It’s fair to say that veganism has become one of this fastest growing food trends of recent years – with the number of vegans in the UK soaring from a reported half a million people in 2016 to more than 3.5 million in 2018, according to comparethemarket.com.
Demand for meat-free food increased by 98 percent in 2017 and who can forget the sheer hysteria caused by the Greggs vegan sausage roll in 2019?
And with the government advising us to cut way back on our meat and dairy consumption for the environment, it’s not a bad idea for many of us to introduce more vegan options into our diets,
PLUS, it’s not nearly as restrictive as you may think. You don’t have to scour the supermarkets for specifically vegan options. There’s plenty of foods that happen to be vegan purely by chance.
So, whether you fancy a packet of crisps or even a Pot Noodle – here are the best foods you never knew were secretly vegan.
CHECK OUT accidentally vegan foods you didn't know were plant-based
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Accidentally vegan foods
1 of 17Walkers crisps
Who doesn't fancy tucking into a bag of crisps on their lunch break? And there are MANY options that are vegan friendly. Walkers' Salt and Vinegar, Ready Salted, Prawn Cocktail and Worcester Sauce are all suitable choices.
2 of 17McCoy's crisps
McCoy's Salt & Malt Vinegar, Ultimate Sea Salt & Black Pepper, Ultimate Sizzling BBQ Chicken, Ultimate Chargrilled Steak & Peri Peri are all vegan too.
4 of 17Tesco Bacon Rashers
Surprisingly, Tesco Bacon Rashers Snacks, Sainsbury's Bacon Crispies and many other own-brand bacon snacks are vegan friendly. Who knew?
5 of 17Lindt Excellence chocolate
Need to indulge your sweet tooth? You don't have to hunt down a vegan bakery as your local supermarket and newsagents will have plenty of options. Lindt Excellence with 70 percent, 85 percent and 90 percent dark chocolate is a great choice.
6 of 17Green & Black's chocolate
Green & Blacks in flavours Dark Chocolate, Hazelnut & Currant, Ginger, Maya Gold, Espresso, Spiced Chilli, Lemon and Mint are also options.
8 of 17Lotus Biscoff biscuits
If you need a biscuit to dunk in your tea (and who doesn't?) try Lotus Original Caramelised Biscuits.
9 of 17Fox's Party Rings
Fox's Party Rings are vegan too, as are their Ginger Crinkle Crunch biscuits and Dark Chocolate Chunkie cookies.
10 of 17Oreos
Everybody loves an Oreo, so thank goodness they're vegan too.
12 of 17Millions
Millions are also a vegan friendly sweet treat.
13 of 17Haribo
Not all of Haribo's sweets are vegan but the Sour Rainbow Strips and Sour Rainbow Twists are.
14 of 17Love Hearts
You don't have to give up Love Hearts as they're also vegan.
15 of 17Pot Noodle
Fancy something warming on these cold winter nights? Grab a Pot Noodle in the flavours Beef & Tomato, Bombay Bad Boy, Sweet & Sour, Brazilian BBQ Steak, Chilli Beef, Chinese Chow Mein, Piri Piri Chicken or even Sticky Rib.
16 of 17Cup Soup
Or you can heat up a Heinz Cup Soup in Vegetable or Minestrone flavour or Batchelors' Cup A Soup in Tomato, Tomato and Basil.
17 of 17Jacob's Cream Crackers
Fancy cheese and crackers? Why not have some Jacob's Cream Crackers (vegan friendly) and pick up some chutney and vegan cheese. Most supermarkets stock a variety of vegan cheese options and they're delicious.
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Why go vegan?
As well as being the best way to help animals, going vegan can help you lead a healthier life, have more energy and even lose weight. You can discover new foods, get creative with your recipes and experience new restaurants. What’s more, veganism is better for the planet, creating less waste and pollution than eating meat.
If you’ve already decided to take the plunge, you’ll probably have noticed that while there are plenty of products you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear are vegan, lots of things you’d think would be, actually aren’t. Take wine, for example. Many wines on the supermarket shelves aren’t vegan due to the way they’re processed.