Are Candy Canes Gluten-free?

Find out what types of candy canes are gluten-free and dairy-free, plus get a list of brands to shop for at the store thlifesais holiday season.

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If you’re a big fan of candy canes around the holiday season, you’re not alone. According to this very specific website, Candy Cane Facts, 1.76 billion candy canes are made each year! And most of these are sold within Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s a lot of candy!

Following a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, you may be surprised to learn that you’ll want to take a second look at these peppermint treats before you buy them. Gluten and dairy can hide in the most surprising of places, and in this post we’ll talk more about their place in a gluten-free and dairy-free diet.

Candy canes are a common treat for kids and adults throughout the holiday season and you can find them in all kinds of flavors, the traditional peppermint or mint flavor, fruit flavors, and even some obscure flavors like dill pickle and wasabi.

In this post, find out what candy canes are made of, if they are gluten-free or dairy-free, plus get a list of candy cane brands that will work for a gluten and dairy-free diet.

Candy Cane Ingredients

Though ingredients will vary by brand, most store bought candy canes are made from a combination of the following ingredients:

Sugar, corn syrup, peppermint oil, natural and artificial flavoring, and food coloring.

Some candy cane brands contain gluten hidden under the name “glucose syrup,” so be on the lookout for this ingredient.

Read on: Is corn syrup gluten-free?

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in most wheat products, and acts as the “glue” that helps to hold wheat, barley, kamut, spelt, farro, durum, bulgur, rye, and semolina together to maintain their shape.

You can find gluten in whole grains, but also in many processed foods as well. If you purchase wheat bread, there will be gluten in it, because wheat by nature has gluten.

Many processed foods have hidden gluten in them in the form of gluten or wheat derivatives. These are also in the form of flavorings, binders to keep ingredients together, or other additives.

Many candy cane brands are gluten-free, but not all. You’ll want to do your research on the back of the packaging before purchasing candy canes from the store. Use the list in this post to give you a starting point for which brands are safe and to look for when you’re shopping.

Are candy canes dairy-free?

Some candy cane brands are not dairy-free, so it’s important to review ingredients lists before buying these from the store. That said, most popular candy cane brands are dairy-free, like Spangler and Bob’s.

Gluten-free Candy Cane Brands

Try one of these candy cane brands next time you’re looking for some treats for your tree or to dip in some dairy-free hot chocolate. All of these options are both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Spangler candy canes

The brand that I found that would be the easiest to find in most stores is the Spangler brand.

Spangler candy canes are peanut-free, tree nut-free, milk-free, egg-free, wheat and gluten-free.

These candy canes are manufactured on a dedicated line, so you know that it is going to be absolutely safe for your gluten and dairy free diet.

Brach’s Bobs Candy Canes

These candy canes do not have a gluten-free label, but the ingredients are very minimal. You can find peppermint, cherry rainbow, green apple, and mini and jumbo candy canes from this brand.

You’ll find sugar, corn syrup, peppermint oil, red 40, and red 40 lake in their peppermint candy canes.

Dum Dums Candy Canes

This brand of candy canes are produced by the Spangler Candy brand. The flavors for Dum Dum candy canes are blu ras, cherry, and watermelon.

Their website states that this product is gluten-free, as well as free of top common allergens and manufactured on dedicated equipment.

Hershey’s mint candy canes

The ingredients in Hershey’s candy canes are: sugar, corn syrup, contains 2% or less of: natural and artificial flavor, artificial color (yellow 5, red 40, blue 1, glycerin).

None of these ingredients contain gluten, making these generally a safe choice for folks on a gluten-free diet. They are not included in Hershey’s list of gluten-free items, so if you are celiac or are very sensitive to gluten, you might want to choose a different brand as there may be cross contamination during manufacturing.

Jelly Belly candy canes

Jelly Belly candy canes are made by the Spangler brand, another gluten-free candy cane brand. These candy canes come in a variety of flavors in different boxes.

You can find some varieties with Very Cherry, Green Apple, and Orange Jelly Belly flavors. Another box comes with Tutti Frutti, Blueberry, and Watermelon Jelly Belly flavors.

According to the product pages, these candy canes are gluten-free and allergen-free (making them also dairy-free.

Read on: Are Jelly Bellys gluten-free?

Lemonhead candy canes

Lemonhead candy canes are produced by the Ferrara brand. These candy canes contain sugar, corn syrup, citric acid, sodium citrate, artificial flavor, yellow 5.

The Ferrera brand says on their website that “Product manufactured and/or packaged on lines in which other products containing any of the “Big 8” will contain an allergen statement. “

Look for an allergen statement on the box itself before purchasing.

Lifesavers candy canes

Lifesavers candy canes are made with sugar, corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial colors, malic acid, colors, and glycerol. None of these ingredients are known hidden ingredients of gluten.

Read on: Are Lifesavers gluten-free?

Red Hots candy canes

These cinnamon flavored candy canes contain corn syrup, sugar, artificial flavor, red 40, red 40 lake, and yellow 6. This brand of candy canes are also made my the Ferrera brand.

The Ferrera brand says on their website that “Product manufactured and/or packaged on lines in which other products containing any of the “Big 8” will contain an allergen statement. “

Look for an allergen statement on the box itself before purchasing.

Starburst candy canes

Starburst candy canes come in three flavors: green apple, lemon, and strawberry. They are manufactured by the Spangler brand. As mentioned in the Spangler section of this list, Spangler candy canes are peanut-free, tree nut-free, milk-free, egg-free, wheat and gluten-free.

These candy canes are manufactured on a dedicated line, so you know these are considered safe for many folks with allergies or food intolerances.

Read on: Are Starburst gluten-free?

Sweet Tarts candy canes

SweeTarts candy canes come in three flavors: green apple, cherry, and blue punch. Their ingredients lists state they have sugar, corn syrup, malic acid, sodium lactate, natural and artificial flavors, blue 1, color added, red 40, and yellow 5.

I was not able to find any information on their allergen statement or their processing of their candy canes.

Warheads candy canes

This super sour candy has become candy canes! Find these candy canes in wild berry flavor. There is no gluten-free label on this product, and I wasn’t able to find any information about the processing.

The ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, tartaric acid, citric acid, sodium citrate, artificial flavor, blue 1, red 40, yellow 5, glycerin, palm oil, canola oil, and sunflower lecithin.

If you’ve been looking for answers as to whether or not you can continue enjoying your favorite holiday treats while decorating your Christmas tree or stirring into hot chocolate, I hope this post has helped you get the answers you’ve been looking for.

Many candy canes are both gluten and dairy free, but often don’t have gluten-free labels on their packaging.

Review ingredients lists before buying and use your best judgment based on what you know about your body and how sensitive you are to trace levels of gluten, in case there is shared equipment with other gluten containing candies while being processed.

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