One of the hardest obstacles to overcome when transitioning into a vegan diet (especially in an remote area like where I am from) is giving up practically every type of chocolate or pastry. There are plenty of recipes available online to create vegan deserts and even sweet vegan morsels for sale in stores nearby if you are lucky. However, being a poor college student (and, might I add, unskilled chef), living in an area that is not quite vegan friendly, it can be hard to find the time, money, or opportunity to prepare of buy a vegan treat. After being a vegetarian/vegan for the past three years and checking practically every label in existence, I have discovered many wonderful vegan-friendly alternatives in the most unexpected treats. Unlike most things you can find online, these options are cheap and require no cooking or baking! I wanted to formally share my findings with my fellow vegans. In can be hard to resist temptation when craving something sweet and sugary to munch on. I hope these vegan delights can help you out!
The following sweet treats are all 100% vegan friendly:
- Star Kiss Pops at DairyQueen
- Fruit Pop Tarts without icing (Not entirely sure about all flavors, but all are worth a check)
- Great Value (Walmart) brand knock-off Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookies
- Great Value knock-off Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies
- Homemade Peanut Butter Rice Krispie treats (The store bought ones contain animal products.) Recipe.
- Kroger Private Selection Fruit sorbets (This can be a good alternative to ice cream that is cheaper than the vegan versions. However, I am not sure if all brands are vegan.)
- Stauffers Iced Animal Cookies (Beware: Frosted Animal Cookies contain milk products.)
- Certain brands of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Pilsbury Icing (Not positive on all flavors, but I have yet to find one that isn’t vegan.)
- Gushers
- Oreos
- Orange and Stawberry Wafer Cookies
- Certain off-brand fudge striped shortbread cookies
- Sour Patch Kids
- Nerds
I hope that these vegan friendly treats will help you to satisfy those sugar cravings. They have done wonders to keep me on the wagon in the past. However, I wouldn’t recommend you make any of these items a staple part of your diet. One of the best benefits of a vegan lifestyle is not having to feel shitty after you eat. Even though these foods are technically vegan they are still not healthy in any way, shape, or form. That being said, happy munching! ^_^
Protect the Innocent 
Mmmmm How do you make your Homemade Rice Krispie treats? Vegan marshamallows are a bit pricy and brown rice syrup ones aren’t 100% the same. Just wondering from one vegan blogger to the next. 🙂 There are also a good amount of non-name brand options oddly at Dollar General and Family Dollar too. We found oatmeal cream pies, cookies and etc from there that are accidentally vegan.
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Well if you make them peanut butter they can be vegan. I guess I should be more specific and perhaps I’ll also add the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out. Haha & that is great! Dollar stores are a good place to find cheap accidentally vegan treats! ^_^ & I didn’t know there were vegan marshmallows available at all!
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I love your attitude – “I’m Vegan, I’m eating Pop-Tarts, Get Over It”. A very real human making very real choices in an often unreal modern world.
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Thank you very much! ^_^
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I agree, being vegan doesn’t mean perfection by any means. Esp. as a mom I don’t want my daughter to feel alienated, so providing the occasional treat is really important, thanks for the list, some of these I didn’t know.
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You are raising your daughter vegan? How wonderful! She will be so healthy.
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What a great idea to put together this list. Not all these items are available in Canada, but you have inspired me to put together a similar list for my part of the world.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
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I’m glad you liked it and that you will be able to provide similar information for vegans near you! ^_^
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I think what you are doing is great. May I offer a suggestion? A natural foods vegan diet is healthier than one filled with sugar, artificial colors, synthetic flavors and processed food. I’m not preaching…just suggesting. I agree that a vegan diet is the best diet. “The Vegan Spa” http://www.TheCatskillsBedandBreakfast.com
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I agree that eating all raw and natural foods is far healthier. I am just not currently at a place in my life where that is a realistic option for me. Also my self-control is already tested every day. Its nice to have a little treat sometimes. (:
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