Edible Glitter substitute

Best substitute

Edible luster, pearl or shimmer dust

a light brushful or dusting

Best for fondant and gum paste

Close match

The closest thing in both effect and use, giving a satin pearl sheen rather than distinct sparkling flecks. Brushed on dry it looks polished and expensive, and it covers curved surfaces such as fondant and chocolate more evenly than flakes do. What changes is the character of the shine: a smooth glow instead of individual glints.

Other edible glitter substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Coarse sanding sugar or crushed rock candy
Different texture
Use the same amount
Real crystals that genuinely sparkle, and completely unambiguous as food.
What changes
Clear or white coarse sugar gives an icy glitter effect, and crushed clear rock candy gives larger glassy shards that throw more light. The trade-off is grain size: these read as sugar crystals close up rather than fine glitter, and they add a definite sugary crunch.
Best for
cookie and cupcake tops, cake sides, glass rims, icy or winter themed decorating
Sift out any powder after crushing so it does not dissolve into wet patches. You can color coarse sugar yourself by shaking it in a jar with a drop of gel food coloring and drying it on a plate.
3Finely crushed hard candy
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount after crushing and sifting
Vivid colored sparkle with real gloss, because hard candy is glassy rather than matte.
What changes
It looks striking on frosted cookies and cocktail rims and costs almost nothing. It brings its own flavor, usually fruit or mint, and it turns sticky within a few hours as it absorbs moisture, so it is a decorate-and-serve option rather than something to make ahead.
Best for
decorated cookies eaten the same day, cocktail and mocktail rims, ice cream sundaes, holiday bakes with candy canes
Crush inside a folded towel and sift, keeping the shards and discarding the dust. Do not add these to batter, since hard candy melts into hard puddles and holes.
4Edible gold or silver leaf
Close match
Use a torn fragment for every piece
Genuinely edible pure metal leaf, used for centuries on confectionery, and the most convincing metallic finish available.
What changes
It is flavorless and weightless and looks extraordinary on a single chocolate, a truffle or the top of a cake. It is also expensive, extremely fiddly, since it clings to anything slightly damp including your fingers, and it gives a solid metallic patch rather than scattered sparkle.
Best for
individual chocolates and truffles, a focal point on a cake, plated desserts, cocktails
Handle it with dry tweezers or a dry brush and never with bare fingers. Buy leaf sold for food use, since imitation leaf marketed for gilding furniture contains copper and other metals and is not food.
5Nothing, or a different finish
Close match
omit
Worth stating clearly: glitter is optional in every recipe it appears in.
What changes
Nothing about the bake depends on it. A drizzle of melted white chocolate, a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa through a stencil, or a scatter of sprinkles all give visual interest and read as intentional rather than unfinished.
Best for
when the only glitter available is not edible, dye-free and additive-free baking, anything for very young children
If a themed cake really needs to sparkle, coarse sanding sugar and edible shimmer spray are both stocked in most supermarket baking aisles and are unambiguously food.
6There is no substitute for it: craft glitter and non-edible disco dust
Taste and texture differ
not recommended
Craft glitter is plastic film or metal foil, and a large share of the ultra-sparkly dust sold to cake decorators as disco dust or hi-lighter dust is labelled non-toxic or for decorative use only, meaning it is not approved as a food ingredient.
What changes
It is not digestible and has no business on something being eaten. If it is already on a cake, remove the decorated element rather than serving it.
Best for
nothing edible
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about decorative glitters and dusts being used on food. The test is simple: the label of edible product lists food ingredients and says edible, while non-food product says only non-toxic.

What is Edible Glitter?

Edible Glitter is Edible glitter is a food-approved sparkle made from ingredients such as sugar, cornstarch, gum arabic and approved colors, cut or milled into flakes that catch the light on cakes, cookies and drinks.

Cooking tips

Check the label before anything else. Edible product names its food ingredients, typically sugar, cornstarch, gum arabic, maltodextrin, mica-based approved colors or approved lakes, and says edible. Non-toxic, food contact and for decorative use only all mean it is not food.
Glitter and shimmer only show up on a smooth, dry, set surface. On soft buttercream the flakes sink and disappear, so dust fondant, dried royal icing, chocolate or chilled firm frosting instead.
For drinks, use a shimmer powder specifically sold for beverages and stir it into the liquid rather than sprinkling it on top, where it clumps and floats in a lump. A pinch is enough for a whole cocktail shaker.
Apply glitter as the last step, after the cake is assembled and moved into position. It travels everywhere, so anything done afterwards will smear it, and a cake board covered in stray sparkle looks messy.
A little goes a long way and too much looks cheap rather than festive. Tap a small amount into a saucer, load a soft dry brush, knock most of it off, and build up gradually on the areas that will catch the light.

Frequently asked questions

Is all edible glitter actually edible?

No, and this is the main thing to know. Products that say edible on the label are made from food ingredients and approved colors and are meant to be eaten in decorating quantities. Products labelled non-toxic, food contact or for decorative use only, which includes most disco dust and all craft glitter, are not approved as food. Non-toxic means safe to handle, not safe to swallow, and the US Food and Drug Administration has specifically warned about these being used on cakes.

Can I just leave the glitter out?

Yes, with zero consequences. Glitter contributes nothing but sparkle to the surface of something already finished, so the recipe is unaffected. If the look matters, coarse sanding sugar, edible shimmer spray or a scatter of sprinkles all give visual lift with no ambiguity about whether they are food.

How do I make edible glitter at home?

You can make a passable sparkle, though not true fine glitter. The usual method is to brush a thin layer of gum arabic solution or corn syrup thinned with water onto parchment, tint it with gel color, let it dry hard for several hours, then peel and crush it into flakes. Easier and often better looking: shake coarse sugar with a drop of gel color in a jar, dry it on a plate, and use that. Crushed clear rock candy also sparkles genuinely.

Is edible glitter safe for children?

Properly labelled edible glitter is a food product used in tiny amounts and is fine for children in the quantities used on a cake. The concern with children is specifically the non-edible dusts sold alongside it, since a child will eat their whole slice including the decoration. For children's parties, sanding sugar and sprinkles are the safest choices because there is no ambiguity about what they are.

What can I use instead of disco dust?

Most disco dust is not edible in the first place, so the honest answer is to replace it with something that is: edible luster or pearl dust for a shimmer finish, coarse sanding sugar or crushed rock candy for crystal sparkle, finely crushed hard candy for colored glints, or edible gold leaf for a single dramatic accent. If you use actual disco dust, it should go only on a decoration that is removed before anyone eats.

Related substitutes

More baking substitutes

Edible Glitter substitute

Other edible glitter substitutes

2Coarse sanding sugar or crushed rock candy

3Finely crushed hard candy

4Edible gold or silver leaf

5Nothing, or a different finish

6There is no substitute for it: craft glitter and non-edible disco dust