How To: Host a Gluten-Free BBQ

Summer is here, and that means it’s grilling season! Whether you’re a celiac who wants to have loved ones over for a barbecue, or you’re a host who wants to make your gluten-sensitive friends or family members feel included (and confident in your ability to look after them), we’ve got you covered below with a pretty exhaustive list of burgers, hot dogs, buns, condiments, and sides.

Burgers & Buns

• Meat

  • Applegate turkey burgers (all)

  • Bell & Evans original chicken burgers & chicken burgers with chicken bacon and cheddar cheese

  • Bubba Burgers (all beef, turkey, chicken, & veggie burgers)

  • Butterball turkey burgers (fresh & frozen)

  • Don Lee Farms (all beef and chicken patties; angus cheeseburgers and pretzel cheeseburger sliders are not GF)

  • Free Graze (all beef, turkey, and pork burgers)

  • Force of Nature beef, bison and beef, & venison and beef patties

  • Grass Run Farms 100% grass-fed natural ground beef patties

  • Jennie-O lean lean turkey burger patties (seasoned or unseasoned)

  • Jennie-O turkey burgers made with white turkey

  • Tenton Waters Ranch burger buddies

  • Tribali Foods beef, chicken, and turkey patties

  • Whole Foods Market organic grass-fed beef burgers

• Vegetarian / Vegan

  • Abbot’s whole burger

  • Actual Veggies burgers

  • Amy’s Kitchen organic Sonoma veggie burger

  • Beyond Burger original and “classic cookout” patties

  • Bubba Burgers veggie burgers (all)

  • Don Lee Farms organic chipotle black bean burgers

  • Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers

  • Gardein chipotle black bean burgers

  • Hilary’s Eat Well veggie burgers

  • Impossible burger patties (fresh or frozen)

  • Impossible indulgent burger patties (fresh or frozen)

  • NoBull veggie burgers (all)

  • NotCo NotBurger

• Buns

  • BFree burger buns (vegan)

  • Canyon Bakehouse original or brioche-style hamburger buns

  • Carbonaut hamburger buns (vegan)

  • Eban’s Bakehouse artisan buns

  • Ener-G original or brown rice hamburger buns (vegan)

  • Franz hamburger buns

  • Happy Campers wild buns (vegan)

  • Katz burger buns

  • Kinnikinnick hamburger buns (vegan)

  • Little Northern Bakehouse millet & chia burger buns (vegan)

  • O’Doughs deluxe hamburger buns (vegan)

  • Pacha sourdough buckwheat buns (vegan)

  • Rudi’s brioche burger buns

  • Schär hamburger buns (vegan)

  • The Grain Escape (vegan)

  • Trader Joe’s hamburger buns

  • Udi’s classic or whole grain hamburger buns

Hot Dogs & Buns

• Meat

  • Applegate (all except “The Do Good Dog”)

  • Bar-S (all except cheddar jumbo franks)

  • Bell & Evan’s chicken franks

  • Berks all beef, black angus, grill, original, & organic uncured beef franks

  • Black Bear (all)

  • Boar’s Head (all)

  • Dearborn (all)

  • Dietz & Watson (all)

  • Greenridge Naturals uncured all-natural beef hot dog

  • Hebrew National (all)

  • Jennie-O jumbo turkey franks

  • Kayem classic hot dogs & natural casing franks

  • Kirkland Signature beef hot dogs

  • Kunzler (all)

  • Hoffy (all)

  • Hofmann (all)

  • Miller’s (all)

  • Nathan’s Famous (all)

  • Niman Ranch (all)

  • Organic Valley grass-fed beef & pasture-raised turkey hot dogs

  • Sabrett (all except cocktail franks wrapped in puff pastry)

  • Sahlen’s (all except “Grilled For You” hot dogs)

  • Tenton Waters Ranch beef and bison hot dogs

  • The Brooklyn Hot Dog Company (all)

  • Thumann’s (all)

  • Wardynski (all except jalapeño & cheese and cheese & onion hot dogs)

  • Wellshire Farms premium uncured beef franks

• Vegetarian / Vegan

  • Yeah Dawg plant-based hot dogs

• Buns

  • Against the Grain hot dog buns

  • Carbonaut hot dog buns (vegan)

  • Ener-G original or tapioca hot dog buns (vegan)

  • Franz hot dog buns

  • Kinnikinnick hot dog buns (vegan)

  • Little Northern Bakehouse millet & chia hot dog buns (vegan)

  • O’Doughs original hot dog buns (vegan)

  • Schär hot dog rolls (vegan)

  • The Grain Escape (vegan)

  • Udi’s classic hot dog buns

Sliced Cheese

Want to make cheeseburgers or cheese dogs? Here are some celiac-safe cheese options:

• Boar’s Head (all)

• Cabot Creamery (all)

• Daiya [dairy-free] (all)

• Kerrygold cheese slices (aged cheddar and Dubliner)

Condiments

• Barbecue sauce

  • Bone Suckin’ Sauce (all)

  • Jack Daniel’s (all)

  • KC Masterpiece (all)

  • Kinder’s (all)

  • Lane’s BBQ (all)

  • Organicville

  • Rib Rack (all)

  • Rufus Teague (all)

  • Schultz’s Gourmet (all)

  • Stubb’s (all)

  • Sweet Baby Ray’s (all)

• Ketchup

  • Annie’s Organic

  • Heinz regular or organic

  • Organicville

• Mustard

  • Annie’s Organic mustard (all)

  • Boar’s Head mustard (all)

  • Bone Suckin’ Mustard (all)

  • French’s regular and organic classic yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, and stone ground dijon mustard

  • Heinz organic yellow mustard

  • Koop’s (all)

  • Organicville (all)

Sides

• Potato chips

  Most popular potato chip brands offer gluten free flavors, but not all flavors are GF. Check the bag for the GF label.

  • Cape Cod

  • Deep River (all)

  • Good Health (all)

  • Kettle (all)

  • Lay’s

  • Ruffle’s

  • The Good Crisp Company (all)

  • Uglies (all)

  • UTZ

• Pickles

  • Boar’s Head (all)

  • Bubbies (all)

  • Mt. Olive (all)

  • Wickles Pickles (all)

• BBQ staples

  Here are some other popular favorites that are naturally gluten free — just make sure to use certified gluten free ingredients and prepare in a safe manner if you'll be preparing from scratch, or check labels for gluten free certification if you are buying store-bought:

  • Coleslaw

  • Corn on the cob

  • Deviled eggs

  • Vegetable trays

  • Watermelon

Beverages

Check out our extended list of Gluten-Free Beverages from November 2023 for guidance.

Safety Tips

• Thoroughly clean your grill grates, then use grill mats or wrap any celiac guest’s items in foil before grilling to keep them safe from cross-contamination

  • Alternatively, skip the grill altogether and prepare celiac guests’ items on a clean skillet instead

• Allow celiac guests to get their food first, before it has the potential to become cross-contaminated by non-GF guests

• Keep any gluten-containing items away from GF items and at the end of the serving line to prevent accidents (e.g., gluten-containing food dropping from plates or serving spoons onto GF platters)

• Preparing anything from scratch? Reference our How To: Safely Host Celiacs blog post for more information about how to keep your celiac guest(s) safe

• Always check product labels every time you repurchase GF items — even if you have used them in the past — as formulations and production processes can change over time