Everybody craves a treat occasionally, and candy is an easy and delicious way to satisfy your sweet tooth. But if you or a family member have celiac disease or a sensitivity to wheat and gluten, it is very important to know which candies are safe for you to enjoy. Obviously, candies that contain crackers, cookies, cookie dough, wafers, or crisped rice must be avoided.
Fortunately, these days there are many different types of candy that are completely gluten-free, including some of your old favorites. The candies listed in this article do not have any protein from wheat, barley, rye, or other grains that are known to contain gluten. However, you should still always read the label of every type of candy before you eat or serve it. Many companies regularly change their ingredient list, and you should confirm that the ingredients are gluten-free before you buy.
Gluten-Free Candy List
Chocolate
Many types of chocolate bars and candy are gluten-free.
HERSHEY’S offers a wide range of choices, including:
- Almond Joy Candy (except Almond Joy Pieces)
- Mounds Bars
- Payday Candy
- Reese’s Fast Break Candy Bar
- Reese’s Nutrageous Candy Bar
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (except seasonal varieties and unwrapped minis)
- Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Snack Bars
- Heath Bars
- HERSHEY’S Baking Chips
- HERSHEY’S Kisses, in Milk Chocolate, Mildly Sweet Chocolate, and Mint Dark Chocolate Truffles Candy
- HERSHEY’S Nuggets, in Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, and Special Dark with Almonds
- HERSHEY’S Milk Duds
- ROLO Caramels, Milk Chocolate
- Skor Toffee Bars
- York Peppermint Patties (not including York Pieces Candy, York Minis, or York Shapes)
Other types of chocolate bars that are gluten-free are listed here:
- M&Ms, except for a couple variations
- 3 Musketeer Bars
- Butterfingers (only the original flavor is gluten-free)
- Milky Way Midnight Bar
- Milky Way Caramel Bar
- Dove Chocolate bars, except ones with graham crackers, cookies and cream or cinnamon
- Snickers
- Baby Ruth
- Oh Henry!
- Cella’s Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Cella’s Milk Chocolate Coverd Cherries
- Charleston Chew
- Junior Mints
- Sno-Caps
- Goobers
- Raisinets
- Justin Nut Butters Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, as well as the milk chocolate, white chocolate, mini dark chocolate and mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups.
- Melster Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow
- Melster Compound-Coated Marchmallow
- Melster Chocolate-Covered Creme Drops
Hard Candies
Hard Candies are a great choice to put in a purse or backpack for when you need a quick pick-me-up. Here are some gluten-free hard candies and lollipops that are easy to keep on hand.
- Dum Dum Lollipops
- Jolly Ranchers
- Lemonheads
- Life Savers
- Creme Savers
- Nips
- Tootsie Pops
- Caramel Apple Pops
- Fruit Smoothie Pops
- Tropical Storm Pops
- Charms Blow Pops
- Charms Squares
- Charms Sour Balls
- Charms Candy Carnival
- Sugar Daddy Pops
- Necco Wafers
- Necco Chocolate Wafers
- Sweethearts and Conversation Hearts (only available in February for Valentine’s Day)
- Brach’s Candy Canes
- Brach’s Cinnamon Disks/Imperials
- Jawbreakers and Jawbusters
- Warheads Extreme Sour Hard Candy and Candy Minis
- Warheads Super Sour Double Drops
- Atomic Fireballs
- Tic Tac Mints – all flavors are gluten-free
- Saf-T-Pops
- Pez Candy (and nothing is more fun than a Pez dispenser!)
Chewy Candies
Most kids love chewy candies (even if their dentist doesn’t!) Here are some delicious gluten-free options:
- Starburst
- Airheads
- Skittles
- Laffy Taffy
- Laffy Taffy Rope
- Hot Tamales
- Tootsie Rolls
- Now & Laters
- Jelly Belly jelly beans (all flavors)
- Bit-O-Honey
- Fruit Rolls
- Crows
- Dots
- Red Hots
- Tropical Dots
- Sugar Babies
- Necoo Banana Split Candy Chews
- Brach’s Candy Corn
- Brach’s Wild ‘N Fruity Gummi Worms
- Brach’s Jelly Bean Nougats
- Cherry Sours
- Chewy Lemonhead & Friends
- Berry Chewy Lemonhead
- Tropical Chewy Lemonhead & Friends
- Warheads Sour Chewy Cubes
- Melster Salt Water Taffy
- Melster Circus Peanuts
- Melster Sanded Marshmallow
- Melster Coconut Toasties
- Mike and Ike Original Fruits
- Mike and Ike Redrageous
- Mike and Ike Berry Blast
- Mike and Ike Italian ice
- Mike and Ike Lemonade Blends
- Mike and Ike Tangy Twister
- Mike and Ike Jelly Beans
- Mike and Ike Tropical Typhoon
- Zours
- Goldernberg’s Vintage Peanut Chews
- Sweet’s Salt Water Taffy
Crazy Candies
Crazy Candies – when you want something really different!
- Wonka Fun Dip
- Lollipop Paint Shop
- Warheads Super Sour Spray Candy
- Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy
Gum
Gluten-Free Gum is another good treat to have around when you are battling a sweet tooth. Here are some gluten-free gum choices.
- Trident, including all regular flavors, Layers, Vitality, Xtra Care, White and Splash
- Wrigley’s gluten-free gum products include 5-Gum, Big Red, Doublemint, Eclipse, Extra, Freedent, Juicy Fruit, Orbit, Spearmint, and Winterfresh.
- Bazooka Bubble Gum
- Bubbilicious Gum
- Bubble Yum Gum
- Chiclets – both regular and tiny size
- Fruit Stripe Gum
Now, just in case this article did not provide you with enough candy options, you can always try making your own gluten-free candy at home. For instance, it’s extremely easy to make sugar-coated nuts. Measure 1/4 cup of white sugar into a heavy pan and heat the sugar slowly until it turns into a syrup. Then toss in a few handfuls of nuts, like pecans, walnuts, or almonds. Try a variety of your favorite nuts. Stir in the pan until the nuts are coated then turn them out onto waxed paper or aluminum foil. Once cool, you can break apart the nuts. These treats will keep for up to 2 weeks in a covered tin or plastic container. Sugared nuts a great chopped up over ice cream. You can experiment with different flavors by adding cinnamon, cardamom, or paprika for a spicy sweet taste.
Another tasty treat is candied popcorn. A super easy way to make this is by melting three or four packages of Rolo Caramel candy. Melt the candy slowly over low heat. In about ten minutes when the candies are completely melted, just add three to four cups of freshly popped popcorn. Butter your hands up well, and when the mixture is cool to the touch, grab a handful of coated popcorn and mold into a ball. Wrap these popcorn balls up individually in plastic wrap to store. That is, if there are any left! This is an especially fun candy snack to make with your children or grandchildren when it is cold outside. Serve a popcorn ball with a cup of steaming hot cocoa as a fun winter treat. You can also add gluten-free candies from the list above to these popcorn balls. Try adding in Red Hots or chopped up Mike and Ike candies, or Sugar Babies. Use your imagination to make up your own unique gluten-free candy popcorn balls. Finally, if you are really ambitious, check online for recipes to make your own gluten-free taffy or caramel.
Summary
There is no reason to feel deprived if you or anyone in your family has celiac disease or is avoiding wheat and gluten-based foods for their health. Next time you go shopping, make sure to take this list with you and bring home some delicious candy to share with all of your favorite people!
References
- https://www.thehersheycompany.com/our-ingredients/nutrition-information/special-dietary-needs/gluten-Free-products.aspx
- http://glutenaway.blogspot.com/2012/10/gluten-free-candy-list.html
- http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreefoodshopping/a/GFcandies.htm
- http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/GlutenFreeSnacks/a/Gluten-Free-Gum.htm