M&Ms are delicious chocolate candies that come in various flavors. They are also known to contain animal ingredients such as milk, eggs, honey, and gelatin. Are they really vegan?
M&Ms are manufactured by Mars, Incorporated, a company that has a history of using animal ingredients in its candy products.
In 2016, the company announced that it would remove all animal ingredients from its confectionary lines by 2020.
However, Mars Incorporated isn’t the only major manufacturer of sweets that uses animal ingredients. There are plenty of other companies out there that produce similar treats without using animal products.
Is M&M’s Vegan?
The question “Are M&M’s vegan?” seems like it should be easy to answer since they’re chocolate-covered peanuts, right? Well, unfortunately, no.
All flavors of M&M’s are non-vegan because they contain milk-based products such as whey protein isolate, modified food starch, and carmine.
Luckily, there are plenty of great vegan-friendly M&M alternatives that you can enjoy without worrying about dairy or animal products. Find a few of our favorites below.
No Whey! Offers up a variety of delicious vegan alternatives to M&Ms. From chocolate peanut butter cups to peppermint bark, there’s something for everyone here.
They even offer a sugar-free version of their original recipe.
The brand launched in 2016 and now sells products across North America. Their mission statement is simple: “We make plant-based food fun!”
If you’re looking for something different, try out the delicious vegan chocolate candies. They come in five flavors: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Sea Salt Caramel.
Each one contains no whey, milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, gluten, soy, or shellfish. You won’t find anything like it anywhere else.
YumEarth
YumEarth makes delicious treats for people who love animals and want to eat healthier. Their products include veggie burgers, pizza crusts, cookies, crackers, dips, sauces, and even vegan M&Ms.
But now, they’ve come out with Choco Yums—bite-sized chocolates that taste like candy, without being full of animal fats.
These little bites are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, and egg-free, and contain no artificial flavors or colors.
The founders say they wanted to make healthy food fun again. “We wanted to make it accessible for everyone, there are many reasons why someone might choose to go vegan, including health concerns, environmentalism, or ethical reasons.”
They launched YumEarth in 2016, and since then, the company has been growing rapidly. In 2017 alone, they grew 50 percent over the previous year.
And while they still sell mostly snacks, they are expanding into meals and drinks.
Unreal
If you love M&Ms, then you might want to give Unreal’s vegan candy a try. Their candies are made with real ingredients like cocoa powder, sugar, and peanuts.
These candies look just like traditional M&Ms except for the fact that they’re vegan. You’ll find Unreal candies at Whole Foods Market and Amazon.com.
The candies come in three different flavors: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and peanut buttercup. Each one comes in a bag of 20 pieces, making it perfect for sharing.
And unlike many other vegan candies, Unreal’s vegan candies don’t contain dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, soy, nuts, or artificial dyes.
Swedish Fish
If you’re looking for a healthier option than M&M, look no further. Swedish Fish are small candies that come in bright colors and are often sold individually.
They contain no peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, soy, artificial flavors, preservatives, or hydrogenated oils. In fact, there’s nothing added to them except natural fruit flavorings and salt.
The best part about Swedish Fish is that they don’t require a spoon. Just pop one into your mouth and enjoy!
Dried Fruit
One of the best ways to eat healthily and avoid artificial ingredients and artificial colors? Try some fruit for dessert.
Not just apples, bananas, pears, and strawberries, either — dried fruit is sweet, simple, delicious, and with no animal products, it’s completely vegan.
And while you might think dried fruits are too chewy or hard to enjoy, there are many varieties out there that are perfect for snacking and even baking.
Final Thoughts
While we know that not all foods can be vegan, we hope this list helps inspire you to explore new foods and discover what you really love.
Being vegan can be hard, but with options out there like the ones above, you should have no issue!
Hi, I’m Eve Mason and I’ve been a vegan since almost five years now.I can honestly say that veganism has changed my life for the better.The past few years I’ve been on a quest to find affordable vegan friendly food.Fortunately, meat-free alternatives have now become available in most supermarkets, which has made my life a lot easier.
I love cooking at home, but for those who don’t like cooking at all, there are more and more restaurants that offer vegan options as well nowadays.
I hope you enjoy my website and have fun preparing your own homemade vegan meals.
