McDonald's

McDonald’s GB and Ireland don’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 European 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 and human error. For example, you’ll see in this guide, that there are some McDonald’s menu options that are naturally gluten free and fried only with other gluten free options, but you must check that the branch doesn’t use re-filtered oil.

Mistakes are also bound to happen 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. 😰

McDonald's Gluten Free Statement:

“We prepare our food in kitchens where allergens are present and shared equipment is used. Although we handle your meal with care, we cannot ensure it is allergen free, even if requested ingredients are removed. While there are no nuts or peanuts in our products, we cannot guarantee they are completely nut or peanut-free.
Please note:
• Our buns, rolls and tortilla wraps are toasted in the same toaster as buns topped with sesame seeds.
• Due to the handling of cheese we cannot guarantee our products do not contain traces of milk, including where a request has been made to remove cheese from an order.
• Our Fries and Hash Browns are cooked in the same oil as Veggie Dippers.
• Delivery orders: we also cannot guarantee your meal will not come into contact with other allergens during delivery. Couriers may transport other McDonald’s orders or orders from other businesses at the same time as your McDonald’s order.”

Unfortunately, you’re the only person that can decide whether you’re happy and confident to eat at McDonald’s knowing these 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.

✅ Gluten free without any mention of ‘may contains’ on the allergen matrix

⚠️ May contain gluten from either shared cooking equipment in the kitchens (fryers, equipment etc.) or from a supplier that has reported a real risk of cross-contact on their production line

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

To clarify, this is for GB and Ireland McDonald’s 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 McDonald’s GB allergen guide and McDonald's Ireland allergen guide.

So, let’s see if you’re lovin’ what we’ve got for you 😜

🍳 Breakfast Menu

Now, don’t get too excited, because McDonald’s doesn’t actually offer any gluten free bread here in GB & Ireland, meaning you can’t just rock up and grab yourself a gluten free Bacon and Egg McMuffin. However, when you take a deep dive into the ingredients, you’ll actually see that, minus the bread, there are some gluten free options from the breakfast menu.

If you visit a McDonald’s and ask for a Sausage and Egg McMuffin without the bread, you’ll just be given the egg, sausage patty and cheese in a box. You could then eat it as it is OR just use your own bread to finish off the breakfast muffin!

Yes, it’s still a faff and frustrating that you can’t get the finished product, plus you’ll probably be charged the same price for it if you had the bun, but it’s an option if you’re on-the-go or with friends and don’t have to be the odd one out.

All of these ingredients in the breakfast range are gluten free:

🍳 Egg

🐖 Pork Sausage Patty

🥓 Back Bacon

🧀 Cheddar Cheese

So, the following breakfast menu options can be gluten free when ordered WITHOUT the bread:

✅ Mighty McMuffin with Tomato Ketchup - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN (Available in GB only)

✅ Breakfast Roll with Tomato Ketchup - WITHOUT ROLL

✅ Bacon Roll with Tomato Ketchup - WITHOUT ROLL

✅ Double Bacon & Egg McMuffin - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN

✅ Sausage & Egg McMuffin - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN

✅ Bacon & Egg McMuffin - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN

✅ Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN

✅ Egg & Cheese McMuffin - WITHOUT ENGLISH MUFFIN

✅ Hash Browns are gluten free and safe for coeliacs* as McDonald’s states that they are only fried with the fries and veggie dippers which are also both gluten free

The following breakfast items are not gluten free:

❌ Breakfast Wrap with Ketchup - Contains wheat

❌ Breakfast Wrap with Brown Sauce - Contains wheat

❌ Mighty Muffin with Brown Sauce (Available in GB only) - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Breakfast Roll with Brown Sauce - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Bacon Roll with Brown Sauce - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Muffin with Jam - Contains wheat & rye

❌ Cheesy Bacon Flatbread (Available in GB only) - Contains wheat

❌ Bacon & Cheese Toastie (Available in Ireland only) - Contains wheat

❌ Cheese Toastie (Available in Ireland only) - Contains wheat

❌ Pancakes & Syrup - Contains wheat

❌ Pancakes & Sausage with Syrup - Contains wheat

❌ Porridge - Contains oats

❌ Flahavan's Quick Oats - Contains oats

🍔 Burgers

Similar to breakfast, if you order a burger without the bun, there are lots of menu options that will then be suitable for gluten free and coeliacs because the ingredients are naturally gluten free.

All of these ingredients in the burgers are gluten free:

🐄 Beef Patty

🧀 Cheddar Cheese

🧅 Grilled Onions

🧅 Red Onion Rings

🥒 Pickle Slices

🥬 Lettuce

So, the following burgers are gluten free when ordered WITHOUT the bread:

✅ McPlant - WITHOUT SESAME BUN

✅ Big Mac - WITHOUT SESAME BUN

✅ Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese - WITHOUT SESAME BUN

✅ Quarter Pounder with Cheese - WITHOUT SESAME BUN

✅ Vegetable Deluxe - WITHOUT SESAME BUN

✅ Chilli Double Cheeseburger - WITHOUT BUN

✅ Triple Cheeseburger - WITHOUT BUN

✅ Bacon Double Cheeseburger - WITHOUT BUN

✅ Double Cheeseburger - WITHOUT BUN

✅ Cheeseburger - WITHOUT BUN

✅ Hamburger - WITHOUT BUN

The following burgers cannot be customised to be gluten free:

❌ McSpicy Frank's RedHot - Contains wheat

❌ McSpicy - Contains wheat

❌ Filet-o-Fish - Contains wheat

❌ McCrispy - Contains wheat & barley

❌ McChicken Sandwich - Contains wheat

❌ Bacon Mayo Chicken - Contains wheat

❌ Mayo Chicken - Contains wheat

🐔 Chicken McNuggets & Selects

The following items are gluten free:

✅ Veggie Dippers - they are also only cooked with other gluten free items so suitable for those with coeliac disease too*

The following items are not gluten free:

❌ Cheesy Garlic Bread Dippers - Contains wheat

❌ Cheesy Garlic Bread Dippers Sharebox - Contains wheat

❌ Chicken Selects Sharebox - Contains wheat

❌ The McDonald's Chicken Sharebox - Contains wheat

❌ 20 Chicken McNuggets Sharebox - Contains wheat

❌ 9 Piece Chicken McNuggets - Contains wheat

❌ 6 Piece Chicken McNuggets - Contains wheat

❌ Chicken Selects - Contains wheat

🥗 Wraps & Salads

Now, we’re not going to suggest ordering a wrap without the wrap, to make it gluten free, because all you’d really have is a heap of filling, so let’s assume a gluten free wrap is out of the question.

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

⚠️ Side Salad - May contain wheat

⚠️ Grilled Chicken Salad - May contain wheat

⚠️ Grilled Chicken and Bacon Salad - May contain wheat

The following salads are not gluten free:

❌ Crispy Chicken Salad - Contains wheat

❌ Crispy Chicken and Bacon Salad - Contains wheat

🍟 Fries & Sides

Everything is better with French Fries 💛 and in GB and Ireland, McDonald's Fries are not made with any gluten containing ingredients and are only fried with the veggie dippers and hash browns which also don’t contain any gluten, so safe for coeliacs*.

The following sides are gluten free:

✅ Fries

✅ Apple Slices

✅ Cucumber Sticks

⚠️ Side Salad - May contain wheat

😊 Happy Meals

Gluten free kiddies will also be happy because there are ways to order a happy meal gluten free:

✅ Veggie Dippers Happy Meal

✅ Hamburger Happy Meal - WITHOUT THE BUN

✅ Cheeseburger Happy Meal - WITHOUT THE BUN

The following Happy Meals are not/cannot be made gluten free:

❌ Mayo Chicken Meal - Contains wheat

❌ Fish Bites Meal - Contains wheat

❌ Chicken McNuggets Meal - Contains wheat

❌ Fish Fingers Meal - Contains wheat

🍦 Desserts

The good news is that McDonald's regularly changes their McFlurry flavours so gluten free ones might be available soon. The bad news is that currently, there are no gluten free McFlurry’s on the menu as they all contain gluten.

If you’re really desperate, then you can just have the plain McFlurry with the chocolate sauce which is gluten free but always check on their online allergen guide or ask a staff member to find out what is safe for you.

The following desserts are gluten free:

✅ Plain McFlurry

✅ Apple Slices

The following desserts are not gluten free:

❌ Biscoff McFlurry - Contains wheat

❌ Oreo McFlurry - Contains wheat

❌ Maltesers McFlurry - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Smarties McFlurry - Contains wheat & barley

❌ Sugar Donut - Contains wheat

❌ Raspberry and White Chocolate Pie - Contains wheat

❌ Chocolate Brownie - Contains wheat

❌ Mixed Berry Muffin - Contains wheat & oats

❌ Triple Chocolate Cookie - Contains wheat

❌ Apple Pie - Contains wheat

🍵 McCafé & Frappes

The following McCafé items are gluten free:

✅ Frozen Cherry Lemonade

✅ Iced Latte

✅ Toffee Latte

✅ Flat White

✅ Latte

✅ Cappuccino

✅ White Coffee

✅ Americano

✅ Espresso

✅ Hot Chocolate

✅ Tea

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

⚠️ Frozen Strawberry Lemonade - May contain wheat

⚠️ Caramel Iced Frappé - May contain wheat

⚠️ Mango & Pineapple Smoothie - May contain wheat

The following items contain gluten:

❌ Biscoff Frappé - Contains wheat

🥤 Milkshakes & Cold Drinks

The following items are all gluten free:

✅ Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

✅ Sprite Zero

✅ Diet Coke

✅ Coca-Cola Classic

✅ Fanta Orange Zero

✅ Oasis Summer Fruits Zero (Available in GB only)

✅ IRN-BRU (Available in GB only)

✅ Banana Milkshake (Available in GB only)

✅ Chocolate Milkshake

✅ Strawberry Milkshake

✅ Vanilla Milkshake

✅ Shamrock Shake (Available in GB only)

✅ Tropicana Orange Juice

✅ Tropicana Apple Juice

✅ Robinsons Fruit Shoot

🧂 Condiments & Sauces

Finally, here’s a list of the sauces that are gluten free and safe for coeliacs. There’s just one which you need to avoid and that’s the Sweet & Sour Dip because it contains both wheat and barley.

The following sauces are gluten free:

✅ Tomato Ketchup

✅ Garlic Mayo Dip

✅ BBQ Dip

✅ Sweet Curry Dip

✅ Smokey BBQ Dip

✅ Sweet & Smoky BBQ Dip

✅ Sweet Chilli Dip

✅ Rich Tomato Dip

✅ Balsamic Dressing

✅ Lurpak Spreadable

✅ Flora Original

✅ Strawberry Jam

✅ Pancake Syrup

✅ Golden Syrup

The following sauces contain gluten:

❌ Sweet & Sour Dip - Contains wheat & barley