If you’re wanting to eat gluten-free at Subway but are also watching calories, fat, sodium etc, what are your best choices? We took at a look at the menu and found out…
Note this piece specifically refers to Subway USA, other suppliers are used in other countries and so the information below may not be accurate.
Do Subway Have Gluten-Free Bread?
As I write this in January 2023, all of the breads in most Subways contain gluten.
Subway wraps also contain gluten.
They did launch a gluten-free bread and it’s still listed in their allergen information, but, it didn’t appear as an option on any of the menus I checked online.
In my mind, it’s like the Loch Ness monster of carbs – it’s been spotted by people, it’s probably real, but you’re not quite sure where, in the great lake of US Subways, it’s actually going to pop it’s head up next.
What this means is hard to say where you’ll find Subway gluten free bread without me going into every US Subway (or clicking on them all online) and asking – but, the last time their Twitter team talked about it was 2021, at which point they said that it was offered in select locations at discretion of the management, so, the best option is to just ask in your local branch if they have it, or might be able to offer it.
So What Can You Order?
The best choices if you’re going to eat gluten-free at Subway is therefore the No Bready Bowls – previously called the Protein Bowl, or the Salads picking a gluten-free topping.
With a big proviso.
How safe this is depends on why you are avoiding gluten.
If you’re just giving it up because you think it doesn’t agree with you then you’re okay with this option as a tiny amount of gluten probably won’t cause you issues, however, if you are coeliac you will need to be much more careful.
The layout of Subway means its easy for ingredients to touch each other and, while Sandwich Artists – as the team are known in Subway – will change their gloves before they make your order there is still a risk that bread crumbs, or other gluten-containing ingredients might have got into the mix.
Which Salad Ingredients are Gluten Free in Subway?
With the same disclaimer that Subway use on their website to always check the allergen-related nutritional information as, changing suppliers might also change which items contain gluten, and, reiterating the point above about cross contamination, here’s a list of gluten-free ingredients in Subway the day I write this.
Meat, Poultry, Seafood and Eggs
According to the information, both the Teriyaki Glazed Grilled Chicken and the Meatballs and Marinara contain gluten.
Items without gluten therefore include Bacon Strips, Oven Roasted Chicken Patty, Grilled Chicken (plain), Cold Cut Combo Meats, Egg Omelet Pattys (both types), Salami, Ham, BMT Meats, Pepperoni, Rottiserie Chicken, Spicy Italian Meats, Steak, Tuan Salad, Turkey Breast, Buffalo Chicken, Eggs, Pastrami and their Veggie Pattys.
Cheese
All of the cheeses on the menu are gluten-free.
These include America, Mozzarella, Monterey Blend, Parmesan, Pepper Jack, Provolone.
Condiments
The only one to avoid is the Sweet Onion Teriyaki
So, as of today, the gluten-free sauces at Subway include
Buffalo, Caesar, Chipotle Southwest, Honey Mustard, Mayonnaises, Yellow Mustard, Oil, Ranch, Peppercorn Range, Red Wine Vinegar and Sweet Onion Sauce.
Veggies
All Gluten Free
If you’re therefore ordering gluten-free any Subway Salad of No Bready Bowl containing a mix of the above can work for you.
But what if you’re also adapting your diet in other ways too – then what’s the best option.
Which Are The Healthiest Subway Gluten-Free Options?
The Lowest Calorie Gluten-Free Option at Subway
The absolute lowest-calorie gluten free option at Subway is the Veggie Delite Salad with American Cheese and a Red Wine Vinegar dressing which is just 90 calories – but admittedly, that is far too low for a main meal no matter how healthy it might be.
You’d be better picking the Oven Roasted Turkey No Bready Bowl which has 230 calories if you have it with American Cheese and the Red Wine Vinegar Dressing. Again, that’s still too low calorically, but the extra protein will keep you fuller for longer.
Ideally add to that with a handful of nuts, trail mix or a yogurt and some fruit afterwards to bump the calories up to around 400.
The Lowest Sodium Gluten-Free Option at Subway
Again, the lowest sodium option is the Veggie Delight Bowl which has just 75g of sodium. The lowest sodium cheese to add to that would be the grated Parmesan which adds just 25g or, the Swiss which has 30.
Again, though this meal is too low in calories and protein to really sustain you for long so, either add your own low sodium protein choices alongside or afterwards, or, pick one of the options with protein.
The Tuna Salad would be the best choice with 390mg of sodium bringing your meal up to 490mg.
Whichever you choose, pick the Oil, Oil and Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar dressings which are all sodium free.
The Lowest Fat Gluten-Free Option at Subway
We’ll focus on two different fats here – saturated and transfats, as if you just look at total fat you’ll exclude the fats we should be consuming like monounsatured fat.
And, not really surprisingly, the Oven Roasted Turkey and the Veggie Delight are the big scorers again.
The Veggie Delight salad has zero saturated fat and zero transfat
The Oven Roasted Turkey Salad has zero saturated fat and zero transfat. The No Bready Bowl with turkey sneaks up to 1g of saturated fat because it contains a larger serving of turkey.
When choosing your cheese, Grated Parmesan has zero saturated fat and zero transfat.
For dressings, all dressings are free from transfats and even the mayonnaise has just 2g of saturated fat so you could pretty much choose what you like here – although the BBQ sauce does have a lot of sugar.
Once more, we need to say though that these meals are very low calorie and so you’ll probably need something else like fruit, yogurt, nuts alongside.
The Lowest Sugar Gluten-Free Option at Subway
If you’re watching your sugar, avoiding the gluten containing items in Subway already puts you ahead of the curve as the two toppings that contain gluten also contain the most sugar!
Instead, for salads, pick the Cold Cut Combo, Oven Roasted Turkey, Rotisserie Style Chicken, Spicy Italian, Tuna, Veggie Delite which all contain just 5g of total sugars and zero added sugar.
In the No Bready Bowls Rotisserie Style Chicken, Spicy Italian and Tuna all have just 4g of total sugars and no added sugars.
When picking dressings avoid BBQ, Honey Mustard – and the Sweet Onion Teriyaki which has gluten in anyway.
So, there you have it, the best gluten-free options in Subway if you’re also on another form of specialist diet. But, do remember, that ingredients may change so it’s always best to check the Subway nutritional information before ordering if you’re on any of these diets for serious medical reasons.
What to Read Next
You might like our other healthy gluten-free guides.
We’ve looked at what to order gluten-free at Olive Garden.
And also checked out what the healthiest options are on the Red Lobster gluten-free menu.
If you’ve been checked and haven’t been diagnosed as coeliac, are you sure that gluten is actually the thing causing your issues? It often gets blamed when other triggers are the cause.
In fact, there can be a lot of different reasons why you bloat after eating and gluten is only one of them.
If you want to do a little bit of home detective work you might want to start by seeing if any of the other reasons might be relevant to you.
And if you think they are, our guide on how to keep a food intolerance diary might show you identify patterns that you can talk to a dietitian about.
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.