Most vegans still consider such products to be vegan, but of course it’s a personal choice, especially if the reason to avoid milk is due to an allergy. (Note: Some of these packages say “may contain milk” on the label because the chocolate chips are made in a facility where non-vegan products are also produced. Look for one of the following brands: Enjoy Life, Simple Truth Organic, Target Simply Balanced, Lily’s Sweet Stevia Sweetened, Kirkland semi sweet (Costco brand), Guittard semi sweet or extra dark, Equal Exchange, Scharffen Berger dark chocolate baking chunks, Trader Joe’s semi sweet, Sprouts semi sweet, or Pascha. Just ask an employee if you’re not sure where it’s located. Most regular grocery stores should have a natural food section.
If you want to seek out vegan chocolate chips at a regular grocery store, the best place to start is the natural food aisle. While milk is sometimes added, there are many brands-even some generic grocery store brands-of vegan chocolate chips and chocolate bars that are becoming much easier to find.
And are chocolate chips vegan? I’m asked these questions quite often, and thankfully the answer is that yes, chocolate itself is vegan.