Gluten Free Foods

There are two types of gluten free foods: those that attempt to replace foods that otherwise contain gluten and those that are naturally gluten free. This page attempts to document both types.

Gluten Substitutes

• Sorghum
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat

Naturally Gluten Free

• Corn
• Rice
• Beans
• Eggs
• Potatoes
• Peanuts
• Soybeans

Celiac.com has an exhaustive list of gluten free foods and ingredients.

Gluten Containing Foods

Gluten can take many forms, making it difficult to spot on a food label. With few exceptions, if you see wheat or barley on an ingredients list put that product back on the shelf. I won’t go into detail on all the ingredients listed below, but I’ll give a quick note for those ingredients that are less familiar, more cryptic, or more common in ethnic cuisine, and thus, more easily overlooked when reading food labels or eating out.

The list below is a modified version of the Unsafe Gluten-Free Food List published by Scott Adams at Celiac.com.

Amp-Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein – A common ingredient in hair spray, conditioner, and nail polish. Unless you’re prone to biting your nails or drinking your hair products this should be of little concern as gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin. However, there is anecdotal evidence skin exposure may trigger an immune response in some people. If you are concerned, here is a list of cosmetic products containing amp-isostearoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein that you may wish to avoid.

Abyssinian Hard (Wheat triticum durum)

Atta Flour – A whole-wheat flour used in Indian cuisine to make flatbreads such as chapati, roti, naan and puri. Do yourself a favor and stick to the curry.

Abyssinian Hard (Wheat triticum durum)
Barley Grass (can contain seeds)
Barley Hordeum vulgare
Barley Malt
Beer (most contain barley or wheat)
Bleached Flour
Bran
Bread Flour
Brewer’s Yeast
Brown Flour
Bulgur (Bulgar Wheat/Nuts)

Bulgur – Think “Cheeseburger in Paradise”: Not zucchini, fettuccini, or bulgur wheat, / But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat. Bulgur is a whole grain common to Middle Eastern cuisine.

Cereal Binding
Chilton
Club Wheat (Triticum aestivum subspecies compactum)
Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Cookie Crumbs
Cookie Dough
Cookie Dough Pieces

Couscous – A dish common in North African cuisine made from water and semolina, a wheat byproduct. Be careful, couscous can resemble rice. I made this mistake while traveling through Turkey, unknowingly consuming copious amounts of what I thought was rice. Couscous may also be made from pearl millet, a gluten free grain. It’s best to avoid unless you know with certainty that the couscous is of the millet variety.

Crisped Rice

Dinkel – German for spelt (a relative to wheat).

Disodium Wheatgermamido Peg-2 Sulfosuccinate
Durum wheat (Triticum durum)
Edible Coatings
Edible Films
Edible Starch
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum)
Emmer (Triticum dicoccon)
Enriched Bleached Flour
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
Enriched Flour

Farina – Growing up we had a box of Farina that sat in our pantry for years with the picture of a gap-toothed boy creepily smiling at me as he spooned this wheat-based, warm breakfast cereal into his mouth. Also sold as cream of wheat, farina consists of semolina and is used as a food additive in many processed foods.

Farina Graham
Farro
Filler
Flour (normally this is wheat)
Fu (dried wheat gluten)
Germ
Graham Flour
Granary Flour
Groats (barley, wheat)
Hard Wheat

Hing – Also called heeng or asafetida, this spice is used in Indian cooking, usually in vegetable stews containing lentils (daal), specifically in sambar. Although hing does not naturally contain gluten, like oats it can be cross-contaminated in the milling process.

Hordeum Vulgare Extract
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol
Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Kamut

Kecap Manis – Kecap manis (also spelled ketjap) is an Indonesian soy sauce that can be used as a condiment or marinade for satays and grilled meats. It is also a staple ingredient in many traditional dishes of Indonesia.

Kluski Pasta

Maida – Like atta, maida is an Indian wheat-flour used to make breads such as paratha and naan.

Malt – Malting refers to the process in which grains are soaked and lightly germinated. Although all grains can be malted, the most common malt is derived from barley and may show up on food labels as malted barley flour, malted milk, malt extract, malt syrup, malt flavoring, or malt vinegar.

Macha Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Matzah – Traditionally served as a bread substitute during the Jewish holiday of Passover, matzah is unleavened bread used in matzah ball soup. Also, spelled as matza or matzo.

Matzo Semolina
Meringue
Meripro 711
Mir

Miso – Commonly served as a soup alongside sushi, miso is made by fermenting rice, barley, or soy. Be sure to inquire as to what type of miso before enjoying.

Nishasta – A starch used to make Indian pudding (phirni) and ice cream (kulfi), nishasta can be made from wheat, corn, or arrowroot.

Oriental Wheat (Triticum turanicum)
Orzo Pasta
Pasta
Pearl Barley
Persian Wheat (Triticum carthlicum)
Perungayam
Poulard Wheat (Triticum turgidum)
Polish Wheat (Triticum polonicum)
Rice Malt (if barley or Koji are used)

Roux – Blame the French for this one. Roux is a mixture of flour and oil that constitutes the foundation of many soups, stews, sauces and gravies. Common in French and Cajun cooking, beware of meals such as gumbo, chowder, or fancy French dishes with béchamel, veloute, or espagnole sauces.

Rusk
Rye
Seitan
Semolina
Semolina Triticum
Shot Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Small Spelt
Spirits (Specific Types)
Spelt (Triticum spelta)
Sprouted Wheat or Barley
Stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Strong Flour

Suet in Packets – Suet is beef or lamb fat which is clearly gluten free unless it comes in packets, in which case it is mixed with flour to make it stable at room temperature.

Tabbouleh – A Middle Eastern salad whose main ingredient is bulgur. Also spelled Tabouli.

Teriyaki Sauce
Timopheevi Wheat (Triticum timopheevii)
Triticale X triticosecale
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Flour Lipids
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil

Udon Noodles – Noodles should automatically raise a red flag as most western style noodles are made from wheat, but Asian cuisine often uses rice noodles. Not the case with Udon noodles which are a wheat-based noodle of the Japanese persuasion.

Unbleached Flour
Vavilovi Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Vital Wheat Gluten
Wheat, Abyssinian Hard triticum durum
Wheat amino acids
Wheat Bran Extract
Wheat, Bulgur
Wheat Durum Triticum
Wheat Germ Extract
Wheat Germ Glycerides
Wheat Germ Oil
Wheat Germamidopropyldimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Wheat Grass (can contain seeds)
Wheat Nuts
Wheat Protein
Wheat Triticum aestivum
Wheat Triticum Monococcum
Wheat (Triticum Vulgare) Bran Extract
Whole-meal Flour