“Sour. Sweet. Gone.” This familiar slogan has been heard on television commercials, seen on billboards, and even been used as the punch line for many pop-culture jokes and memes. This is the tag line for Sour Patch Kids, which is a popular candy for both kids and adults. It’s often a classic for Halloween treats, office handouts, and even an afternoon sugar kick. But for those on a gluten-free diet, how does it fit in?
Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free. In fact, the spin-off products such as Sour Patch Watermelon and Sour Patch Kids Extreme Sour are gluten-free as well. However, for those looking for a healthier gluten-free alternative, you won’t want to miss alternatives such as Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies Gummy Candy, Yum Earth Sour Twists, and Lily’s Sour Worms.
Never fear, candy-lovers! We’re going to dive in and give you all the information you want to know about Sour Patch Kids nutrition, how to make an at-home Sour Patch Kids inspired healthy snack, and the best gluten-free candy alternatives.
Contents
Are Sour Patch Kids Healthy?
No, Sour Patch Kids are not healthy. In fact, they are remarkably unhealthy. For one, Sour Patch Kids have an incredibly high sugar content, in addition to being loaded with artificial ingredients (including high fructose corn syrup).
When you consume artificial sweeteners, like the ones in Sour Patch Kids, your body is triggered to release insulin, which causes blood sugar levels to rise. This can be damaging to cells and lead to insulin resistance over time, which can develop into diabetes.
When we have these dramatic rises and falls in our blood sugar, we experience negative changes in our moods, irregular energy levels, and physical fatigue. Our internal organs are also unable to function optimally, which can lead to the development of chronic disease over time.
In addition to the high artificial sugar content, Sour Patch Kids are highly acidic. The high levels of acid is damaging to teeth, and can erode the enamel (outermost covering of your teeth). When your enamel is damaged, your teeth are more susceptible to cavities and damage, you will experience greater tooth sensitivity, and you may experience painful tooth infections. Safe to say.. you may want to opt for a healthier alternative, discussed in our next section.
How Often Can You Eat Sour Patch Kids?
Because of their unhealthy nature, we recommend only consuming Sour Patch Kids occasionally. While they’re fine for a special treat, too many will lead to short and long-term negative health effects.
If you are looking for a candy to regularly incorporate into your diet, you are going to want to look for one low in sugar and made from primarily natural ingredients.
Sour Patch Kids Nutrition Information
It’s important to note that while Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free and are safe for those with celiac and those with gluten allergies, the actual packaging does not carry the gluten-free certification. This is likely just because the company hasn’t had the product formally certified as gluten free, even though there are no gluten containing ingredients.
The nutrition information for Sour Patch Kids and two popular spin-off Sour Patch products are listed below.
Sour Patch Kids
Nutrition Facts (Per 30g, 2 Snack Sized Bags):
- Calories: 110
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 27 gram (9% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 19 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 20 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Invert sugar
- Corn syrup
- Modified corn starch
- Tartaric acid
- Citric acid
- Natural and artificial flavor
- Yellow 6
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
- Blue 1
Sour Patch Kids Watermelon
Nutrition Facts (Per 39g, 11 pieces):
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 34 gram (11% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 30 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 40 mg (2% DV)
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Glucose syrup
- Modified corn starch
- Citric acid
- Tartaric acid
- Artificial flavor
- Color (with tartrazine)
Sour Patch Kids Extreme Sour
Nutrition Facts (Per 40g, 16 Pieces):
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 37 gram (12% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 26 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 25 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Invert sugar
- Corn syrup
- Modified corn starch
- Contains less than 2% of: tartaric acid, lactic acid, citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, yellow 6, blue 1, red 40, yellow 5
Gluten-Free Sour Patch Kids Alternatives
If you are craving a more traditional Sour Patch Kids alternative, we have you covered with some low-sugar, low-preservative options.
Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies Gummy Candy
Starting off, we have Smart Sweets. Smart Sweets was originally created due to a lack of low-sugar alternatives on the market. Smart Sweets contain no sugar alcohols, no artificial sweeteners, and have up to 92% less sugar than traditional candy alternatives. For those looking for a tangy candy similar to Sour Patch, Sour Blast Buddies are the way to go.
One thing to watch out for in Smart Sweets is the high fiber content. Because of the Chicory Root fiber, even 1 pack packs almost half of your daily fiber. If you already consume high levels of fiber in your daily diet, consuming multiple packs could lead to gut discomfort due to the excess fiber content. However, one pack normally will not cause any issues.
Nutrition Facts (Per 50g, 1 pack):
- Calories: 100
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 42 gram (15% DV)
- Fiber: 13 gram (46% DV)
- Sugar: 3 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 70 mg (3% DV)
Ingredients:
- Non-GMO soluble corn fiber
- Allulose
- Isomalto-oligosaccharides (vegetable source)
- Lactic acid
- Chicory root fiber
- Pectin
- Rice flour
- Fumaric acid
- Malic acid
- Citric acid
- Natural berry
- Blue raspberry
- Orange
- Lemon and lime flavors
- Sodium citrate
- Fruit and vegetable juice (for color)
- Coconut oil
- Carnauba wax
- Spirulina extract (for color)
- Stevia leaf extract
Yum Earth Sour Twists
Yum Earth was originally started by 2 dads in 2007 who wanted to create sweet treats with simple ingredients that could be enjoyed by everyone. They pledge that their candies are organic, non-GMO, peanut-free, tree-nut free, vegan, gluten-free, and made without soy, eggs, or dairy.
Beyond this, Yum Earth goes a step further to make their candy environmentally friendly. All of the packaging is made in accordance with LEED sustainable building guidelines, and the equipment is solely powered by wind energy.
If you are looking for a Sour Patch alternative, try their Sour Twists.
Nutrition Facts (Per 19.8g, 1 Snack Pack):
- Calories: 70
- Fat: 1 gram (1% DV)
- Carbs: 14 gram (5% DV)
- Fiber: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Sugar: 7 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 20 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Organic cane sugar
- Organic brown rice syrup
- Organic brown rice flour
- Organic apple juice concentrate
- Organic tapioca starch
- Organic palm fruit oil
- Citric acid, natural flavor
- Tartaric acid
- Trisodium citrate
- Sunflower lecithin
- Colored with concentrate (black carrot, blackcurrant)
Lily’s Sour Worms
Lily’s Sweets also are in the market of low-sugar candy alternatives, and offer candy that is non-GMO, certified gluten-free, and made with stevia. They offer many types of sweet treats, with the most similar to Sour Patch Kids being their Sour Worms.
Nutrition Facts (Per 51g, 1 pouch):
- Calories: 70
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 42 gram (15% DV)
- Fiber: 24 gram (85% DV)
- Sugar: <1 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 95 mg (4% DV)
Ingredients:
- Soluble corn fiber
- Allulose
- Erythritol
- Lactic acid
- Pectin
- Citric acid
- Sodium citrate
- Stevia extract
- Natural flavors
- Color added (apple, blackcurrant, carrot, pumpkin, saffron and spirulina concentrates)
At Home Sour Patch Grapes (Yes, Gluten-free!)
Sometimes, all we want is a little sweet and sour combination. Well, when the craving hits, you may be surprised how well Sour Patch Grapes can satisfy the craving! All you need are Jell-O fruit powder mixes of your choice and some green grapes.
To make a variety of Sour Patch Grapes, collect the following:
- ½ box of Watermelon Jell-O Mix (brand of choice, can be sugar free)
- ½ box of Orange Jell-O Mix (brand of choice, can be sugar free)
- ½ box of Green Apple Jell-O Mix (brand of choice, can be sugar free)
- 3 pounds of green grapes
- 3 large Ziploc bags
You are then going to want to follow these steps:
- Pour each Jell-O mix into large plastic zip lock bags
- Cut each of your grapes in half (may sound tedious, but trust us, it’s worth it)
- Run all the grapes gently under water so that the powder will stick
- Place 1/3 of your grapes in each bag, and shake so that the grapes are covered in powder
- Place all of the grapes into a large tub or container of choice and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour
- Enjoy!!
Related Questions
Do Sour Patch Kids have Gelatin?
No, Sour Patch Kids do not contain gelatin.
Are Sour Patch Kids Kosher?
Despite being free from gelatin, Sour Patch Kids are not considered to be Kosher. This is because they have many artificial additives, some of which are derived from non-kosher ingredients.
Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan?
Sour Patch Kids are technically vegan because they don’t contain animal-derived ingredients. However, many people do not consider them vegan because they contain ingredients that require animals to be harmed to produce. You can read more about it here.