A proper Halloween requires candy, whether you’re eight or eighty. But, in addition to the sugar and artificial additives, a lot of it contains animal components. It’s quite frightening. Finding vegan-friendly confectionery that is free of milk, eggs, shellac, and gelatin can be a real challenge. This way we have focused this article to explain all about vegan Halloween candy and all you need to know.
Vegan Halloween Candy
If you follow a vegan diet, there is a variety of vegan Halloween candy to be mindful of, ranging from Milky Ways and Milk Duds to the classic milk chocolate Hershey’s bar. Although these dairy-based chocolates are blatantly non-compliant, even seemingly harmless snacks might contain traces of animal ingredients.
When you buy a bag of classic gummy bears or Starbursts, look at the ingredient list to see if gelatin a substance formed from the collagen in animal or fish bones, tissues, and tendons is listed. Even those simple little boxes of Wonka Nerds contain carmine, an insect-derived chemical used for coloring, so think twice before eating any red or pink candies. Also, keep an eye out for shiny-shelled candies like Mike and Ike. They contain confectioner’s glaze, a bug-infested substance derived from tree sap.
Thankfully, if you read labels carefully and stick to this list of vegan Halloween candy, you won’t have to give in to milk, bugs, or bones. Some of the treats listed below will be familiar to you from your childhood (it turns out that Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish aren’t sentient beings after all), but there are also some new “healthier” plant-based candies on the market that are well worth a try.
#1. Skittles
Yes, tasting the rainbow is a vegan-friendly experience. This wasn’t always the case, but since 2009, Skittles have been officially gelatin-free.
#2. Hunny Bon Sweets
Hunny Bon is the first sweet shop of its sort, founded by a Certified Health Coach and passionate vegan Halloween candy Kimberly Silver. Every candy is organic, vegan, manufactured with clean ingredients, and even fortified with superfoods, from chocolate-covered chia seeds to sour gummy worms.
#3. Airheads
There’s nothing to worry about here—just a whole lot of dairy-free, egg-free, and animal protein-free artificial flavors in these classic fruit strips.
#4. Unreal Snacks
Champion of the Super Bowl To reduce inflammation, Tom Brady avoids strawberries, peppers, mushrooms, eggplants, and coffee, but he does enjoy Unreal candy. These chocolates must be the real deal if Brady’s notoriously stringent diet allows for them. Crispy Quinoa, Peanut Dark Chocolate Gems, Dark Chocolate Almond, or Peanut Butter Cups are all options. Only Milk Chocolate Gems should be avoided since they contain dairy.
#5. Twizzlers
Plot twist: Despite being red AND gummy, this classic licorice doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients.
#6. Eating Evolved
Despite their motto of “Chocolate: It’s food, not candy,” Eating Evolved deserves to be at the top of everyone’s favorite candy list. The Primal Chocolate bars are the right combination of dark and sweet, while the coconut butter cups (especially the limited-edition pumpkin spice flavor) will make you wonder why peanut butter has garnered so much attention.
#7. Jolly Ranchers
The main drawback to these suckers is that they contain Lecithin, which can be derived from plants but can also come from eggs. Jolly Ranchers are vegan, according to Peta, but if you’re a devout vegan, you should avoid them.
#8. Justin’s Dark Chocolate PB Cups
Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are absolutely delicious and dairy-free. Although milk is present in the milk and white chocolate kinds, everyone knows that dark chocolate is the best.
#9. Swedish Fish
These bright red, fish-shaped chewies are a must-have for Halloween. Swedish Fish gummy candy comes in a variety of exotic flavors—we’re looking at you, tropical minis. While most Swedish Fish treats are cruelty-free, beeswax may occasionally be present in these berry-flavored snacks. Before you indulge, double-check your ingredient lists.
#10. Wholesome Candies
If you want to up your Swedish Fish game, try these DelishFish, which are composed entirely of organic and non-GMO ingredients. Wholesome’s Surf Sweets range includes vegan gummy bears, worms, and chews, as well as a “vegan” filter on their website to make your search easier.
#11. Smarties
These little guys have been unintentionally vegan since 1949. No gelatin. dairy. bug-based dyes.
#12. Dum-Dums
If you come across the famed “mystery” flavor in a bag of Dum-Dums, you’ll know at least one thing: it’s vegan-friendly.
#13. Blow Pops
Blow Pops aren’t to be mistaken for their chocolate-filled older siblings, Tootsie Pops, because they don’t include any animal products.
#14. Yum Earth Organic Candies
Yum Earth is another forward-thinking sweets company, offering organic, non-GMO, and vegan lollipops, fruit snacks, licorice, jelly beans, sour twists, and other hard candies. All of their goods are now dairy-free, but some do contain eggs, so by the end of 2017, they plan to make all of their chocolates vegan-friendly.
#15. Sour Patch Kids
You know, the kid-shaped sweets that are sour at first, then sweet, and are completely vegan? We’re big fans of blue raspberry, but we’d be happy with any Sour Patch Kids taste. We’re particularly fond of the seasonal Sour Patch Zombies, which come in delectable grape and orange flavors.
#16. Dots
Dots from the Tootsie Roll brand are another delectable memory for you. These delicious and fruity gumdrops in a little cardboard box are classic vegan Halloween candy. Choose Dots in Original, Tropical, or Sour flavors for a vegan fare—we’ve got alternatives, people! Our absolute favorite is the Sour Dots.
#17. Endangered Species Dark Chocolate
Instead of simply avoiding animal components when choosing a candy bar, this delectable dark chocolate can actually help conserve endangered animals. The company donates 10% of its net profits to its GiveBack partners, which include the Wildlife Conservation Network and the Rainforest Trust at the moment.
#18. Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate
Enjoy Life Foods offers some serious crowd-pleasers that are free of the top eight major allergies and artificial additives. Crunchy, dark, and rice milk chocolate variations are included in their new Halloween minis range, making them ideal substitutes for regular milk chocolate bars.
#19. Now and Later
Starbursts aren’t vegan-friendly since they contain gelatin, however, the original Now and Laters are. The new Shell-Shocked and Sour variants, on the other hand, are not vegan, so stick with the original.
#20. Alter Eco Chocolate
Dark chocolate that has been certified as fair-trade? Please accept my request. Although a couple of Alter Eco’s varieties contain butter, the plant-based bars, such as Dark Quinoa and Deep Dark Sea Salt, will wow you.
#21. Fun Dip
Repeat the licking, dipping, and licking process. This one instantly transports you back to your childhood, complete with sticky Halloween night fingers. What’s not to appreciate about sweet dipping flavors like RazzApple Magic? Fun Dip is vegan by mistake, which we love to see! Unleash your inner child and snag this unique Halloween sweet treat.
#22. Chick-O-Stick
A bit salty, a little sweet, a little peanut, a little coconut, and a whole lot of nostalgia. The Chick-O-Stick is a must-have for the fall season. To be honest, these vegan-friendly sweets taste like coconut Butterfinger, and we love them! PS: There’s a complete vegan-friendly candy section on the Atkinson’s Candy website. Winning!
#23. Jujyfruits
These fruity chews aren’t only delicious, but they’re also adorable it’s a little movie theatre box for us. Prepare to sink your teeth into these fruit and veggie-shaped candy pieces in true vegetarian style. Asparagus, tomato, grape, banana, pineapple, raspberry, and pea pods are among the Jujyfruit shapes.
#24. Ring Pops
Prepare to get your fingers decked out in vegan-friendly, wearable confectionery. Ring Pops are a Halloween dream come true for trick-or-treaters. In fact, these candy jewels are suitable for a frightening queen, with strawberry, watermelon, and blue raspberry flavors. The Ring Pop Gummy Rings, which include gelatin, are not plant-based.
#25. Charms Blow Pops
Bubblegum with a chewy center and a delicious hard candy shell? Please sign us up! It’s like getting two sweets in one. Not a fan of lollipops? Try the Blow Pop Minis—they’re like regular Blow Pops but without the stick. Oh, and these Charms Blow Pops are vegan, of course. There are no tricks, only sweets here.
What Animal Ingredients Commonly Appear in Candy?
Milk ingredients are found in the great majority of Halloween chocolates distributed to trick-or-treaters. Consequently, the issue is that the chocolate used in mass-market Halloween candy is never of the highest quality. Because milk chocolate is less expensive than dark chocolate, low-end chocolate is rarely vegan.
Many brilliantly colored soft translucent candies, such as Gummy Bears, also include gelatin. However, vegan alternatives to gelatin-based candies are available from a variety of firms. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t individual, making them unsuitable for trick-or-treaters.
Why is M&M not Vegan?
In light of the aforementioned information, the fundamental reason why the answer to your question “Are M&Ms vegan?” is “no” is because milk chocolate, the basic component of which is skim milk, is used in their production. M&Ms aren’t considered vegan since they include skim milk, but that’s not all you need to know about these sweets. There are other ingredients you should be aware of.
Can Vegans Have M&Ms?
This page addresses one of the questions that is asked the most frequently in relation to vegan-friendly chocolates, and it is as follows: Are there any vegan M&M’s? Unfortunately, none of the M&M tastes are vegan-friendly because they all contain components derived from milk in some form.
Is Starburst Vegan Friendly?
Are Starbursts Vegan Friendly? Unfortunately, the Starburst candies and chews produced in the United States do not adhere to vegan principles. They include gelatin, which is obtained from the bones and skin of animals, and confectioner’s glaze, which is produced from the secretions of lac beetles. Both of these ingredients come from the animal kingdom.
Can Vegans Eat McDonald’s?
In order to create a burger that does not include any meat, McDonald’s collaborated with the plant-based food company Beyond Meat to provide the company’s realistic plant-based patties. The McPlant burger from McDonald’s is made up of the following components: a vegan sesame bun, mustard, ketchup, vegan sauce, fresh onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and vegan cheese.
Are Food Colors Vegan?
Another problematic item is food colouring; some are naturally vegan, while others aren’t. In addition, cochineal, a species of scale insect, is used to make carmine, a red pigment used to colour food and cosmetics. On labels, carmine may appear as cochineal, cochineal extract, crimson lake or carmine lake, natural red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120.
There is also a bug-free version of carmine. Chr. Hansen, a Danish bioscience business, has developed a vegan carmine made from sweet potatoes. Additionally, vegans can use other food colorings as well. Food coloring has its own page on the vegetarian resource Veg, which explains in detail which ingredients are vegan and why.
Several companies in the UK, including Simply Vegan Sweets, have introduced entire lines of vegan-friendly pick-and-mix sweets. Traditional dishes are even being offered by certain prominent brands, such as Rowntrees. Also, fruit pastilles sharing bags will be vegan-friendly as of Halloween 2020. Popular sweets like Airheads, Jujubes, and certain variants of Swedish Fish are already vegan-friendly in the United States.
What Halloween Candy Can Vegans Eat?
Halloween candy brands that are vegan include;
- Airheads.
- Atomic Fireballs.
- Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks.
- Charms Blow Pops.
- Chick-O-Stick.
- Dots.
- Dum Dum Pops
- Go Max Go Foods (100% vegan)
What Halloween Chocolate is Vegan?
- Halloween Chocolate Minis
Do you like to satisfy your craving for sweets with chocolate instead? If this is the case, you should be sure to pick up a bag of Enjoy Life’s rice milk chocolate or dark chocolate minis right away. They have been given a vegan certification, are safe for people with allergens, and can be purchased at VitaCost or on the website of Enjoy Life. Score!
What Major Candy Companies Make Vegan-Friendly Candy?
Vegan Chewy Candy;
- Air Heads
- Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks
- Dandies Vegan Marshmallows
- Dots
- Lovely: Organic Chewy Candies
- Red Vines
- Skittles
- Sour Patch Kids
- Swedish Fish
- Sweet & Sara Marshmallows
- Twizzlers
FAQ
Is Candycorn vegan?
No matter which group you’re in, you might be wondering if the tricoloured triangle-shaped treat is vegan-friendly. The short answer is no, candy corn is not suitable for a vegan diet. Even though the main ingredients in candy corn like sugar and corn syrup are vegan, some of the additional ingredients are not.
Are any quality street vegan?
Are any Quality Streets vegan? Unfortunately here, the answer is a resounding no; none of the Quality Street sweets or chocolates is vegan as they all contain dairy-based milk.
Is chewing gum vegan?
What Are the Ingredients in Gum? Most ingredients within the majority of gums are vegan friendly but, as ever, it only takes the smallest quantity of an animal product or derivative, either as an ingredient or used in the manufacturing process, to render any chewing gum non-vegan.
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