Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening lists no animal ingredients, and its label says it is Kosher Pareve, so most vegans treat it as vegan. The one open question is the mono- and diglycerides: they can come from plant or animal fat, and B&G Foods, which makes Crisco, does not publish a vegan statement or name their source on its site. If you want a shortening the brand itself calls vegan, Nutiva Organic Shortening is the simplest swap.
What Crisco shortening is
Crisco is the blue-can vegetable shortening that has sat in American pantries since 1911, when it was sold as a replacement for lard. It is a solid fat used for pie crusts, biscuits, frosting and frying. Today it is made by B&G Foods and sold as All-Vegetable Shortening, Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening, and pre-measured baking sticks.
Crisco ingredients, one by one
Crisco's own product page lists these ingredients for All-Vegetable Shortening: soybean oil, fully hydrogenated palm oil, palm oil, mono and diglycerides, TBHQ and citric acid (antioxidants). A major retailer listing (Giant Food) shows the same list.
| Ingredient | Source | Vegan? |
|---|---|---|
| Soybean oil | Soybeans | Yes |
| Fully hydrogenated palm oil | Oil palm fruit | Yes (palm sourcing is an ethical question, not an animal one) |
| Palm oil | Oil palm fruit | Yes (same palm caveat) |
| Mono and diglycerides | Plant or animal fat | Source not stated by the brand |
| TBHQ | Synthetic antioxidant | Yes |
| Citric acid | Usually fermentation | Yes |
Mono- and diglycerides are emulsifiers made from fats. In most US processed foods they come from vegetable oils, but they can also be made from animal fat, and the label does not have to say which. We list them as a flag in our guide to hidden non-vegan ingredients for exactly this reason.
Is Crisco vegan?
Verdict: vegan by ingredients, but not confirmed by the brand. Three things point toward yes:
- The product is named and marketed as "All-Vegetable" shortening.
- Crisco's product page lists it as Kosher Pareve. Pareve means no meat or dairy derivatives under kosher rules, which rules out fats rendered from cows, pigs or poultry. Pareve still allows fish and egg, so it is not a vegan guarantee, but neither is a plausible source for a shortening emulsifier.
- Crisco describes its butter-flavored version as dairy-free on its own site.
What is missing: the Crisco FAQ says nothing about vegan status or where the mono- and diglycerides come from, and the product carries no vegan certification. Several third-party blogs say Crisco has told customers its emulsifiers are plant-derived, but we could not find that statement from the company itself. If that gap matters to you, call the number printed on the can (1-800-766-7309) or choose a shortening with a brand vegan statement.
Crisco Butter Flavor adds "natural and artificial flavor" and beta-carotene for color. It contains no butter, and the Pareve listing rules out dairy, so it sits in the same category as the original.
Crisco vs vegan-labeled shortenings: nutrition
Per 1 tablespoon, from the manufacturer page (Crisco) and retailer nutrition panels (Nutiva, Spectrum):
| Shortening | Serving | Calories | Total fat | Saturated fat | Main fats | Brand vegan statement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crisco All-Vegetable | 12 g | 110 | 12 g | 3.5 g | Soybean, palm | No |
| Nutiva Organic Shortening | 14 g | 130 | 14 g | 8 g | Palm, red palm, coconut | Yes |
| Spectrum Organic All Vegetable | 12 g | 110 | 12 g | 6 g | Palm only | No (single ingredient) |
Crisco is the lowest in saturated fat of the three because most of it is liquid soybean oil held solid by fully hydrogenated palm oil. Fully hydrogenated fat is not the partially hydrogenated fat that created trans fats, and Crisco lists 0 g trans fat. Nutiva and Spectrum skip hydrogenation and emulsifiers entirely, which means more saturated fat per spoon.
The vegan-labeled alternative: Nutiva Organic Shortening
Nutiva's shortening lists organic palm fruit oil, organic unrefined red palm oil and organic unrefined virgin coconut oil, with no emulsifiers. Nutiva states on its own site that the shortening is vegan and free of dairy, soy and canola. It is USDA Organic and its palm oil is Fair for Life certified. We did not find a third-party vegan certification. The red palm oil gives it a golden tint, and it contains coconut, which US labels treat as a tree nut.
Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening is the other easy option: its only ingredient is expeller-pressed organic palm fruit oil, so there is nothing to question.
What buyers say
Crisco's main practical advantage is that it is the reference shortening in most American recipes: a recipe written for "shortening" was very likely developed with it. Buyers of Nutiva's shortening, in retailer reviews and comments on Nutiva's site, often mention using it for pie crust and describe good results in pastry. Some report cookies coming out drier than with butter, which fits a fat with no water in it, and a few reviewers note it has gone out of stock on Amazon at times.
Who should buy which
- Choose Crisco if you are comfortable with an ingredient-based verdict, want the most widely stocked option, and want the lowest saturated fat of the three.
- Choose Nutiva if you want a brand that says outright the product is vegan, or you want to avoid soy and emulsifiers.
- Choose Spectrum if you want a single-ingredient shortening with nothing to check.
- Skip all three if you avoid palm oil; vegan butter works in many baked goods, and we compare options in our vegan butter for baking guide.
How to check any shortening label
- Look for lard, tallow, suet, beef fat or butter. Any of these means it is not vegan.
- Look for mono- and diglycerides. If present and the brand does not state a plant source, treat the product as unconfirmed.
- Check the kosher mark. "Pareve" or "Parve" rules out meat and dairy; a "D" next to the symbol means dairy.
- Paste the full ingredient list into our ingredient checker to flag anything else.
The fat source is also what decides whether store-bought pie crust, flour tortillas and canned frosting are vegan.
Verdict
Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening has no animal ingredients on its label, and its Kosher Pareve status rules out meat and dairy fats, so it is vegan by any ingredient-based standard. It is not brand-confirmed vegan, because B&G Foods does not say where its mono- and diglycerides come from. Strict vegans who want that confirmation should buy Nutiva, which states it is vegan, or Spectrum, which has only one ingredient.
Sources
- Crisco: All-Vegetable Shortening (ingredients, nutrition, Kosher Pareve)
- Crisco: Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
- Crisco: Frequently Asked Questions
- Giant Food: Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening listing
- Nutiva: Baking with Nutiva Organic Shortening
- Kroger: Nutiva shortening ingredients and nutrition
- Mariano's: Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening nutrition
- Vitacost: Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening ingredients
Ingredients checked November 2026. Formulas change; always read the label.
