Vegan Luna Bars: Find Out Which Flavors Are Vegan

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Luna bars are vegan, but all contain palm oil. However, Luna protein bars are not vegan as they contain whey.

Luna bars are made by the same manufacturer of Clif Bars (and many Clif Bars are also vegan).

While no Luna bar is certified vegan, certain flavors may be vegan (I’ll explain why shortly).

Note that cross-contamination can occur, which is why all wrappers state:

May contain peanuts, tree nuts, and milk

Not a big deal to most vegans, but if you have allergies you might want to pass on them.

I’m going to go over both the “normal” Luna bars, plus the Luna protein bars to see which ones are vegan.

Potential Non-Vegan Ingredients in Luna Bars

I went through the ingredients of all Luna bar varieties in order to find any potential non-vegan ingredients.

If you do the same, you’ll notice that there are 3 main ones that you might have questions about:

  • Cocoa
  • Natural flavors
  • Palm oil

The cocoa is either organic or ethically sourced from farms in South America, so no issues there.

Because natural flavors is an umbrella term, it can contain both vegan and non-vegan ingredients. Personally, I’m not too worried about it, as the FAQ for Luna bars says that the ingredients are mostly “plant-based”. Natural flavors are in every bar, so if you want to be on the safe side, Luna bars are not for you.

My big issue is palm oil. Some people consider palm oil to be vegan, and some don’t.

Luna bars use “sustainable” palm oil sourced through the Rainforest Alliance. But there’s a lot of controversy over how much better (if any) this is. Personally, I avoid all palm products whenever possible, but make up your own mind.

All Luna bars contain palm, so if you don’t consider palm oil to be vegan, then you’re out of luck.

Are the Standard Luna Bars Vegan?

luna bars

As I went through the ingredients for my list of Luna bars, I noticed a trend in potential non-vegan ingredients:

Luna Bar Flavor Potential Non-Vegan Ingredients
LemonZest Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Chocolate Peppermint Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Blueberry Bliss Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Sea Salt Caramel Palm Kernel Oil
Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Nutz Over Chocolate Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
S’Mores Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Chocolate Cupcake Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Caramel Walnut Brownie Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids
Chocolate Chip Cookie Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Solids

Palm oil is the biggest potential issue, but the bars themselves appear to be free of animal ingredients (there’s a small chance of the “natural flavors” being an issue).

In summary: All the standard Luna Bars are likely “technically” vegan, but if you don’t eat palm oil, none of them are suitable for you.

Are Luna Protein Bars Vegan?

luna protein bars

The Luna protein bars are much simpler to analyze…

No, Luna protein bars are not vegan, they all contain whey protein.

Other than that, they are pretty similar to the standard bars, with palm oil and natural flavors in them.

Personally, I think Clif bars are a much better choice for most vegans, but if you’re fine with palm oil, you have a few more options in the standard Luna Bars.

About the author

Dale Cudmore

Your friendly neighborhood vegan from Toronto. I've spent over 6 years as a freelance nutrition writer and researcher. During this time, I've tested over 50 vegan protein powders, and over 100 other types of vegan supplements.