Introduction
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Safeway supermarkets are located in 19 out of 50 US states, including Alaska and Hawaii, making them an important resource for vegans from coast to coast and beyond. This list should help you identify popular vegan brands at Safeway locations near you.
If your Safeway store doesn’t carry some of these items, you can try to talk to management and see if they’ll stock them for you. You never know—it could pay off!
When you shop at Safeway, you can find vegan items in practically every section throughout the store. However, many Safeway stores have an aisle or store section dedicated to organic, gluten-free, vegan, and all-natural foods.
Not all of the foods in these sections are vegan. Still, labels may be more clearly marked. You may find a higher concentration of products that specify they are not tested on animals and provide a higher degree of ingredient transparency in this section.
If you are in a hurry and don’t have much time to investigate new products, focusing on this aisle and targeting the organic section of the produce department may be your best bet.
In this article, we will first explain the benefits of making a vegan shopping list, and how to make one yourself. Then, we will break down the vegan foods by different categories, and help you organize your Safeway trip for a quick and easy shop!
Making a Vegan Shopping List
Difficulties of Shopping Vegan
As a vegan, we know how tough it can be to go grocery shopping. You might even dread the idea of shopping because you know how difficult it is to find products that fit your vegan diet.
In fact, the difficulty of finding vegan options might make you forego the traditional grocery store altogether, and shop at a vegan specialty store, or an online grocery store. But as we know, these options can be quite expensive!
How a List Can Help
You might be surprised at how many vegan options there are in a traditional grocery store like Safeway. However, sorting through the options is the hard part, and that’s where a list can be a massive help.
By identifying the products you are looking for beforehand, you will enter the store prepared to simply seek out what you need. This is much faster than evaluating your options each time you want to pick something off the shelf.
A grocery list will will have you shopping with purpose, and ready to pick up all the vegan items you need.
How To Make a Great List
To make an effective grocery list, we suggest first dividing your list into categories. If you start by thinking of the broad categories of things you need, then you can fill in each individual category with actual products.
For example, you could divide your food purchases into general categories – such as bulk food, produce, dry goods, and more.
That is exactly how we have structured our list to help you. First, we have broken down vegan food categories at Safeway into general food categories. Then, we have provided a list of the brands to look out for who provide vegan food options. This way, all you have to do is fill in the categories on your own grocery list, and then you can head to the grocery store ready to simply check everything off!
We know how difficult it is to shop as a vegan. But by following this process, you will be ready to save time and save money!
General Vegan Food Categories at Safeway
As mentioned above, breaking down your grocery list into categories, such as the ones listed below is very helpful. This will help to make sure you don’t forget anything and will make your shopping trip quick and easy.
- Bulk foods (nuts, beans, sunflower seeds, pasta, rice, quinoa, oats, TVP, nutritional yeast, spices, dried herbs, granola)
- Produce (fresh fruits and vegetables, sweet potato, often includes refrigerated vegan products such as tofu, meat alternatives, kimchi, fermented pickles, tofu shirataki noodles and more)
- Dry goods (dried beans, grains, pasta,shelf-stable tofu, sauces, extra virgin olive oil, dressings, vegan dark chocolate, baking supplies, dried herbs and spices, packaged vegan meals, snacks, cereal, hummus, cookies, crackers, chips, juices, etc.)
- Personal care and household items (cosmetics, hair care, soap, lotions, household cleaners, detergents, cellulose sponges, etc.)
A Note about Safeway Brand Baked Goods
Safeway has an in-house bakery that makes a variety of breads, cookies, and cakes. Safeway bakeries at some locations nationwide have been rolling out vegan cakes and other products. Be sure to carefully read the ingredient lists on all of these products before purchasing or eating.
In 2010, a Safeway spokesperson confirmed to Mother Jones that the company’s bakery products use a dough conditioner called L. cysteine, which in this case is sourced from duck feathers. Though L. cysteine (also simply called cysteine), an amino acid, can be derived from botanical sources, Safeway’s spokesperson specifically confirmed that their ingredient is sourced from duck feathers.
Therefore, it is wise to take extra caution when purchasing baked goods from Safeway, and ensure that they are truly vegan.
Vegan-Friendly Food Brands at Safeway
These brands offer all or selected products with vegan-friendly ingredients lists. Safeway stores have been known to stock these brands. As always, be sure to check the individual products to be absolutely sure they are vegan. You will find they are often clearly marked if that is the case.
- Alexia (frozen vegetables)
- Alba Botanica (personal care items; shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, facial cleansers, lip moisturiser)
- Amy’s (dairy-free frozen dinners and burritos, soups)
- Ancient Harvest (whole grains such as quinoa, quinoa pasta)
- Annie’s Homegrown and Annie’s Naturals (vegan boxed meals, crackers, fruit snacks, salad dressings, cookies)
- Annie Chun (noodle bowls)
- Barbara’s (cereals, snack bars)
- Beanitos (chips)
- belVita (breakfast biscuits, snack items)
- Beyond Meat (frozen or refrigerated meat substitutes)
- Boca (vegan plant-based protein burgers)
- Burt’s Bees (selected personal care items; many products from this brand use beeswax, so read labels carefully)
- Cascadian Farm (cereals, granola, snack bars, snack items)
- Classico (pasta sauces)
- Clif (protein and meal bars in Clif brands such as Luna and Clif)
- Daiya (dairy alternatives—some Daiya products may not be fully vegan)
- Dr. Bronner’s (personal care items and multi-purpose soaps)
- Dr. McDougal (soup mixes)
- Dr. Praeger’s (vegan plant-based protein burgers)
- Earth Balance (dairy alternatives, vegan butter substitutes)
- Field Roast (vegan plant-based sausages, sliceable plant-based protein loaves)
- Follow Your Heart (vegan egg substitutes, dairy substitutes, salad dressings)
- Food Should Taste Good (chips, crackers)
- Gardein (frozen meat substitutes)
- Hampton Creek (Foods with the “Just” brand name—Just Mayo, etc.)
- Hilary’s (vegan plant-based protein burgers)
- Just Pure Foods (snacks)
- Kashi (cereals, granola, granola bars, frozen dinners)
- Kettle Chips (selected potato chip and popcorn flavors)
- KIND (granola, snack bars)
- Lightlife (vegan plant-based hot dogs)
- McCormick (spices, spice blends, sauces)
- Mission Foods (tortillas, taco shells)
- Mrs. Meyers (household cleaners such as soaps, detergents, cleaning sprays)
- Nature’s All (freeze-dried organic fruits)
- Nature’s Path (hot and cold cereals, snacks)
- Newman’s Own (cookies, salad dressings, popcorn, pretzels, salad dressings, sauces, salsa)
- Organics (basic ingredients such as tofu and produce)
- Old El Paso (taco shells, sauces, spice blends)
- Paul Mitchell (hair care products, including shampoo, conditioner, and styling products)
- Quorn (frozen meat substitutes)
- Qrunch (quinoa-based frozen foods, including burgers)
- Ragu (pasta sauces)
- Seventh Generation (household cleaners such as detergents, soaps, cleaning sprays, wipes)
- Silk (dairy substitutes; soy, almond, coconut etc. in milk, yogurt, ice cream etc.)
- Simply Asia (noodle bowls, meal kits, sauces, coconut milk)
- So Delicious (dairy substitutes; coconut, almond and soy in milk, yogurt, ice cream etc.)
- Stoneyfield (soy yogurt)
- Swanson (vegan veggie broth)
- Thai Kitchen (noodle bowls, meal kits, sauces, coconut milk)
- Tofurky (vegan plant-based meat substitutes, including roasts and sliced cold cuts)
- Tofutti (soy-based dairy substitutes, including sour cream, spreads, and frozen desserts)
- Toms of Maine (personal care items such as toothpaste and deodorant)
- Van’s (frozen waffles)
- West Soy (dairy substitutes made from soy)
- Yes To (personal care products such as soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner with produce such as tomatoes or carrots listed in addition to the “Yes To” brand name)
- Yves Veggie Cuisine (vegan plant-based veggie dogs, soy crumbles, cold cuts, meals)
Conclusion
We hope this shopping guide for Safeway helps you with your vegan food decisions. We know how difficult it can be to shop at a traditional grocery store as a vegan, but it is doable. With proper preparation and planning, you will see how easy it can be to get all your vegan needs at a traditional store like Safeway.
Preparation is key for vegan shopping. So try our method and make a list. You might be surprised just how much time and money you can save!
Thanks for pointing this out to me Joanne:)
You forgot cadburies powdereddrinking chocolate. No milk powder in it. Also forgot macro cashew butter. No name margerine, has no milk, just lactic acid from vegtable fermentation. No name bread, no milk and no name juice, no lactose powder, thats why it has no body “tastes thin”
Thank you Joanne for another positive comment. To be honest I hadn’t updated this page in some time. There are so many new products appearing all the time and it’s hard to keep track of them all. I hope you are well and having a good summer:)
Its a hard test…but I do know one thing..Im gonna make some brownies tonight….who wudda known they are vegan. Im not really into processed food but i will bend for it. Also I thought soy sauce not worchester…why would i have it when i dont eat dead cows. I put soy sauce on my cauliflower but only a little. Great test..I retook it and got a hundred..ready for another…and I love your page…great info…I wasnt sure about the Safeway bagels and just got them for my dogs..now I can stop drooling when they are eating them.
Hi Kerin, sorry for the late reply. I only just found your comment:) I hope your brownies turned out ok, I’m sure they were delicious:) Thanks also for your kind appreciation of the page, I’m constantly updating the site and and trying to offer information that is both useful to new and established vegans.
Quorn Brand – Majority of theirs is not vegan. They pretty much have eggs and milk in all their products, (except for the Turk’y Roast I believe,) if memory serves. It sucks because I really liked their stuff until I found there’s eggs and milk in them. Now I’m trying to find Violife Vegan Cheez that doesn’t have to be delivered or shipped.
No brand Soy sause has no dried fish flakes in its product. Theres a vegan oister sauce which is great with made up massel stock and garlic to braise those greens.