Vegan Halloween Candy: All Treats, No Tricks

Scary things abound on Halloween: Ghosts, flesh-eating zombies, witches reserving their most heinous black magic for Halloween night. But the scariest thing for vegans? Winding up with a trick-or-treat bag full of milk chocolate candy bars and gelatin-loaded gummies. If you have dietary restrictions, it can be tough to steer clear of Halloween treats that aren’t vegan friendly. Fortunately, not every candy is off the gourd-littered table. Here’s some of the best vegan Halloween candy to indulge in if you’re vegan—or to stock up on if you want to put out a more inclusive Halloween candy bowl this year.

Note: We are taste testers, not nutritionists. If you are a strict vegan, please always check a product’s ingredients for yourself!

Reese’s Miniatures Plant Based Oat Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of the most coveted Halloween candies. And maybe I’m just young and naive, but it would be nice if they were vegan friendly from the get-go. Alas, the milk chocolate coating gets in the way. But Hershey’s is making it up to vegans with these recently released plant-based peanut butter cups. The chocolate coating is made with oat milk instead of regular milk, so it’s vegan friendly—and safe for people who are lactose intolerant, too. This vegan Halloween candy is a big win for dairy-averse peanut butter boys.
YumEarth Halloween Organic Gummy Fruits: These gummies make a lot of our best Halloween candy lists—because if something tastes good and just happens to be gluten-free, allergen-free, and vegan, we have to keep coming back to it. Most chewy Halloween candies are made with gelatin; these YumEarth fruit snacks manage to have a super satisfying chew without any gelatin in the mix. The best vegan Halloween candy could be confused for non-vegan candy, and YumEarth proves that.
Smarties: Have you ever contemplated eating drywall? That’s what Smarties remind me of sometimes. But they’re a classic all the same—and one of the best vegan Halloween candy options that you will most certainly find in your trick-or-treat bag. As sure as the sun will rise on November 1, there will be Smarties!
Airheads: Airheads are one of my favorite things ever. I think the texture is perfect, even though some people would probably argue they’re so stiff they seem like they’ve been sitting around since last Halloween. And the White Mystery flavor? Don’t even get me started. If I were vegan and I found out that Airheads were vegan Halloween candy, I would be on cloud nine. I’m not vegan, and I’m still on cloud nine. No notes. Airheads are vegan. Be free—but also be aware that we’re only talking about the bars here; Airheads bites and gummies aren’t vegan.
Dum-Dums: Nothing harkens back to the old elementary school days quite like Dum-Dums do. There’s just something no nostalgic about being handed a lollipop on your way out of a classroom and sprinting to the playground to compare flavors and strike up some serious trade deals to get exactly the one you want. At least that’s what I remember—and I hope Dum Dums still bring the same joy to kids nowadays, especially those with allergies or dietary restrictions, considering Dum Dums are considered a vegan Halloween candy. The joy of learning about negotiation tactics at seven years old can continue for years to come.
Dots: Finding gummy Halloween candy that isn’t marketed as vegan but actually us vegan is an undeniable conundrum. Finding a name-brand sweet that already makes their product vegan? Now that’s worth talking about. These things may get stuck in your teeth until the end of time, but I think the original Dots lineup being vegan is pretty neat. If you come across a little box of Dots in your trick-or-treat bag, rest assured they’re vegan. Oh and go ahead and make your next dental appointment now.
Red Vines: Both Red Vines and Twizzlers are considered vegan, but we’re on the West Coast, baby, and that means Red Vines are king. This classic movie-theater snack is also some of the best vegan Halloween candy. Licorice may not be up everyone’s alley, but Red Vines are generally a crowd-pleaser.
SweeTARTS: They’re sweet, they’re tart, and they’re vegan. SweeTARTS do contain calcium stearate, an ingredient that’s a red flag for vegans, but the company says theirs is plant derived. And steer clear of any of the chewy varieties of SweeTARTS—we’re talking about the classic crunchy guys here. This is a pretty standard candy to give out on Halloween, and it’s a vegan Halloween candy everyone likes at least a little bit.