Gluten Free Easter Candy List

Give the Easter Bunny an assist with this handy gluten free Easter Candy List, followed by a list of candies on the “do not buy” list for any gluten free kiddo.

Gluten Free Easter Candy List

Here’s a quick run-down of some good gluten free candy options to keep on your Easter Bunny radar:

Hershey’s Kisses (not all! check labels. At this time, these are some of those labeled gluten-free: Egg Hunt, Mildly Sweet Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Special Dark, Giant Kiss)
Other Hershey’s Candies including:
- Almond Joy
- Mounds
- Reese’s
  - (Note: no Reese’s special shapes are included in their gluten-free list)
- Reese’s Pieces
- Rolo
- York
- Payday
- Heath

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans boasts that “All flavors of Jelly Belly beans are free of gluten. We do not use any wheat, rye, barley, or oats in the basic recipe for Jelly Belly jelly beans. The modified food starch listed on the package is cornstarch.” (check packaging) — note that Jelly Belly licorice and malted products are NOT gluten free.
Yum Earth Organic Gluten Free Licorice
Candy Tree Licorice Shoestrings

Mars Wrigley Confectionery manufactures many candies which do not contain gluten, but there is no gluten-free claim because there is potential for cross-contamination. The company directs consumers to check packaging.
- Popular products which do not contain gluten include:
- 3 Musketeers
- Dove Chocolate including chocolate eggs (some flavors contain gluten)
- Lifesavers
- M&M’s (pretzel and crispy flavors contain gluten)
- Milky Way Midnight Dark Chocolate (original Milky Way contains barley malt)
- Skittles
- Snickers
- Starburst

- All candy made by the Tootsie company is gluten free!
  - Tootsie Roll candies including:
  - new Easter Eggs
  - pops
  - DOTS
  - Junior Mints
  - Andes
  - Sugar Babies
  - Sugar Daddy
  - Dubble Bubble
  - Charms

Marshmallow Peeps (*except Oreo flavor — check all labels)
Kraft Jet-Puffed Bunny Marshmallows (these are great for filling Easter eggs for hunts!) *although not labeled gluten-free, Kraft will disclose all gluten-containing ingredients on its labels, and a company representative reports that Jet-Puffed Marshmallows are not subject to gluten cross-contamination.

UNREAL candies (lower sugar; not all are vegan but all are now certified gluten free)
- Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
- Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- Dark Chocolate Crispy Peanut Butter Cups
- Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars
- Chocolate Gems
- Chocolate Covered Pretzels
That’s It. (dark chocolate truffles — paleo)

organic Fruit Leather from companies like Wacky Apple
Zolli Candy (also sugar free)
The Natural Candy Store — gluten free options sorted for you!
Surf Sweets vegan, top 8 allergen-free, dye-free, kosher gummies & candy

Easter Candy to Avoid — Not Gluten Free

Always avoid Whoppers & other malted candies.

Always avoid any candy that contains barley, malt, or barley malt as an ingredient.

Avoid Cadbury products (they are not included in Hershey’s gluten free list).

Unpopular opinion, as there are no gluten containing ingredients listed on the products, but Hershey’s does a great job of identifying which of their products “have been fully evaluated and qualify as gluten free using standards proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” and NO Cadbury products are included in this list. I don’t know why, but Hershey’s does. It’s up to you whether you want to take the risk with these products.

Avoid Holiday Shaped Candies

Many otherwise safe candies are manufactured in special holiday shapes and the manufacturer uses different facilities for these candies. They will therefore not claim gluten free status for these shaped candies due to the potential for cross-contamination. Check packaging first and manufacturer websites for any products you are unsure of. (Reese’s is an example of these special holiday shapes that are not labeled gluten free.)

Licorice (Twizzlers are NOT gluten free!)

Licorice nearly always contains gluten — that means Twizzlers are off limits! — but Candy Tree makes great gluten free licorice laces and gluten free licorice twists if you can find them. Yum Earth also makes gluten-free licorice bites.

To repurpose these as handles for Easter Basket Cupcakes, hop to my recipe!