Is Sweet and Sour Sauce Vegan? Vegan Sweet & Sour Sauce Brands

Wondering about the vegan status of sweet and sour sauce?

Here’s everything you need to know about vegan sweet and sour sauce…

Don’t have time to read? Here’s a quick summary of the products we recommend.

Is Sweet and Sour Sauce Vegan?

Good news! Sweet and sour sauce is vegan.

Whether you’re making it at home or buying it at the grocery store, sweet and sour sauce is generally considered vegan-friendly since there are no blatantly labeled animal products.

“Even McDonald’s?” you might ask. 

We’ll see what McDonald’s says…

Is Mcdonalds Sweet & Sour Sauce Vegan?

Technically speaking, McDonald’s does not claim that any of the company’s foods are vegan. This is how McDonald’s answers the question about its U.S.A. products:

“We do not promote any of our US menu items as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free. The natural flavors that we use are derived from animal, plant, dairy or honey sources.”

We’re guessing that Micky D’s might use honey in their sweet and sour sauce, but unless you avoid honey, there’s probably nothing to worry about there. 

As always, read the labels, but in general, sweet and sour sauce should be suitable for vegan diets.

At the time of writing, the ingredient statement on the McDonald’s Sweet and Sour Sauce didn’t have any animal products.

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients

Here are all of the ingredients in La Choy’s Sweet and Sour Sauce (linked above).

Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Modified Corn Starch, Less Than 2% Of: Corn Syrup*, Paprika Extract (Color), Pineapple Juice*, Red And Green Bell Peppers*, Salt. *DRIED

This is the basic makeup of sweet and sour sauce, though ingredients may vary from product to product and recipe to recipe. Ketchup – another vegan ingredient – is also commonly used in sweet and sour sauces.

What About Eating Out?

In our research, we did not come across any recipes that included blatantly animal-derived products, and sweet and sour tofu from your local Chinese restaurant is on Peta’s safe list.

Because it’s vinegar and fruit-based, you should be in the clear when eating sweet and sour sauce prepared in restaurants. 

We sure are glad about that! But just in case you’re in the market, here are some certifiably vegan sweet and sour sauces you can buy.

Vegan Sweet and Sour Sauce Brands

There are lots of vegan sweet and sour sauce brands out there besides La Choy. Of course, it’s always best to make your own with whole plant foods, but sometimes convenience trumps all.

Here are a couple…

Minor’s Sweet & Sour Sauce

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Minor’s makes an affordable sweet and sour sauce you can buy on Amazon (linked above).

Here’s what’s in Minor’s sauce:

Ingredients: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Pineapple Tidbits (Pineapple, Pineapple Juice, Citric Acid), Diced Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Citric Acid, Calcium Chloride), Vinegar, Modified Cornstarch, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, 2% Or Less Of Brown Sugar Syrup, Soybean Oil, Tomato Paste, Salt, Corn Syrup Solids, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Green Bell Peppers, Spices, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Onion Powder, Beet Powder (Color), Garlic Powder. Contains: Soy Ingredients.

Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet ‘n Sour Dipping Sauce

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You can find Sweet Baby Ray’s in many chain grocery stores, and their sweet and sour dipping sauce is 100% vegan with no animal products..

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Apple Sauce (Apples, Water, Ascorbic Acid), Modified Food Starch, Contains Less than 2% of Water, Salt, Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Garlic*, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Red Bell Pepper*, Vegetable Oil (Soybean and/or Canola), Spice, Paprika. *Dried.

More Vegan Condiments

There’s a whole world of vegan condiments out there.

Find them on our list of common vegan condiments.

Love sweet and sour sauce? Check out these articles…

• See if soy sauce is vegan or not on this article.
• Is Hoisin Sauce Vegan?
• Is Duck Sauce Vegan?

Joey Bruno

Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!