Find out what Reese’s Pieces are, what they’re made of, and which varieties of this candy are safe for a gluten-free diet.
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If you enjoy peanut butter or peanut butter candy, you’re likely no stranger to Reese’s Pieces. These delightful little gems are sweet with a peanut butter center and a crunchy hard candy shell on the outside.
You can find Reese’s Pieces at grocery stores, movie theaters, convenience stores, and they’re popular particularly around the holiday seasons, like Christmas and Halloween.
Find out in this post what Reese’s Pieces are, who makes them, the varieties you can find this candy in, and of course if they are safe to enjoy on a gluten-free diet.
If you love Reese’s Pieces and are following a gluten-free diet, read on!
What are Reese’s Pieces?
Reese’s Pieces are a hard-shelled candy coated peanut butter candy. They come in the shape of what I’d call discs or “jewels,” resembling the same shape as M&M’s.
They have a hard shell that comes in orange, yellow, and brown with a soft peanut butter flavored center.
Unlike other Reese’s products, Reese’s Pieces contain no chocolate.
Who makes Reese’s Pieces?
Reese’s Pieces are manufactured by The Hershey Company under the brand of Reese’s. Reese’s makes a variety of chocolate peanut butter cups, and candy bars.
What flavors and varieties do Reese’s Pieces come in?
Most Reese’s Pieces products contain the same candy, the signature yellow, orange, and brown hard-shelled peanut butter center candy.
Though the candy is all the same, you can find it in a few different varieties at the store, as well as seasonal options throughout different holiday seasons.
These are the candy varieties from Reese’s Pieces that you can expect to find throughout the year:
- Reese’s Pieces Easter Peanut Butter Candy in a carrot shape
- Reese’s Pieces Holiday Peanut Butter Candy in a candy cane shape
- Reese’s Pieces Mini Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Baking Cups and Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Eggs
- Reese’s Pieces Reindeer Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Shake & Break Milk Chocolate Egg
- Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (king size, regular, and minis)
- Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs (king size, regular, and minis)
- Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Trees (king size, regular, and minis)
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, including candy, have hidden gluten in them in the form of gluten or wheat derivatives. These are used as flavorings, binders to keep ingredients together, or other additives.
Reese’s Pieces ingredients
The ingredients you’ll find in Reese’s Pieces candy as indicated on the Hersheyland website are:
“Sugar, partially defatted peanuts, hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, soybean oil), corn syrup solids, dextrose, contains 2% or less of: corn syrup, palm kernel oil, salt, confectioner’s glaze, modified cornstarch, lecithin, artificial color (yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 lake, red 40 lake, blue 1 lake), vanillin, carnauba wax, milk.”
Official gluten-free allergen statement from the Hershey Company
The official gluten-free allergen statement from the Hershey Company, maker of Reese’s products says:
“The best way to determine if our products contain a gluten ingredient is to read our product label. This label includes an accurate, current listing of the ingredients in our products.
Because, on occasion, the list of ingredients can change, we strongly encourage you to check the ingredient label on the package each time before you make a purchase.”
The Hershey’s Company also has call-outs of allergens in their ingredients lists. You can see an example of this on their website.
Their packaging will have a “Contains” note under the ingredients stating the top allergens in the product. For example, “Contains: Wheat” will help you know if the product contains wheat or gluten.
Are Reese’s Pieces gluten-free?
According to the Reese’s Candy Frequently Asked Questions page, “All varieties of Reese’s peanut butter cups are gluten-free except for seasonal shaped items.”
The Reese’s Pieces eggs, trees, and their Shake and Break products are not gluten-free.
The varieties of Reese’s Pieces that are safe for a gluten-free diet are:
- Reese’s Pieces Easter Peanut Butter Candy in a carrot shape
- Reese’s Pieces Holiday Peanut Butter Candy in a candy cane shape
- Reese’s Pieces Mini Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Baking Cups and Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Pieces Reindeer Peanut Butter Candy
- Reese’s Stuffed with Pieces Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (king size, regular, and minis)
Are Reese’s peanut butter cups gluten-free?
The original Reese’s peanut butter cups are gluten-free, as are many of their other products. Like Reese’s Pieces, the seasonal shaped peanut butter cups aren’t gluten-free.
For a full list of gluten-free Reese’s products, check out this post: Are Reese’s gluten-free?
Read on: Are Reese’s Puffs gluten-free?
Are Reese’s Pieces dairy-free?
If you follow a dairy-free diet in addition to a gluten-free one, you’ll be sad to know that all Reese’s products, including their Reese’s Pieces, contain dairy. They all have milk chocolate with skim milk and milk fat.
If you’ve been wondering if Reese’s Pieces candy is safe for your gluten-free diet, I hope that this information has helped you make an informed decision next time you’re buying candy from the store or movie theater.
Reese’s Pieces are gluten-free, as are most other Reese’s Pieces variations except for some of their holiday shapes and offerings.
For more gluten-free candy options, check out the Ultimate Gluten-free Candy List.
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