Are Skittles Vegan? All Flavors Evaluated (2022)

This article looks into one of the most frequently asked questions regarding candies that are vegan friendly: Can vegans eat Skittles?

Yes! Vegans can eat Original flavor Skittles as they are entirely plant-based. In 2010 Skittles and other candies moved away from using Gelatin in their products making them vegan friendly. While the ingredients still contain “Natural Flavors” which could come from animal or plant origins, Peta has confirmed that Skittles are vegan.

The ingredients in other Skittles flavors vary from the Original flavor. Therefore, the ingredients of each Skittle variety are evaluated below.

Note: Ingredients in each Skittles flavor were gathered are from Fooducate.

Controversial Vegan Ingredients

Before we start our vegan analysis, we would like to make note of the controversial ingredients that are assumed to be vegan in this analysis. Even though we consider them to be vegan, we will still highlight these ingredients if they appear in any posted ingredient lists. These controversial ingredients include:

Sugar

In almost all candy products, one of the first few ingredients is Sugar. Sugar is a controversial product in the vegan community because refined cane sugar is processed with bone char to achieve the pure white color. The sugar itself does not contain any bone char particles, but is not vegan due to the processing methods used. Since the type of sugar is typically not stated, it is assumed to be vegan in this analysis. If you choose to avoid non-vegan sugars than all of the products in this analysis should be avoided. A full rundown on if sugar is vegan can be found in our article titled “Is Your Sugar Vegan? Lets Find Out!“

Palm Oil and Palm Fat

Palm oil is a controversial vegan ingredient not because it is animal-derived, but because the cultivation of palm oil has devastating environmental impacts and harms many animals. You can learn more about palm oil in our article titled “Is Palm Oil Vegan?“

Natural and Artificial Flavorings

Natural flavors can come from both animal or plant sources, but the natural flavors in candies are typically from plant sources. Those natural flavors from animal-origin will be highlighted if known.

Colors

Some food colors are controversial in the vegan community. This is because food colors are often tested on animals. In this article we assume all food colors are vegan, unless the color itself is from an animal or insect origin (e.g. Carmine).

Original Skittles

Original Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less Than 2% Of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors (Red 40 Lake, Titanium Dioxide, Red 40, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Blue 2 Lake, Blue 1, Blue 1 Lake), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Are Original Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, the Original flavored Skittles are vegan.

Original Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Sour Skittles

Sour Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Less Than 2% Of Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors (Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Titanium Dioxide), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Are Sour Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Sour Skittles are vegan.

Sour Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Wild Berry Skittles

Wild Berry Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Fruit Juice from Concentrate (Strawberry, Cherry, Raspberry, Grape, Blackberry), Less Than 2% – Citric Acid, Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Coloring (Includes Red 40 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).

Are Wild Berry Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Wild Berry Skittles are vegan.

Wild Berry Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Tropical Skittles

Tropical Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Apple Juice from Concentrate, Less Than 2% – Citric Acid, Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Coloring (Includes Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1), Artificial And Natural Flavors, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).

Are Tropical Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Tropical Skittles are vegan.

Tropical Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Brightside Skittles

Brightside Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less Than 2% Of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors (Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6, Red 40, Blue 1), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Are Brightside Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Brightside Skittles are vegan.

Brightside Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Sweets & Sours Skittles

Sweets & Sours Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Citric Acid, Less Than 2% Of: Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Colors (Titanium Dioxide, Red 40 Lake, Blue1 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Blue 2 Lake, Blue 1), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Are Sweets & Sours Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Sweets & Sours Skittles are vegan.

Sweets & Sours Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Darkside Skittles

Darkside Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less than 2% of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors (Red 40 Lake, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 2 Lake, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Yellow 6 Lake), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Are Darkside Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Darkside Skittles are vegan.

Darkside Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Sweet Heat Skittles

Sweet Heat Skittles Ingredients

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less Than 2% of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax and Coloring (Includes Yellow 5).

Are Sweet Heat Skittles Vegan?

As all the ingredients are plant-based, Sweet Heat Skittles are vegan.

Sweet Heat Skittles can be purchased on Amazon here.

Additional Skittles FAQs

Q: Can Vegans Eat Skittles?

As discussed in this article, all flavors of Skittles are vegan. Therefore, vegans can eat Skittles!

Q: Are Skittles Vegetarian?

Since all flavors of Skittles, they are also vegetarian. Therefore, yes Skittles are vegetarian.

Q: Are Skittles Dairy Free?

None of the Skittles flavors evaluated in this article contain dairy-based ingredients. Therefore, all Skittles flavors are dairy free!

Q: Do Skittles Have Gelatin?

In 2010 Skittles and other candies moved away from using Gelatin in their products. Therefore, no Skittles flavors contain Gelatin in 2019.

Q: Are Skittles Halal?

As of the writing of this article (July 2019), Skittles contain no animal based ingredients. Therefore, Skittles are Halal.

Q: Are Skittles Kosher?

Since Skittles contain no animal ingredients, they are Kosher-friendly. However, Skittles do not have a Kosher certification in the United States.

Summary

In the end, “Are Skittles Vegan?” Yes! Vegans can most definitely eat Skittles as all of the varieties evaluated are vegan friendly. These vegan varieties include: Original, Sour, Wild Berry, Tropical, Brightside, Sweets & Sours, Darkside, and Sweet Heat.

All of Skittles varieties can be found on Amazon here. Or you can read about other vegan snack options here.