Best Gluten-Free Snacks
August 18, 2021
Finding a great sweet snack is easy. Finding one that’s both vegan and gluten-free can take a little more checking.
The good news is that there’s plenty of choice in the UK. From chocolate and cookies to chewy sweets, fruit-based treats and naturally sweet snacks, following both dietary requirements doesn’t mean settling for the same option every time.
So, what are the best sweet vegan and gluten-free snacks?
Some great choices include Moo Free chocolate bars, Sweet Lounge Love Hearts, Rhythm 108 cookies, I Love Snacks Dark Chocolate Drops, Coco Cube Banana and Soul Fruit Freeze-Dried Mango. There are also naturally vegan and gluten-free options such as fresh fruit, dates, nuts and nut butters.
The important thing is knowing what to look for, because vegan and gluten-free don’t mean the same thing.
Vegan food avoids animal-derived ingredients, while gluten-free food needs to meet the requirements for a gluten-free claim.
That means a vegan biscuit could still contain wheat, while a gluten-free chocolate could contain milk or another animal-derived ingredient. If you need both, check that the individual product meets both requirements.
In the UK, cereals containing gluten are among the 14 allergens food businesses must provide information about when they’re used as ingredients. The Food Standards Agency provides more information about food allergies, intolerances and allergen labelling.
Recipes and manufacturing processes can change, so always check the latest packaging if you have coeliac disease, a food allergy or another medical dietary requirement.
There’s no single best snack. Sometimes you want chocolate; sometimes only a cookie with a cup of tea will do. On other days, something fruity or chewy sounds better.
Here are seven options that show just how varied sweet vegan and gluten-free snacking can be.
If chocolate is your first choice, Moo Free chocolate bars are a great place to start.
Moo Free specialises in dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free chocolate, offering alternatives to traditional milk chocolate in different flavours and formats.
Chocolate is an easy afternoon treat and adds something indulgent to a mixed snack selection. Moo Free is also a useful reminder that following vegan and gluten-free diets doesn’t mean being restricted to plain dark chocolate.
Sometimes you don’t want a bar or fruit snack. You just want sweets.
Sweet Lounge Love Hearts provide a vegan and gluten-free option when you fancy something fruity and chewy.
It’s worth making an important distinction here: a snack being vegan and gluten-free doesn’t automatically make it healthy. Nor does every sweet snack need to pretend to be a health food. Sometimes a treat is simply something you enjoy.
For those moments when only a cookie will do, Rhythm 108 cookies bring another texture to the mix.
Rhythm 108 produces plant-based and gluten-free treats, including cookie and biscuit style products that work particularly well with an afternoon tea or coffee.
They’re also a good example of why variety matters. Vegan and gluten-free snacking doesn’t have to mean choosing another version of the same fruit or cereal bar every day.
I Love Snacks Dark Chocolate Drops are another vegan and gluten-free option for chocolate lovers.
Rather than another conventional chocolate bar, drops provide smaller chocolatey bites and a different format for your snack cupboard, desk drawer or snack box.
Having products that meet the same dietary requirements while offering different flavours and textures is what makes a snack selection genuinely interesting.
Coco Cube Banana provides something different again, bringing a fruity banana flavour to a vegan and gluten-free snack selection.
It’s particularly useful when you want to move away from chocolate, biscuits and gummy sweets.
When choosing snacks, think beyond dietary labels and consider texture and flavour too. A combination of chocolatey, fruity, chewy and crunchy options is far more interesting than filling the cupboard with several similar bars.
Soul Fruit Freeze Dried Mango offers a fruitier way to satisfy a sweet craving.
Soul Fruit describes its range as vegan and gluten-free, while its mango gets its sweetness from the fruit itself without added sugar.
Freeze drying gives mango a light, crunchy texture, making it quite different from conventional dried fruit. It’s also portable, making it handy for bags, desk drawers or workplace snack cupboards.
Not every good snack needs to come in a packet.
Many everyday foods are naturally plant-based and gluten-free. Easy ideas include:
Natural options work particularly well at home, while individually packed snacks have an obvious advantage when you’re commuting, travelling or stocking a workplace because they’re easier to store, share and grab.
If you’re choosing packaged dried fruit, yoghurt or nut butter, check the individual product where necessary because added ingredients and allergen information can vary.
Not automatically.
Vegan and gluten-free describe dietary characteristics; they don’t tell you whether a product is nutritionally superior.
Chocolate and sweets can meet both requirements and still be treats. Equally, naturally sweet choices such as fresh fruit can bring something completely different to your snack selection.
Rather than expecting every snack to do the same job, think about variety. You might fancy fruit and nut butter one day and chocolate or a cookie the next.
The best vegan and gluten-free office snacks combine variety with convenience.
Individually packed chocolate, cookies, sweets and fruit snacks are easy to keep in desk drawers, meeting rooms, staff kitchens and communal snack areas.
For employers, there’s another important point: providing one vegan snack and one gluten-free snack isn’t necessarily the same as providing something suitable for somebody who needs both.
Offering different flavours and textures that meet both requirements can give employees more choice, although allergies and other individual dietary requirements still need to be considered.
As these examples show, the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of suitable snacks.
It’s finding the choice.
You might find a chocolate bar in one shop, a cookie somewhere else and an interesting fruit snack online. If you enjoy variety, sourcing everything individually can quickly become inconvenient.
That’s where a curated snack box can help.
At Snack Packs, we’ve done the searching to make discovering different snacks easier. Our Gluten-Free & Vegan Snack Box brings together a selection of individually packed sweet and savoury vegan and gluten-free snacks in one convenient box, delivered directly to you.
It’s not about claiming there’s one “best” snack. Part of the enjoyment is discovering different ones.
Instead of repeatedly buying the same familiar product, a mixed box gives you an opportunity to experience different flavours, textures and brands without sourcing every snack individually.
Whether you’re buying for yourself, sending a gift or looking for convenient vegan and gluten-free snacks for the workplace, Snack Packs offers a simple way to add more variety.
No searching multiple shelves. No settling for the same choices. Just an easier way to discover more vegan and gluten-free snacks.
You can also explore the Snack Packs range for more snack box options.
Are vegan snacks automatically gluten-free?
No. Vegan refers to avoiding animal-derived ingredients, while gluten-free refers to gluten. A vegan product can still contain wheat or another gluten-containing ingredient, so check both requirements.
Can chocolate be vegan and gluten-free?
Yes. Some chocolates are made to meet both requirements. Moo Free is one example. However, don’t assume every dark or dairy-free chocolate is gluten-free; check the individual product.
What naturally sweet snacks are vegan and gluten-free?
Fresh fruits such as bananas, berries, grapes and apples are naturally vegan and gluten-free. Dates with nut butter, dried fruit and fruit with suitable plant-based yoghurt are other simple ideas.
Where can I buy vegan and gluten-free snacks in the UK?
Suitable snacks are available from supermarkets, specialist retailers and brands online. If you’d rather receive a varied selection without sourcing everything separately, Snack Packs offers vegan and gluten-free snack boxes delivered in the UK.
The best choice depends on what you’re in the mood for.
Chocolate lovers might reach for Moo Free, or I Love Snacks Dark Chocolate Drops. Sweet Lounge Love Hearts offer something fruity and chewy. Rhythm 108 covers the cookie craving, while Coco Cube Banana and Soul Fruit Freeze Dried Mango bring different fruit flavours and textures.
And don’t overlook simple options such as berries, bananas, grapes and dates.
The important thing is not to assume that vegan means gluten-free, or that gluten-free means vegan. Once you’ve checked both requirements, there’s a much wider variety to discover.
And if you’d rather spend less time searching and more time discovering new favourites, that’s where a Snack Packs vegan and gluten-free snack box can make things easier.
With so many options available, being vegan and gluten-free certainly doesn’t have to mean settling for the same snack every time.
