Chick-Fil-A's Buns Just The Latest In Fast Food's Gluten-Free Offerings

Nevin Barich

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , July 6, 2017 () – Last month, Chick-fil-A announced that it was now offering gluten-free buns at all of its U.S. locations following a successful test run in three cities last year. Although it’s the latest gluten-free offering in fast food, it’s hardly the first. Below is a list of some gluten-free offerings from several major chains:

ARBY’S

If you're gluten-free, it's possible to dine at Arby's on most of the meats (without a bun, of course) and on the Farmhouse salad with roast turkey. The chocolate, jamocha swirl, and vanilla shakes also are listed as gluten-free.

BOSTON MARKET

Gluten-free options include:

• Rotisserie chicken
• Roasted turkey breast
• Steamed vegetables
• Mediterranean salad
• Southwest Sante Fe salad
• Holiday ham
• Holiday turkey

BURGER KING

Burger King unveiled its new gluten-sensitive list several years ago as part of its "BK Positive Steps" campaign to provide more nutrition information on its menu items. It also changed the recipe for its French fries to make them gluten-free, although the chain notes they may be fried with gluten-containing items.

The Burger King gluten-free list includes both menu items and ingredients in menu items, and it can be difficult to decipher what on the menu actually will turn out gluten-free — for example, it states that “salad mix” and “lettuce” are gluten-free, but doesn’t say whether a prepared salad would be safe. However, the Garden Fresh Salad with Apple and Cranberry and Tendergrill chicken is listed as gluten-free.

CHICK-FIL-A

Besides the new buns, Chick-fil-A’s gluten-free options include:

• Breakfast hashbrowns (cooked in a dedicated gluten-free fryer)
• Grilled chicken nuggets
• Grilled Market salad
• Spicy Southwest salad
• Waffle fries (cooked in a dedicated gluten-free fryer)
• Fruit cup
• Frosted lemonade

CHIPOTLE

Chipotle offers a large variety of options for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. In fact, everything on Chipotle's menu except for the flour tortillas is listed as gluten-free on the company's allergens list.

KFC

There's basically nothing safe to eat that's gluten-free at KFC, with the exception of one or two salads.

SHAKE SHACK

This fast food chain, famous for its (gluten-containing) potato buns, also offers its burgers on gluten-free buns at all locations except for those at stadiums and ballparks.

SONIC

If you like burgers without a bun, you can order one at Sonic, and the fries and tater tots are gluten-free too.. However, any fried foods (such as those fries and tater tots) may be exposed to gluten-containing items in shared fryers.

TACO BELL

Taco Bell is now offering Cantina Power Bowls, all of which contain rice, meat, beans and vegetables and are marked as gluten-free on the chain's website. 

Hashbrowns also are considered gluten-free (although they may be fried in a shared fryer, so ask and avoid if the answer is yes), as are several sides, including black beans, chips and guacamole, chips and nacho cheese sauce, chips and salsa, nacho cheese Doritos chips, and premium Latin rice.

Nevin Barich is the Food and Beverage Analyst for Industry Intelligence and is also Menuism’s fast food expert. Email him at Nevin.Barich@industryintel.com or follow him on Twiiter.

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