Every holiday that rolls around involving kid’s and candy sets off a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I used to LOVE building Easter baskets, stuffing stockings with treats, and buying heart shaped everything at Valentine’s, but now that we have a little one with a gluten allergy the past few years have been a little lacking on the festive holiday candy assortment. Just venturing near those aisles in the store during the holiday’s was enough to send me reeling. So, this year I decided to reclaim my love of the holidays one-by-one starting with Easter. No more fear of the holiday candy aisle for me, I am regaining control and starting a list here for myself and my B&B friends of safe gluten free candy you can use to build a spectacular Easter basket for your little ones.
Now, I know this list doesn’t cover every thing available on the market, but it does cover most of the items I could find at my Target and take pictures of for my research at home without looking like a weirdo. Every year I plan on adding to this list and by all means if there is a favorite of yours that is not on this list then add a comment to this post and I will verify that it is gluten free and will add it.
Just a reminder, always double check labels and be a detective when it comes to purchasing products like these! Manufacturing practices may change from year to year or facility to facility so it is always best to be cautious. When in doubt call or email the manufacturer, I find they are always happy to help.
Almond Joy:
Almond Joy Bars
Almond Joy Eggs
Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks:
Berry Patch
Grapes Galore
Pink Lemonade
Summer Strawberry
Sunny Citrus
Tropical Treat
Brach Candies by Ferrara Candy Company USA:
I contacted Ferrara because I could not find any information online regarding gluten in their Easter candy offerings. Here is their reply to me regarding gluten in their products:
Ferrara products contain only Corn Gluten. The following Ferrara products contain no wheat, rye, barley or oats.
Atomic Fireballs
All Gummies (Black Forest, Ferrara, Sathers, Trolli)
All Jellies (Gum Drops, Orange Slices, etc)
Bob’s Sweet Stripes Boston Baked Beans (contains peanuts)
Brach’s Wild ‘N Fruity Gummi Worms
Brach’s Candy Corn – All Varieties (they are processed in a facility that processes wheat)
Brach’s Cinnamon Disks/Imperials
Brach’s Jelly Bean Nougats (they are processed in a facility that processes wheat)
Brach’s Lemon Drops (Kosher)
Allergen Free Cherry Sours Fruit Snacks
Gumballs Jawbreakers
Jawbusters Jelly Beans
Juju’s
Jujy Fruits
Lemonheads
Tropical Chewy Lemonhead
Chewy Lemonhead & Friends Candy
Now & Later
Red Hot’s
Cadbury Candy from Hershey’s:
Look for the Cadbury products that are labeled “gluten-free” these products are considered gluten-free however they warn for potential cross contamination.
Cadbury Caramel Eggs (Regular & Mini)
Cadbury Chocolate Creme Egg (Milk Chocolate & Dark Chocolate)
Cadbury Creme Eggs (Regular & Mini)
Cadbury Orange Creme Eggs
Demet’s Turtles:
Original
Caramel
Sea Salt Caramel
Sugar Free
Dove:
Read their allergen statement here.
Dove Chocolate Eggs (milk chocolate, milk chocolate almond, peanut butter, & dark chocolate varieties)
Dove Dark Chocolate Bunny (solid) & Milk Chocolate Bunny (solid)
Dubble Bubble by Tootsie Roll Industries:
According to Tootsie Roll Industries all of their products are gluten free except for Andies Cookies. You can read their allergen information here.
Dubble Bubble Eggs (egg-shaped bubble gum)
Speckled Bubble Gum
Dubble Bubble Twist Gum
Hershey’s:
Hershey’s milk chocolate bunnies & crosses
Hershey’s Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Eggs
Hershey’s Kisses (original, caramel filled, and with almond)
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bunnies 6-Pack
Solid Milk Chocolate Princess Bunny
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans:
Here is what Jelly Belly Jelly Beans has to say about gluten in their products: Jelly Belly jelly beans offer a twofer: The jelly beans come in an amazing assortment of delicious flavors, and this candy is OU Kosher, gluten free and peanut free candy.
All Flavors
M & M’s owned by Mar’s:
Original
Peanut
Bunny Mix
Mounds Bars: All
Peeps:
All shapes & colors
milk chocolate covered
Reese’s owned by Hershey’s:
***AVOID the foil wrapped mini eggs and small Reester bunnies they contain gluten!!!!***
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup miniatures
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Reese’s Pieces
Reese’s Reester Bunny — large size only (the small Reester bunnies have gluten)
Reese’s White Peanut Butter Eggs
Snicker’s:
***AVOID Snicker’s Egg’s due to possible cross contamination!!!***
Snicker’s bars and mini’s
Starburst :
Regular & Fun Size Fruit Chews
Tootsie Products:
According to the Tootsie company: All Tootsie products are: Gluten-Free (All Tootsie products are gluten free except Andes cookies.) Peanut-Free, & Nut Product-Free.
Tootsie does not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt, or any of their components, either as ingredients or as part of the manufacturing process. Corn and soy products are used during the manufacturing process.
Candy Carnival Variety Pack
Charms Blow Pops
Charms Flat Pops: Easter Pops
Crows
Frooties
Junior Mints
Nik-L-Nip
Original Dots
Razzles (original, sour, & tropical)
Sugar Babies
Sugar Daddy
Tootsie Pops
Tootsie Rolls
Tropical Dots
York Peppermint Patties owned by Hershey’s
While I have only researched some companies whose Easter offerings are readily available to me there are a few sites that I have found to be very helpful in years past and who also have lists of unsafe candy as well as extensive gluten free candy lists.
Celiac Family
About.com
Celiac Disease Foundation
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Hadn’t had Jelly Bellies for years because they had gluten. Time for me to reread the label! Usually avoid sweets, but have missed their Butter Popcorn and Sizzling Cinnamon!
Yay Linda!!! I am so glad you can have them again. I linked to the companies allergen statement in the post, but here is what they say about their products and gluten: Jelly Belly jelly beans offer a twofer: The jelly beans come in an amazing assortment of delicious flavors, and this candy is OU Kosher, gluten free and peanut free candy.
Where do you get the information from that says the foil-wrapped Reese’s mini eggs contain gluten? I bought them the other day and read no gluten ingredients, so I ate a few. Then I felt curious, so I searched on the internet, and found that most sites say these specific Reese’s do in fact contain gluten, but I thought maybe that was because the lists hadn’t been updated in a couple years. On one article posted in 2010, it says these foil-wrapped minis contain gluten because they have wheat-flour in the ingredients, but wheat-flour wasn’t in the package I bought. I googled every single ingredient on the package to see if any contained gluten, and none did (the package didn’t have that “contains: wheat, eggs” etc. label). I’ve eaten the Reese’s (indulged, rather, with about 5 at a time) on 3 separate occasions and have had no noticeable negative reaction to them. Yesterday I actually called the Reese’s company and spoke to a representative; he told me to check the Hershey’s gluten-free list on the website, which it was not on. Then I told him I searched every single ingredient and saw no gluten in them. He then told me that they are basically always in the process of updating their gluten-free list because there are so many products, and that there wasn’t gluten in them if I didn’t see any ingredients containing gluten. Please respond as quickly as possible – this is a huge health concern for me and you’re the only website with an up-to-date list that specifically states that the foil-wrapped mini Reese’s eggs contain gluten.
Here were the ingredients listed on my specific package if that helps at all: milk chocolate (sugar; cocoa butter; chocolate; nonfat milk; milk fat; lactose; soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier); peanuts; sugar; dextrose; cocoa butter; contains 2% or less of: partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel and palm oil); salt; cornstarch; tbhq (preservative).
Thank you so much!
Mollie,
Thank you for reaching out! You totally did the right thing by contacting Hershey and let me just say that the representative you spoke with sounds like they were very helpful. I could not get a straight answer out of the rep I talked to and they actually just repeatedly referred me to the list, maybe because I was asking about SO many products at one time. Their list actually states “REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups – ALL Except Seasonal Shaped Items”. In my research I learned that often times companies use shared lines and sometimes even run off chocolate from the manufacturing process in the making of their small/mini seasonal shaped items like Reester bunnies. I actually researched all over online for these due to the fact that I couldn’t get a straight answer and my son wanted them SO bad! I believe that you and I came upon some of the same lists when searching and the small Reester bunnies never appeared on the gluten free list at all so for that reason I left them off and chose not to purchase those for our son. That being said, I agree with you that the ingredients do not have gluten listed on the wrapper so I do believe that it is a cross contamination issue. I will change the wording in my post to state that it is more than likely due to cross contamination. Please keep me posted, I hope that there are no issues for you and that you find the mini Reester bunnies to be safe:)