Vegan Baking Guide: Vegan Frosting, Sprinkles, and Food Coloring

Nothing can cure a bad day like a good dessert. And nothing says “good dessert” like frosting! When we discovered that a ton of brands carry “accidentally vegan” frostings, we couldn’t wait to share our findings with you. (Because dairy milk, butter, and cream cheese are just so unnecessary when it comes to baking—and most importantly, because producing them is abusive to cows.)

We’ve also included vegan sprinkles and food colorings—all free of animal-derived ingredients and perfect for your vegan baking needs:

Vegan Frostings and Icings 

Some frostings are made with butter, cream cheese, or other dairy “products,” and if you eat those, you support inherent cruelty to cows. Try these vegan varieties:

• Duncan Hines Creamy Frosting: Buttercream, Dark Chocolate Fudge, Vanilla, Coconut Pecan, Cream Cheese, Salted Caramel, and Lemon Supreme
• Duncan Hines Whipped Frosting: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Fluffy White
• Miss Jones Organic Frosting: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Confetti Pop. Available at Target stores.
• Wholesome! Organic Frosting: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Wild White Strawberry
• Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tubes
• DIY Vegan Buttercream Frosting

Vegan Sprinkles and Edible Glitters

When choosing sprinkles, watch out for confectioner’s glaze, which is made from the bodies of insects who didn’t want to die. Try these cruelty-free options:

• 365 Everyday Value Chocolate Sprinkles
• Watkins Rainbow Decorating Sugar
• Wilton Edible Glitter, Gold Stars
• Wilton Sparkle Gels
• Color Garden Sugar Crystals
• Color Kitchen Rainbow Sprinkles
• Let’s Do Organic Sprinkelz Organic Confetti
• Meringue Shop: Confetti-Style Sprinkles and Decorating Drop Meringues
• Sweetapolita: Pastel Bit Chips, Edible Silver Metallic Stars, and Happy Pill Bit Chips
• The Bakers Party Shop Sprinkles (marked vegan)
• Natural Sprinkles Co.: American the Brave, Blue and Pink Pearls, Costume Party Sprinkles, Hot Pink Sprinkle Pearls, Make It Sparkle Sprinkles, Metallic Blue Pearls, Mistletoe Rock Pearls, Neon Rainbow Pearl Sprinkles, Oh Christmas Tree Sprinkles, Orange and Black Spook-takular Pearls, Pink Sprinkle Pearls, Stroke of Midnight Pearls, and Yellow Sprinkle Pearls
• Marshalls Creek Spices All Natural Vegan Cake Decorations

Vegan Food Colorings

When it comes to food coloring, avoid animal-derived ingredients—such as carmine (aka cochineal extract, crimson lake, and natural red 4), which comes from the female cochineal insect. Here are some vegan options:

• Watkins Assorted Food Coloring
• Color Garden Food Coloring: Choose from five colors or variety packs.
• Color Kitchen Single Color Packets: Other varieties include Color Kitchen’s 10 Pack-Multi Color Box, its Color Set-3 pack, and the brand’s Vibrant 5 Color Pack.

PETA encourages everyone to eat healthy animal-free foods. If you’re going to indulge in sweets, please do so sparingly and make sure that there’s no cruelty to animals involved.

Also, please check all packaging, as ingredients may change or differ by region.