Whether your Halloween candy haul is courtesy of your kids’ trick-or-treating or from buying discounted drugstore candy the day after, you may have quite a few treats on your hands right now. While it may be tempting to burn through all your Reese’s Cups as soon as possible, with a little effort, you could stretch those sweets into 2026.
5seconds / Depositphotos.com
Unfortunately, that Halloween candy won’t last forever, but some has a longer lifespan than others.
- Dark chocolate tops the list for lasting the longest. Since it doesn’t contain dairy, it will stay good for up to two years.
- Milk chocolate, like a regular Hershey’s bar, goes bad after eight to 10 months.
- Over time, both dark and milk chocolates can develop pale, chalky “blooms,” but this doesn’t mean you can’t eat it, just that it’s drying out.
- Hard candies and jelly beans can stay good for up to a year.
- Softer candies, like candy corn, caramels, and peanut butter cups can last for six to nine months.
But none of your treats will stay good for that long if they’re not stored properly.
- Loose candies go bad much faster than those in sealed wrappers, so once they’re open, plan to finish them up quickly.
- The bowl you passed out candy to trick-or-treaters in is also bad for candy, so move it to a sealed container.
- Store it all in a cool, dark place, like the back of a cabinet, to help it stay fresh as long as possible.⠀
Source: Mental Floss
