Stock up on Vegan Candy for Trick or Treaters (or Yourself) This Year

Halloween is near and we can all expect to be left with buckets or bags of candy around the house. For those who are vegan—or folks who are trying to cut back on overly processed snacks and sweets—it can be difficult to reach into a bucket of candy and figure out which ones are okay to eat.

To help ease those feelings of frustration, we put together some ideas for vegan candies to keep in the house or pass out to trick or treaters. Stocking up on these treats will help you make sure all who knock or are in need of something sweet have something that suits their needs.

There are many ways that a candy might not be vegan, from the way it’s processed to dairy additives that aren’t listed on mini-versions that make it out of a big bag and into your kid’s bucket. Marshmallows and other gummies are not vegan due to the practice of including animal products in gelatin to help give it that wiggle and squish (sorry, Jell-O, you’re also on this list). 

That also includes gummy bears, gummy worms, candy corn, Starbursts, Nerds, and even Altoids. We know those little boxes of Nerds that come in variety packs are so easy to just throw back and munch on, but they include pork-based gelatin and are off the table.

We are basing our vegan candy choices on the requirements for vegan certification: This means a product does not contain “meat, fish, fowl, animal by-products, eggs or egg products, milk or milk products, honey or honey bee products, insects or products from insects such as silk or dyes, or sugar filtered with bone char or be processed with any animal products or by-products.”

That is a pretty lengthy list of rules, but we found seven certified vegan candies that you and trick or treaters will be excited to eat this at Halloween and year-round. Keep scrolling for the full list of vegan candies to stock up on for Halloween. 

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Gigantic Candy Bars

Gigantic

These candy bars have only 7 grams of sugar and are entirely plant-based. Plus, all of the ingredients are real foods you can recognize and probably even find at your local grocery store. Made of ingredients like brown sugar, coconut milk, almond butter, and almond flour, these bars are just sweet enough for your kids to enjoy and not so sweet that you’ll get a headache after one bite.

Unreal Dark Chocolate Crispy Quinoa Gems

If you’re looking for a vegan alternative to M&M’s, Unreal candies have you covered. These dark chocolate gems are totally vegan and have a little crunch inside with crispy quinoa bits. The colors come from naturally derived plant-based products like beets and spirulina to give them a bright hue. They’re made with fair-trade ingredients, so you get a better candy that’s also better overall.

Behave Seriously Good Gummy Bears

Behave Candy

If you were saddened to hear that gummy bears and worms aren’t vegan, rejoice over Behave Candies! These gummy bears are vegan and have unique flavors like lychee, passionfruit, and raspberry, all derived from real fruit juices. Plus, they come in regular and sour bears for whatever mood you or your trick or treaters are in.

Yummallo Vegan Marshmallows

Yummallo

While you might not be handing these out to trick or treaters, you can make some candies, rice krispies, or s’mores that are totally vegan with these marshmallows easily found at Walmart. These mallows are free of gelatin, corn syrup, artificial flavor and color, gluten, and GMOs while maintaining the creamy and bouncy texture we all know and love from traditional marshmallows.

Chili Chews Peach Bites

Chili Chews

Chili Chews offers a variety of vegan flavors, from its peach bites to watermelon belts. Some red dyes aren’t vegan because beetle shells are used to give them a bright red hue, but the red dyes in Chili Chews are actually vegan-friendly. These peach chews taste like biting into a Georgia peach with a bit of a spicy after-taste, so take a bite of one before handing them to the kids to gauge the spice level for yourself.

Lovely Candy Co. Organic Lolipops

Lovely Candy Co.

While Blow Pops are vegan, they are packed with sugar, dyes, and no real fruits or natural flavors. Pass out some lollipops that are not only tasty but organic and made with real fruit from mangos, strawberries, grapes, and pomegranates. Made with brown rice syrup instead of traditional corn syrup, these pops get their color from radishes, apples, blackcurrants, and beet juice.

Cocomels Pumpkin Spice Caramels

Cocomels

Because all good things in October have pumpkin spice added to them, these coconut milk caramels are totally vegan and come individually wrapped, making them a perfect addition to any candy bowl. While these caramels from Cocomels are only available for a limited time, their collection of caramels and chocolates are all plant-based and vegan so you can enjoy them year-round after getting hooked on this seasonal flavor.