Best Vegan Candies - (December 2023)

The Best Vegan Candies (December 2023)

Article Written By: Kay Watkins

If you love vegan sweets, I’ve got the perfect article for you.

You know what makes a good and healthy vegan snack? Vegan candies! If there's one thing that every vegan will agree on it is that candy can be eaten without guilt. Rather than filling your diet with junk food loaded in sugar, fat or other unhealthy ingredients like soy milk powder from processed foods (popularized in recent years), why not try some of these best-in-class homemade treats?

We've rounded up our favourite vegan candies in this helpful guide.

The Best Vegan Candies Buyers Guide (December 2023)

Vegan Online Shop - Square Logo

We're hard at work finding suitable recommendations for this buyers guide. Check back soon!

Best Vegan Candies Image

More Information Regarding Vegan Candies (2023)

What is a vegan?

A vegan is somebody who does not eat or use any animal products. This includes meat, dairy, eggs and even honey. Vegans extend their beliefs to other areas of life, such as clothing and furniture. In fact, they try to avoid anything that was made by an animal.

Some people choose to become vegan for health reasons while others do it for ethical reasons - the belief that animals should not be harmed or used for our benefit. Veganism is a lifestyle that seeks to exclude all forms of exploitation towards animals. As much as possible, vegans try to live their lives in a way that doesn't hurt animals.

There are many benefits of living a vegan lifestyle - from improved health to reducing your carbon footprint. Many well-known athletes and celebrities are vegan, including Venus Williams, Lewis Hamilton and Ellen Degeneres.

What Is Veganism?

Veganism is a type of vegetarianism that excludes all animal-derived foods. This includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey. In addition to food, veganism extends to other areas such as clothing, cosmetics, and household items.

People choose to become vegan for many reasons including health concerns, environmental impact or ethical considerations about the treatment of animals. Animal products are not needed for good health so vegans can enjoy a wide variety of plant-based foods.

What Makes Candy Not Vegan?

Non-Vegan Ingredients To Watch Out For

There are a few non-vegan ingredients that you may find in candy. These ingredients include:

Gelatin can be found in many vegan foods. It is made from the collagen inside animal bones, skin, and connective tissues.

Shellac is a shiny ingredient that helps candy look appealing to consumers. It comes from the lac bug, which is boiled down and used as a coating or glaze on food items.

Carmine is a red pigment made from some scale insects, which are not vegan friendly. The dye is often used in food products, cosmetics, and clothing.

The ingredient "bone char" refers to the bones of cattle. It is used to whiten sugar by removing the molasses and other impurities. Bone char also has a small amount of carbon filtering properties.

Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems our top vegan candy selection because they use quality ingredients certified by Vegan Action . All of their candies are free from gelatin, shellac, carmine, and bone char

Common Non Vegan Ingredients In Candy

There are a few animal-based ingredients that you can’t identify in the ingredient list, and they are most likely not vegan. Gelatin is a common non-vegan ingredient in gummy-like candies. It is made from animal collagen, so it is not vegan either. Additionally, some candies may have milk in them, which makes them also not vegan.

A Quick Look At The Best Vegan Candy Options

There are a lot of vegan candy options out there, and it can be tough to know which ones are the best. That's why we put together this quick buyers guide to the 10 best vegan candies.

We'll start with our top pick, Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. These cups are made with fair trade chocolate and natural ingredients, making them a great choice for those looking for a healthy vegan candy option.

If you're looking for something a little sweeter, try the Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Spinner Game. This game comes with a variety of different flavors, all of which taste either delicious or terrible - depending on your luck!

Finally, we have the classic Swedish Fish candy. These fish-shaped gummies are perfect for on-the-go snacking and come in both vegan and non-vegan varieties.

No matter what your taste in candy may be, we're sure you'll find something to love on this list!

Vegan Chocolate

Common Non Vegan Ingredients In Chocolate

There are a few ingredients that are commonly found in chocolate products, but are not vegan. Milk fat and nonmilk are two of these. If a chocolate product says "milk" on it, it is not vegan - the most common non-vegan ingredient in gummy candy is gelatin, which comes from animal bones and hides. Some milk ingredients are whey or casein - they are both proteins found in the milk of animals and not vegan.

Common Vegan Candy Questions

Are Nerds Vegan?

Nerds are not vegan, but most of the ingredients are. Nerds contain carmine which is used for coloring and is made from boiling and grinding up cochineal beetles. Carmine is an allergen that may cause a reaction in some people who have allergies or sensitivities to insects like cochineal beetles. However, because it is derived from a natural source, it can still be considered vegan-friendly.

Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan?

Yes, Sour Patch Kids are vegan if they do not use any animal products in the production of their candy. The ingredients for sour patch kids are: Sugar, Invert sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Contains Less Than 2% Of Tartaric Acid, Citric Acid. Invert sugar is a liquid sweetener made from sugar and water. Corn syrup is simply corn starch in syrup form. Modified corn starch is simply corn that has been chemically altered. Tartaric acid naturally occurs in plants and citric acid naturally occurs in citrus fruits while natural flavoring is literally just flavoring and artificial flavoring uses food colorants such as red 40 or blue 1 to achieve different colors and tastes.

Are Skittles Vegan?

The answer to the question are skittles vegan, is yes because all of the ingredients are plant based. Skittles do not contain any animal products and are therefore considered vegan. The ingredients of Skittles include sugar, glucose syrup, palm fat, acids, citric acid, malic acid; dextrin, maltodextrin and flavorings. Glucose is made from the hydrolysis of starch and contains no animal products. Palm fat is a fatty substance derived from the fruit of an oil palm tree which has a sour taste. Dextrin and malic acid are found natural in candy, giving it its distinctive flavor profile.

Are Starburst Vegan?

Starbursts ingredients are similar to those in sour patch kids and skittles. Gelatin is an animal collagen, so starbursts are not vegan. However, there are a few vegan chewie fruits out there! Airheads, Fruit By the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, Mamba Fruit Chews, Mary Janes and Skittles are all vegan candy. Starburst Minis are not vegan but contain trace amounts of dairy ingredients.

Are Twizzlers Vegan?

Yes, Twizzlers are vegan. They don't contain any animal products or byproducts. The only non-vegan ingredient in Twizzlers is enriched wheat flour, but that's not used in significant quantities, more a byproduct of a shared production line. All of the other ingredients—including the coloring, flavorings, and emulsifiers—are plant-based and vegan.

Kay Watkins Profile Image

Kay Watkins

Article Author
Vegan Online Shop

Affiliate Disclosure

veganonlineshop.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.

Social Channels