Take a look at our Guide to Vegan Candy for Halloween and get all your answers to what you can and can’t have!
Halloween is quickly approaching and with that will come a boat load (or two) of delicious treats for you (I mean your children) to consume. One thing that may be lingering in the back of your mind though is what out of that bucket is vegan candy?
Okay, pause, if you are reading this and it’s 2020, it’s likely they won’t be coming home with boatloads of candy, but rather you are just trying to buy a few things that are safe for them to make this as normal as possible.
Unless you’ve been vegan your entire life or for a long part of it, you are likely here wondering if you can still have your favorite Halloween candy.
Now, I won’t sugarcoat anything.
There are going to be many traditional Halloween candies that are not vegan-friendly. However, the good news is there are actually dozens of vegan candy options for Halloween.
What makes candy not vegan?
When it comes to trying to figure out what makes a candy vegan or not, we are looking at 5 main ingredients:
- milk (also labeled as whey, casein)
- eggs
- gelatin
- confectioner’s glaze (also labeled as shellac)
- carmine coloring
All 5 of these things are traditionally found in candies and they are all derived from animals.
You also need to be aware of beeswax, honey, and lard.
What about vegan sugar?
If you live in the United States, you should be aware of why it’s important to look for vegan sugar.
Given that, we want to say that we did not verify the source of sugar for each of these products. We recommend reaching out to the individual companies if you need to know.
We stand from a viewpoint that becoming vegan isn’t a quest to be the perfect vegan. In fact, in our society it’s nearly impossible. You can make the best choices you can on a day by day basis.
How to easily spot an allergen-friendly house when trick-or-treating?
Over the last few years, the teal pumpkin project has really been gaining traction. Essentially, it’s a way for parents with children that have food allergies to know that they can go to this house and find safe options for their children.
Did you know that 1 in 13 children have a food allergy? That’s roughly two kids in every classroom.
Luckily, families have it even easier this year as many big-box stores are making it even easier to find teal pumpkins with their store bought reusable options.
While it’s not guaranteed that a teal pumpkin house will have something vegan friendly, it is more likely that they will.
Often times these houses will give out things like applesauce, allergen friendly popcorn, pencils or stickers, etc.
In this post, we list all vegan candy in alphabetical order. We also note whether the item is gluten-free if we have that information.*
*This information was accurate to the best of our ability at the time of publishing. Ingredients may change, please always read ingredients before consuming.
Please note that this is a list for the US brands. We are unable at this time to verify if candy in other countries use the same ingredients.
Vegan Candy A-F
- Airheads (also gluten free)
- Annie’s Organic Gummies (Vegan according to their website)
- Atomic Fireballs
- Big League Chew
- Blow Pops (also gluten free) *Note: Do not confuse with Tootsie Roll pops as these are not dairy free
- Bottlecaps (also gluten free)
- Chick-O-Sticks
- Cocomel’s Coconut Milk Caramels (Vegan according to their website)
- Cry Baby
- Dots (also gluten free)
- Dums Dums – (also gluten free)
Vegan Candy E-L
- Eating Evolved Almond Butter Cups (organic sugar listed on website so bone char free)
- Endangered Species Dark Chocolate Bars
- There is a vegan filter on their website that you can only show vegan bars
- Enjoy Life Halloween Ricemilk Chocolate Minis (Vegan according to their website)
- There is a vegan filter on their website that you can only show vegan items. Many individually wrapped products are vegan
- Fun Dip
- Gushers
- Hubba Bubba (also gluten free)
- Jolly Ranchers
- Jujubes (also gluten free)
- Jujyfruits
- Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Vegan Candy L-R
- Laffy Taffy (ONLY THE MINI- also gluten free)
- Now and Laters (also gluten free)
- Peanut Chews (Only Dark chocolate variety)
- Red Vines
- Runts
Vegan Candy S-Z
- Saf-t- pops (also gluten free)
- Skittles (also gluten free)
- Smarties — Any variety – (Top 8 Allergen Free as well as vegan and gluten-free) *** It’s also important to know that if you look for UPCs with 011206 it confirms products came from allergen-free factory
- For clarification these are called Rockets in other parts of the world and not to be confused with another milk chocolate candy in other parts of the world.
- Sour Patch Kids (also gluten free)
- Surf Sweet’s Organic Halloween Treat Pack
- Swedish Fish (Gluten free and should also be vegan- but double check labels as some may contain beeswax)
- Sweet Tarts (also gluten free)
- Twizzlers – Including Twists, Sweet & Sour Filled Twists, Pull n’ Peels, Bites, and Nibs
- Unreal Snacks
- Most of their snacks say vegan on the label; however, stay away from the Milk Chocolate version
- Wholesome Candies Organic DelishFish
- Yum Earth Lollipops (also gluten free and dye free)
- Products are organic, website says no bone char used in sugar
- many of their other products are also vegan including licorice, fruit snacks, sour beans, sour twists, hard candies, giggles (their version of skittles)
- Their website states that their candy corn and gummy bears are not vegan
- Zotz
*Vegan Candy Halloween Guide Disclaimer:
The information included or this page are for informational purposes only and should never be considered as medical advice, opinion, or any other health-related information. You should always consult a medical provider for questions or answers regarding the health of yourself and others.
Please note at the time of posting, this vegan candy list was accurate. This list cannot guarantee that manufacturers have not changed manufactures, facilities, or ingredients. Always double check labels! If you have questions, our best suggestion is to call the manufacturer and ask. Especially in the case where a severe food allergy is present, contact them for allergen cross-contamination information.
Where Can I Buy a Teal Pumpkin?
Want to make sure that people know your house is allergen-friendly? All you have to do is place a teal pumpkin outside your house. Of course, you can easily paint a pumpkin teal, but if you are looking for an easier option or one that is reusable, you can purchase a teal pumpkin or teal pumpkin decorations from the following stores:
- Amazon
- Target
- Walmart
- Michaels
- JOANN
- Etsy
- Oriental Trading
Did we miss a vegan candy for Halloween that is your go to every year? Let us know in the comments below so we can add it to our list!
We hope that your favorite Halloween candy is on our list of vegancandy for Halloween. If it’s not, then we hope that you can find something that still brings you joy!
Rebecca
Thank you so much! I was just wondering about this and most I avoided if I didn’t know. I shared with some peeps💗
LarishaBernard
You’re so welcome!
David Watson
For those wondering, they are NOT referring to Nestle’s milk chocolate candies in the UK that are also called “Smarties”. They are, instead, referring to the tablet-shaped fruity candy that comes in a cellophane-wrapped roll.
LarishaBernard
Thanks David!