Four Places to Look for Hidden Gluten in Your Salad

I recommend avoiding open salad bars in restaurants due to the high risk of cross-contamination from “traveling” ingredients that inevitably get flung from one bin to the other and from shared tongs and utensils. For a salad in a restaurant, order from the menu and use the tips below to keep it gluten-free!

1. Salad dressing.

We’ll start with the most obvious, the dressing. Many bottled dressings contain gluten as a thickening agent.

Some brands offering gluten free options: (Not all varieties in each brand are gluten-free, so always be sure to read labels carefully before making your selection.)

• Annie’s Naturals
• Emeril’s
• Hidden Valley Ranch
• Kraft
• Maple Grove
• Newman’s Own

Eating at home:

If you prefer, make your own simple salad dressing by combining a bit of olive oil with apple cider or Balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Whisk together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add Dijon mustard, minced garlic, or fresh herbs to create a custom dressing to suit your taste!

For a creamy dairy-free salad dressing, try my Creamy Cilantro Salad Dressing!

Dining out:

Request pure olive oil and vinegar (note: malt vinegar and some flavored vinegars contain gluten ingredients.)

Ask to see the dressing package label or ingredients list.

Take your own salad dressing from home. Most restaurants are understanding when we explain we have a serious food allergy or intolerance.

You may be interested in Minimus Travel Size gluten-free condiments for taking along to restaurants or when traveling away from home.

2. Cold cuts.

Processed cold cuts, like those you’ll find on some salad bars, may contain modified starches as binders. Those modified starches could be gluten-based. The best practice is avoiding salad bar cold cuts altogether.

Eating at home:

If you enjoy deli meats on your salad, turn to brands like Boar’s Head andApplegate Farms for gluten-free, filler-free meats.

Dining out:

If you order a salad with animal protein (chicken strips, steak, salmon or shrimp) like many restaurants offer, ask about seasonings/spice blends/marinades used on the meat prior to, or during, cooking. Some may contain gluten. Always be aware of Asian-inspired dishes where soy sauce is a common marinade ingredient. Soy sauce is not gluten free, unless specifically state on the label.

FYI: Kikkoman  and San-J offer gluten-free tamari-style soy sauce.

3. Cheese.

While most cheeses are gluten-free, it is important to be aware that:

• Cheese can be cross-contaminated during handling and re-packaging.

Supermarkets like Whole Foods purchase large wheels of cheese, then cut those into small portions for sale. During handling and repackaging, cheese runs the risk of being contaminated with gluten, depending on the environment. If that environment is a deli area where sandwiches are made, the risk of cross-contamination is high.

Avoid this issue by purchasing cheeses packaged by the manufacturer.

• Some blue cheese (Roquefort) is created from bacterial strains grown on rye, a gluten grain.  

Not all blue cheese is made from rye bacterial; however, some are. To be certain, contact the manufacturer if the label doesn’t say “gluten-free”.

• Added ingredients like spices, herbs or other seasonings, could contain gluten and contaminate cheese.

From the trendy “beer washed” cheeses to cheese with added dried fruits, any time an additional ingredient is added, the risk of cross-contamination increases. Read labels carefully and keep it simple when selecting a cheese.

Eating at home:

Select cheeses without added seasonings and those in the manufacturer’s original packaging. If you like adding pre-shredded cheese to your salads, opt for brands like Kraft or Sargento. Both report their shredded cheeses are gluten-free.

Dining out:

Ask the server which brand of cheese the restaurant uses. Also find out if the restaurant shreds their own cheese from a large block or wheel. If so, that could lead to cross-contamination, so you may want to forego the cheese when dining out.

If you’re dairy-free like me, you may like the new Daiya Vegan Wedges in Cheddar, Jack or Jalapeno-Garlic Havarti. All Daiya products (wedges and shreds) are gluten-free.

4. Nuts and seeds.

While nuts and seeds are naturally gluten-free and good for you (if there’s no nut/seed allergy involved!), when it comes to salad toppings, these ingredients can pose a cross-contamination risk.

Sadly, many nuts are processed in facilities that also process wheat/gluten-containing products. This may or may not be  revealed on product packaging, so if it is not, to be sure, call the manufacturer.

Also, some flavored nuts, like Emerald brand Dijon Glazed Walnuts, for example, do contain gluten ingredients.

One source of certified gluten-free nuts is Nuts.com, an online vendor offering nuts, dried fruits and other snacks and sweets.

Eating at home:

Choose nuts and seeds carefully and look for those “produced on shared equipment” statements on the label. When in doubt, pass them by.

Dining out:

With products like nuts and seeds, I tend to assume cross-contamination, either from the source (manufacturer), or from handling in the restaurant. Use your best judgment and err on the side of caution when consuming nuts and seeds in a restaurant.