Halloween is a time for costumes, spooky vibes, and, of course, candy! But if you’re committed to a vegan lifestyle and conscious choice in vegan foods, searching the candy aisle for vegan Halloween candy can be a bit like walking through a haunted house—full of hidden animal ingredients.
But never fear! Our guide to vegan Halloween candy will introduce you to a delightful assortment of vegan alternatives that are just as delicious as traditional candies.
Pop in a scary movie and get your sweet tooth ready for some of these awesome vegan candy options! You can listen to us discuss our favorite vegan candies here or read on to get straight to the list.
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General Vegan Candy Guide
Fortunately, the vast majority of candy varieties are vegan, even if only by accident. Before we get into our 15 vegan Halloween candy treats, let’s discuss what to look for on an ingredients list. This way, if we don’t mention your favorite candy you can still check the label to know if it’s vegan-friendly.
The main animal-derived products to look out for on candy ingredients lists include:
- gelatin – gelatin is often found in gummy candies (such as gummy bears) or marshmallows and contains ligaments, animal bones, animal tendons, cartilage, and/or animal skin.
- carmine color – carmine color is made from crushed cochineal insects and is often found in red candies.
- confectioner’s glaze – made using “beetle juice” (bug excretions) to give candy a shiny coating.
- chocolate – while dark chocolate is usually vegan, milk and white chocolate contain dairy and whey, neither of which is vegan. Candies such as Tootsie Pops, traditional chocolate peanut butter cups, Kit Kats, and most chocolate candy bars will contain some animal byproducts unless the labels specifically says they don’t.
- honey – people following a vegan diet don’t consume honey as it’s derived from bees.
20 Store-Bought Vegan Candy Halloween Treats
Let’s stroll through the candy aisle and check out some vegan candy options. This list of sweet treats is obviously based on personal choice, so it’s not in any real order. Also, as I was creating the list I noticed that most are pretty much classic candies that have been around for a while. I grew up with most of these well before vegan candy brands was a thing.
Let’s get to those vegan treats!
A Few More Considerations
When it comes to most things, we try and look for simple ingredients and avoid things like high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and artificial colors. Some of these things are worse than others, but we just try not to keep a ton of these around the house period, outside of special events or holidays like Halloween.
Additionally, when handing out candy, we also like to be mindful of potential allergies from the little trick or treaters, so we try and keep the treats allergy-friendly (ex. no nuts).
We hope this list has given you some great ideas for your candy bowl. Happy Halloween! If you’re looking for more spooky Halloween treats, be sure to check out, 12 Fun Vegan Halloween Recipes To Try.
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