Thankfully, many popular candy is gluten-free, some people with celiac disease can still have a Halloween full of treats, not frights! Check out the list below for an overview of gluten-free candy, trick-or-treating ideas for parents of children with celiac disease, and Halloween-themed recipes.
General Safety Tips
Please remember that it is always safest to read the label before enjoying a candy, even if you have had it before! Ingredients and manufacturing facilities can change without notice, and sometimes the special versions of a gluten-free candy are unsafe, such as seasonal, minature and king sizes. For example, Reese’s peanut butter cups are labeled gluten-free, but the holiday/seasonal-shaped Reese’s are not.
If you’re unsure about a product, contact the manufacturer directly.
Gluten-Free Candy List
Hershey keeps an updated list on their website. Their gluten-free candies include:
Rolo Caramels in Milk Chocolate Candies (all except Rolo Minis)
Skor
York Peppermint Patties
Mars Wrigley does not label any of their products gluten-free and have, in the past, reported none of their chocolate candy offerings are gluten-free, but state that they will include any gluten-containing ingredients on their labels.
While riskier options, some on the gluten-free diet choose to enjoy the following Mars candies, which have no gluten-containing ingredients:
3 Musketeers
Dove Chocolate products (all flavors except milk chocolate cinnamon graham/cookies and cream, and some holiday varieties, such as milk chocolate truffles)
Lifesavers (gummies, hards, and mints)
M&Ms (except pretzel, crispy, and potentially seasonal items)
Milky Way Midnight Dark Chocolate (not any of the original flavors, which contain barley malt)
Skittles
Snickers Bars
Starburst
Schär offers gluten-free sweets, including candies like:
Hazelnut Truffles
Twin Bar
Nestle calls out a few of their candies as being gluten-free, these include but are not limited to:
Butterfinger Bars (except Crisp and some seasonal items)
Goobers
Raisinets
They also have candies with no gluten-containing ingredients, but not labeled gluten-free, including:
To learn more about gluten and candy, please watch the recording of our Facebook Live video, where Beyond Celiac staffers discuss gluten-free Halloween candy:
Halloween Ideas for Parents of a Gluten-Free Child:
Make a game of sorting the candy after the trick or treating.
Our Director of Scientific Affairs, Amy Ratner, did this with her daughter Amanda, who has celiac disease: Amanda would trick-or-treat with the other kids, accepting whatever was given to her. At the end of the night they would sort out the candy that contained gluten. For each gluten-containing candy, Amy gave Amanda one gluten-free candy. It helps to have different sizes, too—if Amanda got a King-sized Twix bar, she could exchange it for a King-sized Hershey’s chocolate bar.
Let your child use the gluten-containing candy as “currency.” They can exchange candy for little toys, a trip to the movies, or more TV time.
If they are old enough, talk to your child about the fact that they may not be able to eat all the candy, but they can still have a lot of fun.
Skip the trick-or-treating and have Halloween fun at home or with friends or family who understand and will help you keep your child safe.
Host a “Trunk or Treat” event at a local park or parking lot with friends and family that know which candies are safe!
Additional Resources for a Celiac-Safe (and fun!) Halloween:
