Are Frosted Flakes Vegan? – 2023

Frosted Flakes are one of the most popular cereals out there. It is often purchased instead of other popular cereals like Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, and Cheerios. This classic cereal is found in many American households. 

The flakes in this cereal are covered in sugary goodness. They please people both young and old. I love Frosted Flakes, or I suppose I did before I went vegan. This cereal has some odd-sounding ingredients like pyridoxine hydrochloride. When I see ingredients like this listed on a box, I tend to avoid them to stay on the safe side. 

Let’s explore this cereal a little further. Are Frosted Flakes vegan?

Are Frosted Flakes vegan?

Great question! The short answer is maybe, but probably not. That might not be a super helpful answer. While this cereal appears to be vegan at first glance, there are a few ingredients that might be unsafe. 

None of the ingredients are clearly not vegan-friendly. You will not find any honey, gelatin, or other well-known unsafe ingredients, but there is one ingredient that might make this cereal worth avoiding if you are vegan. 

Frosted Flakes ingredients include:

• Milled corn
• Sugar
• Malt flavor
• Salt
• Iron (ferric phosphate)
• Niacinamide
• Folic acid
• Vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride)
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D3

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As you read through this list, you are likely wondering how in the world Frosted Flakes would be considered not safe for vegans. Of course, they use sugar, and there may be bone char in this sugar, but the real problem is Vitamin D. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that our bodies need to thrive, but not every source of it comes without a cost. 

The kind of Vitamin D used in most breakfast cereal is typically created with an ingredient called lanolin. Lanolin comes from sheep’s wool. When this ingredient is used, the product is not vegan-friendly. If these companies cared, they could easily ditch this lanolin-based ingredient and replace it with a plant-based option. 

Frosted Flakes are most likely not vegan-friendly.

Frosted Flakes contain two ingredients that are probably unsafe for vegans; sugar and Vitamin D. The vegan status does not look good. Until Kellogg’s comes out and clearly states they have switched to vegan-friendly sugar and Vitamin D, it is best to avoid them.

If you are craving some Frosted Flakes, you might try the vegan alternative Nature’s Path Amazon Flakes instead. Not only is this cereal delicious and organic, but there is an additional perk to purchasing this brand of cereal. When you buy EnviroKidz cereal, you help save blue macaws and their habitat. Your purchase will help other vulnerable animals as well.  

Curious about other popular cereals and wondering which ones are vegan-friendly? Check out this helpful guide to vegan cereal.  

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