Gluten-Free Candy List (Updated October 2020)

Today, those who follow a gluten-free diet have numerous choices when searching for candy, including various long-time kid favorites such as Butterfinger candy bars and Jelly Belly jelly beans.

It's usually possible to find gluten-free-labeled specialty candies, such as the gluten-free, vegan lollipops available from YumEarth. But since your friends, neighbors, and school likely will pass out mainstream treats on Valentine's Day or on Halloween night it's helpful to know which ones are safe, given that there's no easy way to test food for gluten.

Listed below is the best available information regarding gluten-free candy and treats that are known to contain gluten. Note that candy listed as gluten-free on the U.S. list may not be gluten-free in other countries, including Canada.

Reach out to candy manufacturers directly to get the most recent information about whether or not a particular treat contains gluten. Some brands include the information on their website, while others require that you email or call them directly.

Ferraro (formerly Nestle)

In 2018, Nestle sold their confectionary business to Ferraro, another candy manufacturer, and a few brands were sold to Ferrara, a related company. So even though Nestle is still commonly associated with certain treats, you will no longer see the Nestle name on popular candies such as Butterfinger, Crunch, or Baby Ruth. To get information about each product, it's best to visit the particular candy's website, the Ferrero North American website.

Butterfinger

According to the Butterfinger website, most Butterfinger products are gluten-free. However, no specific information is provided for each individual product, such as Minis, Bites, or Fun Size bars. They do note, however, that the Butterfinger Crisp is not gluten-free.

Crunch

This brand includes the Crunch bar, Crunch Fun Size bars, Crunch Minis, Crunch Giant, and Buncha Crunch. According to the product website for Crunch, their products are not gluten free.

Baby Ruth

Baby Ruth products come in several different sizes. According the product website, they are not gluten-free.

Ferrara Candy Brands

Ferrara makes several popular brands of candy, including some that were formerly Nestle products. The company provides a statement regarding their customers with celiac disease and gluten-free products.

According to that statement, customers should use the Contact Us form on the website to inquire about specific candies. "Due to changes that may occur in the manufacturing and packaging environments," they do not provide allergen or gluten-free lists on their site.

Ferrara brands include:

• Atomic Fireball
• Black Forest
• Boston Baked Beans
• Bottlecaps
• Brachs
• Chuckles
• Fun Dip
• Fruit Stripe
• Gobstopper
• Jawbusters
• Jujyfruits
• Laffy Taffy
• Lemonhead
• Now and Later
• Nerds
• Nips
• Pixy Stix
• RainBlo
• Red Hots
• Runts
• Sathers
• Spree
• Stretch Island Fruit Strips
• Super Bubble
• SweeTARTS
• Trolli

Hershey's (Kisses, Mounds, & Reese's)

Hershey's maintains a list of gluten-free candies. Hershey's says that the foods listed as gluten-free do not contain the protein from wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, triticale, farina, vital gluten semolina, malt vinegar or protein derivatives of these foods. If the grain is present, the level has been reduced to less than 20 parts per million.

However, they advise that the best way to know if a product is gluten-free is to check the product label. The following Hershey's candies are listed on their website as gluten-free:

• Almond Joy (all except for Almond Joy Pieces candy)
• Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit and Nut Snacks (only some are listed as gluten-free including Acai and Blueberry Flavors, Goji and Raspberry Flavors, Merlot Grape and Black Currant Flavors, Mango and Mangosteen Flavors, Pomegranate Flavor, and Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds)
• Heath Bars (all)
• Kisses (only some varieties are are listed as gluten-free, including Hot Cocoa, Hugs, Milk Chocolate Filled with Caramel, Milk Chocolate Filled with Cherry Cordial Crème, Dark Chocolate Filled with Mint Truffle, Meltaway Milk Chocolates, Milk Chocolate, Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate, Candy Cane, Kiss Deluxe, Espresso, Creamy Milk Chocolate, Creamy Milk Chocolate with Almonds, and 7-ounce Giant Kiss)
• Milk Chocolate Bar (only in the 1.55-ounce size)
• Milk Chocolate Bar with Almonds (only in the 1.45-ounce size)
• Milk Duds (all)
• Mounds (all)
• Nuggets (only some are listed as gluten free, including Milk Chocolates, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds, Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Almonds, Special Dark Chocolate)
• PayDay (all including PayDay Snack Bites)
• Reese's Fast Break bar
• Reese's Nutrageous bar (standard and king size)
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (all except for seasonal shaped items)
• Reese's Pieces (all except for Reese's Pieces Eggs)
• Reese's Unwrapped Mini Minis (milk chocolate and white)
• Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cups (all except for seasonal shaped items)
• Rolo Creamy Caramels in Rich Chocolate (all except for Rolo Minis)
• Skor Toffee Bar (all)
• Special Dark Snack Bars
• York Peppermint Patties (all except for York Pieces Candy, Sugar Free Peppermint Patties, York Minis, and 5-ounce York Shapes)

There are some Hershey's products known to contain gluten, such as the Kit Kat bar which contains wheat.

Precautions

Be careful as you choose between Hershey's products, as the gluten-free list can be confusing. Products that are closely related may contain different ingredients.

Generally with Hershey's, you always need to avoid seasonal items such as Cadbury Creme Eggs (both Easter and Halloween versions) and Reese's pumpkin-shaped candies—even if their ingredients are free of gluten, they may be manufactured on shared lines or in a shared facility. There are some Hershey's products known to contain gluten, such as the Kit Kat bar which contains wheat.

Hershey's gluten-free list also includes baking chips and bars, cocoa products and syrup. Always check the list prior to buying, as items seem to change frequently. Contact Hershey's by email, phone or text at 800-468-1714 if you have specific questions.

Tootsie Roll Industries

Tootsie Roll Industries makes a variety of candy products and says that all of their confections are considered gluten-free. According to the company website, "We do not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt or any of their components and that includes our dusting on our conveyor belts."  You can contact the company with specific concerns or for updated information.

These are the gluten-free candies manufactured by Tootsie Roll Industries:

• Andes
• Candy Blox
• Candy Carnival
• Caramel Apple Pops
• Cella's Cherries
• Charleston Chew
• Charms
• Child's Play
• Cry Baby
• DOTS
• Dubble Bubble
• Fluffy Stuff
• Frooties
• Fruit Chews
• Fruit Chew Pops
• Junior Mints
• Mini Bites
• Nik-L-Nip
• Razzles
• Sugar Babies
• Sugar Daddy
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Rolls
• Wack-O-Wax

Smarties

All Smarties candies made by Smarties Candy Company are gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease, according to the company website.

However, the company also discloses that some products with the Smarties brand are not manufactured by Smarties Candy Company. They recommend checking the product’s ingredients. They also provide some guidance about other helpful package indicators:

START HERE

Jelly Belly

Jelly Belly makes jelly beans in an ever-expanding array of colors and flavors. According to the company, "all Jelly Belly beans are gluten-free, dairy-free, gelatin-free, vegetarian and OU Kosher." This includes licorice-flavored gluten-free Jelly Belly jelly beans (in most cases, licorice candy contains wheat). Jelly Belly also makes gluten-free candy corn for Halloween.

However, other Jelly Belly candies, including Chocolate Malt Balls, Chocolate Bridge Mix, Licorice Bridge Mix, Black Licorice Buttons and Licorice Pastels, are NOT gluten-free. In addition, seasonal mixes sold around the holidays contain the malt balls, and so are not gluten-free.

Contact Jelly Belly at 800-522-3267.

Necco

Necco probably is best known for its small sugar Valentine heart candies—the pastel-colored ones that say "Be Mine" and "True Love"—but my daughter's candy stash often turns up a few Necco products every Halloween, as well.

According to Necco, the following products do not contain gluten from wheat, rye, oats or barley:

• Necco Wafers
• Necco Chocolate Wafers
• Candy House Candy Buttons
• Canada Mint, Wintergreen and Spearmint Lozenges
• Mary Jane
• Mary Jane Peanutbutter Kisses (available for Halloween only)
• Banana Splits Chews
• Mint Julep Chews
• Haviland Thin Mints, Wintergreen Patty, Nonpareils and Chocolate Stars
• Skybar
• Sweethearts (for Valentine's Day only)
• Conversation Hearts (available for Valentine's Day only)
• Mary Jane peanut butter kisses (for Halloween only)

Contact Necco at 781-485-4800.

Impact Confections Inc.

Impact makes Warheads sour candies, which always seem to wind up in our Halloween stash. Many of the company's products are considered gluten-free, but be careful, as multiple candies have similar names but very different allergen profiles:

• Carousel/Color-Blaster Pops (considered gluten-free)
• Lollipop Paint Shop (considered gluten-free; made on equipment that processes soy)
• Warheads Extreme Sour Hard Candy (considered gluten-free; contains soy; equipment shared with peanut and milk products)
• Warheads Extreme Sour Hard Candy Minis (considered gluten-free; equipment shared with milk and soy products)
• Warheads Sour Chewy Cubes (considered gluten-free; equipment shared with peanut products)
• Warheads Sour Jelly Beans (made in a facility shared with wheat, peanuts, milk, egg, and soy)
• Warheads Super Sour Double Drops (considered gluten-free; facility shared with egg products)
• Warheads Super Sour Spray Candy (considered gluten-free)
• Warheads Sour Dippers (considered gluten-free; equipment shared with soy products)
• Warheads Sour Candy Canes (contain soy; made in a facility shared with wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, and soy)
• Melster Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow (considered gluten-free; contains milk and soy, made on equipment that also processes peanuts)
• Melster Compound-Coated Marshmallow (considered gluten-free; contains milk and soy, made on equipment that also processes peanuts)
• Melster Chocolate-Covered Creme Drops (considered gluten-free; contains milk and soy, made on equipment that also processes peanuts)
• Melster Compound Coated Creme Drops (considered gluten-free; contains milk and soy, made on equipment that also processes peanuts)
• Melster Salt Water Taffy (considered gluten-free; contains milk and soy, made on equipment that also processes peanuts)
• Melster Peanut Butter Kisses (considered gluten-free; contains peanuts, milk, and soy)
• Melster Circus Peanuts (considered gluten-free; contains peanuts, made on equipment that processes milk and soy)
• Melster Sanded Marshmallow (considered gluten-free; made on equipment that processes peanuts, milk, and soy)
• Melster Coconut Toasties (considered gluten-free; made on equipment that processes peanut, milk, and soy)

Impact Convections products that are NOT gluten-free include:

• Warheads Sour Twists (contains wheat)
• Warheads Sour Coolers (contains oat fiber)

As I said, many of these have very similar names, so be very careful to double-check labels—it's easy to make a mistake!

Tic Tac Mints

Tic Tac mints are produced by the Italian confection manufacturer Ferrero and have been sold for more than 40 years.

According to the company, Tic Tac mints do not contain any ingredients derived from the gluten grains wheat, barley, rye, oats or triticale (a form of wheat).

Justin's Nut Butters

This isn't technically a candy, but stores sell Justin's Nut Butters gluten-free-certified peanut butter cups around Halloween as treats. The product choices include:

• dark chocolate peanut butter cups
• milk chocolate peanut butter cups
• white chocolate peanut butter cups
• mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups
• mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups

Justin's is certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, which requires products to have less than 10 parts per million of gluten in them.

Just Born

Peeps marshmallow treats, made by Just Born, used to appear only at Easter, but in recent years, we've seen Halloween Peeps shaped like pumpkins and ghosts, Christmas Peeps in the shape of trees, and heart-shaped Peeps for Valentine's Day.

According to Just Born, all the company's marshmallow candies that are safe from cross-contamination will state "gluten-free" on the package by the ingredients listing (Note: recently, I've run across numerous packages of Peeps that carry this warning: "May contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat." The ones with this warning are usually the more exotic flavors. Definitely double-check the packaging on all Peeps, even if the product is something that has stated "gluten-free" in the past.). The modified food starch used in the products is corn starch, according to the company. Just Born also makes Mike and Ike Candies.

According to Just Born, the following candies are gluten-free:

• Mike and Ike Berry Blast
• Mike and Ike Italian Ice
• Mike and Ike Jolly Joes
• Mike and Ike Lemonade Blends
• Mike and Ike Original Fruits
• Mike and Ike Redrageous
• Mike and Ike Tangy Twister
• Mike and Ike Tropical Typhoon
• Mike and Ike Zours
• Mike and Ike Jelly Beans
• Mike and Ike Hot Tamales
• Goldenberg's Vintage Peanut Chews

Sweet's Candy Co.

Sweet's Candy makes saltwater taffy, chocolate jelly sticks, jelly beans, gummy bears and other candies. All are certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. A customer service representative tells me that Sweet's makes only gluten-free products, but does package other products (some of which may contain gluten) in the same facility.

Gourmet Chocolate and Holiday Candy

As you've no doubt realized, some chocolate candies are gluten-free while others are not. Still, if you're in doubt about the gluten-free status of a product, contact the manufacturer's customer service personnel directly at the numbers listed with each entry above.

Finally, check out these lists of different candies and holiday products:

• Gluten-Free Candy Canes
• Gluten-Free Candy Boxes (boxed candy you might give as gifts)
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Bars (premium and gourmet chocolate bar options)
• Gluten-Free Gum (all types of gum)
• Gluten-Free Easter Candy

Other Candy Brands

Gluten-Free

Bit-O-Honey

____________________________________________

EMAIL SENT FOR MARS, FERRARA (waiting for reply)

Mars Chocolate

Mars Chocolate makes M&M's, Dove, Snickers, and other products. The company does not maintain a gluten-free list of products; instead, it urges gluten-free consumers to check labels and promises to call out any wheat, barley, and rye ingredients by name.

Mars also will call out any wheat cross-contamination risks on the label, but may not declare possible barley or rye cross-contamination. Some gluten-free consumers are reporting that they now react to Mars candies that previously had been labeled "gluten-free," so be very careful with Mars products, even if you've previously eaten them without issue.

Generally speaking, the following Mars Chocolate products do not contain any gluten ingredients. However, they may be subject to cross-contamination. I can't emphasize enough that you should always check the label before purchasing any of these products.

Mars Chocolate products with no gluten ingredients:

• M&M's (EXCEPT for pretzel-flavored M&M's, which contain wheat, and crispy M&M's, which contain barley malt). Note that some special seasonal and temporary flavors also have a risk of cross-contamination because they're made on equipment or in facilities that also use gluten-containing ingredients. For example, in 2018 some special flavors available in some stores, such as Mint M&Ms, were labeled "may contain traces of wheat." This has been common over the past three to four years for M&Ms. Always check the label for "may contain" warnings and other ingredients.
• 3 Musketeers Bars (all flavors)
• Milky Way Midnight Bar (not the original Milky Way Bar)
• Milky Way Caramel Bar
• Dove Chocolate products (all flavors EXCEPT for milk chocolate cinnamon graham/cookies and cream, and some holiday varieties, such as milk chocolate truffles)
• Snickers Bars (all flavors)
• Munch Nut Bar (the customer service representative urges consumers to check the labels on this one)

The following Mars Chocolate products either contain gluten or are subject to significant gluten cross-contamination:

• M&M Pretzel flavor and Crispy flavor
• Some packages of seasonal flavored M&Ms—in the past this has included White Chocolate, Mint and M&M Coconut flavors
• Milky Way Bar (original)
• Mars Bar
• Mars Combos (a snack mix)

In busy times of year (such as Halloween) Mars uses additional alternative facilities to make its candy, and some of those facilities can introduce cross-contamination risks (I've seen this occur frequently with flavored M&M varieties).

"The ingredient statement on each wrapper is the best source for this information," the company said in a statement. However, note again that the company does not disclose barley and rye cross-contamination risks.

If you have questions, contact Mars Chocolate at 800-627-7852.

Wrigley Products are also made by Mars.

Wrigley's online gluten-free statement is pretty cagey. It says most products are gluten-free but some might not be, and failing to specify which is which.

A statement provided by a customer service representative says that all Wrigley products in the U.S. are considered gluten-free except for Altoids Smalls Peppermint Mints (which always have contained the gluten ingredient wheat maltodextrin).

Wrigley also makes:

• Creme Savers
• Lifesavers
• Skittles
• Starburst

and in the U.S., these products are free of any gluten sources, according to the company.

Contact Wrigley at (800) 974-4539.