When you have coeliac disease, supermarket shopping can feel like a minefield, especially when you're newly diagnosed and still figuring out what you can and can't eat. Even some that are old hat at it can find it daunting going into the supermarkets.
Most of us start by heading straight for the "Free From aisle", looking for foods clearly labelled gluten free. And while that's a great place to find specialist gluten free products, it isn't the only place you'll find gluten free food in the supermarket - some gluten free products you can find lurking in the regular aisles with the naturally gluten free stuff.
I've been asking my coeliac community on Facebook about the most unexpected gluten free foods and products they've discovered while doing their normal supermarket shopping, and there were some brilliant answers.
So, if you've ever looked at something on a supermarket shelf and thought “there's absolutely no way that's gluten free”, you might want to start checking the label because that isn't always the case. Just because something is breadcrumbed or battered doesn't always mean wheat is involved, and it is similar with other products.
Don't forget that also there any many products in the free from aisle that have an alternative somewhere else in the supermarket, the likes of ketchup, mayonnaise and pesto, if you wish to find out more about not just sticking to the free from aisle I have another blog for that.
Of the products mentioned here are 10 most mentioned that people found to be unexpectedly gluten free in the regular aisles of the supermarkets.
Important: This isn't a permanent list of safe products. Ingredients, recipes and manufacturing processes can change, and products can vary between flavours and sizes. Always check the ingredients and allergen information on the exact product you are buying. Correct as of September 6th 2026
Let's start with one of the foods that got some of the biggest “wait, what?” reactions from my community: battered onion rings.
Onion rings look like one of those foods a coeliac would automatically avoid. They're covered in a crispy golden batter, and traditional batter is often made with wheat flour. And, ok, a lot of them in supermarkets are not safe unless you are lucky enough to catch Tesco at a point when they decide to stock their Free From ones.
However, there is an option is readily available in the chillers, usually where the free vegetables are, Mash Direct Beer Battered Onion Rings.
Mash Direct says all their products are gluten free, and the beer battered onion rings use gluten free ingredients to create their crispy coating.
This is a great example of why you can't always tell whether a food does contain gluten with a quick glance - though if you look closely these do actually carry the gluten free label, they are just with the everyday products.
Obviously, not all battered onion rings are gluten free, so don't grab any packet assuming it's safe. But if you love onion rings, it's definitely a category worth checking.
Why they're unexpected: They look exactly like traditional wheat-battered onion rings.
Tempura chicken sounds like something that would be firmly off the menu for anyone with coeliac disease.
Crispy batter and chicken aren't exactly the first combination that springs to mind when you're looking for gluten free foods, but gluten free tempura chicken does exist.
There are gluten free tempura-style chicken products available in regular supermarket aisles, including options from Aldi and Marks & Spencer.
Some gluten free chicken nuggets also use a tempura-style coating rather than traditional wheat-based breadcrumbs. The coating can use ingredients such as rice flour, maize, potato starch or other gluten free starches to create a crispy exterior. This is one to check Aldi for, right next to the tempura chicken mentioned above.
My community mentioned several different gluten free chicken nugget products, which shows just how useful it can be to check the regular freezer aisle rather than automatically heading to Free From.
Of course, plenty of chicken nuggets still contain wheat, so always check the individual product.
Why they're unexpected: They look like classic breaded chicken, but the crispy coating doesn't necessarily contain wheat.
Crispy chilli beef is another brilliant example of an unexpected gluten free food.
The crispy coating looks just like something made with wheat flour or breadcrumbs. But some versions use rice flour instead, giving the beef its familiar crunchy coating without using wheat.
Rice flour is commonly used in gluten free cooking because it can produce a light and crispy texture, making it particularly useful for battered and fried foods. It is because of this discovery there are no so many fish and chip shops switching to gluten free batter.
So if you've always assumed crispy chilli beef was something you couldn't have as a coeliac, it's worth checking the supermarket shelves. Sainsburys is a key one for selling this.
Just remember that a gluten free version doesn't make every crispy chilli beef product gluten free. Check the ingredients and allergen information every time.
Why they're unexpected: The crispy coating looks exactly like the sort of coating you would expect to use wheat flour.
This one is a particularly good example of why coeliac supermarket shopping can involve challenging your assumptions.
Breaded ham looks like it's covered in breadcrumbs. And breadcrumbs contain wheat. Except, sometimes, they don't.
My community pointed out that many supermarket breaded hams use gluten free coatings, with rice being used instead of wheat. The crumb looks no different to one using wheat, but if you check the ingredients you will quite often see rice flour is the main source of the crumbs.
However, this is one category where you really need to check the exact product. Many supermarket breaded hams are gluten free, but some, particularly cheaper varieties, do use wheat in the coating. So don't assume because one if safe they all are. The ingredients list will tell you far more than your eyes will.
Why they're unexpected: A coating that looks like breadcrumbs can actually be made from rice or another gluten free ingredient.
Potatoes themselves are naturally gluten free, but once they become processed, coated or frozen products, it isn't always quite so obvious.
My community mentioned potato croquettes, potato waffles, hash browns, potato skins, chips and other crispy potato products as unexpected gluten free supermarket finds.
Croquettes are particularly easy to assume contain gluten because they're often associated with a crispy breadcrumb coating. But some use gluten free flours or starches instead. The Cathedral City range in Iceland is a perfect one to look at for a gluten free option.
Potato waffles aren't necessarily as surprising, after all, plenty of ordinary frozen chips are gluten free (but there are also wheat coated ones out there!) but they're a good reminder of just how many products you can find in the regular frozen potato aisle. If you get Birds Eye one, they are actually labelled gluten free, however most if not all home brands also have no gluten ingredients or may contains.
The same goes for hash browns and other prepared potato products. Potatoes may be naturally gluten free, but additional ingredients and coatings can introduce gluten. Majority of hash browns are fine, my favourite being Aldis McDonald rip off version, but there are some that add wheat to enhance the crispiness.
So don't assume that every frozen potato product is safe, but don't assume they're all off limits either.
Why they're unexpected: The regular frozen potato aisle can contain far more gluten free products than you might realise.
Sausages were one of the most common answers from my coeliac community. I remember about 10 years ago you could only get frozen Free From Sausages, so if you are in the same bracket as me it is easy to assume you still need to buy those ones. But these days, it's actually less common to get them containing wheat.
Sausages can contain rusk, breadcrumbs or other ingredients containing wheat, so sausages are often one of the first foods newly diagnosed coeliacs learn to check carefully. However, there are plenty of gluten free sausages in regular supermarket meat aisles now.
My community mentioned gluten free sausages from M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Lidl, including standard pork sausages, cocktail sausages and flavoured varieties.
The important thing is not to assume that every sausage from a particular supermarket is gluten free. Different ranges and flavours can use different recipes.
But you are able pick up perfectly ordinary looking sausages from the standard chilled meat section without needing to buy a specialist Free From product anymore. The ones to be more weary of are Irish Recipe, and the cheap range (as these tend to use fillers like rusk)
Why they're unexpected: Sausages are often associated with wheat-containing rusk, but plenty of ordinary supermarket sausages don't contain gluten.
Cheese itself is naturally gluten free, but once you've wrapped it in a crispy coating, you'd be forgiven for assuming that it's made with wheat breadcrumbs.
But some gluten free mozzarella dippers and breaded cheese products use alternative flours and starches for their coating.
One of the products my community mentioned repeatedly was TGI XL Mozzarella Dippers from Iceland.
We've also seen people surprised by other cheesy prepared products, including some of the Cathedral City options in Iceland freezers, which is another good reminder to check the ingredients rather than judging a product by its appearance.
As always, don't assume every mozzarella stick or breaded cheese product is gluten free. There are plenty that aren't.
Why they're unexpected: Crispy, breadcrumb-looking cheese doesn't necessarily mean a wheat-based coating.
Ready meals can sometimes feel like one of the trickiest supermarket categories for people with coeliac disease. You don't always want to cook from scratch or maybe need something easy after a long day but sometimes it can feel a chore finding gluten free ready meals.
There are so many ingredients used for sauces, gravies, coatings and fillings that it can be tempting to assume that anything convenient or prepared is going to contain gluten.
But there are plenty of gluten free ready meals in regular supermarket chilled and frozen aisles. My community mentioned products including cottage pie, shepherd's pie, fish pie, curries, roast dinners and hotpots across various supermarkets (make sure to check them as they vary in each place)
The important thing is to check the individual meal. A sauce or gravy is often where gluten-containing ingredients can sneak into an otherwise naturally gluten free meal.
Why they're unexpected: A complete ready meal doesn't necessarily have to come from the Free From section.
Processed meat is another category where gluten can sometimes lurk.
Breadcrumbs and rusk can be used as fillers or binders in burgers and meatballs like with sausages, while prepared kebabs can contain a variety of additional ingredients. But, just like with sausages, it is actually getting more common to find them without these fillers.
My community mentioned gluten free burgers, meatballs and kebabs from regular supermarket aisles, I think every major supermarket got a mention as well as Aldi who do lovely meatballs that are gluten free.
It's worth getting into the habit of checking these products rather than automatically avoiding them.
You might find that one packet of burgers is gluten free while a very similar-looking product next to it contains wheat.
The same applies to meatballs and kebabs: the meat itself isn't the issue, but what has been added to it can be.
Why they're unexpected: Processed meat doesn't automatically mean gluten, but fillers and seasonings need checking.
And finally, something a little different: prepared vegetable dishes.
One of the unexpected gluten free finds mentioned by my community was frozen cauliflower cheese.
The cauliflower and cheese themselves aren't the concern. It's the prepared sauce and any additional ingredients that can potentially introduce gluten, wheat flour is often used as a thickener as it's cheaper than cornflour or rice flour.
But some ready-made vegetable sides are gluten free and can be found in the normal chilled or frozen sections. Asda's frozen cauliflower cheese is one that is gluten free, found in their freezers.
This can be particularly useful around Christmas and other times of year when supermarkets have huge ranges of prepared vegetable sides and accompaniments.
So if you've always skipped the prepared vegetable section because you assumed sauces and toppings would contain gluten, it might be worth checking the labels.
It is also worth noting to double check for may contains, especially on freshly prepared vegetables, the likes of Morrisons, have a may contain on a lot of them, a place you wouldn't expect to find a may contain for gluten!
Why they're unexpected: A prepared side dish can be gluten free even when you might expect flour to be used in the sauce.
There is a common theme running through many of these unexpected gluten free products. They look gluteny.
A crispy coating looks like breadcrumbs. A battered onion ring looks like wheat flour. A sausage could contain rusk. A ready meal might have a thick sauce that looks like it has been made with flour.
But the appearance of a food doesn't tell you what ingredients have been used.
Manufacturers can use a variety of naturally gluten free ingredients to create similar textures and flavours, including:
- Rice flour
- Maize flour
- Cornflour
- Potato starch
- Tapioca starch
- Gram or chickpea flour
- Gluten free flour blends
These ingredients can be used to create crispy batters, coatings, sauces and other textures without using wheat.
That's why a food looking like it contains gluten doesn't automatically mean it is unsuitable for someone with coeliac disease.
This is the really important bit. This article is about types of gluten free products you might find in regular supermarket aisles, not a permanent list of products that are guaranteed to be safe, recipes change, products get discontinued and replaced, manufacturers change suppliers.
If you have coeliac disease, always check the packaging of the exact product you are buying.
Look if:
- There is a gluten free label (not always compulsory for products to be safe for Coeliacs under UK laws)
- The ingredients list has an gluten containing ingredients
- Allergens highlighted in bold - wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt being the gluten containing ones unless it states gluten free
- Precautionary allergen information such as “may contain” warnings
And don't assume that because one version of a product is gluten free, another one will be too.
This is particularly important with foods such as sausages, breaded ham, chicken nuggets and prepared meals, where recipes can vary considerably.
One of the biggest things you learn after a coeliac diagnosis is that the Free From aisle isn't the only place to find gluten free food. Some From From products are also designed for other dietary requirements so certain options (like mayonnaise, pesto and ketchup) you don't need to pick up in the Free From aisle as a Coeliac, the regular options fine and often cheaper, I have more on that in another blog.
There are gluten free products throughout the supermarket.
You can find them in the:
- Chilled meat aisle
- Frozen food aisle
- Potato and frozen vegetable sections
- Ready meal fridges and freezers
- Party food sections
- Cheese aisles
- Confectionery aisles
- Regular supermarket shelves
You may even find that some of the foods you've been missing are sitting right in front of you.
And if you're looking for gluten free chocolate and sweets, don't forget to check out my guide to more than 300 gluten free treats available in the UK.
Supermarket shopping with coeliac disease definitely takes some getting used to, but you don't have to learn every gluten free product overnight. The more confident you become at reading labels, the more you'll start spotting those unexpected gluten free foods for yourself.
So next time you walk past something that looks like it definitely contains gluten, don't automatically rule it out. Check the label. You might be surprised.
