OREO Confirms Chicken & Waffles Cookies Are 100% Vegetarian

Q: How did OREO replicate the savory taste of fried chicken in a vegetarian cookie using only spices and natural smoke?

OREO appears to have recreated the “fried chicken” effect not with any meat ingredient, but by layering familiar savory cues that people associate with chicken and waffles: black pepper, celery spice, paprika, cinnamon, maple sweetness, salt, and natural smoke flavor. Reporting on the cookie says the Chicken & Waffles OREO uses a dual-creme design, with one side delivering sweet maple-syrup notes and the other carrying the more savory seasoning profile. That matters because the flavor of fried chicken is not just meat itself; it is often the seasoning, browned aromas, peppery heat, and fried-smoky impression around it. By using those signals, OREO could suggest “fried chicken” without poultry flavoring. The natural smoke flavor likely does much of the heavy lifting in mimicking cooked, browned, slightly smoky notes that consumers read as savory. Black pepper, celery spice, and paprika add the seasoned, salty profile typical of fried chicken breading, while cinnamon and maple pull the cookie back toward the waffle side of the dish. Reviewers described the result as surprisingly close to chicken and waffles, but still more sweet-salty than truly meaty. OREO also directly confirmed that the cookie is vegetarian and that the “natural flavors” do not hide meat-based ingredients. So the savory illusion seems to come from food chemistry and seasoning design rather than any animal-derived chicken flavor.

2 articles · Updated · Sporked · Aug 20

Sporked said OREO confirmed its new Chicken & Waffles cookies contain no meat-based ingredients, making the first sweet-and-savory OREO flavor fully vegetarian.
OREO gave the clarification after Sporked asked whether the label’s “natural flavors” hid any authentic chicken-derived ingredients, which can legally go undisclosed on packaging.
The confirmation addresses a question raised by the unusual flavor concept, even though the package itself does not explicitly carry a vegetarian claim.
The cookies are part of a broader new lineup that also includes Banana Pudding and Deep Fried OREO flavors, with Chicken & Waffles drawing the most scrutiny over its ingredients.