Most of Country Crock’s products might look vegan at first, but actually aren’t.
There’s a good chance that they all will be sometime in the future, it seems that Country Crock keeps moving towards plant-based ingredients.
I’ll go over which ones are vegan here, and why.
Country Crock Plant Butter is Vegan (For Some)
Country Crock launched a line of “plant butters” that is dairy-free and gluten-free.
Currently there are 3 varieties of it that come in both tub and stick form:
- Plant butter with olive oil
- Plant butter with avocado oil
- Plant butter with almond oil
But there’s one potential problem…
Here’s what’s in the plant butter with olive oil:
Blend Of Plant-Based Oils (Palm Kernel, Canola, Palm Fruit, And Olive Oil), Water, Salt, Pea Protein, Sunflower Lecithin, Monoglycerides, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Vitamin A Palmitate, Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Freshness), Beta Carotene (Color)
The lecithin and monoglycerides come from plant sources, which is great.
But all the varieties contain palm, which is highly controversial among vegans.
I’ve written a more detailed post to why palm oil might not be vegan. In short, the palm industry is devastating rainforests and killing off certain species to the point of extinction.
So while palm is a plant, and “technically” vegan, many vegans including myself do not consider it to be in line with vegan ethics. It’s your call to make.
Every Other Country Crock Flavor is Not Vegan
Country Crock has clearly stated that none of its other butters are appropriate for vegan diets.
Here’s what you’ll find in the original flavor:
Purified Water, Soybean Oil, Palm Kernel And Palm Oil, Salt, Lecithin (Soy), Vinegar, Natural Flavors, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin D3
While they don’t specify the exact reason it’s not vegan-friendly, it seems likely to me that it’s either the natural flavors or vitamin D3 (or both).
The following varieties have similar ingredients are also NOT vegan:
- Original spread
- Light spread
- Churn style spread
- Calcium plus vitamin D spread
- Salted baking sticks
- Unsalted baking sticks
If any Country Crock products change in the future, I will try to keep this page updated.
In the meantime, I’ve also compiled the best vegan butter options without palm oil if Country Crock’s plant butters aren’t quite what you’re looking for.
