🍫 Are Roses, Celebrations, Heroes and Quality Street Gluten Free?
Confession time: I adore chocolate. Shocker – I know! But are Roses, Celebrations, Heroes and Quality Street gluten free? Let’s find out.
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Which of these festival chocolate tub faves are gluten free and Coeliac friendly?
As a Coeliac, navigating the world of sweet treats can be quite the adventure… an adventure that often requires a detective’s keen eye (and reading glasses) coupled with a hefty dose of caution.
Chocolate, in particular, is a tempting yet potentially hazardous terrain indeed.
The holidays often present us with our favourite chocolate selections like Celebrations, Quality Street, Roses, and Heroes.
They look irresistible, but the question lingers: Are they safe for those of us who need to avoid gluten like the plague?
Holding off from ripping open the box and diving straight into your pre-diagnosed favourites takes some serious willpower.
Trust me, I know how you feel!
The ingredient lists can be overwhelming, with unfamiliar terms and vague labels, leaving you in doubt.
Even the smallest trace of gluten can cause significant discomfort or health issues in many Coeliacs (myself included, I am on the sensitive side, unfortunately), so it’s essential to know exactly what you’re eating.
But don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I have done some digging into these top four popular chocolate tubs to check whether Coeliacs can safely enjoy them.
So, grab a cup of tea (or a gluten-free snack!) and let’s dive into the world of chocolates, with a special focus on how Coeliacs like us can enjoy them safely.
Table of Contents
Are Roses gluten free?
Okay, let’s get this show on the road. First up is the truly delicious Cadbury Roses.
Cadury’s ingredients list gleefully omits any reference to gluten, wheat or any of the other danger words for Coeliacs. There are no warnings for cross contamination either.
The only warnings that Roses flag up are: Milk, Hazelnuts, Soya and a warning that the chocolates may contain other nuts.
Excellent news! Roses are one of my favourites, the lovely Golden Barrels in particular.
So all nine chocolates in the Roses tub are safe for you to eat, including:
✅ Golden Barrel
✅ Country Fudge
✅ Dairy Milk Chunk
✅ Hazel Whirl
✅ Caramel
✅ Hazel in Caramel
✅ Strawberry Dream
✅ Signature Truffle
✅ Tangy Orange Creme
🧺 You can snag your very own delicious tub of Roses from Amazon.
Are Quality Street gluten free?
Ah, Quality Street by Nestlé. Those shiny golden wrappers around the size of a two-pence piece containing Toffee Penny’s bring childhood memories of Christmas flooding back.
Let’s take a look at the official ingredients for Quality Street:
We have another winner!
Similar to the Cadbury Roses, Quality Street offer no warnings for gluten, wheat or any other ingredients for Coeliacs to be wary of, including no warnings for cross contamination. In fact, they only flag up the following: Milk, Hazelnuts, Peanuts and “other nuts”.
I guess if you have a nut allergy you will need to dig a little deeper into which chocolates are safe, but for Coeliacs you are okay to eat all eleven chocolates in the tub:
✅ Fudge
✅ Toffee Penny
✅ Toffee Finger
✅ Caramel Swirl
✅ Coconut Eclair
✅ The Green Triangle
✅ Orange Crème
✅ Milk Choc Block
✅ The Purple One
✅ Strawberry Delight
✅ Orange Crunch
And thank goodness for that, even glimpsing the packaging on a tub of Quality Street triggers warm memories of Christmas with my family. It has been a staple my whole life and I really appreciate Nestlé ensuring that these chocolates are safe for us Coeliacs.
🧺 You can snag your very own Quality Street tub from Amazon.
Are Heroes gluten free?
Cadbury’s Heroes are next up, while these were not around when I was growing up, I have absolutely indulged since then and more then made up for missing them out!
Oh, Wispa, how I love you…
Cadbury’s has come up trumps again for Coeliacs with the ingredients list in their Heroes tub. There is only one caveat; the Dinky Decker may contain peanuts, nuts and wheat.
Wheat and Barley are big no-no’s, but outside of the Dinky Decker the rest of the tub is safe.
Maybe you can give the Dinky Decker to your partner while you grab the rest? Seems fair to me…
So, eight of the nine Heroes chocolates are gluten friendly:
✅ Wispa
✅ Fudge
✅ Dairy Milk
✅ Twirl
✅ Creme Egg Twisted
✅ Eclair
✅ Dairy Milk Caramel
✅ Crunchie
❌ Dinky Decker
🧺 Have I tempted you to indulge in a tub of Heroes? Amazon can hook you up 😉
Are Celebrations gluten free?
Ah, now we finally hit a real snag in our festival chocolate tub roundup; Mars Celebrations have a double whammy of Coeliac warnings in their ingredients list.
Wheat gluten, wheat flour and Barley malt are strict no-no’s for Coeliacs, and for me personally the oats will cause me extra issues. Mars does not specify which chocolates contain the wheat or oats ingredients so it is simply safer to avoid eating these chocolates.
❌ Twix
❌ Mars
❌ Maltesers
❌ Galaxy Caramel
❌ Bounty
❌ Snickers
❌ Galaxy
❌ Milky Way
What a shame. Come on Mars – support your loyal Coeliac fans, we love Twix’s and Mars bars just as much as everybody else 😿
🧺 Still, they are absolutely delicious, and they make a great gift for your “normie” friends and family.
In conclusion, Roses, Quality Street and Heroes (barring the Dinky Deckers) are all gluten-free and are safe for Coeliacs, while the Celebrations are unfortunately not suitable. Excellent work Cadbury and Nestlé. We Coeliacs appreciate you 🙏
You can indulge in these tubs without fear, and you can also gift them to friends and family who may have gluten intolerance without worrying about poisoning them. Happy days!
If you are looking for other seasonal gluten-free chocolate guides, then you might want to check out my gluten-free Easter egg guide.
Homemade Festive chocolate tub alternatives
So, now you know which chocolate tubs are gluten-free, you can make an informed purchasing decision on which gifts you would like to give your gluten-sensitive family and friends. But do you know what means even more than these chocolate tubs?
Baking them yourself!
Come on – you can’t expect to read an article from a gluten-free recipe site and not have me pitch some of my favourite chocolate recipes to you 😉
Best-ever gluten-free chocolate cupcakes recipe
These gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are moist and light with a whipped cream and chocolate frosting. They are easy to make, freeze and transport.
Gluten-Free Millionaire Shortbread recipe
Cubes of heaven – this gluten-free millionaire shortbread is an absolute classic. A delicious crumbly biscuit base, a smooth caramel middle, and a silky chocolate topping. What more could you want?
Do you know what goes really well with chocolate? Champagne! You can read all about it here: Is champagne gluten free?
Check if other Christmas staples are gluten free
If you are looking for more gluten-free Christmas information, then try my Christmas “Is it gluten free?” articles:
- Is gravy gluten free?
- Is stuffing gluten free?
- Is turkey gluten free?
- Is eggnog gluten free?
- Is cranberry sauce gluten free?
- Is smoked salmon gluten free?
- Are chestnuts gluten free?
- Is gingerbread gluten free?
- Are Candy Canes Gluten Free?
- Is ham gluten free?
- Are advent calendars gluten free?
If you want to find out which fast food outlets offer gluten free meals, then check out my articles on McDonald’s and Burger King.
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Becky Terrell ✍️
Hi, I am Becky. I am a passionate recipe maker and having been a coeliac (celiac) for 30+ years I focus on gluten-free recipes. My blog is my online cookbook of gluten-free tasty recipes. You can follow me on X: @beckygwg
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