Holidays can be a real drag if you have dietary restrictions, and with Halloween [1] being all about the candy, it can be downright scary. But there's good news for those avoiding gluten: although you'll have to steer clear of homemade mummy-shaped cakes and brownies decorated adorably with spiderwebs, most candy bars and hard candies get the green light — just stay away from Twizzlers, because they surprisingly do contain gluten! Now, we're not saying to go crazy with the candies, but when a majority of "fun size" bars are only 100 calories [2], a little indulging might be necessary.
First things first. Always read the label on your candy before consuming. Unless labeled "gluten-free," candy may contain traces of gluten, be produced in a facility that also processes products with wheat, or be made on equipment that is shared with products that are not gluten-free. Also note that a product labeled as gluten-free in one country may not be gluten-free where you live.
Companies are constantly changing the ingredients they put in products, so always double check just to be sure. When in doubt, you can call the 1-800 number located on the packaging to speak with a customer service representative to find out for sure if it's free of gluten.
Here's a list of popular candy that is currently gluten-free [3]:
Chocolate
- Almond Joy [4]
- Baby Ruth [5]
- Blow Pops [6]
- Butterfinger [7] (fun size only)
- Charleston Chew [8]
- Dots [9]
- Goobers [10]
- Heath Bar [11]
- Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar [12] (1.55 oz. only)
- Hershey's Milk Chocolate With Almonds Bar [13] (1.55 oz. only)
- Hershey's Kisses [14]
- Hershey's Nuggets [15]
- Oh Henry! [16]
- Junior Mints [17]
- Milk Duds [18]
- Mounds Bar [19]
- Payday [20]
- Raisinets [21]
- Reese's Fast Break Bar [22]
- Reese's Nutrageous [23]
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cup [24] (all except seasonal shaped items)
- Reese's Pieces [25]
- Rolos [26] (all except Rolo Minis)
- Skor Toffee Bar [27]
- Tootsie Roll [28]
- York Peppermint Pattie [29] (all except York Pieces Candy, York Minis, and York Shapes)
Candy
- Charms Blow Pops [31]
- Dots [32]
- Haribo Gold-Bears [33] (not Juicy variety)
- Hot Tamales [34]
- Jelly Belly Jelly Beans [35]
- Laffy Taffy [36]
- Mike and Ike Original Fruits [37]
- Pixy Stix [38]
- Smarties [39]
- Sugar Babies [40]
- Sugar Daddy [41]
- Surf Sweets Gummies, Sour Candies, Fruit RIngs, and Jelly Beans [42]
- SweeTarts [43]
- Tootsie Pops [44]
- Wonka Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip [45]
If you're wondering about M&M's, Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Starburst, Skittles, Lifesavers, and Milky Way, the company that makes these products, Mars Wrigley [46], urges consumers to read the labels directly on the package for allergy information.
