Hop Into Spring: 9 Healthy Easter Basket Ideas

on Mar 03, 2024, Updated Mar 13, 2024

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Are you looking for healthy Easter basket ideas? You’ve come to the right place! Make a few of these swaps this year and skip the artificial food colors, flavors, and high fructose corn syrup. You can also make some easy choices to reduce plastic waste too. Here’s to a Healthier Easter this year!

milk chocolate easter bunny with smaller chocolate easter eggs and colored candies on counter

Healthy Easter Basket Candy Ideas

I’m so glad that more food companies are starting to listen to consumers. When my kids were little, I had to look far and wide to find find treats without all the junk. Holidays such as Easter were focused on candy and unhealthy crap. Luckily, it’s easier than ever for the Easter bunny to bring healthier candy in the Easter baskets.

Avoid Artificial Candy Ingredients

There are many good reasons to avoid artificial food colors, flavors and high fructose corn syrup too. Did you know that artificial food colors and flavors are linked to ADHD in children – not necessarily causing the ADHD, but rather causing behavioral problems in some children.

High fructose corn syrup is everywhere. Sugar intake has skyrocketed in recent years. Reducing sugar intake and especially high fructose corn syrup could be the single best thing we do for our health.

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healthy easter basket candy with gummies, lollipops, and chocolate bunnies

8 Healthy Easter Basket Candy Companies

Sourcing natural and organic candies for Easter baskets can be difficult, especially if you live in a more rural area. Take a look at ingredient lists and try to give better ingredients to your children. Here are my top 8 companies for healthy Easter candy.

YumEarth Candy – YumEarth candy was the first healthier candy I ever found for my kids. They’ve been making lollipops for years, but recently they expanded their offerings. Their candy contains no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial dyes or flavors, and is also made with no soy, eggs, or dairy.
Spry Gum & Mints – Most sugar-free gum contains aspartame, another ingredient I like to avoid. Spry gum is made with xylitol and is also free of dyes and artificial flavors. Look for xylitol in toothpaste and gum, too.
Wholesome Candy – more organic candy options! My kids live the Wholesome fish and also the Wholesome cinnamon gummy bears. I brought back samples from Expo West that they were only too happy to devour.
Black Forest Candy – Black Forest gummies get their colors from natural sources. There are lots of cute shapes and spring flavors, too. These are perfect Easter egg fillers.

Easter candy without artificial food colors and high fructose corn syrup

Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups – I’ve long loved the Justin’s dark peanut butter cups. They also have white chocolate, milk chocolate, and almond butter cups. They are non GMO and free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial food dyes, and flavors.
Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans – Want organic jelly jeans? Surf Sweet’s got you covered! These yummy little candies are free from artificial dyes, flavors, and high fructose corn syrup, so they get my vote of approval too.
Lovely Organic Candy – Try the Lovely Company for more Easter basket filler ideas. My kids recently tried their Organic Lollipops and they were a huge hit! Featuring Mango, Grape, Strawberry & Pomegranate flavors, these organic pops are also VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, NON-GMO, Certified KOSHER, Cruelty-Free. They are also free from high fructose corn syrup, soy and other artificial ingredients!
UNREAL – Chocolate snacks made with up to 51% less sugar and simple ingredients, if you want simple, organic, sustainable, non-gmo project verified ingredients UNREAL is the brand for you! We love their peanut butter cups most of all. Check out their special edition Easter Peanut Butter Cups!
Chocolates from ALDI – If you’re a long time blog reader, you know I really like ALDI. We’re big fans of the seasonal items they come out with ever year. I always buy milk chocolate bunnies for each of my kids, and usually get a few other fun chocolate items from them as well. Their cocoa is responsibly sourced and ALDI quit adding artificial food dyes and artificial flavors to their store brands several years ago.

Alternatives to Candy

Another easy way to keep your Easter basket healthy is to choose Easter candy alternatives. My kids appreciate these even more as they get older. A few of our favorites are:

Organic Tea: My kids love experimenting with new flavors of teas so I put a few organic tea bags in their baskets, too.
Fruit Leather – 100% real fruit with no artificial dyes
Popcorn – organic, non-GMO popcorn

Eco-Friendly Easter Basket Ideas

Another way you to make healthier choices this Easter is to reduce the amount of plastic you buy. Here are some ways to make your Easter egg hunt more environmentally friendly.

Grow your own Easter Grass: it only takes a week so you have plenty of time to get it started.
Recyclable paper grass: If growing wheat grass isn’t for you, use recyclable paper grass instead.
Paper Mache Eggs: Egg hunts are popular this time of year. Use paper Mache versions instead of plastic Easter eggs. It’s all around better for the environment, but especially in case an egg gets left outdoors.
Multi-purpose containers for Easter Baskets: I’m a big fan of repurposing other containers into Easter baskets. Terracotta pots make great Easter baskets and then can be turned into pretty spring planters. Smaller galvanized buckets work well, too.

These are a few ways we’re enjoying a healthier Easter this year. I hope they inspire you to make a few positive changes as well.