Nut-Free Candy Finds for Halloween and Beyond!

Everybody wants some candy ideas for a nut-free Halloween this week, so I realized that it's high time I share some nut-free, (mostly) allergy-free Halloween treat ideas that are easy to find anywhere. It's great to have some options to throw in your supermarket cart with the knowledge that it's safe for food-allergic kids.

I found several candy choices that are free of the top 8 allergens and definitely free of peanuts and tree nuts. A lot of the following candies are even available in Halloween-themed snack-sized bags.

(Important: Always consider your specific allergy needs and/or call the candy companies if you have additional questions. Because packaging or manufacturing procedures may change, it is always up to you, the consumer, to verify allergy info and procedures. Thank you!)
Surf Sweets (top 8 allergen-free)

Yummy Earth (top 8 allergen-free)

Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom (top 8 allergen-free)

(The above 3 candies are found at Whole Foods and specialty grocers.
Check their web sites for store locators.)

Now for basic supermarket finds:

Twizzlers

Skittles

Mike & Ike Jelly Beans

Junior Mints (not safe for all allergies, but safe for nut allergies)

Pez

Tootsie Pops

Carmel Apple Pops (made from the Tootsie Roll company, a completely nut-free facility!)

Life Savers

Starburst

Smarties

Sweet Tarts

Dum Dum Suckers

Dots (including "Candy Corn" Dots and "Bat" Dots)

Nerds (Willy Wonka brand)

Also, here are some non-edible Halloween treats to try. Don't forget to tell the class Room Moms and teachers about some of these. I found many of the following items in the Oriental Trading Company catalog--the prices are not bad, either, when you consider how much you spend on candy. Buy in bulk and you'll save money. Just keep leftovers for next year.

Some of my favorites are:

Spider rings

Halloween stickers (buy rolls of these and cut them off in segments to pass out at the door)

Halloween pencils

Pumpkin-shaped Ring Pops

Small, Halloween-themed toys

Plastic Halloween finger puppets (available at Target stores for $1 but not for kids under age 3)


If your allergies are nut only, as always, I recommend Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates. A great variety of Halloween-themed chocolates and jelly beans are available here. Premium Chocolatiers has beautiful molded Halloween chocolates that are a great trick or treat for allergic kids--these chocolates are free of nuts, peanuts, eggs, dairy and gluten. Divvies is a great source of online nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free treats, plus they can be found at some supermarkets such as Wegmans.

I hope this gets everybody off to a good start and please share your ideas, too!