Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegan Friendly? Learn The Truth!
Can Vegans Eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cinnamon Toast Crunch may be a childhood favorite.
It is not clear if Cinnamon Toast Crunch can be made vegan.
We were shocked at the variety of information about the cereal, including its vegan status.
We were surprised by the conflicting information on Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s vegan status.
Keep reading to learn the answer of the question: Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegan Or Not?
What Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a breakfast cereal that comes in a square shape and is coated with cinnamon flavor.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is made with wheat and rice.
The taste is complete by the addition of cinnamon and sugar.
A Brief History Of Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Science and marketing have made a significant contribution to the history of breakfast cereals becoming mainstream.
Nestle and General Mills created the Cinnamon Toast Crunch breakfast cereal.
This grain was first introduced in 1984.
The original version was a square plane without cinnamon swirls.
Later, the cinnamon swirls pattern was added to the squares.
It is known for its unique taste, replicating cinnamon sugar toast’s flavor and the square shape.
People loved its distinctive design, which was quite different from other cereals.
Elisabeth Trach was the original inventor of the cereal.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch is also famous for its animated mascot Chief Wendell (also known as the Cinnamon Toast Baker).
Initial mascots for the brand included three animated bakers, the most well-known and recognized.
Initially, there was no slogan for the brand.
In 1995, it was “The taste that you can see.”
In 2007, it became “It’s That Intense.”
The slogan changed to “Crave those crazy-square” in 2009.
It has remained unchanged until today.
First appearing in telemarketing ads, mascots gradually made their way into product boxes due to customer demand.
Customers still associate the brand’s mascot with its products.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch is known as Croque-Cannelle (French Canada) and Curiously Cinnamon (UK).
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a great breakfast cereal.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch has carved out a niche in the cereal industry, using no fancy ingredients.
What Makes The Cinnamon Toast Crunch So Irresistible?
I will start with the basics.
What is Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is a spice made from the dried inner bark tree species Cinnamomum.
Cinnamon is used mainly as an aroma and flavoring ingredient in food products.
It is well-known for its blood-sugar-lowering properties and powerful anti-diabetic effects.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ingredients
There is a lot of contradicting information about cereal and its vegan status.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch claims it’s vegan food, but others claim otherwise.
It is best to look at the ingredients to determine if the product is vegan.
Below is a complete list of all the ingredients:
- Whole Grain Wheat
- Rice Flour
- Fructose
- Maltodextrin
- Dextrose
- Salt
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Caramel color
- Soy Lecithin
- Canola Oil
- Preservative BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene).
- Trisodium Phosphate
Vitamins & Minerals:
- Folic acid, a B vitamin
- Vitamin B1 (thiamin mononitrate)
- Zinc and Iron (nutrients).
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine Hydrochloride).
- A B Vitamin (niacinamide)
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin A (palmitate)
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- Vitamin D3
- Vitamin C (sodium Ascorbate).
- Calcium Carbonate
Let’s now talk about the questionable ingredients.
- Sugar: Gray Area. Sugar is controversial vegans. When processed, non-organic sugar can be filtered with bone charcoal. It is not something vegans should avoid, but some people are fine. (Personally, I’m fine with sugar.
- Caramel Color Vegan. The caramel color doesn’t look like real caramel. It is a caramel color made from sugar heated up, often from corn. VRG considers it vegan.
- Vitamin B12: Vegan. Vitamin B12: Vegan. You might have heard that vitamin B12 is only available from animal products. However, the B12 in supplements and fortified cereals comes from bacteria.
- Vitamin D3: Gray Area. Vitamin D3 may be made from vegan sources such as lichen, but that’s unlikely. D3 is usually taken from lanolin (from sheep’s wool), so it’s not vegan. Many vegans aren’t concerned about D3 because it is so small in their diets. This blog post contains my personal opinion.
As you can see, Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s vegan status is determined by how you feel about sugar and vitamin.
Some vegans can eat them. Others aren’t.
As a vegan, I’m okay with both of these ingredients.
I believe my efforts to switch out milk from my cereal bowl for plant-based milk are sufficient.
I don’t believe that boycotting vitamin D3 will make any difference.
Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegan?
Because of Vitamin D3 (and Vitamin B12) in the ingredients, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cannot be considered vegan.
It’s confusing and perplexing, I know.
Let me help you understand.
Vitamin D3 is what’s responsible in this instance.
You may be curious how Vitamin C is obtained from animal by-products.
Vitamin D3 is derived from lanolin, a greasy substance and a by-product of sheep’s wool.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains Vitamin D3 as a supplement to fortification.
This is where we get into trouble with vegan-friendly products.
Vitamin D3 is found in the flesh of fatty fish, fish liver oil, and eggs yolks.
Smaller amounts can be found in cheese, egg yolks, and beef liver.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains Vitamin D3, so it is not vegan.
There are still many gray areas that you need to consider.
Vitamin B12, also on the ingredient list, is controversial.
Vitamin B12 is not usually found in plant foods.
However, it is commonly found in animal products such as fish, meats, poultry, eggs, and milk.
There is a lot to consider.
Vitamin B12 can be found in many fortified foods, including cereals.
The lack of labeling details and restrictions on proprietary information prevents us from knowing how to obtain certain ingredients in different products.
We’ll just have to accept what we know and see.
Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dairy-Free?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch does not contain dairy.
Be aware, however, that Cinnamon Toast Crunch does not contain dairy.
Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Made With Gelatin?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch doesn’t contain gelatin.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treat Bars contain gelatin (and sometimes milk), but be aware.
Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegetarian?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch can be eaten as a vegetarian.
Sugar and vitamin D are the only ingredients that can be considered gray areas from a vegan viewpoint.
None of these ingredients should concern non-vegan vegetarians and Lacto-ovo vegans.
Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Healthy?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains over 12 grams of sugar in just one serving (roughly 41g or 1 cup).
This is more than 25% of the cereal’s total sugar content.
All sugar types are not natural.
They contain Sugar, Fructose, and Maltodextrin.
It is clear that it is a sugar bomb and likely played a significant role in the child obesity epidemic today in America.
Foods like a vegan brownie mixture are also unhealthy.
However, it’s not something you should eat for breakfast.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegan Alternatives
Many bowls of cereal offer better options than Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of cereals that are 100% vegan.
- Barbara’s Original Puffins
- Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries
- Kashi Organic Island Vanilla
- Barbara’s Peanut Butter Puffins
- Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise
- Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Crunch
- Nature’s Path Rice Puffins
- Barbara’s Organic Corn Flakes
- Quaker Original Life
- Cap’n Crunch
Conclusion
Our Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cinnamon Toast Crunch vegan?
This popular cereal has more than one ingredient, making it unsuitable for people who strictly follow a plant-based diet.
Homemade cereal is a great option.
They are healthier, more nutritious, taste better, and most importantly, they are 100% vegan.
You can order a set of vegan-certified organic cookies to snack on if you aren’t a big fan of cooking.
There are many options, at least these days.
