Best Allergy-Friendly Candy for Halloween
Healthier and Not-So-Healthy Allergy-Friendly Options.
Let me start with a disclaimer. This post is not about healthy Halloween candy. It all has some type of added sugar in it, so none of it can be classified as healthy. But come on, it’s Halloween! I’m definitely of the enjoy in moderation mindset. That aside, what this post is about is helping you kind souls who can’t stand when a child comes to your door and says they can’t have any of your candy because of food allergies. As the mother of a child who used to be allergic to six of the eight major food allergens and who still has several major food allergies, I’ve been asked many times over the years about what’s the best allergy-friendly candy for Halloween. This post is to answer that and to give you some healthier and not-so-healthy options to make yours the favorite house on the street.
Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.
Important Note About Allergy-Friendly Candy and Halloween
Before I get to the treats, it’s important to point out the tricky part of Halloween with food allergies. I strongly believe that it is not your responsibility to make sure that someone else’s child doesn’t eat something that they’re allergic to. That is the job of the child’s parents. They know everything that their child can and can’t have, and they’re the ones that have to read every ingredient label whether it’s the first time their child has had a food or the one hundredth. Ingredients change all the time, and you can’t be expected to be a professional label reader if allergies aren’t a regular concern for you.
Along those same lines, the candy listed here is based on manufacturer and ingredient label research for items sold in the U.S. as of October 2021. Those ingredients may change tomorrow, but I can tell you that the candy listed here has fairly reliably stayed the same as far as allergens go over the past 13 years. Still, it’s up to parents of children with allergies to check the ingredient label of every piece of candy their child eats. All you can do is to make an effort to accommodate them if that’s what you would like to do, the rest is up to their parents.
If you do try to accommodate children with allergies, I strongly advise against assuring parents that you have candy that their child can definitely eat. If you know a child has allergies, you can certainly let the parents know that you tried to include candy that their child can have but remind them that they’ll still need to check the ingredient labels to be sure.
Okay, enough with the spooky stuff, now on to the treats!
Peanut and Tree Nut-Free Allergy-Friendly Candy
While peanuts are not nuts, it’s often easier to group them with tree nuts in terms of talking generally about food allergies. The allergy-friendly candy included in this list should be safe for either.
- Tootsie Rolls
- Milk Duds
- Skittles Original Bite Size Candies
- Dove bars
- Fun Dip
- Whoppers Malted Milk Balls
- Smarties
- Starburst Fruit Chews
- Jolly Rancher
- Nerds
- Dum Dums
Dairy and Egg-Free Candy
Dairy is a tough one for Halloween. If the candy is made of chocolate, it probably has dairy in it. That’s why the sugary, hard candies are best for this allergy. The allergy-friendly candy included in this list should be safe for both dairy and egg allergies.
- Skittles Original Bite Size Candies
- Smarties
- Fun Dip
- Starburst Fruit Chews
- Jolly Rancher
- Nerds **Dairy-free but may contain eggs
- Dum Dums
Wheat/Gluten-Free Allergy-Friendly Candy
Wheat and gluten-free options are probably more numerous than you might think. Since some of these overlap with other categories, you should be able to find at least several options that accommodate more than one type of allergy or sensitivity. The allergy-friendly candy included in this list should be safe for both wheat allergies and gluten sensitivities.
- Tootsie Rolls
- Regular M&M’s Fun Size
- Milk Duds
- Milky Way Minis
- 3 Musketeer Bar
- Skittles Original Bite Size Candies
- Dove bars
- Snickers Minis
- Heath Bar
- Fun Dip
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
- Butterfinger
- Baby Ruth
- Smarties
- Starburst Fruit Chews
- Jolly Rancher
- Nerds
- Dum Dums
Soy-Free Candy
- Smarties
- Fun Dip
- Starburst Fruit Chews
- Jolly Rancher
- Nerds
- Dum Dums
- Skittles Original Bite Size Candies
Peanut, Tree Nut, Eggs, Dairy, Soy, Wheat/Gluten and Red Dye Free Allergy-Friendly Candy
Since many kids have more than one thing that they’re allergic to, these options are for the kids allergic to seemingly everything. Hello my youngest at 3 years old! I’m specifying red dye here because that’s one of the most common dye allergies and that’s the one that I have experience with. The allergy-friendly candy included in this list should be safe for peanut, tree nut, egg, dairy, soy, wheat/gluten, and red dye allergies. **Yes, some of the Smarties do have red dye, but you can take them out. The colors don’t bleed like they do with Skittles, so we’ve always found this candy to be a safe option.
- Smarties **Yes, some of the Smarties do have red dye, but you can take them out. The colors don’t bleed like they do with Skittles, so we’ve always found this candy to be a safe option.
- RazApple Magic Fun Dip (it’s blue and comes in a box with packages of Like-M-Aid Fun Dip Cherry Yum Diddly)
- Starburst Fruit Chews **Some do have red dye, but those are easy to avoid since they’re individually wrapped
- Dum Dums **You have to look carefully to find the ones that don’t have red dye
Healthier Options for Allergy-Friendly Candy
As I mentioned earlier, there is no such thing as healthy store-bought Halloween candy. If you want to get “healthier” versions though that are safe for most allergies, there are options. These take a little more planning because they’re not available at many stores. Here are some options and links to where you can find them.
- Candy Corn from Yum Earth (Free of fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, tree nuts, soy, artificial food dyes, high fructose corn syrup and wheat.) – Target carries
- Organic Lollipops, Assorted Flavors from Yum Earth (Free of soy, egg, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanuts or tree nuts, artificial dyes, wheat/gluten, and high fructose corn syrup) – Amazon (Affiliate link) and Vitacost carry
- Organic Fruit Snacks & Organic Vitamin C Lollipops from Yum Earth (Free of soy, egg, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanuts or tree nuts, artificial dyes, wheat/gluten, and high fructose corn syrup) – Amazon (Affiliate link) and Vitacost carry
Bottom Line on Allergy-Friendly Candy for Halloween
Given the options on this list, accommodating children with food allergies is not as hard as you may think. The main thing to remember is that if you do want to do this, all you can do is try. Since many children are allergic to more than one thing, there is absolutely no way for you to be able to fit the needs of everyone. If there are specific children that you really want to make sure have something, contact their parents and ask what some safe candy is for them. Then you can put it in a baggie and set it aside.
As the mother of a child who loved simply getting to go trick-or-treating with the rest of the kids, I always appreciated the friends and neighbors who tried to accommodate him, but I certainly didn’t expect it. We had our own system worked out so that he always had more than enough even if it was limited in variety. So, thank you on behalf of allergy parents, if this is something that you’re even considering.
Lean on Your Community
If you know of parents who are just starting out with food allergies and aren’t sure how to handle Halloween, feel free to have them get in touch with me. I’m happy to share the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last 15 years of navigating the world of food allergies.
