what foods are gluten free?

The table below is a quick reference guide, by category, to show food with gluten in versus foods which are gluten free. This will assist you in deciding which foods you can eat and which you should avoid.  There are some foods that you will need to check in the middle column - it is always safest to check the packaging. Visit the page how can I tell which foods are gluten free for more tips.

Download gluten free foods PDF

	Gluten Free Food	Foods to Check	Gluten Containing Foods
Cereals & Flour	Corn, corn flour, rice, rice flour, arrowroot, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, teff, quinoa, sorghum, soya flour, potato starch, modified starch, potato flour, gram flour, polenta (cornmeal), sago, tapioca, cassava, urd, urid flour	Flavoured savoury rice products, oats	Wheat, bulgar wheat, durum wheat, wheat bran, wheat rusk, wheat flour, semolina, couscous, barley malt, barley flour, rye, rye flour, triticale, kamut, spelt
Breakfast cereals, Breads, Cakes & Biscuits	Gluten-free breads, biscuits, crackers, cakes, pizza bases, rolls and flour mixes Gluten-free museli, cereals, buckwheat flakes	Meringues, macaroons Malted breakfast cereals, porridge oats	All breads, chapattis, biscuits, crackers, cakes, pastries, scones, muffins, pizza made from wheat, rye or barley flour Wheat-based breakfast cereals, museli
Pasta & Noodles	Corn pasta, rice pasta, gluten-free pasta, rice noodles		Canned, dried and fresh wheat noodles and pasta
Fruit & Vegetables	All fresh, frozen, canned and dried pure fruits and vegetables. Vegetables pickled in vinegar, all peas including mushy, processed and marrowfat	Fruit pie fillings, potato products- oven, microwave and frozen chips, instant mash, waffles	Fruit pie fillings, potato products- oven, microwave and frozen chips, instant mash, waffles
Dairy Products	All cheeses, all milk (liquid & dried), all cream (single, double, whipping, clotted, soured and crème fraiche), buttermilk, plain yoghurt, plain fromage frais	Coffee and tea whiteners, oat milk, fruit and flavoured yoghurt/fromage frais, soya desserts	Milk with added fibre, yoghurt and fromage frais containing museli or cereals
Meat, fish & eggs	All fresh meats & poultry, smoked meats, cured pure meats, plain cooked meats Eggs	Meat pastes, pates, sausages, burgers	Meat and poultry cooked in batter or bread crumbs, faggots, rissoles, haggis, breaded ham, Scotch eggs
Fish & Shellfish	All fresh fish and shellfish, smoked, kippered and dried fish, fish canned in oil or brine	Fish in sauce, fish pastes and pates	Fish in batter or breadcrumbs, fish cakes, taramasalata, fish fingers
Fats & Condiments	Butter, margarine, lard, cooking oils, ghee, reduced and low-fat spreads	Suet
Savoury snacks and Sweet Foods	Homemade popcorn, rice cakes, rice crackers, gluten-free crackers and pretzels. All plain nuts and seeds	Dry roasted nuts	Snacks made from wheat, rye, barley, pretzels
Drinks	Tea, coffee, cocoa, fruit juice, squash, clear fizzy drinks, wine, spirits, cider, sherry, port, liquers, gluten-free beers	Drinking chocolate, cloudy fizzy drinks, vending machine hot chocolate	Malted milk drinks, barely waters/squash, beer, lager, ales, stouts

What is gluten? Gluten is a protein, which is commonly found in rye, wheat and barley. Gluten is found in most types of cereals, bread and pasta.

How can I tell which foods are gluten free? There are several ways you can verify that foods in the "foods to check" column of the "what can I eat" page are safe foods for coeliacs.

Avoiding gluten contamination It is important that gluten free foods are not contaminated by gluten during storage and food preparation.

How healthy is a gluten free diet? Within the media there have been questions raised about gluten free diets, claiming that they are unhealthy, lead to a high intake of fat and sugar and just don’t provide the nutrients needed for a healthy diet. This is simply not true!

Travelling abroad gluten free For people following a gluten free diet, travelling abroad can often be difficult. We have a few useful tips that should make your gluten free travels abroad a little easier.