Top 5 Vegan Halloween Candies

Halloween is coming up, and I make sure to look out for dairy, egg, gelatin, in the candy I consume. These are my top 5 Halloween Candies:

Halloween candy is usually not zero waste, and that’s not your fault. These companies should be using compostable packaging by this point. I am not saying that you should be making these purchases on the regular, but these are just my own recommendations for vegans at Halloween.

(Note: the sugar used in these candies may have been processed using bone char. Some vegans choose to avoid conventional sugar for this reason.)

AIRHEADS ARE VEGAN!

I have always loved airheads.  Who doesn’t love airheads? Adults and children have been enjoying these intense fruity flavors since 1986. Airheads claims to be a “taffy unlike any other,” which I would agree with since I have had my fair share of salt water taffy living in New England. Airheads come in a variety of sizes including regular, mini and big bars and now come in bite size pieces. I always remember enjoying mixing and matching flavors at the local video rental shop (yes, I’m 30).  Airheads are not a healthy option (none of these are), but they are a vegan option that you can be satisfied with this upcoming Halloween. What was your favorite flavors? I love Cherry, Blue Raspberry and Watermelon the best. I think these are my favorites, because I love to play with my food 😊

SOUR PATCH KIDS ARE VEGAN

Thank heavens there is no gelatin in these sour then sweet delicious treats. I have always been a fan of sour candy, and Sour Patch Kids give me exactly what I desire. A sour candy with lots of sugar and then a sweet chewy treat. I had a friend who would suck on her candies until they dissolved – while I admire that patience, I am definitely someone who chews these children up and is picking them out of my teeth for the next hour. I think these are worse for your teeth than the Airheads, but I’m not a professional to give that kind of opinion. The RED Sour Patch kids are my favorite. I suppose the Watermelons are fine, but I really prefer the originals. You can even customize your own pack by mixing and matching online.

SMARTIES

Smarties boasts that they are gluten free, peanut free, dairy free and WORRY FREE.  Smarties is proud to proclaim that they are vegan:

“All Smarties® candy made by Smarties Candy Company is vegan! There is no need to worry about your dietary and ethical choices coming in conflict with satisfying a sweet tooth. Smarties® candy is the perfect solution.”

“There are many reasons people choose a vegan or vegetarian diet including for their health, for the environment and for the animals. We are well aware of the importance of these issues, and we are delighted to offer a compassionate candy to satisfy the vegan sweet tooth!”

I grew up eating Smarties, and I remember my friends and I would pretend it was our “medicine.” Those were the tastiest pills I have ever chewed. I love the crunchy texture and the flavors were so wonderful. I remember the white ones being my favorite followed with pink and purple.

SWEDISH FISH

I must preface this by saying TRADER JOE’S SCANDINAVIAN SWIMMERS ARE THE WAY TO GO but if you are basic —no offense– then you are probably still eating Swedish Fish. That’s FINE. I have enjoyed many Swedish Fish in my day, and I am so grateful that these delicious red gummies are vegan. Thank you for not using gelatin:

“Swedish Fish do not contain gelatin, the gelling agent derived from the collagen obtained from various animal body parts found in most gummy candies. So, unlike most gummies, this candy is vegan and 100 percent animal cruelty-free.”

I know they have the varieties and generic versions, but I will always say that Scandinavian Swimmers along with the original Swedish Fish are my choice. I definitely love the special Halloween packs though.

TWIZZLERS ARE VEGAN

Twizzlers have always been one of my favorite treats to get in my pillow case when I go trick-or-treating. They have been one of my favorite candies throughout my whole life – those pull and peel cherry Twizzlers got me through some hard times, and the filled ones are such a divine treat. I know that the Halloween time mini versions are not zero-waste, but they are definitely the tastiest of them all. I don’t know how they’re changing up the recipe specifically for Halloween portions, but I’m here for it. Twizzlers has so many different varieties, but since we are talking about Halloween I’ll say that their Halloween portions are my favorite – followed by those Twizzler Bites that I used to devour in my early 20’s.

There you have it. Nikky’s choices for TOP FIVE VEGAN HALLOWEEN CANDIES.Plenty of the candy you already love is vegan. You are not *missing out* on anything by avoiding animal products. Here’s a list for you to explore more.