It's officially Girl Scout cookie season! You may be surprised, but there are actually several vegan Girl Scout cookies you can enjoy, and this guide highlights them all!
You might be hard-pressed to find someone in the U.S. who hasn’t tried at least one kind of Girl Scout Cookie. Thin Mints, Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs—these are classics that we know and love. But are Girl Scout Cookies really for everyone? What if you’re vegan, for example?
Luckily for us vegans out there, Girl Scout Cookies have several types that are generally suitable for vegans (check out the FAQ for more specific information on that). Read on to learn everything you need to know about vegan Girl Scout Cookies in 2022!
Skip through this article by clicking below:
- How to Buy Girl Scout Cookies
- List of Vegan Girl Scout Cookies
- Are Girl Scout Cookies Vegan?
- What’s the Difference Between Peanut Butter Patties and Tagalongs?
- Are Girl Scout Cookies Bad for You?
- Do Girl Scout Cookies have Palm Oil?
- Is Sugar Vegan?
- Does “Manufactured in a Facility with Milk” Mean Something isn’t Vegan?
How to Buy Girl Scout Cookies
First off, how exactly does one go about buying Girl Scout Cookies? With the pandemic, going door-to-door isn’t exactly the preferred method of anyone, after all.
Not to worry! You can simply go to the Girl Scout Cookies website, click on “Find Cookies,” type in your zip code, and then be connected with a Girl Scout—or “cookie-preneur”—in your area. There’s even a “Cookie Finder” app, or you can simply text Cookies to 59618. And, as always, if you happen to know any Girl Scouts, be sure to check with them/their parents to see if you can help support their troop more directly.
By the way, did you know that Girl Scout Cookies have a long history? The origins of arguably Americans’ favorite cookies goes back more than a hundred years ago to 1917! While we’re pretty sure none of those early cookies were vegan, luckily Girl Scout Cookies have evolved with the times and feature a few different cookies that are vegan.
Read on to learn about the vegan Girl Scout Cookies available this year!
Vegan Girl Scout Cookies
There are four vegan varieties available when it comes to Girl Scout Cookies: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties (aka Tagalongs—more on that below), Lemonades, and Toast-Yay! cookies. We’ll provide a quick overview of each of them below, including their nutritional facts and ingredient lists.
Thin Mints
Thin Mints are first on our list. These cookies are sure to be a hit with anyone who loves chocolate and mint together (like Andes chocolate mints or Junior Mints, for example).I love the mint and chocolate combo so much that I recently added a healthy vegan Shamrock Shake recipe to the blog!
The box counts four cookies per serving, which seems reasonable. Each serving clocks in at 160 calories, 7g of fat (5g saturated fat), 22g of carbohydrates, and 10g of sugar.
Peanut Butter Patties (and Tagalongs? Nope!)
Next up, we have Peanut Butter Patties, which are also known as Tagalongs. Wait, what?
Okay, this one is a bit complicated. Girl Scout Cookies uses two different bakers to produce their cookies. This results in minor differences between recipes, despite the cookies resembling one another and generally tasting the same.
Peanut Butter Patties are also known as Tagalongs, depending on which of the “bakers” (let’s be real, these are large factories) makes them. While Peanut Butter Patties are vegan, Tagalongs are not! That’s because they contain “whey” (for whatever reason…).
So, depending on your location, it may be harder for you to locate Peanut Butter Patties, unfortunately. When there’s a will there’s a way, however, so I’m sure you can find some if you’re motivated enough (perhaps on third-party sites such as eBay or Amazon, for example).
Peanut Butter Patties have peanut butter around a crispy inner layer and are then coated in chocolate fudge. At two cookies per serving, they clock in at 130 calories, 7g of fat (4g saturated fat), 15g of carbohydrates, and 8g of sugar. There’s also 2g of protein, no doubt thanks to the peanut butter.
Lemonades
Our third cookie on the list? Lemonades. These are essentially lemon-flavored shortbread cookies. As they do not contain any direct animal products or byproducts, we can consider them vegan.
At two cookies per serving, they clock in at 150 calories, 7g of fat (4.5g saturated fat), 20g of carbohydrates, and 9g of sugar.
Toast-Yay! Cookies
Lastly, to finish up our list of four, we have Toast-Yay! cookies. These cookies are inspired by French Toast, and thus have a cinnamon-and-sugar flavor.
At 2 cookies per serving, these cookies clock in at 140 calories, 6g of fat (4g saturated fat), 21g of carbohydrates, and 10g of sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are Girl Scout Cookies vegan?
There are four different kinds of vegan Girl Scout Cookies. They are Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties (but not Tagalongs—see more below), Lemonades, and Toast-Yay! cookies. You can learn more about these four cookies above.
What’s the difference between Peanut Butter Patties and Tagalongs?
The Girl Scout organization contracts two different “bakers” (ABC Bakers andLittle Brownie Bakers) to produce their cookies. This results in slightly different recipes and different names for those cookies. For most people, the difference will be completely inconsequential.
That said, if you’re vegan, you should know that Peanut Butter Patties are suitable for vegans while Tagalongs are not (they contain “whey,” for some reason…).
Are Girl Scout Cookies bad for you?
The “healthiness” of Girl Scout Cookies depends largely on your perspective. They are a cookie, after all, so it would be a bit strange to expect them to be healthy. They generally contain a fair amount of sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and saturated fat. As with any treat, they should be consumed in moderation and as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Unfortunately, Girl Scout Cookies do contain certain ingredients that may keep them off the shelves of more health- and eco-conscious consumers, including the following:
- Caramel color
- Artificial flavoring
- Palm oil (read more below)
Do Girl Scout Cookies have palm oil?
Yes, Girl Scout Cookies all contain palm oil, which is a controversial ingredient among environmentalists and ethical vegans.
Is sugar vegan?
That depends on the type of sugar. Unfortunately, most white and brown sugar processed for consumption in the U.S. is not vegan. Why? Sugar manufacturers use something called “bone char” in the process. You can learn more about it here.
So, are Girl Scout Cookies with “sugar” on the label not technically vegan? Unfortunately, we can’t really be sure. I’d encourage you to contact them directly—and/or the two bakers they contract—to find out. Please leave a comment if you learn anything!
Does “manufactured in a facility with milk” mean something isn’t vegan?
That answer will ultimately be up to you. Most vegans accept the fact that there will be tiny traces of “cross-contamination” with a lot of processed foods, as factories commonly produce more than one type of food. So, your favorite vegan snack may not contain any milk or other animal products in its ingredients, but it may be made in the same factory as a snack that contains milk or other animal products. As it’s very difficult to avoid purchasing everything that has this warning on it, most vegans, including myself, accept it for what it is.
Wrapping Up
I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to the vegan Girl Scout Cookies available this year! If you read all the way through, including the FAQs, you’ll see that it’s not quite as simple as you might think. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if you want to consume things that may not be entirely vegan (because of the kind of sugar they use, for example) or that may be unethical (due to ingredients such as palm oil).
If nothing else, you could always donate directly to the Girl Scout organization if you want to support them without purchasing the cookies.
Check out more vegan resources below:
- How to Order Vegan at Taco Bell
- The Best Vegan Products at Trader Joe's
- Lazy Vegan Meal Ideas
- Vegan Starbucks Guide
- Beginner Vegan Grocery List
- What Popcorn Brands are Vegan?
- 15 Vegan Protein Sources
- Just Egg Review
- 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Vegan
- Essential Vegan Pantry Staples
- 10 Easy Vegan Food Swaps
- 5 Simple Steps to Go Vegan