Costa

There are literally Costa Coffees everywhere you look; train stations, airports, service stations, shopping centres, high streets and even machines popping up in offices and supermarkets. But do you know exactly what’s gluten free at Costa Coffee? Do you know what drinks are a cross-contamination risk? What food options are there for when you’re on-the-go and spot a Costa?

That’s why we’ve broken down the entire UK & Ireland Costa Coffee menu for you and have highlighted some of the most important things you need to consider when you’re a gluten free customer at a Costa Coffee.

Costa Coffee Allergy Statement:

“Due to ongoing improvements in our food and drink offerings, ingredients may have changed since your last purchase. We can't guarantee that unpackaged items or hand-crafted drinks are safe for those with severe allergies due to the use of shared equipment.
Due to the use of shared equipment in the display, preparation and service of our products there is a risk of cross contamination.
We cannot guarantee that any of our products are free from allergens, due to the use of shared equipment in a busy environment.”

🥛 The Milk Steamer: The Biggest Cross-Contamination Risk

Costa Coffee has some pretty generic allergen disclaimers on their website but here’s one thing that you really should know about gluten cross-contamination at Costa. The biggest gluten cross-contamination risk at Costa Coffee comes from the milk steaming wand and the fact that the wand is used for both cows milk AND plant based milk alternatives, including oat milk.

You might remember that a few years ago, someone behind Costa Coffee’s Twitter channel made a monumental ‘slip up’ and caused outrage in the gluten free community when they replied to a tweet stating that heat kills gluten. This misinformation was especially concerning, as gluten is a protein, not bacteria - it cannot be ‘killed’ with heat. If that were true, all fried or baked foods would be gluten free, which they clearly are not.

So to reiterate, gluten is NOT bacteria and it cannot be killed when something is cooked at a high temperature.

Costa quickly tried to cover their mistake and state that they do take the safety and wellbeing of their customers extremely seriously and apologised for the incorrect information that was shared from their Twitter account. They explained that they do have strict training and procedures in place in all stores, to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

🛡️ Costa’s Official Safety Procedures

They went on to say:

"When a customer informs them about an allergy or a dietary requirement, their team members are happy to explain the measures they take to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, so they can make an informed choice. Those include the use of additional equipment such as separate jugs and cleaning cloths. Steam wands are also cleaned with the relevant cloths and purged after every drink preparation to reduce the risk of cross-contamination."

But the key word in that sentence is ‘reduce’ because although the wands are cleaned, wiping them quickly with a cloth is unlikely to remove all remaining milk residue. At the moment, the other milk alternatives (aside from oat milk) that Costa stock, are gluten free without any ‘may contains’ but they do change their suppliers often so always double check. The best thing that Costa could do to eliminate this problem completely for us gluten free folk, would be to use gluten free oat milk only, or have dedicated steamer wands for the different milks. Although, we completely understand that this might not be possible due to the size of Costa stores and the need to use more than one steamer at a time for busy periods.

🧠 Making an Informed Choice

Ultimately, you’re the only person that can decide whether you’re happy and confident to have a hot milk based drink at Costa 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 blog has been taken from the official UK & Ireland Costa Coffee allergy matrix and has been split out into the following categories:

✅ These items do not list gluten-containing ingredients or ‘may contain’ warnings in Costa’s allergen guide

❌ Ingredients include wheat, barley, rye or oats so not gluten free

To clarify, this is for UK & Ireland Costa Coffee only and this should be used as a guide and not an official allergen matrix because menus and ingredients change all the time. Click here for the official UK Costa Coffee allergen guide and Ireland Costa Coffee allergen guide.

So, Costa Coffee dubs themselves the ‘Nations Favourite Coffee Shop’ but let’s see if they’re going to be a favourite for the gluten free community… 🤔

☕ Drinks at Costa Coffee

Let’s start by going through the Costa Coffee drinks menu to see what’s gluten free, what you need to be cautious of and what to avoid completely. In terms of gluten free drink options, it’s a pleasant surprise that quite a lot of the drinks are gluten free and suitable for those who are coeliac!

🥛 Milks / Plant Based Alternatives

As mentioned above, Costa has 3 Alpro plant based alternatives on the menu: Soya, Coconut and Oat. The Soya and Coconut are gluten free without any ‘may contains’ but the Oat contains regular oats, not gluten free oats, so needs to be avoided if you are gluten free.

With that, any of the drinks listed below which require the use of the milk steamer, will be at risk of gluten cross-contamination due to the same wand being used for oat milk as well as the gluten free milks. It is entirely up to you whether you feel comfortable with this but we recommend always letting your server know about your gluten intolerance/coeliac disease and asking them to thoroughly clean the wand before using it for your drink.

Here's a list of the milks available at Costa Coffee:

✅ Whole Milk

✅ Semi Skimmed Milk

✅ Skimmed Milk

✅ Alpro Plant Alternative - Soya

✅ Alpro Plant Alternative - Coconut

❌ Alpro Plant Alternative - Oat - Contains oats

☕ Coffee

The coffee at Costa is all gluten free - but watch out for seasonal specials or limited time flavours which could contain gluten. If you want a breakdown of the syrups, sauces and toppers then scroll down to the bottom of this guide to see which are gluten free.

The following coffees are all gluten free:

✅ Latte

✅ Cappuccino

✅ Americano

✅ Flat White

✅ Flat Black

✅ Mocha

✅ Espresso

✅ Cortado

✅ Mocha Cortado

🍵 Other Hot Drinks

The below hot drinks are all gluten free but like the coffees, be careful with seasonal specials which might have gluten containing flavourings or extra toppings which contain gluten, and as always, bear in mind the cross-contamination risk with the milk steamer for these other hot drinks.

The following hot drinks are gluten free:

✅ Hot Chocolate

✅ White Hot Chocolate

✅ Chai Latte

✅ Milk Babyccino

🧋 Frappé

Costa Frappés are a range of creamy iced drinks made with or without a shot of coffee using blended ice and your choice of milk and flavourings, served with whipped cream. Depending on the flavour, Costa Coffee Frappés can be gluten free but watch out for those with a biscuit or cake topping - these might not be suitable for those on a gluten free diet, but the option of ordering without the topping could be an option.

Although Frappés use cold milk, not steamed, and the blenders should be washed between each use, why not ask your server to give the blender a thorough clean before preparing your drink.

The following Frappés are gluten free:

✅ Tiramisu Frappé

✅ Tropical Mango Bubble Frappé

✅ Strawberry Drizzle Frappé

✅ Salted Caramel Frappé

✅ Salted Caramel Frappé with Coffee

✅ Chocolate Fudge Frappé

✅ Chocolate Fudge Frappé Mocha

✅ Coffee Frappé

🧊☕ Coffee Over Ice

The following Coffee Over Ice drinks are gluten free:

✅ Tiramisu Iced Whipped Latte

✅ Vanilla Lavender Iced Whipped Latte

✅ White Chocolate Iced Whipped Latte

✅ Caramel Iced Whipped Latte

✅ Iced Latte

✅ Iced Black Americano

✅ Iced Chai Latte

✅ Iced Cappuccino

✅ Iced Flat White

✅ Iced Mocha

✅ Iced Cortado

🥤 Other Cold Drinks

All these super refreshing cold drinks at Costa are gluten free:

✅ Dragon Fruit & Guava Refresher

✅ Strawberry, Watermelon & Mint Refresher

✅ Pink Lemonade

✅ Still Lemonade

🧊🍵 Iced Tea

All of the following Costa Coffee Ice Teas are gluten free!

✅ Peach Ice Tea

✅ Mango Berry Bubble Tea

🫖 Tea

If you’re gluten free and like tea (poet alert), the good thing is that the majority of the time tea is gluten free, including different fruity flavours.

All tea at Costa Coffee is gluten free:

✅ English Breakfast Tea

✅ Decaf Tea

✅ Earl Grey Tea

✅ Green Tea

✅ Mint Tea

✅ Superfruity Infusion

✅ Citrus Zing with Vitamin C

✅ Spiced Apple with Vitamin B6

✅ Mellow Mango with Zinc

🍇 Fruit Coolers

Exactly what we all need this summer - ice cold fruit coolers!

These two flavours are both gluten free:

✅ Mango & Passion Fruit Cooler

✅ Red Summer Berries

🫙 Syrups, Sauces & Toppers

Currently, all of the syrups and sauces at Costa Coffee are gluten free so you can jazz up your standard coffee with any of the below but make sure you double check the toppers - there are some biscuity or cakey ones which are added to some of the seasonal hot drinks and could contain gluten.

Syrup

✅ Vanilla Syrup

✅ Vanilla Syrup (SUGAR FREE)

✅ Caramel Syrup

✅ Caramel Nut Syrup

✅ Caramel Syrup (SUGAR FREE)

✅ Roasted Hazelnut Flavour Syrup

✅ Gingerbread Syrup (SUGAR FREE)

✅ Cinnamon Bun Syrup (SUGAR FREE)

✅ Chai Syrup

✅ White Peach Syrup

✅ Pure Cane Sugar Syrup

Sauces

✅ Mango Sauce

✅ White Chocolate Sauce

✅ Salted Caramel Sauce

✅ Strawberry Sauce

✅ Caramel Chocolate Flavour Sauce

✅ Condensed Milk Flavoured Sauce

✅ Vanilla Lavender Sauce

✅ Tiramisu Sauce

Toppers

✅ Whipping Cream

✅ Light Whip

✅ Marshmallow

✅ Cappuccino Dusting

✅ Red & Green Sprinkle

✅ Strawberry Sprinkle

✅ Caramel Vermicelli

❌ Chocolate Flavour Brownie Crumb - Contains wheat

🍴 Food at Costa Coffee

Okay, now that the drinks are out of the way, we have to warn you that it goes ever so slightly downhill from here. Unless you’ve never set foot in a Costa Coffee before, you probably know that their gluten free food options are pretty limited, which, for a chain that has almost 15,000 locations throughout the UK & Ireland, is disappointing to say the least. However, in May 2025 Costa did release their gluten free toastie which is cooked within the bag - to avoid cross-contamination risks during reheating - and is a great option for the gluten free community. However, this is only available in the UK and not yet in Ireland.

Sure, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a step in the right direction and a huge improvement from having nothing on offer to gluten free customers. Who knows what the future could hold...

🥓 Breakfast

You might not be surprised to learn that none of the Costa Coffee breakfast items are gluten free as every single option contains some form of gluten - even a gluten free porridge pot is out of the question!

❌ Wiltshire Ham & Mature Cheddar Croissant - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Pork Sausage Bap - Contains wheat & oat

❌ Smoked Bacon Bap - Contains wheat & oat

❌ Egg & Mushroom Bap - Contains wheat & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ All Day Breakfast Wrap - Contains wheat

❌ Greek Style Yoghurt with Mixed Berry Compote - Contains wheat, barley & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ Wholegrain Jumbo Oats Porridge - Contains oat

❌ Instant Wholegrain Porridge - Contains oat

❌ Seeded Brown Toast - Contains wheat, rye, barley & oat

❌ White Toast - Contains wheat

🥪 Lunch

If you didn't already know, Costa UK recently brought out their gluten free Mozzarella & Pesto Toastie. It’s cooked in a paper bag to reduce cross-contamination risks - if you order the gluten free toastie and it comes served NOT in the bag, then there's been a mistake and the correct cooking process has not been followed.

Although there is only one sandwich option at Costa Coffee, and one which wouldn't be suitable to anyone who is also dairy free or vegan, it’s a huge step forward and fantastic to have an inclusive on-the-go option. If this one gluten free toastie ends up being a huge success, Costa Coffee may well bring out more flavours or gluten free products to meet the demand.

The following lunch option is gluten free:

✅ Gluten Free Mozzarella & Pesto Toastie (Available in UK only)

The following lunch options are not gluten free:

❌ Chicken Shawarma Flatbread - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Tandoori Bhaji Flatbread - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Brie, Bacon & Chilli Jam Panini - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ All Day Breakfast Toastie - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Hog Roast Toastie - Contains wheat & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ Chicken & Bacon Toastie - Contains wheat

❌ Roast Chicken & Chorizo Panini - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Wiltshire Ham & Mature Cheddar Toastie - Contains wheat

❌ Cheese & Tomato Toastie - Contains wheat

❌ Tuna Melt Panini - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Mozzarella & Tomato Panini - Contains wheat

❌ New York Deli Bagel - Contains wheat & barley (Available in UK only)

❌ Cajun Spiced Chicken Pizza Wrap - Contains wheat

❌ Ham & Cheese Toastie - Contains wheat

❌ Heinz Beanz & Cheese Toastie - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Vegan Ham & Cheeze Toastie - Contains wheat

❌ Roast Chicken & Bacon Sandwich - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Prawn Mayonnaise Sandwich - Contains wheat, barley & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ BLT Sandwich - Contains wheat & barley (Available in UK only)

❌ Free Range Egg Mayo Sandwich - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Creamy Mac & Cheese - Contains wheat

❌ Pork & Apple Sausage Roll - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Ham & Cheese Panini - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Chicken & Bacon Caesar Wrap - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Chicken Goujon Wrap - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Kids Cheese & Tomato Pizza - Contains wheat, barley & rye (Ireland only)

❌ Chicken Salad Sandwich - Contains wheat & barley (Ireland only)

❌ Italian Style Chicken Sub - Contains wheat & barley (Ireland only)

❌ Low Fat Chicken Flatbread - Contains wheat & rye (Ireland only)

❌ Chicken & Chorizo Flatbread - Contains wheat & rye (Ireland only)

🍰 Pastries & Sweets

It’s no shock to see that none of the pastries or fresh bakes at Costa Coffee are gluten free... but when you see a list like this, it really does make you think that surely there is room for just a couple of GF options in there.

The following pastries and sweet treats all contain gluten:

❌ Chocolate & Pistachio Cookie Sandwich - Contains wheat

❌ Triple Chocolate Muffin - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Strawberry & Vanilla Cake - Contains wheat

❌ Carrot & Walnut Cake - Contains wheat

❌ Triple Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake - Contains wheat & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ Croissant - Contains wheat

❌ Almond Croissant - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Biscoff Cheezecake - Contains wheat & oat (Available in UK only)

❌ Milk Chocolate Cookie - Contains wheat

❌ Triple Chocolate Cookie - Contains wheat

❌ Chocolate Twist - Contains wheat

❌ Pain au Chocolat - Contains wheat

❌ Pain aux Raisin - Contains wheat

❌ Fruited Teacake - Contains wheat

❌ Blueberry Muffin - Contains wheat & oat

❌ Lemon Muffin - Contains wheat

❌ Salted Caramel Brownie - Contains wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Cinnamon Bun - Contains wheat

❌ Millionaire’s Shortbread - Contains wheat

❌ Chocolate Tiffin - Contains wheat

❌ Raspberry & Almond Bake - Contains wheat

❌ Bakewell Tart - Contains wheat

❌ Lemon Curd Tart - Contains wheat

❌ Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake - Contains wheat

❌ Raspberry & White Chocolate Blondie - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Custard Tart - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Chocolate Caramel Crisp - Contains wheat & barkey (Ireland only)

❌ Banana & Pecan Loaf Cake - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Salted Caramel Muffin - Contains wheat & oat (Ireland only)

❌ Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffin - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

❌ Sultana Scone - Contains wheat (Ireland only)

🍪 Snacks

At last - some more gluten free options! Yes, we’re only talking about crisps, popcorn and a couple of pre-packaged sweet treats but it’s something.

The following snacks are gluten free:

✅ Watermelon

✅ Lightly Sea Salted Crisps

✅ Sea Salt & Vinegar Crisps

✅ Mature Cheddar & Red Onion Crisps

✅ Sweet & Salty Popcorn

✅ Millionaire’s Shortbread (Gluten Free) (Available in UK only)

✅ Belgian Chocolate Brownie (Gluten Free)

✅ Fruity Flapjack (Contains gluten free oats)

The following snacks contain gluten:

❌ Bubble Frappe Gingerbread Biscuit - Contains Wheat

❌ Stem Ginger Biscuits - Contain wheat & oat

❌ Fruit & Oat Biscuits - Contain wheat & oat

❌ Jammy Shortbread - Contains wheat

❌ Mini All Butter Shortbreads - Contain wheat (Available in UK only)

❌ Caramel Waffles - Contain wheat