The Vegetarian’s Guide to Halloween Candy

It’s that time of year again. How lucky am I that I write an article every week on a Tuesday + this year Halloween is on a Tuesday? Two of my favorite things on the same day. 🧡 For this special occasion (yes, I am indeed calling this coincidence a special occasion 🙂), I wrote you a list of the candies that you can enjoy as a vegetarian that do not contain animal products. All treats no tricks with my 2023 edition of The Vegetarian’s Guide to Halloween Candy!

Tara’s Tuesday Tips:

The Vegetarian’s Guide to Halloween Candy

Halloween for vegetarians can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be!!! I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of sneaky animal products in my food. 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! Follow my tips for a spook-tacular vegetarian Halloween 👻🎃

Chocolate:

Chocolate contains dairy + sugar. If you are vegan or avoid dairy, look for chocolate bars that are specifically labeled dairy free or vegan. Dark chocolate is usually vegan but white or milk chocolate are not. The higher the percentage of cacao the more “pure” the bar is considered. Sometimes dairy in a chocolate bar can be labeled as whey, milk fat, milk solids, or casein.
You might be happy to hear that Oreo’s and Hershey’s syrup are one of those delightfully accidentally vegan products and don’t contain milk chocolate.
Here are Some Vegan Chocolates I Enjoy (and can easily find locally here in Orlando, FL, USA):
- Moo Free
- Taza
- Trader Joe’s (read the labels, some contain milk)
- Dr. Bronner’s
- Lily’s Sweets
- LuLu
- Theo
- Alter Eco
- Hu Kitchen
- Endangered Species
- Enjoy Life Foods
- Beyond Good
- Chocolove
- Reese’s Plant-Based

Gelatin:

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 + marshmallows.
These products CONTAIN GELATIN:
- Candy corn
- Starburst
- Nerds
- Altoids
- Some commercial cheesecakes
- Frosted Mini Wheats
- Jell-O
- Marshmallows
- Rice Krispie Treats
- If it is a gummy candy, check the label! Likely it has gelatin! See my list below for the exceptions.
Dandie’s + Trader Joe’s marshmallows do not contain gelatin

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, you decide.
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.
Food dyes are still sometimes tested on animals. Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Blue 1 do not technically contain animal products. Therefore, if you are vegan for animal ethics, then you should avoid food dyes.

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.

The Vegetarian’s Guide to Halloween Candy:

Tara’s 2023 Vegetarian Candy List

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 10/31/2023. 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 2023 Halloween festivities.

These candies are safe for vegetarians:

Airheads
Alter Eco
Annie’s Organic Gummies/Fruit Snacks (check labels on the different styles)
Atomic Fireball
Big League Chew Bubble Gum
Brach’s Orange Slices + Root Beer Barrels
Charms Blow Pops
Cocomel Bites
Cry Babies
Dots
Dum-Dums
Enjoy Life Foods
Fruit By the Foot
Fruit Roll-Ups
Fun Dip
Hu Chocolates
Jolly Rancher
JuJuBes
JujyFruits
Justin’s
Laffy Taffy
Nelly’s Organics
Newman’s Own
Now and Later
Pez
Pixy Stix
Red Vines
Reese’s Plant-Based
Ring Pops
Saf-T-Pops
Sjaaks
Skittles
Smart Sweets
Smarties
Sour Patch Kids
Sugarfina
Super Bubble
Surf Sweets
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Trader Joe’s carries multiple vegan gummies (check the labels as some contain milk powder and/or gelatin)
Twizzlers
Unreal
Vego Bears
Yum Earth
Zotz

Food For Thought

My hope for you is that you enjoy your Halloween without diet culture lurking around every corner + taking all the fun out of it for you! Remember to always choose your health first. Eat your regular meals today, don’t go out hungry, bring a bottle of water with you if you go out trick-or-treating + savor the special moments. Sometimes, worrying about eating the candy or not eating the candy is worse for your mental health than any candy can be on your physical health. Don’t forget to put your teal pumpkin on your porch with a special bucket filled with allergy-friendly treats. Most importantly, enjoy spooky-good food in the company of spooky-good people. 🧡

All the best,

Tara 🎃🍭🧡