Is Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix Vegan 2023? All Flavors Reviewed

Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix is one of the most popular cake mixes on the market. It is perfect for any occasion, and it is very easy to make. The cake mix comes with a pre-made frosting that is already delicious and is perfect for anyone who loves cake and wants to have a little bit of fun while they bake. But, are Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix vegan?

Some flavors of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix might be vegan, but they contain natural and artificial flavors, which can contain animal-sourced ingredients.

Below is a table showing Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix flavors and its vegan status.

Flavor	Vegan Status
Funfetti Premium Cake & Cupcake Mix	No, contains Milk and Confectioner’s Glaze.
Funfetti Strawberry Cake and Cupcake Mix	Maybe, contains Mono- And Diglycerides, Natural And Artificial Flavors.
Funfetti Yellow Cake and Cupcake Mix	No, contains Milk.
Funfetti Chocolate Cake and Cupcake Mix	Maybe, contains Natural and Artificial Flavor.
Funfetti Chocolate Cake and Cupcake Mix with OREO Cookie Pieces	Maybe, contains Mono- And Diglycerides, Natural And Artificial Flavors.
Funfetti Vanilla Cake and Cupcake Mix with OREO Cookie Pieces	Maybe, contains Natural Flavor and Mono- And Diglycerides.

Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix Ingredients

Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.

• BHT And Citric Acid (Antioxidants)
• Bleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour
• Blue 1
• Canola Oil
• Calcium Phosphate
• Candy Bits
• Carnauba Wax
• Cellulose
• Cellulose Gum
• Chocolate
• Citric Acid and BHT (Antioxidants)
• Cocoa Processed With Alkali
• Confectioner’s Glaze
• Corn Starch
• Corn Syrup
• Dextrose
• Enriched Bleached Flour
• Folic Acid
• Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
• Invert Sugar
• Iron
• Leavening
• Mono- And Diglycerides
• Natural And Artificial Flavors
• Niacin
• Oreo Cookie Pieces
• Palm Oil
• Palm Kernel Oil
• Propylene Glycol Esters Of Fatty Acids
• Red 3
• Red 40
• Red 40 Lake
• Reduced Iron
• Riboflavin
• Salt
• Sodium Aluminum Phosphate
• Sodium Caseinate
• Sodium Stearoyl
• Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
• Soy Lecithin
• Sugar
• Thiamine Mononitrate
• Wheat Flour
• Wheat Starch
• Whey
• Xanthan Gum
• Yellow 5
• Yellow 5 Lake
• Yellow 6

[Source]

As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.

Non-Vegan Ingredients

Milk

There are ingredients such as whey that is made from cow’s milk.

This ingredient it not vegan-friendly.

Confectioner’s Glaze

This ingredient is made from a bug in east Asia.

Vegans don’t consume products that is made from any insects as well as animals.

Questionable Ingredients

Artificial Colors

There are several artificial colors such as yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40 and blue 1 that can be found in some of the flavors and vegans tends to have a problem with these colors. They are known for being tested on animals and probably still are, leading to ethical vegans staying away from them.

There are other testing methods such as computer simulations that can do a great job instead. Artificial colors are also linked to several health issues and one of them being hyper activity in kids. If you are eating a plant-based diet strictly for health reasons then you will have to decide for yourself if you want to eat products with artificial colors in them.

Sugar

The second questionable ingredient on this list is sugar and with good reason i might add. Beet sugar and cane sugar is commonly used in candy and sweets. Cane sugar is more popular tho and in order to use cane sugar in candy products it needs to be refined and this is where it can cause problem for vegans.

See in the refining process the sugar is also bleached and a common method is to use bone char from dead cows. Exploiting animals in the production process does not align with veganism. It’s nearly impossible to know if the sugar has been bleached with bone char and the best way to find out is to contact the company and ask.

It’s good to know that beet sugar is always vegan-friendly.

Natural Flavor

Natural flavors is an umbrella term, meaning that it can consist of many ingredients, which means that the ingredient used can be sourced from both animals and plants. The source is rarely disclosed with the exception of milk, which is disclosed most of the time.

This ingredient is a big problem for vegans and we need to be careful. If the product is labeled vegan by a trusted organisation, then the natural flavors would indeed be vegan-friendly.

Palm Oil

Palm oil has become a very controversial ingredient not only for vegans but for many people and the reason for this is the severe deforestation taking place, leaving wild animals such as orangutans without a home.

The reason for palm oil being so popular is the very profitable production per square meter. This vegetable oil can find in many products today and with the rise of awareness of the deforestation many are staying away in protest.

However there is a way for the palm oil to be more vegan-friendly and it’s called RSPO. It’s a non-profit organisation that help companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil.

Mono- And Diglycerides

This ingredient can be made from animals or plants.

Vegan Alternative To Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix

I found a great vegan alternative called Miss Jones Baking Organic Cake and Cupcake Mix.

Conclusion

With so many non-vegan and questionable ingredient it’s very hard to determine if some of the flavors are vegan-friendly. Luckily I found a great alternative that is delicious.

With the very many controversial ingredients that can be found, vegans might not consume this cake mix even tho it wouldn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients. One reason would be that the artificial colors are testing on animals.

Thanks for reading, take care!