Gummies, chocolate bars, marshmallows, lollipops … vegans love their candy just as much as everyone else. Luckily, there’s a plethora of animal-free, dairy-free candy to choose from—and you won’t find gelatin, confectioner’s glaze, dairy, or eggs in any of these sweet treats. Let the countdown to Halloween begin.
Whether you’re looking for accidentally vegan versions of mainstream brands or specialty vegan novelties, VegNews unveils the ultimate guide to vegan Halloween candy.
Sour Patch Kids
From Sour Patch Kids to Dots, many classic candies are accidentally vegan
When you need to stock up on Halloween candy, you’re in luck! You can find many accidentally vegan candies at convenience stores and supermarkets.
To put it simply, accidentally vegan candies are not vegan by design, but rather because the manufacturer deemed animal ingredients unnecessary to create the candy in the first place. But this is great news for vegans because it means you don’t have to worry about sneaky dairy or gelatin sneaking into your nostalgic favorites.
Here are some of the best accidentally vegan candy options on shelves right now.
- Airheads
- Dots
- Fun Dip
- Fruit By the Foot
- Fruit Roll-Ups
- Jolly Ranchers
- Laffy Taffy
- Now and Later
- Red Vines
- Ring Pops
- Skittles
- Smarties
- Sour Patch Kids
- Swedish Fish
- Sweet Tarts
- Twizzlers
- Zotz
Nelly’s Organics
From nougat to caramel, our favorite childhood candy made vegan
Missing your childhood favorites? You can still get your hands on treats like gooey caramel coated in chocolate, shortbread cookies paired with nutty nougat, chewy nuts rolled in sticky sweet coating, and dairy-free milk chocolate.
In fact, the world of vegan candy bars is both gourmet and nostalgic. Find a vegan replacement for your old-school favorite candy treats below, including Mars, Snickers, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
- Go Max Go
- Harken Sweets
- No Whey! Foods
- Nelly’s Organics
- Trupo
- Unreal Snacks
- Whims
- Chomp!
- Free 2B Foods
- Justin’s
- Reese’s Plant Based
- Gigantic
Theo
The best classic vegan chocolate bars for a cozy night in
If there’s nothing you love more than settling down with a cup of tea and a few squares of indulgent dairy-free chocolate, or the whole bar, let’s be honest, these picks are for you. They’re classic, rich, delicious, and perfect for an evening treat.
- 7th Heaven
- Lagusta’s Luscious
- Alter Eco
- Hu Kitchen
- Jojo’s
- Lovo
- Magic Chocolate
- NibMor
- Rawmio
- TCHO
- Theo
- Hershey’s Plant Based
Katjes
Gelatin-free vegan gummies for your inner child
Instead of gelatin made from animal bones, many brands opt for plant-based alternatives such as pectin (a soluble fruit fiber), agar-agar (derived from red algae), or carrageenan (derived from red seaweed) to make their gummy sweets chewy and delicious.
While not all of the brands below are 100-percent vegan, they offer several vegan options. Just be sure to check the ingredient list before purchasing.
- Annie’s Fruit Snacks
- Better Sour
- California Gummy Bears
- Candy Kittens
- Freedom Confectionery
- Joy Ride
- Katjes
- Simply Fruit Bites
- SmartSweets
- Solely
- Starburst Gummies
- Sugarfina
- Surf Sweets
- Vegobears
Cocomels
Melt-in-your-mouth caramels without the dairy
Chewy, sweet, and satisfyingly sticky, caramels are a classic favorite, but they often contain dairy. Fortunately, as the treats below demonstrate, milk isn’t essential for achieving that signature texture and flavor. In fact, these brands offer delicious, melt-in-your-mouth vegan caramels for every type of craving.
YumEarth
Satisfyingly chewy vegan candy
Just like gummies, you’ll sometimes find gelatin or carmine lurking in chewy sweets (we’re looking at you, Starburst). But this doesn’t mean that trick-or-treaters don’t have to miss out—far from it.
You’ll find plenty of flavorful, chewy vegan candy alternatives on the market in tropical, sour, fruity, and citrusy flavors. Here are some of our favorites.
YumEarth
Sweet, fruity, and completely vegan lollipops
From mainstream brands you can find at any convenience store to all-natural, low-sugar, fruit-sweetened suckers, there are plenty of Halloween vegan options when it comes to lollipops. Just watch out for dairy, which you’ll find in some popular options like Chupa Chup’s Strawberry and Cream.
Dandies
Fluffy, pillowy, plant-based marshmallows
There’s one culprit that makes marshmallows not vegan: gelatin. A clear, flavorless protein derived from animal collagen, gelatin is used to create a bouncy, marshmallow-like texture. But many brands have ditched the cruelty and launched gelatin-free vegan versions that taste even better. Instead, they’re using ingredients like carrageenan or agar-agar to achieve the same familiar taste without the cruelty.
For more on vegan marshmallows, don’t miss our full guide here.
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Sarah McLaughlin (@sarahmclaughlin) is the New Products Editor at VegNews and is always on the search for the newest innovations in plant-based food.
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the plant-based lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include links where we might earn a small commission, but in no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.
