Clif Bars are an energy bar brand that is particularly popular with fitness enthusiasts as well as the health conscious among us.
There is no doubt that they are a bar that is considered to be healthy, but are they also vegan friendly?
In this article, we will be looking at the different flavors of Clif Bar to see if any of them are suitable for a vegan diet. Let’s get started!
What Are Clif Bars?
The Clif bar is the flagship product of the Clif Bar & Company, which is an American company that specializes in energy drinks and foods.
Created by Gary Erickson and Lisa Thomas, the Clif bar is known for including a range of nutritious ingredients designed to sustain your energy.
Are Clif Bars Vegan?
For the most part, yes!
Most flavors and variations of Clif bars are indeed vegan, but there are a few different kinds that you need to watch out for, as they contain additional ingredients that are considered to be non-vegan friendly.
Types Of Clif Bars
Let’s first go through all the different kinds of Clif Bars that are available so that we can single out the ones that are not suitable for vegans.
Clif Bars can be split into four different categories: the traditional kind, the Nut Butter Clif Bars, the Fruit Smoothie Clif Bars, and the Clif Builder Protein Bars.
Traditional Clif Bars
There are around twenty flavors of the standard Clif Bars, with most of them being vegan-friendly. The flavors are as follows:
- Apricot
- Blueberry Pomegranate Mix
- Caramel Toffee
- Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Brownie
- Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Peanut Crunch
- Chocolate Chunk
- Coconut Almond Fudge
- Cool Mint Chocolate
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Dark Chocolate Almond
- Iced Gingerbread
- Nuts & Seeds
- Oatmeal Raisin Walnut
- Peanut Butter Banana
- Peanut Butter & Honey
- Peanut Toffee Buzz
- White Chocolate
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
- Spiced Pumpkin Pie
The only flavor on this list that is not vegan is Peanut Butter & Honey, as one of the ingredients is honey (no surprises there!).
As honey is a byproduct of bees, it is not a vegan friendly ingredient.
Nut Butter Clif Bars
The Nut Butter Clif Bars are mostly vegan friendly, as they are free from animal byproducts.
They do, however, contain palm oil, which is a questionable ingredient.
This is due to the fact that although palm oil doesn’t contain anything derived from animals, the process through which the ingredient is obtained is controversial.
Palm oil is often associated with deforestation and the destruction of the natural habitats of animals such as orangutans and tigers.
Because of this, many vegans avoid palm oil altogether.
The Nut Butter Clif Bar flavors include the following:
- Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Blueberry Almond Butter
- Caramel Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Almond Butter
- Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Peanut Butter
Fruit Smoothie Clif Bars
The Fruit Smoothie Clif Bars are similar to the Nut Butter ones in that whilst they do not contain any animal byproducts, they do feature palm oil.
The flavors are as follows:
- Strawberry Banana
- Tart Cherry Berry
- Wild Berry Açaí
Clif Builder Protein Bars
These are the most problematic Clif Bars, as some contain honey and all of them feature whey, both of which are non-vegan.
We already mentioned honey above, but when it comes to whey, it is a dairy product.
This is because it is created via the liquid that separates from milk that has curdled. It is a high quality protein source but as it comes from milk, it is not vegan friendly.
The flavors are as follows:
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Mint
- Cinnamon Nut Swirl
- Cookies and Cream
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Vanilla Almond
Final Thoughts
Most of the available Clif Bars are vegan-friendly, though if you are wary of palm oil, then you might want to avoid the Fruit Smoothie and the Nut Butter flavors.
If you aren’t too strict about your consumption of palm oil, then the only kind of Clif Bar to steer clear of are the Clif Builder Protein Bars due to their inclusion of whey and honey.
There is also the Peanut Butter & Honey traditional Clif Bar flavor, which should be avoided too due to its use of honey.
Other than that, every other kind of Clif Bar is perfectly fine for vegan consumption, so go and grab one now for a delicious, vegan friendly burst of energy!
