No Tricks: 10 Easy Cruelty-Free Treats for a Humane Halloween

Everyone’s favorite haunted holiday is just a few days away, and ingredients in the usual lineup of Halloween treats can be pretty horrifying, indeed. Gelatin. Milk. Egg whites. <shudder> Scary stuff.

Frankly, it can seem impossible to avoid animal products on this particular holiday — so what’s a vegan to do?

Luckily, there are plenty of sweet treats that are cruelty-free, totally delicious, and easy to find, from Sour Patch Kids to Twizzlers. You just have to know what to look for. Here are 10 of our favorites:

• Sour Patch Kids: These sweet and sour kiddos are rainbow-colored and cruelty-free.
• Twizzlers: Everyone loves licorice (red licorice, anyway), and Twizzlers is a classic fave.
• Blow Pops: Lollipops are a win with every crowd, and gum in the middle only ups the ante.
• Spooky Nerds: Itty-bitty boxes of these sugary treats are a Halloween tradition; every goodie bag needs a box or two. The normal Nerds are not vegan — so don’t get tricked!
• Dots: Gumdrops are as classic as candy comes, and these 1940s-throwbacks come in tropical and sour flavors.
• Jolly Ranchers: These cute little suckers are always a popular choice. Sour apple is the best (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise).
• Air Heads: These chewy, taffy-esque bars come in flavors from blue raspberry to pink lemonade to white mystery, and they’re safe for vegan eaters.
• Dark Chocolate Squares: Endangered Species makes a whole host of free trade chocolate options, from dark chocolate with forest mint to dark chocolate with cranberries and almonds — all in little squares perfect for trick or treaters.
• Mini Oreos: The chocolate-and-creme sandwich come in snack sized packs, so they’re a perfect giveaway.

If you’re feeling generous enough to give out full size candy bars — there are several delicious vegan options that the neighborhood kids will adore. Go Max Go Foods makes a Mahalo bar (similar to Almond Joy), a Jokerz bar (similar to Snickers), a Thumb’s Up bar (similar to Butterfinger), and a bunch of others. Enjoy Life Foods also makes several varieties of chocolate bar — including rice milk crunch, dark chocolate, rice milk chocolate and more.

Looking for even more sugary sweet options? Check out the VegNews Guide to Vegan Halloween Candy.

We hope you have  a happy and humane Halloween.