Updated March 2024! Are M&M’s dairy free?! Sadly, they are not. The Mars confectionery company has not yet released a vegan version of their popular candy-coated chocolates. Even the Dark Chocolate M&M’s contain skim milk, lactose, and milkfat. But several copycats have emerged! There are now dairy-free alternatives to classic M&M’s, peanut M&M’s, and more. We’ve got all of these sweet treats in our quick guide below, which includes vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, keto, and allergy-friendly brands, too!
Allergen Notes: All items listed below are dairy-free by ingredients. They are also vegan and made without wheat and gluten, unless otherwise noted. We have also noted other top allergens, including soy lecithin. But ingredients are subject to change at any time, and all products are at some degree of risk for allergen cross contamination, whether they have a “may contain” statement or not. Always read the label before consuming any food, and make sure you are familiar with this may contain information.
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Guide to Dairy-Free M&M’s Copycats and Alternatives
All of the following candy-coated chocolates are intended for both eating alone, in trail mixes, and adding to recipes. They all reportedly bake quite well, though a little color bleeding could happen with some brands. The following dairy-free M&M’s copycats and alternatives are vegan, unless otherwise noted. They are also gluten-free, unless otherwise noted, but we have included which brands are actually certified gluten-free in the other dietary notes. The following guide lists the classic options first, followed by the no added sugar and sugar-free candies (there are quite a few!) to satisfy any type of sweet tooth.
Justin’s Dark Chocolate Candy Pieces
The candy makers at Justin’s skipped right over classic M&M’s and jumped straight to the peanutty varieties. And they mixed things up a little bit. Justin’s peanut butter chocolate candies have a vegan chocolate center, surrounded by peanut butter, and coated in a candy shell, instead of a peanut butter center encased in chocolate, like peanut butter M&M’s. Plus, Justin’s dairy-free M&M’s alternatives are certified organic and get their vibrant hues from real foods (like turmeric and spirulina) rather than food dye. And you can get them in both single-serve and larger multi-serve packages.
Varieties: Dark Chocolate Peanut, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Top Allergens: peanut, soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: Organic, Certified Gluten Free, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, and The Fresh Market in the U.S. You can also order them online via justins.com and Amazon.
Chocolate Emporium Chocolate Lentils (not vegan)
This chocolatier is an unsung hero for dairy-free specialty chocolates for baking. They do an amazing job with all types of chocolate chips, including butterscotch! And of course they make a dairy-free M&M’s copycat, sweetly called chocolate lentils. They aren’t vegan because the candy-coating contains beeswax.
Varieties: Chocolate, Mint Chocolate
Top Allergens: soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: Kosher Parve
Where to Buy: Order online at chocolate-emporium.com.
No Whey No No’s
This chocolatier has been churning out dairy-free traditional M&M’s copycats for quite some time. And they are one of the few that actually crafts a “milk” chocolate center, instead of dark chocolate. At present they offer two vegan M&M’s alternatives, both of which are made in their top allergen-free facility. Don’t worry, carnauba wax is vegan-friendly!
Varieties: Milk-Like Chocolate, Peppermint Milk-Like Chocolate
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: Allergy-Friendly, No Food Dyes, Kosher Pareve, Gluten-Free Facility (not certified)
Where to Buy: Wegman’s, Shoprite, and specialty markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can also order them online via nowheychocolate.com and Amazon.
Unreal Dark Chocolate Gems
This is another brand of dairy-free M&M’s copycats that skipped the traditional plain chocolate variety, and went straight to the peanut M&M’s for inspiration. They also have a unique “crispy” version, which is made with organic cane sugar and organic quinoa crisps. But use caution when purchasing this brand. They do have a dairy milk chocolate version of their gems, which is sold in the pink bag. The dark chocolate versions in the yellow and blue bags are the vegan options made without dairy.
Varieties: Dark Chocolate Peanut, Dark Chocolate Crispy Quinoa
Top Allergens: peanut
Other Dietary Notes: Certified Gluten Free, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Sprouts, Whole Foods, CVS, Publix, and specialty markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can also order them online via unrealsnacks.com and Amazon.
YumEarth Choco Yums
This is another plain dairy-free M&M’s copycat, with a milky chocolate center. But they also offer dark chocolate and crispy varieties. This brand does tout their vegan candies as dairy-free and top food allergy-friendly, but their Choco Yums are not made in an allergen-free facility. These also come in single-serve and multi-serve packages.
Varieties: Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Mint, Crisped Quinoa
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: Allergy-Friendly, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Target, Giant, and specialty markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can also order them online via yumearth.com and Amazon.
Trupo Treats Earth Gems
This vegan brand is working on copycat products, one beloved chocolate at a time. Their Earth Gems are like candy coated, milk chocolate M&M’s without dairy.
Varieties: Mylk Chocolate
Top Allergens: soy
Other Dietary Notes: none
Where to Buy: Order from their website at trupotreats.com.
Nuts.com Candy Coated Chocolate (not vegan)
They offer both copycats (semisweet baking bits) and an alternative (rainbow candy-coated chocolate chips) to M&M’s. These products are dairy-free, but not vegan, due to non-vegan ingredients in the candy coating.
Varieties: Semisweet Baking Bits, Rainbow Chocolate Chips
Top Allergens: soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: none
Where to Buy: Order from their website at nuts.com.
Pure Food Candy-Coated Chocolate Chips
They make mini dairy-free chocolate chips with candy coatings, which are great M&M’s alternatives for baking cookies and other desserts. Pure Food also uses the simplest foods available and shuns ingredients like artificial colors. Their candy-coated chocolate chips are made with just cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, rice starch, sunflower oil, and natural colors like spirulina extract and radish extract.
Varieties: Rainbow, Pastel, Holiday
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: No Food Dyes, Kosher Pareve, Certified Gluten-Free
Where to Buy: Specialty markets throughout Canada. You can also order them online via www.pure-food.ca and Amazon.
Doisy & Dam Dark Chocolate Drops
We didn’t find a lot of options in the U.K., but this vegan company offers a few great ones. They cover the two classic flavors of M&M’s and even offer seasonal “good eggs” – candy-coated chocolate eggs.
Varieties: Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Peanut
Top Allergens: peanut, soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Holland & Barrett and specialty shops in the U.K. You can also order them online via doisyanddam.com.
Little Secrets Dark Chocolate Pieces
Like Unreal, Little Secrets has both dairy and dairy-free M&Ms copycats. The peanut butter version contains milk, so be sure to consider the peppermint variety only. The latter is vegan-friendly and infused with pure peppermint oil instead.
Varieties: Dark Chocolate Peppermint
Top Allergens: soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Sprouts, Whole Foods, and specialty markets throughout the U.S. You can also order them online via littlesecretschocolates.com and Amazon.
Oh Nuts Non-Dairy Chocolate Lentils
This online kosher treat shop sources their big line of non-dairy M&M’s copycat candies from Denmark. They come in nearly every flavor imaginable.
Varieties: Chocolate (big selection of colors), Mini Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Mocha & Coffee Chocolate
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: Kosher Parve
Where to Buy: Order online at www.ohnuts.com.
Baker’s Choice Chocolate Flavored Lentils & Candy Chips (might be non-vegan)
The Rainbow Candy Chips from this Kosher brand are almost like mini M&M’s and are great for baking. They also make chocolate lentils, which are sometimes sold in bulk. Just be aware that this brand does make some dairy candy coated chocolate balls, which are not dairy free.
Varieties: Rainbow Candy Chips, Non-Dairy Chocolate Lentils
Top Allergens: soy (lecithin)
Other Dietary Notes: Kosher Parve
Where to Buy: Kosher grocers and the kosher section at some major grocers in the U.S. You can also order them online via Amazon.
Lily’s Dark Chocolate Candy-Coated Pieces (not vegan)
This sugar-free chocolatier has been around for quite some time, making both milk chocolate and dairy-free dark chocolate confections. They use uses erythritol and stevia instead of sugar in their recipes. Their candy-coated line also includes both milk and dairy-free dark chocolate varieties of M&M’s copycats. Be sure to choose the ones without dairy! And take note that none of their candy-coated pieces are vegan due to a non-vegan ingredient in the candy coating.
Varieties: Dark Chocolate
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: No Added Sugar, No Food Dyes, Certified Gluten Free
Where to Buy: Whole Foods and Walmart throughout the U.S. You can also order them online via www.lilys.com and Amazon.
Guy Gone Keto ShellBe (not vegan)
This keto-friendly brand uses erythritol and stevia instead of sugar. Their candy-coated chocolate pieces are also quite high in fiber. They are made without dairy, but the coating contains a non-vegan ingredient.
Varieties: No Sugar Added
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: No Added Sugar, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Order them online via shop.guygoneketo.com and Amazon.
Lakanto Sugar-Free Chocolate Gems
This is another keto-friendly M&M’s copycat that’s sweetened with erythritol, but they use monk fruit as the secondary sweetener instead of stevia.
Varieties: Sugar-Free Chocolate
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: Sugar-Free, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Order them online at www.lakanto.com.
Max Sweets Yum Yums
You get a wee bit of protein and a fair bit of fiber in this keto-friendly brand of candy-coated chocolate pieces. They also use erythritol and stevia for sweetening.
Varieties: Zero Sugar
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: Sugar-Free, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Walmart throughout the U.S. You can also order them online via maxsweets.com and Amazon.
Points Dark Chocolate Candy Pieces (not vegan)
Yes, it’s yet another sugar-free, high-fiber, keto-friendly, dairy-free M&M’s copycat that’s sweetened with erythritol and stevia. We’ve seen some packages that state “plant-based,” and some that contain shellac, which is not vegan.
Varieties: Rainbow
Top Allergens: none
Other Dietary Notes: No Added Sugar, No Food Dyes
Where to Buy: Order online via hummii.com and Amazon.com.
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