Presenting the Winners of the Free From Easter Award 2024!
Just as with many other occasions throughout the year, food plays a big part in Easter celebrations. So, if you’re stuck for what to treat yourself or others to this Easter you’re in the right place. Sit back, scroll and be inspired.
This year we had 4 judging categories, recognising the wider Easter occasion ...and it really isn’t all about chocolate!
~ Hot Cross Buns
~ Cakes & Bakes
~ Easter Eggs
~ Confectionery & Gifting
Please remember that most products are seasonal, some may not yet be available, and most will not be available after Easter.
If you find something you like, stock up! Please note that criteria for entry states that products must be free from a minimum of 1 of the top 14 EU recognised allergens (with no precautionary allergen labelling for the allergen/s specified in the free from claim) hence the free from credentials of our winners will vary.
Each listing below includes on pack free from claims, which top 14 allergens the product contains, and any precautionary allergen labelling applied.
The information shown is supplied by the entrant and retail prices were correct at the time of entering. If you are unsure about a product's safety for you, please check the packaging, the brand's website, or contact the manufacturer.
Aldi Dairyfine Free From Eggstreme Egg £2.99
Easter Eggs
A cute kid-friendly egg. A great price point for an egg that is a step above the standard - lovely embedded chocolate drops and marshmallows give it a special feel and elevate the experience. A nice, affordable egg for all.
Aldi Specially Selected Free From White Choc Lemon Drizzle Egg & Truffles £5.99
Easter Eggs
The packaging very well considered with gorgeous illustrations and a luxe feel, with the Aldi logo buried on the side. You are greeted with a lovely lemon aroma upon opening and the egg itself has a pretty wavy pattern adorned with sugar nibs. Very nice lemon and white chocolate flavour with a pleasant depth and creaminess and the truffles are good with a really lemony soft centre and not overly sweet.
Asda Extra Special Free From Dark Chocolate Egg with Vanilla Flavour Truffles £6.50
Easter Eggs
The chocolate smells deliciously dark and the inclusion of the nibs adds the most wonderful crunch and a lovely rich feel & flavour. And the truffles are of a similarly high quality. A really sophisticated egg with a great cacao flavour.
Asda Extra Special Free From Easter Egg Selection £6.00
Easter Eggs
A lovely twist on a classic with this delightful trio. Absolutely delicious flavour contrasts with these and none too sweet. A lovely product, free from all but soya.
Asda Free From White Choc Easter Egg with White Choc Buttons £3.50
Easter Eggs
Cute bunny on the box appealing to young kids. A good glossy egg with a proper ‘crack’ to it. This smells like white chocolate, the melt is great and the flavour is eggstremely eggscellent.
Co-op GRO Salted Toffee Crunch Egg £4.50
Easter Eggs
Nice embossing and shine to this egg, good solid chocolate with variable thickness. This has a really nice delicate flavour, the subtle toffee crunch pairs well with the creamy texture with a pleasing hint of salt. The part salt part toffee is the perfect combo. And great to see a clear milk free claim on a vegan branded product.
NOMO Creamy Choc Egg & Mini Bars £6.50
Easter Eggs
A lot of fun and joy has been put into this product, the additions of the mini bars elevate it to the next level. A good mix of flavours and a solid, creamy milk choc egg and all of this that's free from the top 14!
NOMO The Ultimate Egg £10.00
Easter Eggs
This is the stuff of free from dreams. This feels extra special with a lot packed into this bright & fun box and reasonably priced.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Extra Thick Rocky Road Easter Egg £8.00
Easter Eggs
This does exactly as it promises – this is so much more than a hollow shell, it offers a great bite, the inclusions are plentiful, deliver the anticipated textural contrasts and well distributed so something in every bite. And not only is it free from milk & gluten, it‘s top 14 free and with no precautionary allergen labelling.
Salcombe Dairy Dark Chocolate Nibs Easter Egg with Dark Nibs and Dark Sea Salt Bars £22.50
Easter Eggs
A real treat for someone who relishes proper, premium, rich, intense & velvety dark handmade chocolate that is free from nuts, soya & gluten. Beautiful luxury packaging and super sustainable too.
Salcombe Dairy Blond Chocolate Easter Egg with Blond and Caramel & Sea Salt Bar £22.50
Easter Eggs
A very impressive egg, tree nut, peanut, soya, gluten free egg. This isn’t cheap but you can see why - a special gift. Very good allergen awareness is demonstrated, the packaging is delightful and the egg itself is very rich with a lovely mature caramel flavour, it looks beautiful. The bars are of an excellent quality and provide a very substantial addition to the gorgeous egg.
Asda OMV! Choc Orange & Caramel Crisp Easter Egg £5.00
Easter Eggs
Looks nice and glossy with good embossing and an elegant, not too thick, chocolate shell with a crunchy caramel texture and a delicate orange flavour. A good quality free from egg.
NOMO Choc Fudge Egg & Bunny £6.50
Easter Eggs
Very nice to have a foil wrapped egg, plus the bunny is in its original packaging inside the box. Good quality, thick choc with nice texture. A great product that is crystal clear about its allergy credentials without losing the fun.
M&S Made Without Dairy Choccy Rocky Road Egg and Bunny Bar £6.00
Easter Eggs
Love the design - it's fun & eye-catching plus it’s not just the egg, you get a Bunny Bar too. I rather liked the elliptical shape of the egg itself, beautiful and elegant and whilst the inclusions may not be elegant, they are magnificent!
Plamil So Free Vegan Oatm!lk Egg £4.00
Easter Eggs
Loving the paper bag credentials and it’s very joyful and pretty and it’s hard to find a low sugar egg. A welcome change in that it’s not too sweet, with a good mouth feel and deep chocolate flavour.
Tesco Free From White Choc Crunch Egg £4.30
Easter Eggs
Very good consistent thickness to the shell with nice looking caramel rice crunch pieces. The crispy insertions in the egg offer variety in terms of texture and taste. A substantial egg with a nice caramel flavour and not too sweet.
Aldi Specially Selected Free From Double Choc Brownie Egg & Truffles £5.99
Easter Eggs
Another great design that recognises the gifting occasion.
The egg is very prettily marbled and whilst maybe not quite tasting the double choc brownie flavour the choc is good. The addition of the ‘grown-up’ truffles is welcomed – these have a hard glossy shell and a lovely soft salty filling.
Asda Free From Caramel & Honeycomb Easter Egg £5.00
Easter Eggs
A nice twist here with crunchy honeycomb embedded in a glossy embossed egg. Decent texture with good crack and shine.
Asda Free From Rocky Road Easter Egg £5.00
Easter Eggs
The mallows and crunchy biscuit are great and encased inside the shell of this top 14 allergens free egg.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Extra Thick Caramel and Biscuit White Choc Egg £8.00
Easter Eggs
A tasty white chocolate egg with a good heft to it, a good melt and plentiful inclusions.
Asda OMV! Espresso Martini Flavour Choc Easter Egg £5.00
Easter Eggs
Good boldly designed box holding an embossed egg with inclusions offering lots of texture.
Booja-Booja Raspberry Scrunch Chocolate Truffle Loglets £9.99
Easter Confectionery & Gifitng
Utterly delicious raspberry truffle bars with a great crunch and soft centre. I loved the texture; crunchy outer around the intense but softer inner. The loglets looked slightly sparkly. Very pretty and the design on the box is absolutely gorgeous.
Moo Free Caramel Mini Eggs £3.50
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
An absolutely lovely design and images, very sweet indeed, lovely to have squirrels and bunnies prospecting and drilling for caram-oil together!
Quite chunky little eggs, each filled with a delicious and plentiful caramel filling. Another great option, catering for multiple allergies.
NOMO Mini Cookie Dough Bunnies £2.50
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
Another triumphant innovation from NOMO. A collection of individually wrapped mini bunnies filled with that lovely crunchy-smooth cookie dough. Absolutely perfect for Easter hunts.
Asda Extra Special Free From Salted Caramel Fudge & Honeycomb Choc Slab £3.50
Easter Confectionery & Gfiting
I love the look of this product, so special and pretty with a generous and differentiated mix of toppings; the lustred eggs, the fudge chunks and the crispy honeycomb. A great egg alternative yet this still feels seasonally relevant. A great size, good for gifting and to share.
Asda Free From Patch the Bunny Tin £3.50
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
Nice to have an Easter egg alternative and the tin is very sweet. A cute gift for kids. Love that the ears are moveable. A slightly eccentric mix of items, pairing jelly beans with choc coated raisins, but there's no doubt that kids will love this and the bunny tin can be enjoyed once the sweets have been eaten.
Beanies Flavour Coffee Easter 3 Jar Stash £10.00
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
This makes coffee fun! Great to see alternative Easter gifts. The flavours are all what they say they are - nice and gentle but they definitely know what they are trying to be. One for flavoured coffee fans rather than coffee purists!
NOMO Choc Fudge Bunny £0.90
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
A very cute little free from product that is a versatile option for an array of Easter occasions. Very happy to see this little chap back again.
NOMO Easter Bunny Hollow £4.50
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
A sweet & very happy looking bunny that will be easy for children to hold. Good quality free from choc and a wonderful alternative to a chocolate egg.
Tesco Free From Cluckie The Choc Chick £3.75
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
Sweet choc chick, so nice to have something different to an Easter egg. The moulding is very good with nice detailing. A good standard free from 'milk' chocolate in a pleasing form and at a pleasing price.
Asda Free From Fried Eggs Choc Slab £2.00
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
A really fun option combining sweets and chocolates, this really works well. And makes a nice alternative to an Easter Egg.
Asda Free From Chunky Choc & Confetti Bar £3.00
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
Woah, I did not expect the real chunk here, each chunk is egg-shaped, with Easter imprints and covered in crunchy confetti, very pretty and something really different.
Tesco Free From Cluckie The White Choc Chick £3.75
Easter Confectionery & Gifting
A good milk free white choc chick with creamy flavour notes. The moulding is great and the thickness of the chocolate is good, easy enough for small hands to break but robust enough not to break in box.
Asda Free From 4 Hot Cross Buns £2.25
Easter Hot Cross Buns
Delighted to find a completely 14 allergens free option with no precautionary labelling. Good size, shape & colour. Soft with some bounce and with soft, plump fruit. Pleasant but mild spicing.
Tesco Free From Finest Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns £3.00
Easter Hot Cross Buns
A gentle orange scent greets you upon opening. I really like the difference of the chocolate coloured cross on top, good and bold. When sliced you see a pleasing open texture an abundance of choc inclusions, which is very pretty and gives a speckled sort of freckly look. Toast this and the enjoyment of the eat is elevated.
M&S Made Without Hot Cross Buns £2.00
Easter Hot Cross Buns
Lovely visual, the best seen, with a strong cross and a golden colour benefitting from the glaze. The fruit was evident before slicing and once sliced you’re able to differentiate the fruit inclusions. Lightly spiced and a pleasing price.
Asda Free From Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns £2.25
Easter Hot Cross Buns
The orange flavour may be mild and the eat when toasted a little messy, but DO toast these and go with the mess! The chocolate is more chunk than chip here but this brings a really enjoyable melt. And being top 14 allergens free is a real win.
Asda Free From 4 Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns £2.25
Easter Hot Cross Buns
Good rise and very neat cross The apple adds a nice twist and moisture to this bun which is properly 14 allergens free.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns £2.50
Easter Hot Cross Buns
There was certainly a preference for these to be toasted. The chocolate was very good but would have liked more and the orange flavour was very subtle.
BFree Foods Cosy Spiced Carrot Cake £3.95
Easter Cakes & Bakes
The visual really differentiated these giving them a homemade appearance with an almost Italian-style wrapping. The icing was topped with orange marmalade strips which was a lovely detail.
The sponge itself was very good; moist and with a nice nutty texture texture from the sunflower seeds. Not too sweet and an interesting flavour profile. A good list of ingredients - solid simple stuff like lemon peel, marmalade and spices.
Genius Deliciously Gluten Free Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes £2.25
Easter Cakes & Bakes
A nice Easter twist and recognising the wider Easter occasion. Be patient with this one, toast well and you won’t regret it! Good gentle orange aroma with a nice spread of chocolate throughout that softens wonderfully once toasted.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Free From 4 Hot Cross Bun Flavour Tarts £3.25
Easter Cakes & Bakes
An alternative to chocolate is always welcomed at Easter. A pretty little tart with a good fill and a nice dusting. Good, crisp pastry which tempered the sweetness of the filling. The filling had an interesting flavour with subtle citrus and a mild spicy warmth. Judges found this one to be a grower.
Asda Free From 2 Lemon Cupcakes £1.75
Easter Cakes & Bakes
Very cute looking little chick and who doesn't love a pop of yellow at Easter. Cleanly came away from case, plain sponge with a nostalgic lemon cupcake aroma!
Asda Free From Simnel Cake Slices £2.25
Easter Cakes & Bakes
Lovely appearance, a deep slice with a 'toasted' looking marzipan top with an abundance of fruit and the all spice flavours carry through well.