Vegan Candy Eyes – Namely Marly

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Learn how to make your own vegan candy eyes with this easy-to-follow recipe! With just four ingredients, you’ll be snacking on your own eye-catching treats in no time. Incorporate this recipe into your favorite desserts for an extra special touch.

Looking down on a bowl of candy eyes surrounded by Halloween cupcakes with candy eyes on each of them.

If you’re vegan and enjoy Halloween, then I bet at some point you’ve wondered, why are those candy eyes made with gelatin?

If Skittles can be made without gelatin, then so can candy eyes! But common sense seems to be elusive at times.

That’s why I made these vegan edible eyes myself!

Why make edible eyes for cupcakes? Because every cupcake is better with googly eyes!

Create your own vegan candy eyes in all shapes and sizes with this easy recipe. Made with only six ingredients, these festive edible googly eyes make your favorite Halloween treats come to life!

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Cornstarch — We’ll combine cornstarch with the rest of the ingredients to create a firm consistency with these candy eyes.
Sugar — The best sugar to use here is powdered sugar.
Flavoring — I combined a bit of almond and vanilla extract for the very best flavor. If you don’t have almond extract, feel free to use only vanilla extract.
Milk — We’ll use a bit of plant-based milk to bring it all together.
Candy Pupils — For the pupils, I combined black gel food coloring with a bit of Dutch-process cocoa powder. You don’t have to add the cocoa powder, but I like the hint of chocolate flavor it adds.

A spoon drizzles vegan royal frosting over a bowl full of more icing.

How to Make Edible Googly Eyes

It’s easy to make these vegan candy eyeballs. Here is a synopsis of the instructions. See the recipe card below for more detailed steps.

Stir together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Add the almond and vanilla extract, and plant-based milk. Stir together.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fit a reusable piping bag with a small round tip, such as Wilton #4. Fill the bag with all of the white royal icing, except for 3 tablespoons. Add the 3 tablespoons to a small bowl. Stir in black food coloring gel, one drop at a time, until you achieve a dark, black color. Transfer to a plastic ziplock bag.
Make small, medium, and large dots across the pan (depending on the size of the eyes you will be using).
Snip a tiny bit of the tip of the ziplock bag with the black frosting. Add a small dot of black to each white drop on the pan to create a pupil in each eye.
Set the pan away from direct sunlight, in a cool dry place for the eyes to dry overnight.
Store in an airtight container. Add them as Halloween decorations on cookies, cupcakes, and more!

A small wooden bowl is full of edible candy eyes. There are more of the candy eyes scattered around the bowl.

Why This Recipe is a Winner

PLAYFUL — Let your plant-based desserts be playful by adding these candy eyes to donuts, cupcakes, cookies, and more!
KID FAVORITE — Let the kids help create these fun decorations. They may create some interesting shapes that add even more character to your decorations!
FESTIVE — Get in the Halloween spirit with these fun, easy, and edible decorations you can make at home!

Frequently-Asked Questions

Are candy googly eyes vegan?

Many store-bought candy eyes are not vegan or vegetarian because they’re made with gelatin.

Should you make candy eyes large or small?

It’s up to you! You can make tiny candy eye sprinkles, or large googly eyes for cupcakes. Or make them in between to decorate festive donuts or any fun treat!

Serving Suggestions

Now that you know how easy it is to make edible googly eyes yourself, let’s talk about how to use them. Here are some favorite treats that suddenly become festive with the addition of some vegan googly eyes:

Storage Tips

I like to transfer leftover candy eyes to a lidded glass jar. Then keep them with your other sprinkles and cake decorations where they can keep for up to a year or more.

A bowl of vegan googly eyes sits in front of Halloween cupcakes decorated with the candies.

Vegan Spooky Recipes

I hope you love this recipe about how to make googly eyes at home. Here are some fun Halloween recipes to decorate:

A bowl of vegan googly eyes sits in front of decorated cupcakes.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Stir together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Add the almond and vanilla extract, corn syrup, and plant-based milk. Stir together.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fit a reusable piping bag with a small round tip, such as Wilton #4. Fill the bag with all of the white royal icing, except for 3 tablespoons. Add the 3 tablespoons small bowl. Stir in black food coloring gel, one drop at a time, until you achieve a dark, black color. Optional: stir in a half-teaspoon of Dutch-process cocoa powder. Transfer to a plastic ziplock bag.
Make small, medium, and large dots across the pan (depending on the size of the eyes you will be using).
Snip a tiny bit of the tip of the ziplock bag with the black frosting. Add a small dot of black to each white drop on the pan to create a pupil in each eye.
Set the pan away from direct sunlight, in a cool dry place for the eyes to dry overnight.
Store in an airtight container. Add them as Halloween decorations on cookies, cupcakes, and more!

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Vary the size of the eyes you create depending on the treats you’re making. You can even form two eyes as one candy. Get creative!

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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