Wondering what gluten-free Easter candy is available this year to place in your child's Easter basket (or to enjoy yourself)? Here's the list, updated as of March 2013, of gluten-free Easter candy — as you'll see below, there are plenty of options you can use to make up a really nice gluten-free Easter basket.
Unless otherwise noted, these candies are considered by their manufacturers to contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, which makes them "gluten-free" according to the currently accepted definition.
One note: there seems to be plenty of debate each year over whether Cadbury Creme Eggs are gluten-free or not. In the U.S., Cadbury Easter products are made by Hershey's, which does not consider them to be gluten-free due to the potential risk of gluten cross-contamination in manufacturing.
However, the eggs appear to contain no gluten ingredients (Hershey's will specify any gluten-containing ingredients on the label). So the bottom line is, use caution with Cadbury Creme Eggs, and eat them at your own risk — they may contain trace gluten due to shared manufacturing lines or facilities.
Here's the list of gluten-free Easter candy. If you're wondering about the gluten status of a candy product not on this list, you should be able to find information on it in my main candy article, Gluten-Free Candy. Happy Easter!
Gluten-Free Easter Candy
• Easter-themed Dove chocolate products, including Dove chocolate Easter bunnies, Dove egg-shaped candies and Easter-themed Dove bars (always check the label, as I've occasionally seen Dove chocolate products with "made on equipment shared with wheat" warnings)
• Easter-themed M&Ms chocolate products (EXCEPT for pretzel M&Ms), including M&Ms solid milk chocolate Easter bunny, M&M candies in Easter colors, and egg-shaped M&M candies (again, always check the label, as I've occasionally seen M&M products with a "shared equipment" warning)
• Plain milk chocolate regular-sized Hershey's Kisses in Easter-themed foil wrappers (for more on the gluten status of Hershey's Kisses products, check out Are Hershey's Kisses Gluten-Free?)
• Jelly Belly jelly beans (INCLUDING licorice flavor jelly beans) and all Jelly Belly specially themed Easter packages
• Easter-themed Starburst candy, including jelly beans and special Easter candy packages
• Easter-themed Tootsie Roll candy, including Dubble Bubble Easter egg-shaped bubble gum, Tootsie Pops, Charms Blow Pops and Charms Candy Carnival products
• Necco Candy Eggs
• Peeps marshmallow treats by Just Born (check the label to make sure it states "gluten-free" below the list of ingredients — most do, but a few are made in shared facilities)
• Kraft Bunny Mallows and Egg Mallows (marshmallow Easter-themed treats) (Kraft will clearly disclose any gluten ingredients on the label)
Again, these candies are considered gluten-free to 20 parts per million. If you have any questions about a specific product, contact the manufacturer.
Easter Candy That's NOT Considered Gluten-Free
• Balmer Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Brach's Speckled Jelly Bird Eggs
• Cadbury Creme Eggs (see note above)
• Cadbury Mini-Eggs
• Cadbury Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Frankford Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Ghirardelli chocolate Easter eggs
• Hershey's Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Hershey's Easter egg candies (all sizes and flavors)
• Jolly Ranchers jelly beans and other Easter-themed candy
• Lindt chocolate carrots
• Lindt Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Mighty Malts Speckled Malted Milk Eggs
• Russell Stover Easter bunnies (all sizes and flavors)
• Sweetarts jelly beans and other Easter-themed candy
• Whoppers Robin Eggs and Mini Robin Eggs
• Zachary chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs
