Wheat-Free Diet
Best Bets
Items marked with a (G) should be avoided by those who are sensitive to gluten:
- Almond: flour and meal
- Amaranth: whole (as hot cereal, flour, puffed
- Barley (G): whole hulled, flakes, flour
- Buckwheat: whole groats, cereal, flour (raw or roasted)
- Cassava: flour (whole root, dried, ground; tapioca starch is refined from this)
- Chestnut: flour
- Chickpea: flour
- Flaxseed: flour and meal
- Hazelnut: flour and meal
- Jerusalem artichoke: flour
- KAMUT wheat (G): whole, flakes, flour, pasta
- Legume flours: yellow and green pea; red and green lentil; white, lima, and pinto bean
- Millet: whole grain, flour
- Oats: Scotch style, flour, oat bran, rolled flakes
- Pearled millet: whole, flour
- Potato: flour, starch
- Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah): whole, flour
- Rice (short, medium, long grain): whole, flour, pasta, puffed, cakes, crackers
- Rye (G): flakes, flour, crackers (that contain no wheat)
- Soy: flakes, grits, soy flour
- Spelt (G): whole, flakes, flour, pasta
- Tapioca: starch flour, “pearls”
- White sweet potato: flour
- Wild rice: whole, pasta
- Yam (true yam): flour
Foods to Avoid
To avoid wheat and wheat products ask about ingredients at restaurants and others’ homes, and read food labels. The following list is not complete. Consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your diet.
- Bulgur wheat
- Couscous
- Flour, including cake and pastry, durum, gluten, graham, wheat flour, whole wheat flour
- Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) or texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
- Semolina
- Wheat bran
- Wheat germ
- Wheat starch
Note: Buckwheat is not wheat. It’s listed below in Best Bets.
These foods may include wheat. Use with caution, if at all, and read the label carefully:
- Baked beans
- Baking powder (some)
- Biscuits
- Bouillon cubes and extracts
- Bread crumbs
- Breaded foods
- Breads
- Cakes, pastries, or cookies (commercial or prepared)
- Canned fish
- Cheese sauces or spreads (unless known to be wheat-free)
- Cloudy lemonade and ginger beer (some)
- Commercially prepared fruit pie fillings and jams
- Commercially prepared gravies, salad dressings, sauces, or condiments containing wheat flour
- Commercially prepared mustard
- Crackers
- Creamed or scalloped potatoes (unless thickened with cornstarch)
- Creamed or scalloped vegetables (if thickened with flour or topped with bread crumbs)
- Creamed products
- Egg dishes thickened with flour
- Luncheon meats
- Malted milk and drinks
- Meat and poultry containing flour
- Meat tenderizers (if made from monosodium glutamate [MSG])
- Muffins
- Mustard powder (some)
- Pancakes
- Pasta noodles
- Pre-molded hamburgers
- Pretzels
- Pudding (commercial or homemade, thickened with wheat flour)
- Rolls
- Sauce and gravy mixes
- Sausage (unless they are pure meat)
- Soups containing commercially prepared noodles, macaroni, or spaghetti
- Soup mixes and bases
- Soy sauce, Tamari (unless wheat-free)
- Stewed fruits thickened with flour
- Sweets dusted with wheat flour to prevent them from sticking
- Tomato sauces
- Waffles
- Wieners
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The information presented by TraceGains is for informational purposes only. It is based on scientific studies (human, animal, or in vitro), clinical experience, or traditional usage as cited in each article. The results reported may not necessarily occur in all individuals. Self-treatment is not recommended for life-threatening conditions that require medical treatment under a doctor's care. For many of the conditions discussed, treatment with prescription or over the counter medication is also available. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2025.