Junior Mints are a movie theater candy favorite and a great way to enjoy chocolate and peppermint freshness. Although many people love Junior Mints, vegans have to be very careful when looking for candy to enjoy. So, what’s the verdict: are Junior Mints vegan or not?
Junior Mints are not vegan, but it’s not because they contain chocolate as you might think. Instead, Junior Mints aren’t vegan because they contain sugar that is likely processed using bone charring, plus an animal byproduct called confectioner’s glaze. The best vegan alternatives are HU Crunch Mint Dark Chocolate, Free2b Dark Chocolate Cups, or Theo Mint Chocolate Cookie Bites.
Not to worry – we’ll break down exactly why these two ingredients aren’t on the “good to go” list for any vegan. We’ll also highlight some alternatives to Junior Mints so you can satisfy your sweet tooth, while adhering to a vegan lifestyle. Let’s dig in!
Contents
Problematic Ingredients in Junior Mints
At first glance, you might think that Junior Mints are suitable for vegans. After all, they are made with semi-sweet chocolate, meaning that milk isn’t used in the production process. Indeed, semi-sweet chocolate is only made with sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate processed with alkali, soy lecithin to act as an emulsifier, and sometimes vanilla for added flavor.
For chocolate to not be vegan friendly, milk products have to be added in. As we broke down in our examination of Hershey’s Chocolate Powder, cocoa powder can be perfectly vegan-friendly.
So where does the issue lie? Although Junior Mints’ chocolate isn’t an issue, there are two ingredients that make this refreshing candy non-vegan.
1. Confectioner’s Glaze
The first problematic ingredient is confectioner’s glaze. This alcohol-based mixture is common in a variety of candy products and it’s what gives candy that distinctive a glossy sheen. While this may be visibly appealing, confectioner’s glaze is almost always made from shellac, which itself is an animal byproduct made from female lac beetles.
Shellac can be made in one of two ways:
- From collecting resin from beetles as they crawl around on tree branches
- From killing the beetles by crushing their shells
It’s true that the majority of manufacturers create confectioner’s glaze the nonviolent way. But even so, many vegans aren’t comfortable eating foods or candy with confectioner’s glaze since it’s an animal byproduct like honey.
2. Sugar
The second problematic ingredient is found in practically all candy: sugar.
But wait, you might ask: how can sugar be a problematic, non-vegan ingredient? This is because refined sugar for candy is manufactured using bone char, or charred cattle bones.
Bone charring allows sugar to be filtered into a fine, powdery texture. While that’s great for cooking and for candy making, it’s bad for any vegan who wants to do their part for the environment and to stop cruel animal practices from continuing in all kinds of industries. For example, Mike and Ike also contain plenty of sugar that’s almost certainly derived from the bone charring filtration process. Therefore, this candy, just like Junior Mints, aren’t suitable for vegans.
Because of these two ingredients, practically no variety of Junior Mints will be vegan friendly. It doesn’t matter what other ingredients a given pack of Junior Mints contains since they will use sugar at a minimum.
Tootsie, the manufacturer behind Junior Mints, hasn’t come out and said one way or the other whether they use bone charring to filter their sugar. But since they haven’t outright stated otherwise, it’s safe to assume they do use the bone char processes for its cost-effectiveness.
Junior Mints Nutrition Facts
To better understand why Junior Mints aren’t particularly vegan friendly, we can show you what several of the most popular Junior Mints varieties have in terms of their ingredients.
Junior Mints
Classic Junior Mints are at the heart of the above-described issues. They include both of the potentially problematic ingredients that make these tasty candies not suitable for vegan diets.
Its ingredients are:
- Sugar
- Semi-sweet chocolate
- Corn syrup
- Confectioner’s glaze
- Modified food starch
- Peppermint oil
- Invertase
Nutrition Facts:
- 130 cal per serving
- 5 g fat or 3% DV
- 26 g carbohydrate or 9% DV
- 25 g sugar or 50% DV
- 1 mg iron or 6% DV
Junior Mints Hearts
Junior Mints Hearts are unfortunately just as problematic as classic Junior Mints. In addition, they include another problematic ingredient called Food Dye and Coloring Red 40. As many vegans are already aware, artificial dyes are often problematic because they are usually tested on animals. So while they may technically be vegan friendly from a dietary perspective, they are not suitable for vegans who are concerned about the environment or animal cruelty.
Its ingredients are:
- Sugar
- Semisweet chocolate
- Corn syrup
- Confectioner’s glaze
- Modified food starch
- Peppermint oil
- Invertase
- Artificial color
Nutrition Facts:
- 140 cal per serving
- 3 g fat or 4% DV
- 29 mg carbohydrate or 11% DV
- 27 g sugar or 54% DV
- 1 mg iron or 6% DV
Junior Mints Eggs
Next Up are Junior Mints Eggs, which are popular during Easter. Unfortunately, these have the same non-vegan ingredients described earlier plus several different artificial colors including Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, and so on. So these are even more vegan unfriendly than other Junior Mints varieties.
Its ingredients are:
- Sugar
- Semisweet chocolate
- Corn Syrup
- Confectioner’s glaze
- Titanium dioxide
- Modified food starch
- Peppermint oil
- Artificial colors
- Invertase
Nutrition Facts:
- 130 cal per serving
- 3 g fat or 4% DV
- 26 g carbohydrate or 9% DV
- 24 g sugar or 40% DV
- 1 mg iron or 6% DV
Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch
Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch candies are slightly different varieties of classic mints, featuring a crunchy outer shell made with, you guessed it, lots of confectioner’s glaze. Notably, these candies supposedly contain milk, but we aren’t sure where the milk is given its ingredient list. Either way, it’s not a good choice if you’re a vegan.
Its ingredients are:
- Sugar
- Semisweet chocolate
- Corn syrup
- Flaked corn
- Yellow cornflower
- Palm oil
- Cornstarch
- Confectioner’s glaze
- Modified food starch
- Peppermint oil
- Invert sugar syrup
- Invertase
- Artificial color
- Corn syrup solids
Nutrition Facts:
- 120 cal per serving
- 2 g fat or 3% DV
- 26 g carbohydrate or 9% DV
- 24 g sugar or 48% DV
Healthy Vegan Alternatives to Junior Mints
Since Junior Mints aren’t acceptable for vegans, you’ll be pleased to know that there are several vegan-friendly alternatives if you want to freshen your breath or enjoy a tasty snack while on the road.
HU Crunch Mint Dark Chocolate
Enjoy some Junior Mints without breaking the vegan diet with these crunchy milk chocolates from HU. Not only are they made without animal cruelty whatsoever, but they are also gluten-free, certified pale, and certified vegan by vegan.org.
Its ingredients are:
- Organic cacao
- Organic unrefined coconut sugar
- Organic fair trade cocoa butter
- Organic fair trade cacao nibs
- Organic peppermint oil
Nutrition Facts:
- 180 cal per serving
- 13 g fat or 17% DV
- 10 mg sodium
- 14 g carbohydrate or 5% DV
- 3 g fiber or 11% DV
- 8 g sugar or 18% DV
- 3 g protein
Free2B Dark Chocolate Cups
Free2B’s Dark Chocolate Cups are a wonderful alternative for folks who like mint chocolate with the shape and texture of peanut butter cups. These unique cups use sunflower butter and offer a delightful and delectable snacking experience from start to finish.
Its ingredients are:
- Dark chocolate
- Sunflower seeds
- Organic powdered sugar
- Cocoa butter
- Sea salt
Nutrition Facts:
- 240 cal per serving
- 18 g fat or 23% DV
- 95 mg sodium or 4% DV
- 18 g carbohydrate or 6% DV
- 3 g fiber or 11% DV
- 11 g sugar or 22% DV
- 4 g protein
Theo Mint Chocolate Cookie Bites
Last but not least, Theo’s Mint Chocolate Cookie Bites are an ideal choice for vegans who are concerned not only about their diets but also the environment. These sustainably sourced chocolate cookie bites are delicious and can be enjoyed guilt free thanks to their ingredients.
Its ingredients are:
- Dark chocolate
- Chocolate cookies
- Peppermint oil
Nutrition Facts:
- 160 cal per serving
- 9 g fat or 12% DV
- 45 mg sodium or 2% DV
- 13 g carbohydrate or 7% DV
- 2 g fiber or 7% DV
- 10 g sugar or 20% DV
- 2 g protein
Final Thoughts
As you can see, Junior Mints aren’t vegan, but there are alternatives to these minty treats you can try instead. Until the candy industry at large stops using bone charring to filter its sugar and stops using confectioner’s glaze to give candy products that distinct shine, odds are vegans will have to continue being careful when choosing candy to munch on at the movie theater or at home.
Related Questions
Is it true there are bugs in Junior Mints?
Technically, no. Bugs themselves aren’t added to Junior Mints. But there is a bug byproduct in Junior Mints (and most other candy, for that matter): confectioner’s glaze, which is taken from a resin produced by a specific species of beetle.
Are Junior Mints dairy-free?
Fortunately, yes. Although Tootsie’s website is a bit cagey about this, there don’t appear to be any milk-based ingredients in standard Junior Mints. That’s because these mints use semisweet rather than milk chocolate.
Do Junior Mints contain eggs?
Junior Mints do not directly contain eggs. However, per the makers of Junior Mints, there is a chance that milk or eggs may be present due to cross-contamination during manufacturing.