If you have vegetarian kids, are a vegetarian kid, will have plant-based trick-or-treaters, or are simply a vegetarian kid at heart … this one is for you! Traditional Halloween festivities can be difficult to navigate for vegans, vegetarians + plant-based folks alike. It doesn’t have to be scary! I can help. Keep these tips handy for an unforgettable night of Trick-or-Treating Vegetarian Style.
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
Trick-or-Treating Vegetarian Style
If you are anything like me, you have been planning out the evening of October 31st for the past few weeks or even months. I love every little piece of Halloween! The costumes, the food, the lights, the pumpkins, literally everything! I don’t like worrying about the sneaky animal products in my candy that can ruin my night! Even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, Halloween certainly will involve candy in your world one way or another. You might be surprised to hear that there are many many candies that are “accidentally” vegan! Just like everything else in the life of a vegetarian … trick-or-treating requires a little extra love + attention to ensure no animal products sneak into the making of a perfectly spooky night of fun!
Beyond the Bucket
There ARE other ways to celebrate Halloween vegetarian style that does not include candy! Here are a few ideas:
- Make a Halloween-themed meal (try this: Halloween Tortilla Cutouts)
- Halloween-inspired crafts are so fun! Pumpkins, ghosts, witches + more!
- Did someone say jack-o-lantern? YES! Carving pumpkins is the ultimate non-candy Halloween activity.
- Costumes! Costumes! Costumes! Make them great + it will certainly be special – with or without the candy.
- Light up your porch + pass out fun treats. Reverse trick-or-treating vegetarian style.
- Watch a fall-inspired movie. Spooky or not is up to you! Pop some popcorn + bust out your favorite pumpkin bowl.
The Swap Bucket
Create a bucket ahead of time filled with candies from my list at the bottom of this post. Set the expectation BEFORE going out on Halloween that your vegetarian little ones can go trick-or-treat + collect as much candy as they want. When they get home, their bucket gets swapped with the vegetarian-friendly bucket. There are so many choices on the list I created … there is certainly something for everyone!
My Porch Will Have a Teal Pumpkin
I am allergic to food dye! There are very few candies I can actually eat. I am not alone. One in thirteen children suffer with a food allergy! You will likely encounter a child on Halloween with an allergy.
FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) started a worldwide movement to create a safer Halloween for all kids. They created the Teal Pumpkin Project. Displaying a teal pumpkin on your porch lets trick-or-treaters know that you offer allergy-safe goodies for trick-or-treaters. You can read more about the project here. MVF’s Teal Pumpkin is painted + ready to go! Vegetarianism is not necessarily an allergy, but it is nice to see that teal pumpkin on a porch and know that your kiddo can have a non-food item as an option to avoid any animal products making their way into their bucket!
Trick-or-Treating Vegetarian Style: Sneaky Animal Products in Candy
Chocolate:
- If you are vegetarian, you get a green light for all things chocolate. However, if you avoid dairy or are vegan or whole food plant-based, milk chocolate is off the list for you. This article from Veg News is a complete guide to Vegan Chocolate and worth checking out because there are so many chocolates in the stores now it can get confusing!
Gelatin:
- Vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based? I’m talking to all of you! Gelatin is made from animal tendons, ligaments, and bones. This is an animal product. If you avoid eating animals you might want to consider checking your labels for gelatin. Commonly found in gummy candies, gelatin sneaks into LOTS of products especially at Halloween!
- Gelatin sneaks into:
- Candy corn
- Starburst
- Nerds
- Altoids
- Some commercial cheesecakes
- Frosted Mini Wheats
- Jell-O
- Marshmallows
- If it is a gummy candy, check the label! Likely it has gelatin! See my list below for the exceptions.
Confectioner’s Glaze aka Shellac:
- This glossy product is created using the excretions of certain insects and technically considered a non-vegetarian food item. Nearly 100,000 bugs die to produce about 1 pound of shellac flakes. It’s insects not animals BUT that is just gross.
- Shellac or confectioner’s glaze sneaks into:
- Junior Mints
- Milk Duds
- Whoppers
- Raisinets
- Goobers
- Sugar Babies
Lard aka pig fat:
- The name speaks for itself. Commonly used to cook with as a replacement for butter or shortening, or recipes requiring fat for consistency or taste.
- Lard sneaks into:
- Refried beans
- Tortillas
- Twinkies
- Jiffy Cornbread Mix
The controversial Red 40:
- Red 40 is now vegan as it no longer contains carmine (a pigment made by crushing the shell of a female cochineal insect). Until very recently, red candies were on the list of non-vegetarian food items.
- All food dyes are still questionable. Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Blue 1 do not technically contain animal products. However, they are often tested on animals. Therefore, if you are vegan for animal ethics, then you should avoid food dyes.
- Again, enjoying these types of foods in small amounts at special times is perfectly normal + necessary for balance!
White Sugar:
- Sugar is a grey area for plant-based eaters. Some mass-produced sugar is processed with bone char. What does this mean? Crushed cattle bones are used to filter the sugar and give it that bright white color. Typically, organic cane sugars are not put through this process but contact the company to be sure if this is an issue for you. Another option is to stick to turbinado sugar which does not go through this refinement process at all.
Trick-or-Treating Vegetarian Style: Candy Safe for Vegetarians
I complied this list after my own exhaustive + extensive research into candy safe for vegetarians. Keep in mind, there are so many new + ever-changing products! I am publishing this year’s list as of 10/25/2022. Be sure to read your labels + contact the company directly for specifics on ingredients + manufacturing. For now, this is the list we here in the MVF house will be using for our 2022 Halloween festivities.
These candies are safe for vegetarians:
- Airheads
- Jolly Ranchers
- Smarties
- Skittles (technically vegan but limited exposure might be best with the recent information regarding the continued use of titanium dioxide in skittles)
- Dots
- Swedish Fish
- Fun Dip
- Surf Sweets
- Pixy Stix
- Twizzlers
- Sour Patch Kids
- Red Vines
- Dots
- Zotz
- JuJuBes
- JujyFruits
- Yummy Earth Organics
- Justin’s
- Enjoy Life Foods
- Dum-Dums
- Sjaaks
- Charms Blow Pops
- Saf-T-Pops
- Atomic Fireball
- Super Bubble
- Fruit By the Foot
- Brach’s Orange Slices + Root Beer Barrels
- Big League Chew Bubble Gum
- Pez
- Cry Babies
- Nelly’s Organics
- Cocomel Bites
- Newman’s Own
- Alter Eco
- Hu Chocolates
- No Whey! Foods
- Unreal
- Amy’s Kitchen
- Annie’s Organic Gummies/Fruit Snacks (check labels on the different styles)
- Now and Later
- Trader Joe’s carries multiple vegan gummies (check the labels as some contain milk powder and/or gelatin)
A Few Other Holiday Posts You Might Enjoy
The Vegetarian’s Guide To A Healthy Halloween
Halloween Survival Guide for Vegetarians
Dear Pumpkin Spice Season (A Letter From A Food Blogger)
Tips For A Merry Healthy Holiday
How To Stay Healthy During The Holidays
Food For Thought
My advice with any holiday is pause + enjoy 🧡 Take it from me, your little vegetarian trick-or-treaters will be grown up in a flash! Obsessing over the ingredient list on every tiny piece of candy can easily take the joy out of the evening. Hopefully this list gives you the ease of quickly recognizing the candies that are free of animal products. You can offer them to your trick-or-treaters or eat them yourself! If you feel like you need to do something healthy, cut your veggies in the shape of a pumpkin, eat pumpkin seeds, make some pumpkin oatmeal. There are plenty of things you can do to keep the day “healthy” but don’t lose sight of the fun! Enjoy good food in the company of good people on October 31st + every day!
All the best,
Tara 🎃🍭🧡
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