Are Takis Vegan?
Everything You Should Know

Last Updated: February 19, 2021

Being a vegan doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a snack or some junk food. However, finding real vegan snacks isn’t the simplest task. Munching on a bag of crunchy treats with Netflix on at the end of a long day is great, but what can you snack on?

Takis are a pretty popular snack, so I decided to investigate and answer the burning question: are Takis vegan?

Keep reading to find out!

Table of Contents

What Are Takis?

Takis are rolled-up tortilla chips, usually dusted with flavoring. There are various hot and spicy flavors to satisfy even the pickiest snackers. Takis have been around for the past 30 years, with people worldwide enjoying their delicious crunchiness.

FREE DOWNLOAD 9 Super High-Protein Vegan Recipes

Can Vegans Eat Takis?

Yes, vegans can eat Takis. But not all of the flavors. As I mentioned, there are many Takis flavors, but not all Takis are vegan. It all depends on the ingredients Takis contain. Let’s dig into the details.

Main Ingredients

The main ingredient in all Takis flavors is corn masa flour, that is — corn flour. Takis also contain:

vegetable oil,
preservatives,
colors,
and seasonings.

But every flavor has its blend of seasonings and colors that determine if Takis are vegan.

What About the Trace Ingredients?

Even with vegan Takis, you need to be aware of the possible trace ingredients and allergens. No matter if they’re vegan or not, all Takis come with a label that says:

“may contain traces of milk, egg, wheat, and peanuts.”

Sadly, this means that Takis aren’t gluten-free, so be careful if you have a gluten allergy. The “may contain traces of” warning doesn’t mean that all flavors contain animal ingredients.

It merely means that all Takis flavors are made with the same equipment, so there’s a chance of cross-contamination. Even the top vegan organizations don’t worry about this because chances for trace ingredients harming the animals are close to non-existent.

However, suppose you suffer from allergies to any of the ingredients mentioned above. In that case, you might want to avoid Takis, even the vegan flavors.

Are They Dairy-Free?

Besides the “are Takis vegan?” there’s one more common question — Are Takis dairy-free? Vegan Takis are dairy-free. However, non-vegan Takis contain dairy products, such as milk and eggs.

Related:

Are Takis Gluten-Free?

No, Takis aren’t gluten-free. As I mentioned, Barcel USA produces Takis in a factory that processes wheat, too. If you’re sensitive or allergic to gluten or have Celiac disease, you should avoid eating Takis.

All Available Flavors

As I mentioned, Takis come in a nice variety of flavors. They all have the same base ingredient — corn flour, but each flavor has a different seasoning blend.

4 Vegan Flavors of Takis

There are more vegan than non-vegan flavors, which is unusual but remarkable. Here are all the vegan Takis flavors and the ingredients they contain:

1. Takis Fuego contains the following: corn masa flour (processed with lime), vegetable oil (palm, soybean, canola oil, or rice bran oil ), seasoning [salt, maltodextrin, citric acid, sugar, monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed soy protein, onion powder, yeast extract, artificial color (red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake), natural and artificial flavors, baking soda, soybean oil, chili pepper (chile), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, TBHQ (antioxidant)]. Takis Fuego are also halal.

2. Takis Zombie contains the following: corn masa flour processed with lime, vegetable oil, and soybean seasoning (corn maltodextrin, iodized salt, citric acid, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, onion powder, natural and artificial flavor, artificial color (yellow %, yellow 5 lake and blue 1), garlic powder, tricalcium, phosphate, acacia gum, gum arabic, alpha-tocopherol, mannitol) may contain soy, milk, egg.
3. Takis Nitro contains the following: corn masa flour, vegetable oil (palm, soybean, and canola, or rice bran oil), maltodextrin, salt, citric acid, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, sugar, onion powder, artificial colors (yellow 6 and 5 lake, red 40 lake, blue 1 lake) artificial and natural flavors, gum arabic, mannitol.
4. Takis Salsa Brava contains the following: corn, palm oil, seasoning (maltodextrin, salt, cornflour, monosodium glutamate, sugar, corn oil, red pepper powder, spices, vegetable protein (soybean), citric acid, artificial flavor, artificial colors (fd&c red 40, fd&c yellow 6, fd&c blue 1), sodium diacetate, acetic acid). They also contain 2% or less of the following antioxidants (TBHQ or BHA and BHT) and lime traces.

3 Non-Vegan Flavors of Takis

Non-vegan Takis have natural and artificial flavors that contain ingredients such as milk and eggs and even cheese. Three different flavors aren’t suitable for a vegan snack. They include:

1. Takis Xplosion

2. Takis Guacamole

3. Takis Crunchy Fajitas

Takis Crunchy Fajitas, for example, contain: corn masa flour (with lime), vegetable oil (palm, soybean, canola, or rice bran oil), seasoning [maltodextrin, salt, monosodium glutamate, corn starch, chili pepper (chile), citric acid, onion powder, artificial and natural flavors (milk, egg), artificial colors (yellow 6 lake, blue 1 lake, red 40 lake), dextrose, sugar]

Look at the ingredients and compare Takis Fuego, Nitro, Salsa Brava, and Crunchy Fajitas. You can see that the trick is in the seasonings. Seasonings are the one thing that makes Takis vegan or non-vegan. Take your time and pay very close attention to the label when choosing your Takis.

Are They Unhealthy?

Some Takis may be vegan, but that doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Go back and look at the ingredients.

Barcel USA makes Takis from flour, artificial flavor, and oil, which aren’t the most nourishing ingredients. They also have colors Yellow 5 and 6, and Red 40, which are proven to be harmful [1].

However, if you consume them occasionally, I don’t think they’ll cause too much harm.

Think of Takis as your vegan guilty pleasure — have an occasional snack, but don’t go overboard.

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Are Takis Vegan? The Final Verdict

As I said, Takis are vegan.

However, it all depends on the seasoning. So, be sure to take a good look at the ingredient list if you decide to treat yourself to some vegan junk food.

And be careful not to go overboard with snacking on Takis. They may be vegan, but they’re still not the healthiest snack out there.

What’s your favorite Takis flavor? Share in the comments!

FREE DOWNLOAD 9 Super High-Protein Vegan Recipes

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23026007

About the author

Jason Hughes

"Hey there, I'm Jason, and you've just landed on the most exhilarating spot on the web - my VL universe! Here's the deal: I'm wildly obsessed (in the best way possible!) with all things diet, strength training, fitness, health, and wellness. It's not just a passion; it's a lifestyle!

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