Sick of filling your kids’ Easter baskets with candy made from
artificial ingredients, nasty food dyes, and synthetic fragrances? Me, too!
That’s why I’ve tracked down the best organic Easter candy to put in your kids’ baskets this year. Read on for links to organic chocolate bunnies, peanut butter cups, jelly beans, and even DIY marshmallow chicks.
But First:
Don’t Forget: Use Your Big Green Purse to Make a Difference! Why?
This year, 81 percent of Americans are expected to celebrate the holiday, spending a whopping average of $150 per person. That includes $2.6 billion on candy!!! When you shift your spending to healthier, safer, organic products, you support businesses that are trying to do the right thing for people and the planet. You also create incentives for conventional companies to get the nasty junk out of their products. Need proof?
Jelly Belly Organic Jelly Beans , a conventional company that sells billions of jelly beans made the old fashioned way, responded to demand from consumers like you for organic products by making these organic jelly beans with non-GMO ingredients, including organic orange, peach, strawberry, raspberry and lemon juice!
Buy less candy overall (research shows kids are actually just as happy with a little as with a lot), but when you do shop, spend your money to get better products for yourself and send a message to manufacturers that you want them to do better, too.
NOTE: As much as I advocate shopping locally, you won’t find much organic Easter candy in your local CVS, WalMart, or Target. I’ve provided the links you need to buy online, but remember: order early so your deliveries arrive by April 20, the Saturday before Easter.
Best Organic Easter Candy
Organic Chocolate Box – Coracao crafts chocolate that’s 100% organic, and contains no cane or refined sugar, no gluten, and no dairy or soy (they use coconut sugar instead). You can customize a box with almond butter cups, salted caramels, truffles, and peppermint patties.
sjaaks Organic “Melk” Chocolate Bunny – This vegan, non-GMO chocolate bunny from Sjaak is one of a variety of organic Easter candy options the company makes. Also check out their caramel eggs and solid eggs.
Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks – A long-time favorite, these certified organic bunnies contain no artificial flavors, synthetic colors, preservatives, or high-fructose corn syrup. The variety snack packs include four flavors: berry patch, summer strawberry, sunny citrus, and tropical treat.
Organic Jelly Beans from Surf Sweets – These organic, gluten- and nut-free, non-GMO candies are also free of allergens related to dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame, and sulfites.They’re also free of artificial sweeteners, corn syrup and artificial colors. But they are still sweet, so keep an eye on that. According to the nutrition facts on the label, a serving size, which contains about 30 pieces, contains 32g of sugar!
Organic Sour Beans (as opposed to sweet jelly beans) – These are organic, gluten-free, non-GMO and contain no dairy or nuts.
Sweet & Sour Bunnies – If your kids like sweet and sour gummy things, they might go for these organic sweet and sour organic bunnies that rely on carrot juice, purple sweet potato juice, and cherry juice, among other fruits and veggies, for color and flavor, along with other organic ingredients.
Organic OCHO Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs – A milk chocolate shell surrounds peanut butter; made in the USA with Fair Trade Chocolate. Check out the caramel eggs while you’re at it.
Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups – These are delicious and available at Whole Foods and in many food coops. I love the dark chocolate, but you can get them in milk chocolate and white as well. They’re also certified gluten free, kosher, vegan and dairy free! Buy them in a six or 12 pack for the best value.
Want a little something different? These UNREAL dark chocolate crispy quinoa peanut butter cups might be just the thing.
Another option is UNREAL gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO dark chocolate peanut butter cups, made from fair trade cacao, cane sugar and cocoa butter, organic powdered sugar, and sustainably sourced, organic palm oil.
Marshmallow Treats That Aren’t Peeps! – I always hated giving my kids artificially colored marshmallow chicks, though they loved them! I’ve since discovered these healthier DIY recipes from none other than Martha Stewart.
Now you can make your own “peep-like” treats at home. Sprinkle them with sugar or coconut, or dip them in chocolate.
NOTE: Big Green Purse has an affiliate relationship with Amazon, so we might earn a teeny tiny commission if you purchase using our link. Those commissions are too small to affect our editorial opinion, but they do help us bring you the expert content you need to lead the greener life you want. Thanks.
