Are Rolos Gluten-free?

Find out if Rolo candy is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan and how this candy fits into each of these diets.

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Rolos are a chocolate candy with a caramel center. This candy has a circular bottom and are stacked one on top of the other, into a roll in their packaging, which is how they get their name “Rolos.”

If you love Rolos and are trying to stick with a gluten-free diet, you may be wondering if this candy is safe to enjoy. Rolos seem like they might be gluten-free, without any crunchy ingredients or obvious cookie ingredients added to them, but are they actually?

In this post, we’ll talk about who makes Rolo candy, the ingredients, and if these treats are gluten-free. We’ll also go over if they are dairy-free and vegan, to help you make an informed decision about whether or not to add them to your diet.

Let’s get to it!

Who makes Rolos?

The Hershey’s Company manufactures Rolo candy. This brand is well known for explicitly stating allergens that are included in their products, so this is useful when determining if and how this candy fits into your diet.

Ingredients of Rolos

These are the ingredients you’ll find on the packaging of Rolo originals:

Milk chocolate (sugar, nonfat milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, milk fat, lactose, lecithin (soy), pgpr emulsifier, vanillin artificial flavor), sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, soybean oil), nonfat milk, contains 2% or less of: palm kernel oil, salt, baking soda, vanillin artificial flavor.

Read on: Is corn syrup gluten-free?

Read on: Is soybean oil 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. 

Gluten is naturally occurring, and therefore is impossible to strip away from the grain. If a grain naturally has gluten in it, there’s no way to make that food gluten-free.

Gluten can be found in candy as one of the main ingredients, especially in gummy candies, as wheat flour or wheat starch. You can also find it in flavorings, thickeners, or binders.

Are Rolos gluten-free?

Rolos do not contain any gluten ingredients and they are considered to be gluten-free by the Hershey’s company.

Their website states that all the products are gluten-free except Rolo minis.

That said, Rolos may not have any gluten-containing ingredients in the product, but there is also not a clear gluten-free label indicating that the final product is gluten-free.

This means that there’s a potential for cross contamination with gluten products during manufacturing. Use your own best judgement based on your level of sensitivity to gluten to determine if you want to enjoy this treat on a gluten-free diet.

Read on: Is caramel gluten-free?

Are Rolos dairy-free?

Rolos contain milk, so these are not a good choice for a dairy-free diet. You’ll want to choose another candy instead.

Are Rolos vegan?

Rolo candy is not vegan as it contains milk, an animal product.

If you enjoy Rolos as a treat once in a while, you may feel good knowing that they have no gluten ingredients in them. However, if you are Celiac, it might not be the best choice for you, as there is a potential for cross contamination from shared equipment and facilities.

You know your body best and know your level of sensitivity to gluten, so hopefully this information has helped you determine if Rolos can be a part of your treat rotation on your gluten-free diet.

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