TJ's enchilada sauce
Posted by dactylogram931 on Jan 28, 2009 · Member since Jun 2006 · 384 posts
Does anyone have any inside information into if Trader Joe's enchilada sauce is vegetarian? I didn't even consider that it wouldn't be, but just read the ingredients before I was going to open it. It has in it "chicken-style base", containing "natural flavorings". Does this mean chickens? Anyone know?
As far as I know, yes, it means chickens. I thought before it listed "chicken fat" but maybe I'm wrong. It's quite disappointing, as this is the case for a few of their sauces (I got the tao's stir fry sauce and it has chicken fat in the ingredients :().
But, I guess you could call them. They'll likely know, as they've made a list of vegan products (which is not really comprehensive of all the products in the store) so they have some idea of what the natural flavorings might entail and what is/isn't vegan/vegetarian.
no, no chicken fat, just natural flavorings. problem is, there isn't really anyone around here who I would want to give it to =P
I guess it'll wait around until I move, and maybe I'll donate it to somewhere. that's annoying--the cheap cans of sauce you get don't have any animals...just lots of chemicals...
is there any broken seal or anything? if it's totally unopened, you can return it. TJs will restock items like that that haven't been fiddled with. And plus, it's their brand, so they know it's theirs.
if you go to www.traderjoes.com you can see full pdf lists that sort all their veg*n products by catagory. they have a sauces list i believe..
The TJ's vegan list is pretty cool, but it seems to leave out a number of things as a result of (refined?) sugar... so item that are apparently vegan but contain sugar aren't on there (like Joe Joe's, or chocolate/vanilla Cats cookies).
On the other hand, there are some interesting discoveries between the "vegetarian" and "vegan" list - the roasted vegetable pizza (which has no cheese) and the soy nuggets (not the "chicken nuggets), with both appear to be vegan by ingredients, are listed as vegetarian, but not on the vegan list.
The enchilada sauce doesn't make either list. :(
eta: curiously, these things are also missing on the vegan list but are on the vegetarian list:
soy yogurt
tofutti better than cream cheese
organic split pea soup (which I swear IS Amy's split pea soup, which itself is labeled vegan)
hence, I think that it's worth a call, in case the lists' comprehensiveness doesn't extend to the enchilada sauce
i wonder if they just miss things sometimes.. cus i was looking for those peanut butter filled pretzels (which look vegan on the label) and they're not on the vegan or vegetarian list. no pretzels make the vegan list and the only ones on the vegetarian list are the honey pretzel sticks -or something like that.
anyone try those chocolate filled whole wheat cereal bites? ive seen them and they look really good!
omg those peanut butter pretzels are so dangerous! might be a good thing if they weren't vegan somehow...
and now, dangerous on a whole new level...but I think I'm just going to find someone to give the sauce to, since the answer will probably be "of course it has chickens in it". I'm just mad at myself that I bought it :(
I have returned something to TJ's before. They were really nice about it.
yeah the employees are all super nice from what ive experienced.
tj's is the bomb :)>>>
yeah the employees are all super nice from what ive experienced.
yes, yes we are ;)b
(ok, fine, I don't work there anymore, but still)
I asked them, through the form on their website, if their enchilada sauce is vegetarian, and they sent a very nice reply:
"Thank you for your feedback and inquiry. Our Enchilada Sauce, sku#
28965, is a Vegan sauce. The 'chicken-style' base that is used is just
spice blend that would be commonly used on chicken, but does not contain
any chicken itself. We hope this is helpful."
I did mention if it is vegetarian, I would buy a bunch, but that wouldn't influence their answer, right?
The TJ's vegan list is pretty cool, but it seems to leave out a number of things...
The enchilada sauce doesn't make either list. :(
Yeah, their lists are great but I think they're not updated very often, and tend to miss short run or seasonal items.
organic split pea soup (which I swear IS Amy's split pea soup, which itself is labeled vegan)
All three of TJ's veggie soups are copies of Amy's. They respectively have exactly the same ingredients, at most swapping the order of two minor ones, or upgrading salt to sea salt. I just wish they copy the No Chicken Noodle!