Vegan Sprinkles Guide: The Best Brands & Fun Natural Alternatives

Sprinkles make everything more fun. Birthday cakes, funfetti cupcakes, donuts, sugar cookies, ice cream sundaes—sometimes the tiniest topping brings the most joy.

But here’s something many people don’t realize: a surprising number of conventional sprinkles aren’t vegan.

Some contain confectioner’s glaze (shellac), beeswax, dairy-derived ingredients, or animal-based food colorings. Thankfully, there are now more vegan sprinkle options than ever before—from natural food brands to accidentally vegan grocery store favorites.

Whether you’re decorating a vegan birthday cake, baking funfetti cupcakes, or just adding a little whimsy to your dessert, here are the best vegan sprinkles brands to know about.

Are Sprinkles Vegan?

Not always.

While sprinkles are mostly made from sugar and starch, many conventional sprinkles contain ingredients that aren’t vegan. The most common non-vegan ingredients include glossy coatings, certain food dyes, dairy ingredients, and waxes used for texture or shine.

The good news? Vegan sprinkles are becoming much easier to find—and many brands now clearly label vegan options.

Common Non-Vegan Ingredients in Sprinkles

Here are a few ingredients to watch for when shopping for vegan sprinkles:

• Confectioner’s glaze (shellac): A glossy coating derived from lac resin and commonly used to create shiny sprinkles.
• Carmine or cochineal: A red food coloring made from insects.
• Beeswax: Sometimes used for texture or shine.
• Milk ingredients: Some decorative sprinkles contain whey, milk powder, or dairy-based coatings.
• Gelatin: Occasionally used in specialty decorations or candy inclusions.

If you’re unsure, look for sprinkles specifically labeled vegan or check allergen statements carefully.

Best Vegan Sprinkles Brands

These brands offer some of the best vegan sprinkles, vegan cupcake decorations, and plant-based baking toppings available today. Everything from basic “jimmies” to custom-made shapes that are more intricate than a painted cookie, your desserts never need to look dull with the right options on hand.

Supernatural (100% Vegan)

Another purveyor of entirely vegan baking supplies, you can find these fanciful finishes in many nicer grocery stores alongside conventional options. For the greatest range of shapes and colors, head straight to their website and order directly from the source. In addition to fun mixes like “dinomite” and “unicorn tracks,” you can also find natural food colors, full cookie decorating kits, and tons of sweet inspiration for your own unique creations.

Sweetapolita

This is one of our favorite brands of gourmet sprinkles! Sweetapolita isn’t a fully vegan brand—some of their more fancy sprinkles options do contain dairy and/or beeswax—but they have a very easy to navigate section of completely vegan options. If severe allergies are a concern, bear in mind that cross-contamination might be an issue. They have vegan edible glitter, fun sprinkle mixes of Christmas sprinkles, Halloween sprinkles, fall sprinkles, metallic silver stars, snowflake sprinkles, pastel confetti sprinkles perfect for Easter and kids birthday treats, and more. This brand is the brain child of Rosie Alyea, founder of the Sweetapolita blog. Thanks, Rosie!

Natural Sprinkles Co.

This sweet company makes natural sprinkles sold in eco-friendly glass jars. They have lots of vegan options in fun colors and designs. 

Fancy Sprinkles

Fancy Sprinkles has an entire range of vegan sprinkle options that are clearly labeled. We’ve used these sprinkles for years and adore them. They are sprinkles that don’t “feel” vegan—they have vibrant colors,  gorgeous shapes, and really fun holiday themed collections. They have gold sprinkles, edible gold stars, silver stars, glitter hexagons, edible 24k gold leaf sheets, edible glitter sprinkles (“prism powder”), vegan funfetti sprinkles, vegan chocolate sprinkles, pastel rainbow confetti sprinkles, and an array of fun sprinkle mixes. 

More Vegan Sprinkle Options

• Vegan Sprinkles on Etsy (there are several brands available on Etsy!)
• Sweet Eva’s Natural Rainbow Sprinkles
• Color Garden’s Sugar Crystals (multiple colors)
• A Great Surprise 100% Natural Rainbow Sprinkles 
• Color Kitchen Gluten-Free Sprinkles
• Sugar-Free Sprinkles
• 365 Everyday Chocolate Sprinkles (Whole Foods Brand

FAQs

Natural Sprinkle Alternatives

When you want a fun finishing touch but want to skip more processed options, there’s a good chance you already have ingredients on hand that will fit the bill, and even add more flavor to your treats. Consider the following ideas for natural sprinkles:

• Cacao nibs
• Turbinado sugar
• Sliced or slivered almonds
• Unsweetened coconut flakes or shreds
• Mini vegan chocolate chips
• Crushed vegan graham crackers (the Nabisco brand is vegan) or wafer cookies
• Freeze-dried blueberries or raspberries (whole or crushed into a powder)
• Chia seeds
• Mini vegan marshmallows 

Sparkles, Glitter, and More

Beyond crunchy shapes, rods, and balls, there are plenty of other ways to make your desserts shine. These are a few more decorating options that are always vegan:

• Edible glitter, including disco dust, luster dust, tinker dust, and brew glitter: Most edible glitter is made from sugar, cornstarch, and pearlescent color additives or mica, and is totally safe to eat.
• Sequins or confetti: Laser-cut from thin sheets of food-grade silver, iridescent, or gold paper, these tiny shapes look just like something you might use in kindergarten crafts but can brighten up more than finger paint cards!
• Edible glitter spray: It looks like spray paint, dispenses like spray paint, but is destined to decorate much more temporary works of art. It’s essentially liquid food coloring with a touch of added sugar.

DIY Sprinkles

In addition, you can also make a healthier, sugar-free version with… amaranth! That’s right—just plain old whole grain amaranth, soaked in plant-based dyes and dehydrated, will do the trick. These wholesome sprinkles should be applied sparingly so they don’t contribute any discernible flavor.

All you need to do is soak amaranth in a colorful liquid for 4 hours, drain, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 200°F., stirring every 10 minutes or so, until dry to the touch. Your dyeing guide is as follows:

• Beet juice for red/pink (you can also try pink dragonfruit powder or juice for a hot pink color)
• Turmeric mixed with water for yellow
• Matcha or powdered spinach mixed with water for green
• Blue Spirulina (also sometimes called Blue Majik) for blue

Use just enough liquid to cover the grains and ratios as desired to reach the shade you’d like but bear in mind they won’t be as brilliant as anything store-bought or chemically enhanced.

Variations on these colors are easily blended, but this mix tends to do just fine for that extra touch of whimsy. Bake the grains in separate batches until completely dry to prevent the colors from bleeding. Store in an airtight container until ready to sprinkle in some fun! You might also want to check this Vegan Food Coloring guide for even more color ideas and brands.

Fun Vegan Recipes to Try Using Sprinkles:

• Chocolate-Dipped Banana Pops
• Super Easy Vegan Birthday Cake
• Baked Vegan Donuts
• Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
• Vegan Sugar Cookies
• DIY Chocolate Dipped Fruit Cones