Burger King

Burger King UK doesn't advertise that they offer any gluten free options and that’s down to the fact that, because of the size and the way they run their kitchens, they just can’t rule out the chances of cross-contamination.

That’s understandable, and to be honest, better than risks not being considered. But we do wonder how their restaurants in other countries can offer gluten free when they’re probably set up in a very similar way… 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, the cross-contamination risks could come from a lot of different things with the main ones being the fryers, utensils, suppliers and human error. So before you get your hopes up, we’ll warn you now that if you have coeliac disease, it’s not good news; Burger King really doesn’t cater for those sticking to a strict gluten free diet. 🙄

Burger King's Allergy Statement:

“Burger King is committed to reducing the risk of allergens present in our kitchens. Our priority is to ensure customers with food allergies and intolerances have accurate information to enable them to make safe choices from our menu. Burger King kitchens have strict controls in place to reduce the risk of cross-contact, such as: separate storage areas, utensils, and cleaning equipment for products containing allergens. In common with other catering operations, our kitchens are fast-paced and open environments, hence, Burger King cannot guarantee that any product is entirely free from any allergen.”

Ultimately, you’re the only person that can decide whether you’re happy and confident to eat at Burger King knowing the risks. We’re here to give you a breakdown of everything that is, or can be made, gluten free so that you can make an informed decision. All of the information in this guide has been taken from the official UK Burger King allergy matrix and has been split out into the following categories:

• ✅ Gluten free without any mention of ‘may contains’ on the Burger King allergen menu
• ⚠️ May contain gluten from either shared cooking equipment in the kitchens (fryers, flame grilling equipment etc) or from a supplier that has reported a real risk of cross-contact on their production line
• ❌ Ingredients include wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt so not gluten free

To clarify, this is for UK Burger King only and this should be used as a guide and not an official allergen matrix because menus and ingredients change all the time. Use this link for the official UK Burger King allergen guide.

So, let’s see if you can really ‘have it your way’ when eating at Burger King… 🤔

🍔 Flame Grilled Burgers

Unlike Burger King in countries like Spain, UK restaurants don’t offer the option of ordering any of their burgers on a gluten free bun, so as expected, all beef burgers are marked on the official allergen matrix as containing gluten. So, what about ordering the burger without the bun?

1. Not all burgers can be gluten free even without the bun because of gluten containing sauces and toppings
2. Burger King mark their beef patties as a ‘may contain’ for gluten due to the potential of cross-contamination from shared equipment like the grill
3. Some of their sauces like ketchup are marked as ‘may contain’ from the supplier

You’ll also need to bear in mind that human error is possible from time to time and if, for example, you decided to opt for a cheeseburger without the bun (to make it gluten free), a staff member could put the patty on the bun, then realise it’s supposed to be bun-less so then takes it back off, but at that point it’s contaminated with gluten. 😰

The following burgers would have no gluten containing ingredients when ordered without the bun but would still hold a may contain warning:

⚠️ Bacon Double Cheeseburger - Beef patty is a may contain

⚠️ Bacon Double Cheese XL - Beef patty is a may contain

⚠️ Cheeseburger - Beef patty is a may contain as well as the ketchup

⚠️ Double Cheeseburger - Beef patty is a may contain as well as the ketchup

⚠️ Double Whopper - Beef patty is a may contain as well as the ketchup

⚠️ Hamburger - Beef patty is a may contain as well as the ketchup

⚠️ Whopper - Beef patty is a may contain as well as the ketchup

⚠️ Spicy Mayo Double Whopper - Beef patty is a may contain

The following burgers cannot be gluten free even when ordered without the bun because of other gluten containing ingredients:

❌ BBQ Steakhouse Angus - Crispy onions contain wheat

❌ Bacon Caesar Angus - Crispy onions contain wheat

🐔 Crispy & Tender Chicken

Look away now gluten free peeps because all of the chicken options at Burger King contain gluten. In addition to the seeded buns containing wheat, the chicken patties and nuggets are all coated in a gluten batter so even if you remove the bun, they are still not safe.

❌ Chicken Nuggets - Contain wheat

❌ Chicken Royale - Contains wheat

❌ Chicken Royale Cheese - Contains wheat

❌ Chicken Royale Bacon & Cheese - Contains wheat

❌ Spicy Mayo Chicken Royale - Contains wheat

❌ BBQ Steakhouse Crispy Chicken - Contains wheat

❌ Bacon Caesar Crispy Chicken - Contains wheat

❌ BBQ Chicken Melt - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Classic Chicken Melt - Contains wheat & barley

🥗 Veggie & More

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for a gluten free vegetarian or vegan option at Burger King, you’ll be disappointed. Yes they do have the Vegan Royale and Plant Based Whopper, but like the chicken options, they all contain gluten even when ordered without the bun.

❌ Vegan Royale - Contains wheat & oats

❌ Plant Based Whopper - Contains wheat & oats

🍟 Sides

Unlike McDonald’s UK, who state that they have a dedicated fryer for their fries which are gluten free (depending on whether the branch use re-filtered oil), Burger King, although they have separate fryer vats for different products, share an oil filtration system which creates a risk of cross-contact when the oil passes through the filter.

This means that although some sides, like the Fries, which don’t actually contain any gluten ingredients, are coming into contact with gluten via the shared oil and therefore unsafe for anyone with coeliac disease. For those who avoid gluten for other reasons, the fries could be an option for you at Burger King as long as you’re okay with the cross-contamination risk.

The following sides do not have gluten containing ingredients but hold a 'may contain' warning:

⚠️ Fries - May contain gluten via shared equipment

⚠️ Loaded King Fries - May contain gluten via shared equipment

⚠️ Loaded King Fries with Bacon - May contain gluten via shared equipment

⚠️ Halloumi Fries - May contain gluten via shared equipment

The following sides contain gluten:

❌ Chicken Nuggets - Contain wheat

❌ Chilli Cheese Bites - Contain wheat

❌ Doritos Chicken Fries - Contain wheat & barley

❌ Onion Rings - Contain wheat

❌ Bacon Caesar Loaded King Fries - Contain wheat

❌ Sharer Box - Contains wheat & barley

❌ BBQ Kansas Chicken Fries - Contain wheat & barley

👶🏼 King Jr. Meals

So similar to what we’ve already seen with the adult sized options, none of the kids meals are gluten free. Like explained in the burger section, the kids Cheeseburger Meal and Hamburger Meal could be made without any gluten containing ingredients when ordered without the bun, but remember that there are still equipment and supplier cross-contamination risks that come with it. The Chicken Nuggets have a gluten coating so these are not gluten free.

❌ Kids Cheeseburger Meal

❌ Kids Hamburger Meal

❌ Kids Chicken Nugget Meal

🍨 Sweet Treats

Finally, something for those with coeliac disease! But probably not what you’d be going to Burger King for... The Caramel Chew Chew flavour of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is gluten free without any ‘may contain’ warnings but watch out, because the other flavours aren’t. The standard Burger King milkshakes are also gluten free and not marked with any cross-contamination warnings on the Burger King allergen matrix.

The following desserts are gluten free:

✅ Ben & Jerry’s Caramel Chew Chew

✅ Chocolate Milkshake

✅ Strawberry Milkshake

✅ Vanilla Milkshake

✅ Plain Fusion

The following desserts contain gluten:

❌ Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough - Contains wheat

❌ Oreo Fusion - Contains wheat

❌ Smarties Fusion - Contains wheat & barley

☕ Drinks & Coffee

Now this one really got us. You’d think that if all else fails you could treat yourself to a hot drink at a Burger King but no no no. Yes, the soft drinks are gluten free but the hot drinks have either a ‘may contain’ supplier warning or they actually contain gluten! The Hot Chocolate and Mocha are the hot drinks that contain gluten so not suitable for anyone on a gluten free diet.

The following drinks are gluten free:

✅ Coca-Cola

✅ Coca-Cola Zero

✅ Diet Coca-Cola

✅ Fanta

✅ Sprite Zero

✅ Frozen Fanta Lemon

✅ Semi-skimmed Milk

✅ Bottled Water

✅ Monster Mango Loco

✅ innocent Juicy Water Apple and Strawberry

✅ innocent Juicy Water Apple and Mango

The following drinks may contain gluten:

⚠️ Americano - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Cappuccino - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Espresso - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Flat White - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Latte - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Tea - May contain gluten from supplier

The following drinks are not gluten free:

❌ Hot Chocolate - Contains gluten

❌ Mocha - Contains gluten

➕ Extras

Finally, here’s a list of the sauces, extras, salads, patties & buns and whether they are gluten free, may contain or contain wheat, barley, rye or oats and therefore not suitable for anyone gluten free. You’ll find this useful if you want to order a beef burger without the bun, but need to check the other fillings to make sure they don’t contain any gluten.

🥫 Sauces

✅ Cheddar Cheese Sauce

✅ Mayonnaise

✅ Mustard

✅ Caesar Mayo

✅ Caramelised Onion Mayo

✅ Peppercorn Mayo

✅ Dip Pot Smoky BBQ

✅ Dip Pot Spicy Mayo

✅ Dip Pot Sweet Chilli

⚠️ Ketchup - May contain gluten from supplier

⚠️ Smokey BBQ Sauce - May contain gluten from supplier

❌ Chilli Sauce - Contains wheat

🥓 Extras

✅ American Cheese Slice

✅ Back Bacon

✅ Diced Bacon

✅ Oak Smoked Cheese Slice

✅ Streaky Bacon

❌ Onion Rings - Contain wheat

🥬 Salad

✅ Caramelised Onions

✅ Lettuce

✅ Onion Slice

✅ Pickles

✅ Rocket Leaves

✅ Tomato Slice

❌ Crispy Onions - Contain wheat

🥩 Patties

⚠️ Angus Beef Patty - May contain gluten via shared equipment

⚠️ Hamburger Patty - May contain gluten via shared equipment

⚠️ Whopper Patty - May contain gluten via shared equipment

❌ Bean Patty - Contains wheat, barley, rye, oats & spelt

❌ Chicken Melts Patty - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Chicken Royale Patty - Contains wheat

❌ Crispy Chicken Patty - Contains wheat

❌ Plant Based Whopper Patty - Contains wheat & oats

❌ Vegan Royale Patty - Contains wheat & oats

🥖 Buns

❌ Sesame Seed Buns - Contain wheat

❌ Vegan Brioche Style Bun - Contains wheat