Let’s take a look at all things corn free snacks. It’s important to go into this topic realistically if you manage a severe corn allergy. If you have a severe allergy and can’t tolerate corn derivatives, there won’t be many products to purchase and trial.
However, if you can tolerate shared equipment with corn and some corn derivatives, you’ll have more options to choose from.
Types of Corn Free Snacks to Look For
- Simple & Clean Oat Based Granola
- Grain Free Granola
- Popped Sorghum (a great alternative to popcorn)
- Grain Free Pretzels (if you can tolerate corn derivatives, you’ll probably be able to find a safe option)
- Grain Free Crackers
- Seed Oil Free Potato Chips
- Paleo or AIP Paleo Snacks (bars, grain free tortilla chips, etc.)
- Dried Fruits
- Super Minimal Snacks
Notice I used the term grain free quite a bit. That’s because this is an easy way to avoid of lot corn based derivatives commonly seen in snacks (especially gluten free snacks). A lot of brands that make grain free snacks are more committed to using wholesome, high quality ingredients, which also increases your chances of success.
Types of Snacks to Avoid
As you shop for corn free snacks, there are certain categories that are almost always guaranteed to contain top level corn and/or corn derivatives:
- Gluten Free Snacks
- Vegan Snacks
- Low Sugar or “Sugar Free” Snacks
- Conventional Snacks
- Fruit Snacks
Paleo, Keto, and AIP Paleo brands technically fall under gluten free. The GF warning is for brands that are only GF. Those types of foods will contain top level corn and/or corn derivatives 99% of the time.
Top Level Corn
These are the whole/large sources of corn:
- Corn
- Corn Starch
- Corn Flour
- Corn Syrup
- Grits
- Corn Meal
- Corn on the Cob
Snack Brands to Investigate
Here’s a list of brands that you can get in touch with about corn free snacks. I am in NO WAY personally vouching for these brands. Instead, I’m sharing product leads that could potentially be truly corn free.
You’ll need to ask about raw material/ingredient sourcing, packaging, and everything else when it comes to finding truly corn free snacks.
- 88 Acres (the spreads specifically)
- Artisan Tropic (plantain and cassava options)
- AshaPops (plain flavour only)
- Bar-Nana (plantain and cassava snacks)
- Bearded Bros (super awesome brand and transparent people)
- Carnivore Crisps (meat snacks, they say their bison is from NorthStar)
- Eden Foods (range of options, transparent company, look at things like applesauce)
- Gimme (seaweed snacks)
- Le Pain des Fleurs (crisps, one product contains corn)
- Lil Bucks (buckwheat based)
- Lovebird Foods (grain free cereal, you can make cereal bars and more)
- Made in Nature (dried fruit)
- Nate’s Naturals (popped sorghum)
- North Coast (applesauce)
- Simple Mills (they make a bold corn free claim, but you’ll have to determine if it really works for your needs)
- Wild Zora (meat snacks and other grain free snacks)
- Wilderness Poets (nuts, seeds, butters/spreads)
Check out this corn free cereal article for more potential corn free snacks.
Understanding How to Purchase Corn Free Snacks
A lot of brands will tell you, “oh yeah, we sell corn free snacks” when in reality, their entire supply chain is coated in corn.
This article on the Hidden Sources of Corn is a great read if you’re new to corn free shopping. My Ultimate GF + Corn Free Cookbook also has a whole section dedicated to teaching you how to contact companies, questions to ask, pitfalls to avoid, and more.
Look at the whole picture, not just the narrow scope of one product.
As you look at a product, it’s important that you step back and look at the whole brand. For example, there was a brand that when it first came out sold corn free snacks. It was awesome. Then, they decided to expand into selling popcorn and all of their products were no longer safe because of the facility.
The same thing is true of a chip company. They sold grain free, corn free tortilla chips. Now, they didn’t taste that great, but it was a valid option. Then, they introduced a line of corn chips and people started reacting (I’m guessing because of shared equipment).
If a brand has one flavor that may work for you, ask about shared equipment with the other flavours they sell. You have to determine if it’s made on its own line, what cleaning looks like, etc.
So, you have to look at the entire picture if you can’t tolerate corn derivatives or trace amounts of corn. If you only avoid top level corn, there’s a good chance a lot of “corn free snacks” will work for you.
Skip products with a long ingredient list.
An easy way to think of it is like this: imagine that every ingredient has 10 potential touch points for corn that have to be investigated. That number isn’t a random one by the way. Even with the most simple of ingredients, such as apples, there are at least 10 key points.
Now, for every ingredient a product has, you’ve multiplied the number of potential touch points. It’s much easier to get information on a product with 3 ingredients rather than 12 ingredients.
Don’t purchase products with added nutrients.
If a brand uses a fortified ingredient, or adds in vitamins etc., skip the product. 99.9% of these ingredients contain corn derivatives.
Clean brands are doing better.
As you look for corn free snacks, you may see a clean brand with citric acid as an ingredient. Ask for more information, as many are using a cassava option.
As a general rule, I give clean/organic/minimal brands the benefit of the doubt and ask for info, rather than write them off completely without even contacting them.
Only investigate what you can’t make yourself.
There are some corn free snacks that require special equipment (especially products with a super crunchy texture or puffed foods). Those are the snacks you want to look into.
If there’s a corn free snack that you can make yourself, with safe ingredients you already have, that’s ALWAYS going to be the safest option. Plus, you don’t have to pay for shipping 🙂
Amazing Corn Free Resources
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Ingredients to Purchase to Make Corn Free Snacks at Home
Here are some basic ingredients you’re going to want if you plan to make corn free snacks at home. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a great starting point.
- Puffed Cereal, single ingredient only (millet, rice, quinoa)
- Gluten Free, Purity Protocol Organic Oats
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Sea Salt
- Spices (cinnamon, etc.)
- Safe Dried Fruit and Dates (Sam Cobb Farms has nut free dates)
- Spreads/Butters
- Safe-For-You Flour
- Safe Chocolate (cacao powder and chocolate chips)
- Corn Free Vanilla
Truly Corn Free Snack Recipes
If purchasing corn free snacks isn’t an option for you, here are some fantastic snack recipes that you can try at home. A lot of them are what I would call a healthy snack, and these are also kid friendly corn free snacks. They’re all gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, and incredibly allergy friendly.
Snack Component Recipes
These are recipes that you would make, then use as part of a snack. I’ve included some examples.
- Grain Free + Wheat Free + Corn Free Tortillas
- Top 9 Free + Top 14 Free Nutella (nut and seed free)
You can use tortillas to make a range of corn free snacks including roll ups and homemade chips. Nutella can be used to add a chocolate layer of flavor to your corn free snacks. A few more examples:
- Tortilla + Shredded Meat + Dip/Sauce
- Tortilla + Nutella + Safe Fruit Slices
- Corn Free Apple Slices + Nutella
- Rice Cakes + Nutella + Safe Fruit
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Corn Free Power Bites and Granola Bar Recipes
These corn free snacks are all super duper easy to make. They’re also gluten free, suitable for a vegan or vegetarian diet, and very allergy friendly.
- Easy Vanilla Power Balls Recipe
- Chocolate Protein Power Bites Recipe
- Corn Free Almond & Oat Granola Bar Recipe
- Carrot Cake Power Balls Recipe
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Corn Free Muffin Recipes
In addition to being fantastic snack recipes, these muffins are also perfect for breakfast and lunch. These are also something you can batch cook and freeze so you always have a variety of flavors to pull from.
- Oat Free Protein Muffin Recipe
- Double Chocolate Corn Free Muffins
- Sweet & Salty Chewy Date Muffins
- Corn Free, Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Muffins Recipe
- Grain Free, Corn Free Chocolate Chia Muffins
- Corn Free, Grain Free Tiger Nut Muffins (tiger nuts are tubers, not tree nuts)
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Delicious Corn Free Fruit Leathers & More
With fruit leather, the key is to source truly corn free fruit (My Ultimate Corn Free Cookbook covers ingredient sourcing in depth if this is something you need assistance with).
Once you have safe fruit and the right tools, you can basically do anything. This is the all metal dehydrator that I use and love (I don’t use the one plastic tray it came with, and use parchment over the mesh shelves).
- Strawberry Fruit Leather Recipe
- Grain Free, Corn Free Graham Crackers Recipe
- Danish Butter Cookie Recipe
- Blackberry Fruit Leather Recipe
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Easy Corn Free Snack Recipes
All of these recipes are dairy free, soy free, gluten free, wheat free, top 9 free and more. It makes them super inclusive for people who manage food allergies. Yet, these are foods that are so delicious you can share with friends and family (we all know how some people get about free-from foods).
- Nutrient Dense No Bake Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Corn Free Chocolate Honey Oat Squares
- Sesame Free Chocolate Hummus Recipe
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Answering Your Questions About Corn Free Snacks
Are there any corn free chocolate chips?
The only truly chocolate chip option I know of it this one. It’s 100% pure dark, with no added vanilla. That’s the key (learn about vanilla here).
You need be careful when using it in treats, especially if you’re serving kids because the flavor takes some getting used to. Rather than use a large amount of chocolate chips in corn free snacks, I opt to shave some chocolate on top. Alternatively, I sometimes sprinkle chopped chips on top of something, and sprinkle a little organic maple sugar on top.
Also, store your corn free chocolate chips in the fridge if you live in an area that’s consistently hot.
What can I use as a substitute when a recipe calls for corn syrup?
When it comes to corn free snacks, the best alternatives for corn syrup will be honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, date syrup, and sorghum syrup. There are are few more, but the odds of finding a truly corn free option is low.
You’ll have to determine the purpose of the corn syrup in the recipe to choose the best alternative. Keep in mind, the darker the substitute, the more you’ll change the flavor of your corn free snacks.
Is there a brand that sells corn free almonds?
If you’d like to make corn free snacks with almonds, check out the brand Philosopher’s Stone Ground. Contact them directly and they can sell you a wholesale bag of the almonds they use. Be sure to ask lots of questions before making the purchase to ensure they’re safe for you.
