Is Salsa Vegan? [Brand List: 123 Products Checked]

Did you know the “salsa” dance got its name from the food? Yep. Salsa is just that good. Now, if you’re newly vegan, you may be wondering if you can still indulge in salsa—and which specific brands are in the clear.

Well, for this guide, I read the ingredients for 123 different salsa products you can find in the grocery store. I used my 13 years of vegan experience to assess which ones are vegan and which ones aren’t. And I’ve got some great news…

Is Salsa Vegan?

Salsa is almost always vegan. Out of 123 salsa products I checked, 118 were vegan (96%). All salsa products from Herdez, Great Value, Frontera, La Victoria, and Mrs. Renfro’s are vegan. In the five non-vegan salsas, the animal ingredients were dairy, egg, and honey.

When it came to some of the most popular brands of salsa, like Tostitos, Pace, and Newman’s Own, they were still mostly vegan—but they each just had one or two non-vegan salsa products each. See the full lists below for details.

Does Salsa Contain Dairy?

Salsa does not typically contain dairy. Out of 123 salsa products I checked, 120 were dairy-free (98%). The only three salsas I found containing dairy were Tostitos Avocado Salsa, Old El Paso Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce, and Newman’s Own Salsa Con Queso.

As you may be able to tell from the names, the “salsas” that contain dairy are not normal salsas. So it’s not like dairy is really showing up in normal-looking salsa products. There’s really only a reason to suspect dairy ingredients when it looks creamy or cheesy.

Which Salsa Contains Honey?

I found two salsa products that contain honey: Pace Four Chile Pepper Salsa and Pace Honey Chipotle Salsa. I wasn’t expecting to find honey as an ingredient in salsa, but those two products by Pace do have it.

Which Salsa Brands Are Vegan?

Alright, it’s time to dig into the data! Let’s check out the following list of salsa brands and whether their products are vegan.

This is not a complete list of all vegan salsa brands. I just checked a bunch of the most popular brands. Click a brand name to skip to their section (or just scroll down):

• Doritos
• Frontera
• Great Value
• Heinz
• Herdez
• Kirkland
• La Victoria
• Mrs. Renfro’s
• Newman’s Own
• Old El Paso
• Pace
• Tesco
• Tostitos

Is Doritos Salsa Vegan?

Doritos salsa is considered vegan. Both flavors, Mild and Hot, are free of animal-derived ingredients.

Doritos salsa dips seem to be a British and Australian thing. I’ve never seen them in America so far. Here are the two flavors I was able to find online and check:

Salsa	Is it Vegan?
Doritos Mild Salsa Dip	Vegan
Doritos Hot Salsa Dip	Vegan

Side note: The actual “Salsa” and “Salsa Verde” flavors of Doritos chips are not vegan.

Is Frontera Salsa Vegan?

Frontera salsa is vegan. None of the twelve flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Frontera Chipotle Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Chunky Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Frontera Chunky Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Frontera Double Roasted Tomato Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Especial Avocado Tomatillo Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Especial Mango Habanero Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Especial Tequila Borracha Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Guajillo Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Jalapeño Cilantro Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Roasted Habanero Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Roasted Tomato Salsa	Vegan
Frontera Tomatillo Salsa	Vegan

Is Great Value Salsa Vegan?

Great Value salsa is vegan. None of the sixteen flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients. If you’re not familiar, Great Value is the Walmart store brand. So you would find these at Walmart.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Great Value Borracho Bean Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Cantina Style Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Great Value Cantina Style Salsa Verde (Medium)	Vegan
Great Value Chimichurri Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Mango Pineapple Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Organic Garden Pepper Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Great Value Organic Hot Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Organic Medium Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Peach & Pineapple Chipotle Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Great Value Pineapple Tomatillo Salsa	Vegan
Great Value Restaurant Style Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Great Value Roasted Garlic Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Great Value Thick & Chunky Salsa (Hot)	Vegan
Great Value Thick & Chunky Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Great Value White Corn & Black Bean Salsa	Vegan

Is Heinz Salsa Vegan?

Heinz salsa is vegan. None of the flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients.

Here are the specific products I was able to check. I don’t believe all of these are actually widely available in stores. Some may only be used in food service:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Heinz Salsa Sauce & Dip	Vegan
Heinz Tomato Salsa	Vegan
Heinz Argentinean Style Sweet Tomato Salsa (UK)	Vegan

Is Herdez Salsa Vegan?

Herdez salsa is vegan. None of the seventeen flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
HERDEZ Cilantro Lime Salsa Cremosa	Vegan
HERDEZ Chipotle Salsa Cremosa	Vegan
HERDEZ Roasted Poblano Salsa Cremosa	Vegan
HERDEZ Guacamole Salsa Mild	Vegan
HERDEZ Guacamole Salsa Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Casera Mild	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Casera Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Casera Hot	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Verde Mild	Vegan
HERDEZ Roasted Salsa Verde Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Roasted Salsa Roja Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Taquera Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Ranchera Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Mexicana Mild/Medium	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Mexicana Medium/Hot	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Piquiña Medium/Hot	Vegan
HERDEZ Salsa Roasted Poblano Medium/Hot	Vegan

Is Kirkland Salsa Vegan?

Kirkland salsa is vegan. It doesn’t contain any meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients. If you’re not familiar, Kirkland is a Costco store brand. So you can find this salsa at Costco.

Here’s the full ingredients list:

Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa (Medium) Ingredients: “Organic Tomatoes, Organic Jalapeno Peppers, Organic Onions, Water, Organic Tomato Paste, Organic Cilantro, Organic Sugar, Sea Salt, Organic Vinegar, Organic Cayenne Pepper, Organic Garlic, Organic Cumin.” (source)

Is La Victoria Salsa Vegan?

Lac Victoria salsa is vegan. None of the eighteen flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
La Victoria Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa Hot	Vegan
La Victoria Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa Verde Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa Verde Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Suprema Salsa Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Suprema Salsa Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Roasted Pepper Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Ranchera Hot	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Mango Habanero Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Verde Fire Roasted Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Cilantro Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Cilantro Medium	Vegan
La Victoria Salsa Victoria Hot	Vegan
La Victoria Green Salsa Jalapeña Extra Hot	Vegan
La Victoria Red Salsa Jalapeña Extra Hot	Vegan
La Victoria Organic Chunky Salsa Mild	Vegan
La Victoria Organic Chunky Salsa Medium	Vegan

Is Mrs. Renfro’s Salsa Vegan?

Mrs. Renfro’s salsa is vegan. None of the nineteen flavors contain meat, dairy, egg, or other animal-derived ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Mrs. Renfro’s Black Bean Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Blackberry Serrano Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Carolina Reaper Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Chipotle Corn Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Craft Beer Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Garlic Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost Pepper Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Green Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Habanero Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Hot Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Mango Habanero Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Medium Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Mild Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Peach Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Pineapple Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Pumpkin Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Raspberry Chipotle Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Roasted Salsa	Vegan
Mrs. Renfro’s Tequila Salsa	Vegan

Is Newman’s Own Salsa Vegan?

Most flavors of Newman’s Own salsa are vegan. Only the Salsa Con Queso contains dairy and egg ingredients. The other six flavors of Newman’s Own salsa are free of meat, dairy, egg, and other animal ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Newman’s Own Black Bean & Corn Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Mango Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Medium Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Mild Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Peach Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Pineapple Salsa	Vegan
Newman’s Own Salsa Con Queso	No (Milk and Egg)

Is Old El Paso Salsa Vegan?

Most flavors of Old El Paso salsa are vegan. Only the Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce contains dairy and egg ingredients. The other four flavors of Old El Paso salsa are free of meat, dairy, egg, and other animal ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Old El Paso Salsa Verde (Medium)	Vegan
Old El Paso Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa (Hot)	Vegan
Old El Paso Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Old El Paso Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Old El Paso Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce	No (Egg Yolk, Whey)

Is Pace Salsa Vegan?

Most flavors of Pace salsa are vegan. Only the Four Chile Pepper Salsa and the Honey Chipotle Salsa contain honey. The other thirteen flavors of Pace salsa are free of meat, dairy, egg, and other animal ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Pace Chunky Green Chile Salsa	Vegan
Pace Chunky Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Pace Chunky Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Pace Chunky Salsa (Hot)	Vegan
Pace Fire Roasted Poblano ‘N’ Corn Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Pace Four Chile Pepper Salsa (Medium)	No (Contains Honey)
Pace Honey Chipotle Salsa (Medium)	No (Contains Honey)
Pace Mango Habanero Salsa (Hot)	Vegan
Pace Organic Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Pace Organic Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Pace Peach Mango Jalapeño Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Pace Pineapple Serrano Salsa	Vegan
Pace Restaurant Style Salsa (Mild Recipe)	Vegan
Pace Restaurant Style Salsa (Original Recipe)	Vegan
Pace Salsa Verde	Vegan

Is Tesco Salsa Vegan?

Tesco salsa is vegan. Both flavors, Mild and Hot, are free of animal-derived ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Tesco Mild Salsa Dip	Vegan
Tesco Hot Salsa Dip	Vegan

Is Tostitos Salsa Vegan?

Most flavors of Tostitos salsa are vegan. Only the Avocado Salsa contains whey (a dairy ingredient). The other five flavors of Tostitos salsa are free of meat, dairy, egg, and other animal ingredients.

Here’s the full list of flavors I was able to check:

Salsa	Is It Vegan?
Tostitos Chunky Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Tostitos Chunky Salsa (Mild)	Vegan
Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa (Medium)	Vegan
Tostitos Chunky Habanero Salsa (Hot)	Vegan
Tostitos Avocado Salsa	No (Contains Whey [Milk])
Tostitos Salsa Verde	Vegan

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