A straight, no-fine-print look at what we put in, what we leave out, and why.
Our gluten free vegan baking mix ingredients are short, recognizable, and chosen for one job: to bake well without wheat, dairy, eggs, preservatives, or artificial flavors. Every ingredient on the pack is there for a reason, and this page explains each one in plain language so you know exactly what you are baking with.
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The short version • Both mixes are gluten free, plant based, non-GMO, and made without preservatives, artificial flavors, or artificial sweeteners. • The donut mix is built on a real sweet potato base with a rice and sorghum flour blend, bound with xanthan gum. • The cookie mix is built on a real banana base with a chickpea and fava bean flour blend, which holds together without xanthan gum or eggs. • Both are nut free and soy free. The cookie mix contains legumes (chickpea and fava bean), so people who avoid legumes should pick the donut mix. • The full, current ingredient list is always on the pack. Recipes can change, so the pack is the final word. |
What ingredients are in a gluten free vegan baking mix?
A gluten free vegan baking mix is built from three things: gluten free flours and starches for structure, a binder to replace gluten, and the flavor and leavening that make the bake taste good and rise. There are no animal ingredients, so no eggs, butter, or milk in the dry mix. Here is exactly what is in each of ours.
Sweet Potato Donut Mix
Sweet potato, sugar, sweet waxy rice flour, brown rice flour (rice, rice bran), potato starch, whole sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), cinnamon, xanthan gum, sea salt.
Banana Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Mix
Gluten free flour (garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, fava bean flour), sugar, banana powder, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), cinnamon, salt.
If you are new to baking with mixes, our guide to gluten free baking mixes for beginners walks through how these ingredients behave once you add your wet ingredients and bake.
What does each ingredient do?
Every ingredient in the mix has a specific job. The flours and starches build structure, the binder holds it together, and the rest brings flavor, sweetness, and rise. This table breaks it down.
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Ingredient |
What it does |
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Sweet potato |
A real vegetable base in the donut mix that adds natural flavor, color, and moisture |
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Banana powder |
A real fruit base in the cookie mix that adds natural banana flavor and a little sweetness |
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Rice flours (sweet white rice, brown rice) |
A mild, neutral base that gives the donut mix its structure |
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Garbanzo (chickpea) and fava bean flours |
Protein rich flours that give the cookie mix structure and help it hold together without eggs |
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White sorghum flour |
A mild whole grain flour that adds body and a soft crumb |
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Potato starch and tapioca starch |
Lighten the texture and help the bake hold moisture |
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Xanthan gum |
The binder that replaces what gluten normally does. It is in the donut mix. The cookie mix uses bean flours for that job instead |
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Baking powder |
The leavening that makes the donuts and cookies rise |
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Cinnamon |
Warm, natural flavor in both mixes |
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Cane sugar and brown sugar |
Sweetness and a tender texture |
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Sea salt |
Balances and rounds out the flavor |
What is not in our gluten free vegan baking mixes?
Just as important as what goes in is what we leave out. Our mixes are made without all of the following:
• Wheat and gluten. In the United States, a product labeled gluten free must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.
• Dairy and eggs. The mixes are plant based, which is what makes them vegan friendly.
• Soy and nuts. Neither mix uses soy or tree nuts or peanuts.
• Preservatives and artificial flavors. Flavor comes from real food and spices like sweet potato, banana, and cinnamon.
• Artificial sweeteners. Sweetness comes from sugar and the natural sweetness of the food bases, not from sugar substitutes.
• GMO ingredients. The mixes use non-GMO ingredients, including non-GMO corn starch in the leavening.
Are our gluten free baking mixes really vegan?
Yes. The dry mixes contain no animal ingredients, so there are no eggs, dairy, honey, or gelatin. To keep your finished bake vegan, add plant based wet ingredients, such as a neutral oil and water or a plant milk, rather than butter or eggs. Both mixes are designed to work without eggs in the first place, so this is simple to do.
You can see both options, the sweet potato donut mix and the banana cinnamon sugar cookie mix, and decide which suits your bake.
Is xanthan gum vegan?
Yes, xanthan gum is vegan. It is made by fermenting sugars with a microbe called Xanthomonas campestris, then drying the result into a fine powder. It contains no animal products. In baking, it acts as the binder that replaces gluten, which keeps gluten free bakes from falling apart. We use a small amount of it in the donut mix. The cookie mix gets its structure from chickpea and fava bean flours instead, so it needs no added gum.
Are the mixes allergen friendly?
Both mixes are made without the most common baking allergens, but allergen needs are personal, so read the pack and match the mix to your situation.
• Gluten free, soy free, and nut free. Neither mix contains wheat, gluten, soy, tree nuts, or peanuts.
• Egg free and dairy free. Both are plant based.
• Legumes in the cookie mix. The cookie mix uses chickpea and fava bean flours. If you avoid legumes, choose the sweet potato donut mix, which uses a rice and sorghum base.
• Cross contamination. If you bake for someone with celiac disease, keep your bowls, pans, and utensils free of wheat flour, since a gluten free mix only stays gluten free if the kitchen around it is too.
Who makes West Food Brands mixes?
West Food Brands is owned by Deana Karim, who also founded Good Dee's, a brand built around making indulgent foods with cleaner, simpler ingredients. The same focus on quality and transparency carries into West Food Brands. We are a small team of people who actually eat what we make, and the rule is simple: if it does not taste good, we do not release it. That is why every ingredient on the pack is there on purpose, and why this page exists at all.
Frequently asked questions about our gluten free vegan baking mix ingredients
Do your gluten free baking mixes contain xanthan gum?
Our sweet potato donut mix contains xanthan gum as its binder. Our banana cinnamon sugar cookie mix does not. It uses chickpea and fava bean flours for structure instead, so there is no added gum in that mix.
Are your mixes nut free and soy free?
Yes. Both mixes are made without nuts and without soy. Keep in mind the cookie mix is built on chickpea and fava bean flours, which are legumes, so anyone who avoids legumes should reach for the rice based donut mix.
Do the mixes contain preservatives or artificial sweeteners?
No. Our mixes are made without preservatives, without artificial flavors, and without artificial sweeteners. The sweetness comes from sugar and from real food bases like sweet potato and banana.
Are the mixes non-GMO?
Yes. The mixes use non-GMO ingredients, including non-GMO corn starch in the baking powder. Non-GMO is part of the standard we set when we choose what goes in.
Do I need to add eggs or dairy?
No. The mixes are plant based and need no eggs or dairy. You add a few simple wet ingredients and bake, usually in about 15 minutes, which keeps the finished treat vegan friendly.
Where can I see the full ingredient list?
The complete, current ingredient list is printed on every pack and shown on each product page. Always check the pack before you bake, since a recipe can be updated over time.
Key takeaways
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• Our gluten free vegan baking mix ingredients are short, recognizable, and chosen for a reason. • The donut mix uses a real sweet potato base with rice and sorghum flours, bound with a little xanthan gum. • The cookie mix uses a real banana base with chickpea and fava bean flours, which hold together without gum or eggs. • Both mixes leave out wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, and GMOs. • Both are nut free and soy free. The cookie mix contains legumes, so legume avoiders should pick the donut mix. • The pack always carries the full, current ingredient list. |
Written by the West Food Brands team, led by founder Deana Karim. We make and test small batch, all natural gluten free mixes, and we publish our ingredients in plain language because that is how we would want them shown to us.
Trusted sources
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Gluten and Food Labeling
• Celiac Disease Foundation, Label Reading and the FDA