Finding vegan Halloween candy can feel tricky, but there are actually great vegan candy options right at your regular grocery store, even last minute!
Table of Contents
This guide to vegan Halloween candy is meant to be last-minute. I'm not including items that you'll have to order online. These are all vegan candy options that I found in a single trip to a regular store a few weeks before Halloween.
Because that's how we roll around here.
We are a candy household, so our candy obsession doesn't stop at Halloween! Also check out my guides to vegan Valentine's Day candy and vegan gummy candy.
💖 Reader feedback
My go-to each year is the PETA Halloween Candy Guide, but love that this one included lots of options not covered by PETA. Thank you!
- Dwayne
🎃 2025 Vegan Halloween Candy Guide
This year's list is from Kroger. All of the candy options seem to be smaller bags that cost more this year, unfortunately, but that wasn't limited to the vegan candies. Halloween is going to be pricey, no matter what candy you pick up, I'm pretty sure. 💸😭
This list of vegan Halloween candies isn't all-inclusive. This is the selection I was able to find at a single trip to the grocery store in my Atlanta neighborhood (not a Whole Foods, Sprouts, or other specialty store).
Of course, what you find may vary. This list is meant to give you an idea of what to brands look out for when you're shopping.
One other addendum: companies sometimes change their recipes without warning. As of this writing, these candies are all vegan.
🤓 Big Chewy Nerds
Big Chewy Nerds are a family favorite vegan candy. They are different from Nerds Clusters, which are not vegan. Big Chewy Nerds are vegan, and they are a lot of fun!
👻 Dots
You can find bags of fun size boxes of Dots, which are vegan, and they're doing the Ghost Dots again this year. The Ghost Dots have all of the same flavors, but they don't color them, so it's a mystery! Boo!
💍 Ring Pops
Ring Pops are such a fun, classic candy, and they're back this year with the tongue painters, which do what they say they'll do. Kids love turning their tongues purple, y'all.
🌈 Skittles
Skittles is offering bags fun size regular Skittles, Sour Skittles, or Skittles Shriekers. The Shriekers include surprise super sour Skittles, which I think the kids will really love!
🍬 Smarties
Smarties are divisive, but they're one of the OG vegan Halloween candies. They're also one of the few mainstream grocery store candies that are vegan on purpose, not accidentally!
🎏 Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish
There are quite a few variety packs of fun size Sour Patch Kids available! You can also get a variety pack that has Sour Patch Kids, Watermelon Sour Patch Kids, and Swedish Fish.
❓ Sour Punch Twists
Sour Punch Twists has some fun Halloween flavors: Midnight Mystery, Monster Melon, and Prickly Pear. This bag has 160 individually-wrapped pieces. If you're looking for a bargain, this seemed like the best deal at the store I visited.
🧙♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
The article gets into this in much greater detail, but here are some solid options to try: Dots, Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers, Twizzlers Pull n Peels, Ring Pops, Unreal or Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Smarties, Blow Pops (NOT Tootsie Pops) .
M&Ms contain dairy and confectioner's glaze, so they are not vegan.
Starburst in the U.S. is not vegan, but in the UK it is.
Most gummy bears contain gelatin, so they are not vegan or vegetarian. Check out our roundup of vegan gummy candy for alternatives!
Yes! Plain Oreos and many of the variations are vegan, including the minis.
Smarties in the U.S. are vegan, but in the E.U., they are not.
🦇 Non-Vegan Halloween Candy Ingredients
There are a lot of vegan candy options out there, but finding them can involve a lot of squinting at ingredients lists.
I did the squinting, so you won't have to, but just in case you want to explore further options, these are common non-vegan ingredients to look out for:
- beeswax
- butter, butterfat
- carmine
- castoreum
- confectioner's glaze
- eggs
- gelatin
- honey
- l. cysteine
- milk, milk powder
- whey
🎙️ Vegan Halloween Candy Podcast Episode
In which Dave describes the entire Saw series to me while we eat a sickening amount of candy!
Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon
🎧 Where to Listen
Thank you so much for listening (or reading!). We record these episodes for you, and we'd love to hear from you. Got a favorite vegan treat that you think we should cover on the podcast? Send your suggestions to [email protected]!
You can find Talkin' Tofu on:
Dwayne Lutchna
My go-to each year is the PETA Halloween Candy Guide, but love that this one included lots of options not covered by PETA. Thank you!
Becky Striepe
You are very welcome!
Erica
Very helpful guide! Thank you!
Becky Striepe
Glad that we could help!
TofuForBrains
Hi! This is a fun list, but unfortunately it looks like Nerds aren't vegan (at least, not all varieties). They definitely still use carmine :-( Every year, the hunt for vegan Halloween candy is a favorite pastime! Happy Spooky Season!
Becky Striepe
Yeah, the red nerds, like strawberry, aren't vegan, unfortunately. The pink Guava ones didn't use carmine when I published this. I hope they don't change the formula, because they're delicious! Happy spooky season to you, too!