait! Do not stress out just yet, because there are vegan alternatives for everything these days, and maybe this type of chocolate actually is vegan! 

Are Chocolate Chips Vegan

Let’s find out together, shall we?

What Chocolate Chips Are Vegan?

Next time you head out to the store when you have the unrestrained urge to bake cookies, look for that little symbol telling you that the chocolate chips you are eyeing up are actually vegan. 

However, if you don’t hit up the superstore anymore, and are instead wondering what brands are vegan I have just the ticket for you: 

These are some of the best vegan chocolate chips around. You just cannot go wrong with them.

Are Dark Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Of course, some of our previous mentions make us wonder if dark chocolate chips are always vegan. The most basic form of dark chocolate chips is indeed vegan. 

However, dark chocolate is always kind of a shot in the dark. Some varieties will be more processed and these may end up having milk in their ingredients, so always double-check. Never think that just because it is dark chocolate it will be safe.

Are Costco Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Are Chocolate Chips Vegan

Costco is a favorite place to shop for many. And, they have two varieties of their own chocolate chips. Aka. Kirkland Signature Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips. They have a white bag and a red bag. 

Stay away from the red bag, it has dairy in it. Make your way to the white bag as this is the one that is vegan.

Are Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Semi-sweet chocolate won’t contain milk ingredients. This type of milk is a combination of dark chocolate and sugar. Is it typically made from sugar, cocoa solids, vanilla, and an emulsifier of some form? 

While semi-sweet chocolate is recorded to have no milk products in it, it is always worth double-checking the ingredients. It is also worth looking up the manufacturer, as you want to ensure there is no chance of cross-contamination in the production as well. 

Can Vegans Eat Semi-Sweet Chocolate?

You see, while most semi-sweet chocolate is recorded to not contain any milk products, it is not always necessarily vegan. 

Some can be vegan but usually are not. You see, some will qualify as vegan simply because the term ‘semi-sweet chocolate’ refers to chocolate having no less than 35% chocolate liquor in weight as is kept by the FDA’s requirements. It does not inherently mean vegan. 

What Are Vegan Chocolate Chips Made Of?

A lot of vegan chocolate chips will be made with cocoa powder and coconut oil, with added natural sweeteners. Generally, they are made not so different from vegan chocolate with cacao beans which have been roasted and milled into a paste with an emulsifier and sugar.

Are White Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Theoretically white chocolate could be vegan, it could simply be done with cocoa butter, sugar, and soy lecithin, but it will contain milk solids most of the time if not all of the time, which makes any form of white chocolate chips very un-vegan friendly. 

Of course, you can get specialized vegan white chocolate chips. A good brand for this would be Bakers Choice, which sells them on Amazon as white chocolate flavored chips. They are vegan and kosher. The only downside to them is that they contain palm kernel oil.

Similarly, you can also buy specialized vegan chocolate baking chips if you do not trust any normal companies to keep your chocolate chips vegan. You can buy these so easy you can get them on Amazon.com 

Our favorite is by Enjoy Life, which makes this dairy, soy, gluten, and nut-free chocolate chips suitable for vegans! 

Finally, if you really don’t trust the mainstream companies, buy your dark chocolate chips off of Amazon too! You are more likely to find a seller you can trust such as Enjoy Life who sells this massive 5lb bag of vegan-friendly dark chocolate morsels! Yum! 

How Do I Know If Chocolate Chips Are Vegan?

You should always turn to the labeling of the packaging first and foremost when you are checking to see if something is vegan or if it is not. 

If the packaging has it labeled as being vegan then it is vegan. If not, have fun reading through the ingredients list to check for any non-vegan ingredients. 

I know, it’s not the kind of reading you WANT to be doing. 

Do Chocolate Chips Have Dairy in Them?

chocolate chip cookies

A huge amount of chocolate chip brands will contain milk fat, or other dairy products, which makes them less safe for dairy-free diets. 

You ideally want to look at every ingredient list before you buy, however, just buying vegan chocolate chips is probably easier! 

FAQs:

Are Guittard Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Guittard Cocoa Rouge Unsweetened Cocoa Powder contains absolutely no animal-derived ingredients. Their baking wafers at 66% and 74% organic also use organic sugar cane.

Are Nestle Chocolate Chips Vegan?

A vast majority of Nestle chocolate chips are not vegan. This includes the semi-sweet chips which are the most popular and common. These contain milk fat. 

Are Hershey Chocolate Chips Vegan?

As you may expect Hershey’s chocolate chips are not vegan-friendly. They contain milk and milk fat, so they are far from vegan-friendly. 

Are Nestle Semi-Sweet Chips Vegan?

Even Nestle’s semi-sweet chips are not vegan. They contain milk fat once more. 

Are Lily’s Chocolate Chips Vegan?

Lily’s has 55% dark chocolate chips which are sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan!

Summary:

Although not all chocolate chips are vegan-friendly, there certainly are brands out there that do offer vegan-friendly chocolate chips. Even white chocolate chips!
So, next time you need chocolate chips, make sure you get those brands!

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