We started making vegan cookies two years ago at Whisked! after getting lots of requests from customers for egg and dairy-free treats. Now, our vegan cookies are some of our favorite things we sell. We focus on making delicious foods first and foremost, so our vegan cookies adhere to the same high standards of deliciousness that we have for all our products.
There’s been huge growth in vegan snacks over the past five years and, as avid snack fans, we’ve tried a bunch of them. Here are some of our favorites - from packaged snacks, to vegan junk food recipes, to no-cook items you probably already have in your pantry.
Our Favorite Vegan Junk Foods
Our picks for when you’re living the egg and dairy-free lifestyle and your junk food cravings hit:
- Hippeas White Cheddar: our team discovered these chickpea puffs at the Natural Products Expo East a year ago and fell in love. They’re a dead-on vegan version of Cheetos.
- Louisville Vegan Jerky,: Maple Bacon: this salty, savory snack is a favorite of Colin, our Distribution Manager.
- Newman’s Own Original-Os: Yes, regular Oreos are egg and dairy-free, but we like this version from Newman’s Own, which uses organic ingredients and donates all its profits to charity.
- Snacklin’s Puffed Chips: these puffed chips taste like vegan pork rinds - airy, salty, and crunchy. Snacklin’s is another DC-based company, so they hold a special place in our snack-loving hearts.
- PS Snacks Cookie Dough: if you’ve ever wanted to eat cookie dough for breakfast, look no further. This sweet cookie dough uses healthy ingredients like chickpeas, almonds, and organic cane sugar to make cookie dough that’s actually good for you. They’re another company that was founded in DC!
- Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares: did you know we use Earth Balance Vegan Butter in all our vegan cookies? We love their Vegan take on Cheez-its too.
- Swapples: when you want an Eggo Waffle, but don’t want dairy or gluten, Swapples has your back. Cinnamon is our favorite flavor - it’s divine topped with warm maple syrup and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
- Jackson’s Honest Sea Salt Potato Chips: like most of America, we discovered Jackson’s Honest on Shark Tank. Now, we’re big fans of their chips, which are slow cooked in coconut oil.
- LÄRABAR Cashew Cookie: this bar is one of our go-tos for long hikes or a quick pre-workout snack. For bonus points, listen the founder’s amazing story on How I Built This.
Vegan Junk Food Recipes
When you have some time to whip up your own Vegan snacks, these are our faves:
- Cookie Dough Dip from Chocolate Covered Katie: make sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips and a plant-based milk of your choice to make this sweet riff on hummus:
- Peanut Butter Cup Energy Bites from Minimalist Baker: energy bites that taste like a Reeses get a big thumbs-up from us.
- A Healthier Frosty: check out this vegan version of Wendy’s Frosty.
- Smitten Kitchen’s Chocolate Olive Oil Cake: this vegan version of Wacky Cake (yes - it’s a thing) uses olive oil as a fat source and vinegar to bind.
- Seedy Cherry Quinoa Bars: Puffed quinoa is the crunchy addition you didn’t know your energy bars needed.
- Vegan Snickers Bar by From My Bowl: healthy Snickers bars you say? Egg and Dairy free you say? We’re there.
- Vegan Kettle Corn from Trial and Eater: salty, sweet, and popped in nutty coconut oil, this is our favorite snack for a lazy Friday night in.
Vegan Snacks that Don’t Need A Recipe
Let’s admit it - sometimes, we don’t have any time to cook. Or any energy to cook. But these Vegan snacks are already hiding in plain sight in your pantry.
- Almonds. Cashews. Really, any nut. But please make ours roasted and salted.
- Fruit: You say fruit is boring. We say, how can a honey crisp apple, sweet mandarin orange, or perfectly ripe banana be boring?
- Dried Fruit: Our favorite and most cost-effective option are dried apricots, but there are lots of options out there, especially if you shop at Trader Joes. Our favorite splurge is dried cherries.
- Apple Sauce: bring back this staple of kindergarten lunch hours! Just make sure to find one without any added sugars.
- Chips and Salsa: check the label to make sure they don’t contain any dairy or eggs, but most tortilla chips and salsa are naturally free from animal products.
- Avocado toast: again, check the label to make sure, but many types of bread don’t contain dairy, eggs, or honey (our go-to is Good Seed from Dave’s Killer Bread). That means this millennial favorite is also an easy Vegan snack.
- Popcorn: pop your own, or get bag of lightly salted from the grocery store (just make sure it doesn’t contain butter!)
- Peanut butter with just about anything - toast, apple slices, or celery sticks.
- Oatmeal - we love oatmeal because it’s cheap, lasts forever, and cooks up in minutes. Make up a bowl with water, almond milk, or plant-based mylk of your choice. Adding berries, chopped apples, or maple syrup for a touch of natural sweetness.
So that’s it - our take on all our favorite Vegan snacks, from packaged products, to recipes, to stuff you already have in your cupboard.
And if you’re looking for Vegan snacks and don’t want to make your own, check out our vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and our vegan sugar cookies. We also offer vegan cookie gift baskets. You can also order vegan desserts from Whisked!
Whisked! offers the best mail order cookies that you can enjoy anytime and we also have mail order pies. They have the same big taste and chewy texture as all our cookies, but without the dairy and eggs. Enjoy!
About the author, Jenna Huntsberger
Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Jenna moved to DC in 2005 to work in nonprofit communications. After deciding her real passion was pastry, she founded Whisked! in 2011, selling baked goods at a local farmer's market. Today, Whisked! cookies and pies are carried in more than 100 retail locations, and have been featured in publications like the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, and NPR.
