Gluten Free Brand Name Products and Chain Restaurants

There are many brands that only make gluten free products, but sometimes those can be hard to find or more expensive than "regular" brand name products.  Here are some of the more common brand name products you may have in your local food store, that just happen to be gluten free.  Just because a brand is mentioned (i.e., Hershey's) doesn't mean that ALL Hershey's products are gluten free.  Check the links for the individual product lists.


All Boar's Head meats, cheeses and condiments are gluten free!


General Mills is one of the world's largest food companies and they have been a leader in recognizing the needs of gluten free consumers.  They even have a website for their broad array of gluten free products.  There are lots of recipes and meal ideas on the site and if you sign up for their e-mail list, they will e-mail your coupons for their gluten free foods: http://www.glutenfreely.com  
Some of the General Mills brands that have gluten free products are:
Betty Crocker Frosting
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mixes
Bisquick (they came up with a gluten free Bisquick - the regular Bisquick is NOT gluten free)
Chex cereals
Green Giant frozen veggies
Fruit by the Foot, Gushers, Fruit Roll Ups & Fruit Shapes
Progresso Soups & Broths
San-J Terryaki, Tamari and Soy Sauces


Many of the Hormel brands have gluten free products (Chi-Chi's, Hormel, Jenny-O)


Some of the Nestle brands have a few gluten free products (Carnation, Toll House, Nescafe, Wonka, Nestea brands)

Many Heinz brands have gluten free products too (Heinz, Smart Ones, Costco and Sam's Club products, Jack Daniels BBQ sauce)

Many of the Campbell's brands have gluten free products (Campbell's, Swanson, V-8, Prego, Pace's) 


Many Del Monte products are gluten free (FYI... creamed corn is NOT gluten free)


Some of the College Inn soup flavors are gluten free


Many of the Edy's Ice Cream and fruit bar products are gluten free 


Ben & Jerry's has several gluten free flavor


All Kozy Shack puddings, flans and gels are gluten free.


Frito Lay has many gluten free products


Sweetheart Candies by Necco (those little valentine hearts with words on them)


Here's an extensive list of gluten free candies (Hershey's, Tootsie Rolls, Starburst, etc.)


There are many more gluten free products in your regular foodstore, including all fresh fruits, vegetables,  raw un-marinated meats, eggs and plain dairy products.




Gluten Free Options For Dining Out
Even if the individual food product is gluten free, you still have to be be careful about cross-contamination in the back of the kitchen or with shared ice cream scoops.  This is more so for people who have true Celiac Disease, for which there is no "safe" amount of gluten they can consume.  People like me, who don't have Celiac but are just very sensitive to gluten, can probably get away with a little cross contamination now and then without getting sick.  Just ask the server if the kitchen is able to cook the food in separate pots and pans or if they can use cleaned ice cream scoops.  Fried foods are often fried in the same oil as foods with gluten, so be extra careful with ordering those items.  Here are some of the chain restaurants that have gluten free menus:


Ben & Jerry's
Wendy's
The Outback
Boston Market
Ground Round
P.F. Chang's
Ruby Tuesday's
Olive Garden




Gluten Free Food Shopping
Regular foodstores are now carrying more gluten free products than ever!  In the past year, all of the foodstores we use have started to have a gluten free section or aisle, which makes it easier to find the gluten free specialty products.  If your local foodstore doesn't have a gluten free section, ask them to start one.  They will respond if enough consumers as for gluten free items.

Trader Joe's has a long list of gluten free items is sells, and any of the trader Joe's branded products that are gluten free have a little "g" logo in a square to signify if they are gluten free.

Whole Foods - each store has its own list of gluten free products.  Here's where you can look up your local store and here's the gluten free product list from my local store so you can see the brands listed.  Many Whole Foods stores also have a green tag on the shelf under gluten free items, although I noticed that many items that were gluten free did not have a tag in the two Whole Foods stores I have been to recently.


Safeway also uses tags on store shelves to identify gluten free items.  The tags are reddish brown and say "gluten free" on items the manufacturer has identified as being gluten free.  I do not shop in Safeway, so I'm not sure if the stores really keep these tags updated and accurate, but it's worth checking out if you have a Safeway near you.


Shop Rite maintains a list of gluten free products it sells.


Waldbaum's has a good website explaining the basics of Celiac Disease and gluten and they carry many popular gluten free specialty brands like Glutino and Schars.


Stop and Shop has a long list of it's own brand products that are gluten free, as well as it's Nature's Promise product line.  The Stop and Shop stores near my house usually have a large section of gluten free specialty foods.


Of course, if there is a gluten free product you are looking for and they don't have it in your local foodstore, you can always get it online from one of the many gluten free websites.