Lovin’ it. Yes, it is possible to be gluten free at McDonald’s.
McDonald's french fries. Image courtesy of cfinke
When you’re on the run, it’s tempting to dash into your local fast food joint and grab yourself a quick bite. But if you’re following a gluten free diet surely your local McDonald’s is off limits?
Not so. There are numerous foods which are gluten free at McDonald’s. (Although we recommend you don’t eat them every day.) Note: these apply to UK McDonalds’s restaurants only.
Meaty stuff
A McDonald’s hamburger, cheeseburger, Quarter Pounder®, and Big Mac® are all gluten free IF eaten without the bun. All McDonald’s burgers are made with 100% beef; so they’re not ‘beefed up’ with any cereal, rusk or flour.
And according to McDonald’s they’re happy to serve you just the burger minus the bun if you ask your server when ordering. Apparently, they don’t even mind if you bring your own gluten free bun in with you.
Potato things
- French fries (Note: UK only. It seems that US french fries do have gluten.)
- Potato wedges
- Hash browns
Green stuff
- Fruit bags
- Carrot sticks
- Garden salads
McFlurrys
- Cadburys Crunchie McFlurry andDairy Milk McFlurrys are both gluten free
- But Aero McFlurrys are NOT gluten free
Sundaes
- Strawberry sundaes are gluten free
- But toffee sundaes are NOT gluten free
Drinks
- Regular coffee
- Latte
- But Cappuccinos are NOT gluten free. (The chocolate chips used contain gluten.)
- Hot chocolate
- Apple juice
- Orange juice
- Soft drinks
- Milkshakes
Sauces
- Big Mac sauce
- Heinz Tomato Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Spicy tomato salsa
What else to avoid
The obvious things to avoid are buns, wraps and anything in breadcrumbs. Fish fingers, chicken nuggets and onion rings are also off limits.
But if you’re not sure about any ingredients just ask your server. And if they don’t seem sure ask to speak to the manager. Don’t run the risk of being ill over a Filet-O-Fish®
Update: Following on from a number of queries we had regarding the fries, we contacted McDonald’s directly. See this post for their reply.
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Following your article on McDonald’s, I thought you may be interested to know that they often cook their fries with other products that do contain gluten, therefore making them no longer gluten free. I was ill after eating their fries on 2 occasions, and it took me a while to discover that this was what was causing it. This is now also the case with Burger King fries too!! They do also do their burgers without the buns if you ask when ordering.
Hey Stephanie
Hmmm…that’s not great to hear. I’ve eaten fries with no problems and McDonald’s themselves claim their fries are 100% gluten free as does their forum.
But leave this with us and we’ll investigate further!
I have just been recently diagnosed Coeliac and have just been ill after eating a Mcdonalds Quarter pounder without bun and fries as I believed the fries to be OK however I have learnt today that McDonalds fries may be cooked in the same fryer as Fillet of fish and apple pies.
Hi Jen
We’ve got a call out with McDonald’s at the moment on this. As soon as they get back to us we’ll let you know.
Hi guys
We contacted McDonald’s directly on the issue of gluten free fries. This is what they had to say.
The McDonalds in Spain all now offer gluten free bun options!!! I don’t know if you’ve made a post on it, as I recently found out, but hopefully other places will follow them.
The big mac sauce on the the McDonald’s web site says it contains wheat.
Thanks for the heads up Sam! I must say I steer well clear of it all when I can.
Do you still have to pay full price if you are only having the burger and not the bun ?
are your aero mcflurrys gluten free, as it states on here they are not, however, it states on mcdonalds actual website they are gluten free….which is it?
Hi Kasey, this post is quite old now so I think you’re best following the guidance on the McDonalds website.
[…] Eating gluten free at McDonald’s – … it is possible to be gluten free at McDonald’s. Posted by Gluten Free … There are numerous foods which are gluten free at McDonald’s. (Although we recommend you … I thought you may be interested to know that they often cook their fries with other products that do contain gluten, … […]
Hey everyone,
I used to work at McDonalds when I was younger and I can assure you that it is impossible for them to mix up things like apple pies and French fries in the fryer. The reason for this is that each fryer has a button setting which dictates the cooking time for each individual product, therefore you would never cook a product in the wrong fryer.
The only time they’re could be cross contamination is when they ‘bag’ your fries, this is because its normally done at the same station as things such as promotional onion rings.
I hope this had allayed anyone’s fears, keep up the good work and continue to post your finds guys.
John
I had some French fries from McDonalds and it said the were gluten free but gave me the bad shits, I will stick to burger king from now on, the shits there were not half as bad. Chloe Hill
been gluten free for 13years. never stop learning about it. one thing no one seems to realise is if you are ceoliac you are also sensitive to sugar in a hypoglycemic way. Have tried telling the main supermarkets as their gluten free biscuits are loaded with sugar sometimesup to 15teaspoons per biscuit. you cant take away the gluten and replace it with sugar we will all end up fully diabetic!
Has anyone though about the gherkin being pickled? Potentially containing barley?
Some people are gluten intolerant and can eat certain things that are made in same kitchen as wheat so perhaps you could consider this.
Also what excuse do they have for not doing caffeine free coffee, there are a lot of people who now only drink caffeine free drinks.