Admittedly, with all the bread, pastry and cakes to behold, Greggs might not be your first stop if you’re avoiding gluten for some reason, but if you do need to eat there for some reason, is there anything gluten-free at Greggs that you can eat – and, most importantly, do Greggs do a gluten-free sausage roll? We checked the menu and the nutritional information to find out …
What’s Gluten Free at Greggs?
Not surprisingly, considering Greggs is a temple to all things gluten-filled, your choices aren’t huge – but, there are a few things on the Greggs menu that they say are suitable for those avoiding gluten.
The Gluten-Free Greggs Options
Breakfast
If you’re looking for a gluten-free Greggs breakfast, then you’re possibly going to be reaching for the porridge pots.
Greggs say that all three flavours of these – Simply Creamy, Golden Syrup and Apple & Cinnamon are made with gluten-free oats.
Now, we admit we say possibly as this is where it gets complicated for those avoiding gluten for medical reasons rather than as a lifestyle choice.
The Oats Issue
Oats, naturally, do not contain gluten, but, they do contain a protein called averin that, is similar- and, while most people with coeliac disease can eat oats without reacting to averin, according to Coeliac UK a small number of people with coeliac disease will still get symptoms if they’re exposed to it.
So, that’s one potential concern.
On top of this, another risk regarding oats is that they are often processed in a factory that also handles other gluten-containing grains and so there may be a risk of cross-contamination if any particles of wheat, rye or barley are left within a machine or encountered elsewhere during processing.
If you’re not coeliac, but just giving up gluten for other reasons, the tiny amount of gluten this might see spreading to the oats is unlikely to cause any major problems, but, if you are coeliac, it’s more of a worry as (as I’m sure you’re well aware) even the tiniest bit of gluten could still make you sick.
Gluten-free oats are designed to be at lower risk of this cross contamination.
They are either grown in separate fields, and/or processed on different machines or factories than gluten-containing grains, and, to be called gluten-free oats, the amount of gluten in the oats must be less than 20 parts per million when samples are tested.
Because they specifically say the porridge is made with ‘gluten-free oats’, this should be the case with the oats at Greggs.
Lunch Options
Right now, Greggs don’t offer any kind of gluten-free bread, pasta or pastry in their stores which rules out much of the lunch menu.
However, the salads that don’t contain pasta (the Cajun Rice with Chicken or the Sweet Potato Bhaji), also don’t come up as gluten-friendly on the Greggs allergy information.
It’s clear why when you look a bit more closely at the Cajun Rice as this contains Barley. The Bhaji doesn’t have any kind of gluten-alert on it, but I’m thinking perhaps there’s a cross contamination concern at the factory (again, without a clear ingredient listing I can’t tell what it might be).
Which means, if you’re at Greggs and are looking for a lunch option, your choice is their soups.
They have a Tomato Soup on their nationwide menu and, a Lentil and Bacon soup that’s available in some other areas which, their allergy information says are gluten-free.
Is Gregg’s Vegan Sausage Roll Gluten-Free?
Unfortunately not – they might have removed the meat and replaced it with Quorn, but the pastry still contains wheat – and, the roll also contains barley.
Treats
Is anything gluten-free at Greggs when it comes to the naughty but nice stuff – the cakes, the biscuits, the doughnuts? And we’re pleased to say yes, there is one gluten-free option in the sweet and sticky part of the Greggs repertoire.
The Triple Chocolate Brownies.
It’s possible to make good brownies with gluten-free flour – and so I’m guessing this is what’s happening with these goey treats.
Oh and in case you’re wondering, each brownie contains 98 calories (which is why they’re the best sweet treat to pick in our guide to all the low-cal options in Greggs)
The Fruit Pot Conundrum
Admittedly, when I first looked at the Gregg’s Menu, I would have thought the fruit pots would appear in their gluten-free selection – but they aren’t clearly marked as such.
When you look deeper into the nutritional information, they don’t specify gluten as a potential allergen, so, whether they’ve just not put it on the allergy information as it seems blindingly obvious that fruit is gluten-free, or, there may be an issue with where the products are processed or packed, I’m not sure.
And, unfortunately, that’s it. All the options listed on the Greggs Gluten-Free checklist.
Do check in regularly though as Greggs do shake up their menu now and again so you might find some surprises – for the same reason though it’s also a good idea to check the Greggs Allergy Information just to make sure they haven’t changed formulation or supplier of anything on the menu.
But What About Cross Contamination?
Again, if you’re just giving up gluten because you think it might lead to bloating or other issues, this probably isn’t going to worry you too much as a crumb from a Steak Bake is unlikely to make you sick, but, if you have coeliac disease you might be more concerned about shopping in Greggs where there is a lot of other gluten-containing foods in the vicinity.
I hear you.
In their FAQ’s, Greggs state that ‘Greggs gluten free products are manufactured using recipes that are free from gluten and the manufacturing sites have strict gluten controls and testing regimes in place. Our shop teams have undergone gluten training, and there are gluten controls and a testing regime in place to manage cross contamination with gluten within our shops.’
However, they don’t have a GF Accredited badge from Coeliac UK – and while that doesn’t mean they’re not careful (or that those who do have a badge can’t occasionally make mistakes), is is an extra safety check.
On top of this, in store, you may see signs that say while they do their best to control cross contamination associated with any allergy, it can’t be guaranteed.
And, when people ask the Greggs social media team about gluten-free options the team are careful to answer that something is ‘gluten-free by recipe’ or ‘free from gluten by ingredient’ which does shed a bit of an element of doubt.
So, while there are gluten-free options on the Greggs menu, if you are coeliac, you should use your usual due diligence about checking with the staff that everything is going to be okay for you to order before taking a chance.
Is There Any Plans for a Gluten-Free Greggs Range?
They actually did announce plans for a gluten-free range back in 2016, but, as far as I can tell, it never saw the light of day.
They also offered some gluten-free options in their Balanced Choice range that was around in 2020.
But, as it stands right now, there’s not a dedicated gluten-free range at Greggs.
There is however a petition to help persuade them otherwise, which, if you’re so inclined, you might like to sign! You’ll find the link here.
They do however change the menu regularly so, check back in as you never know what you might find added.
So, there you have it, our guide to what’s gluten free in Greggs as of the day I write this (August 4th 2022). If you do see anything else on the menu though please let me know in the comments so we can add it to the list.
Who is The Wellness Nerd?
My name is Helen Foster and I’m a health journalist and wellness author. Publications I’ve written for include Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Body and Soul, Good Health at the Daily Mail and more. I have also written 16 books on health and nutrition.