In this Vegan Pop Tarts Review, I give my thoughts about how tasty they are, and share which ones are vegan (as a ethical vegan this is super important to me!)!
Dietitian here! (so I’ll also give my input on the nutrition)
Let’s get to the ‘dough’ of it, shall we?
Disclaimer: This review includes information and the authors own personal opinions. It is not personal dietary advice. Talk to your doctor about any health concerns, supplement questions and dietary changes. See our disclaimers for more details.
What Are Pop Tarts?
Pop-Tarts® are rectangular shaped pastries that have a variety of fillings that come in different flavors.
Most of the varieties also have a sugary frosting on top.
Here is a list of all the flavors listed on Poptarts.com at the time of this post:
- Frosted Blueberry
- Unfrosted Blueberry
- Frosted Strawberry
- Unfrosted Strawberry
- Simply Harvest Strawberry
- Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Frosted Cherry
- Frosted Grape
- Frosted Raspberry
- Frosted Wildicious Wild Berry
- Frosted Banana Bread
- Frosted Chocolate Chip
- Frosted Chocolate Fudge
- Frosted Hot Fudge
- Frosted S’Mores
- Frosted Cookies & Crème
- Eggo® Frosted Maple
- Apple Jacks® Frosted Apple Cinnamon
- Red, White, and Blueberry
- Frosted Confetti Cupcake
- Snickerdoodle
They also have ‘Bites,’ which are very like small pop tarts (smaller than your hand) that fit into a bag. Bites flavors include:
- Frosted Blueberry
- Strawberry Banana
- Strawberry
- Brown Sugar
- Forsted Confetti Cake
- Frosted Chocolatey Fudge
Which Ones Are Vegan?
At time of this review, it appears that all of the frosted Pop tarts are not vegan.
The frosting glaze contains gelatin – which is derived from various animal body parts.
Depending on the flavor, they might also contain other non vegan animal based ingredients like:
I know, I wish they could just replace some of the ingredients with vegan friendly ones! (Vegan ‘butter’ does exist after all!)
Still, the unfrosted ones, and snickerdoodle flavors are (at the time of this post) vegan!
Since the frosting is missing, there is not gelatin, and I didn’t spot any animal based ingredients in the following.
Pop Tarts Vegan Friendly List:
- Unfrosted Blueberry
- Snickerdoodle
- Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Unfrosted Strawberry
None of the ‘Bites’ are vegan.
For this review, I’ll be going over the Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon and Unfrosted Strawberry flavors!
Vegan Pop Tarts Review
Portion
In my opinion, 2 pop-tarts looks like quite alot (see picture above, and let me know your thoughts)!
They are about as big- around the size of my hand (see picture below), and they were so sweet that 1 piece felt satisfying for me.
Again, these are desserts! Not a meal 😉
Taste
Check out my YouTube Short of me taste testing the Unfrosted Strawberry and Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavors!
- Unfrosted Strawberry (Taste Score: 5/10): The filling tasted like an extremely sweet/sticky strawberry jam with an artificial taste. The pastry crust was bland. I think frosting would’ve made it taste better. (warming it up didn’t even improve the flavor-in my opinion)
While I wouldn’t just throw it out, I don’t think I would buy it again. to it I feel like this one is lacking the frosting. - Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon (Taste Score: 8/10): I thought is was very tasty! It didn’t even need the frosting to make it taste good. I loved the warm notes of brown sugar with a sprinkle of cinnamon from the brown sugar cinnamon filling. Delightful, but the plain pastry crusts were quite bland, and more apparent without frosting like the previous one.
Price
I got the Unfrosted Strawberry and Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts at Meijer on sale for $2.00 USD per package of 8 unfrosted toaster pastries.
The non-sale price was $2.85 USD per package.
Compared to other vegan toaster pastries, Pop-Tarts might actually be cheaper.
For example, Bobo’s Toasters Apple Pie Flavor costs about $5.29 USD at Whole Foods for only 3 pastries (of note, this product does use some organic ingredients, and the package says it is gluten free).
Nutrition
Here’s some of nutrition facts based on the picture above (based on 1 serving-two pastries):
- Calories: 380-410
- Saturated Fat: 3-5 grams
- Sodium: 360-380 milligrams
- Carbohydrates: 66-69 grams
- Added Sugars: 24 grams
- Protein: 4-5 grams
Unsurprisingly, these Pop-Tarts are calorically dense and contain lots of added sugars.
While caloric density does not equal ‘bad,’ when we base a large amount of calories on nutrient poor high calorie foods, we are more likely to displace nutrient dense options.
And some people might actually mistake these to be a ‘breakfast.’ But I hope I’m not the first one to break it to you that they aren’t a balanced breakfast.
Interestingly, the ones above are fortified with some niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid (but there are numerous other ways to get these nutrients).
But is anyone really eating Pop-Tarts for the nutrients? Probably not!
These are also fairly high in sodium and saturated fat (something we’ll want to be mindful of, as it’s generally healthiest to not to consume excess sodium and saturated fat).
Again: these Pop-Tarts are not breakfast! But, if for what ever reason you do consume them as a breakfast, consider adding some more protein to make it a bit more balanced.
For example, you could add some calcium fortified soy milk, or calcium set tofu.
Again, I’ll consider these a treat, not breakfast, and continue to enjoy these occasionally, or when I want to reminisce about my missed childhood flavors.
Ingredients
Here’s the ingredients as taken from the pictures of the boxes above (in the nutrition section).
- Unfrosted Strawberry- “Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamine mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid), corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, soybean and palm oil (with TBHQ for freshness), bleached wheat flour. Contains 2% or less of wheat starch, salt, leaning (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), citric acid, dried pears, dried apples, dried strawberries, caramel color, xanthan gum, modified wheat starch, soy lecithin, red 40, yellow 6.”
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon – “Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamine mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid), soybean and palm oil (with TBHQ for freshness), sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, bleached wheat flour. Contains 2% or less of molasses, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), cinnamon, wheat starch, soy lecithin.
One thing is for sure, I wouldn’t consider this a whole food plant based food just by looking at the ingredients! 😉
Again, this is a dessert, and I can’t imagine that anyone is thinking they are choosing a healthy option with this ultra processed food!
They have added back in a few nutrients with the enriched flour, which is still lacking in fiber.
While the majority of people following a vegan diet might consider the ingredients vegan friendly, there are a few vegans who do avoid artificial food coloring.
That’s because they may have been tested on animals repeatedly -so take note if that is a concern for you!
From the two above mentioned above, the Unfrosted Strawberry flavor contains artificial coloring.
Would I Buy Them Again?
I might buy the Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon one again if I was really craving it! As a vegan, it is nice to know that I do have a way to relive some of those childhood foods!
Plus, the brown sugar cinnamon filling felt like a warm hug.
Did I mention, I won’t be using these as a breakfast though? 😉
I’ll pass on the Unfrosted Strawberry.
Here’s a quick pros and cons list!
Pros
- The Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor tastes warm and cozy.
- Pop-Tarts are likely cheaper compared to other name brand vegan toaster pastries.
Cons
- The strawberry flavor could have been better and used some frosting (in my opinion)
- Pie crust is bland (especially without the frosting!)
- These are not a balanced breakfast!
- High in added sugars
- High in saturated fats
- Sodium
What is your favorite Pop Tart flavor? Do you have a great copy cat recipe? Let me know in the comments!
If you love store bought vegan dessert reviews, check out more from me here!:
–Lenny and Larry’s Cookies Review
–Mavericks Cookies Review
–Heavenly Hunks Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Review
–So Delicious Wondermilk Ice Cream Review
–Magnum Non Dairy Ice Cream Bar Review
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Interesting analogy of the vegan and non-vegan pop tarts. They are a favorite in my household with my grandkids. It’s nice to know which is which.