Looking for vegan Valentine's Day candy? These are some cute options that you can find at a regular grocery store.
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Finding vegan Valentine's Day candy can be tricky, but there are actually great options right at your regular grocery store.
Like our vegan Halloween Candy guide, this guide to vegan Valentine's Day 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 grocery store a week and a half before Valentine's Day.
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Like I mentioned above, this list of vegan Valentine's Day candies isn't all-inclusive. This is the selection I was able to find at a single trip to a regular grocery store (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 were vegan.
Smarties Valentine's
The Smarties I'm talking about here are the ones you find in the U.S. They're a wafer candy, not a chocolate candy. Smarties by Nestlé, which you can finding the E.U., are not vegan.
Like a lot of the vegan Valentine's Day candy on this list, Smarties Valentine's are meant for a kid's class hand-out. The wrappers have Valentine's Day messaging on them, and they would be perfect for taping to a little card.
Sour Patch Kids
Sour Patch Kids offers a few different Valentine's Day options, but I couldn't resist getting the heart-shaped box. Inside the box are two King Size packets of Sour Patch Kids!
Honestly, these sour gummies are one of my favorite candies, and I'd be thrilled to get this box on Valentine's Day! (Are you reading this, Dave?)
I also saw a larger bag of Valentine's Day branded Sour Patch Kids that would work for a class Valentine's giveaway.
Star Wars the Mandalorian Friendship Exchange
This is another very cute class Valentine option! The box contains 24 heart-shaped, vegan strawberry lollipops with Baby Yoda on them.
There are also Baby Yoda and Mandalorian Valentine's Day cards inside, so you can write a to and from on there to give them out.
These lollipops were lovely! Just a nice, strawberry flavor, no weirdness. A solid candy.
Skittles
How cute is this heart-shaped box of Skittles? It fits perfectly into the palm of your hand.
Inside are two fun-size packs of Skittles, which feels a little bit chintzy. But the box is cute, and once you remove the wrapper, there's no branding on it, so it's reusable.
JuJu Hearts
This bag of heart-shaped gummies is gelatin-free! They're not wrapped for class give outs, so these are more of a snacking candy. They'd be a cute addition to a gift basket, too!
Unfortunately, these are terrible. Like...just really bad. Bland, mushy, and gooey in the worst way.
Vegan Valentine's Day chocolate options
Unfortunately, my grocery store had zero vegan chocolate options, so you may have to head to specialty store or shop online for those.
Vegan chocolate certainly exists, though! Some of my favorites include:
- Endangered Species Chocolate - Not all of their chocolate is vegan, but their dark chocolates usually are. You can sometimes find these at a regular grocery or convenience store.
- Chocolove - Like Endangered Species, this isn't all vegan, but they have a lot of great options! Some regular grocery and convenience stores carry Chocolove.
- No Whey! - This all-vegan chocolate brand is a delight. They even have seasonal offerings, including a Valentines' Day chocolate box!
- Moo Free - Another all-vegan chocolate company, they have lots of fun options.
- Little Secrets - You can find Little Secrets at some regular grocery stores. Like Chocolove and Endangered Species, you do need to check the labels. But they have lots of vegan options that would be cute for Valentine's Day!
Of course, you can also make your own vegan chocolate to give away! Check out these amazing vegan chocolate recipes, perfect for Valentine's Day.
Non-vegan ingredients in candy
Of course, the offerings at your grocery store might be different, so it's important to know what to look for in ingredients lists.
These are common non-vegan ingredients in candy to look out for:
- beeswax
- butter, butterfat
- carmine
- castoreum
- confectioner's glaze
- eggs
- gelatin
- honey
- l. cysteine
- milk, milk powder
- whey
Do you have a go-to vegan Valentine's Day candy? I'd love to hear about your faves in the comments!
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