What food is gluten free and vegetarian?

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When you're following a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan diet, you know there's a wide swath of the grocery store you need to avoid: the meat counter, much of the dairy section, the bread aisle and most conventional pastas, soups and frozen foods. But there's plenty you can eat, too. You just need to choose carefully... and double-check ingredients and labels when you're shopping.

Here's a list of gluten-free and vegetarian or vegan foods organized it by store section. You'll also find lists of specific foods that are vegetarian or vegan and gluten-free. If you're looking for more information on what's safe and what's not on your diet, check out this comprehensive gluten-free food list, plus 18 surprising foods that may contain hidden milk ingredients.

Fruits and Vegetables

As a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan, you should spend the bulk of your time grocery shopping in the produce section, since virtually everything you'll find there is both gluten-free and vegan. The exception is processed foods such as the containers of refrigerated salad dressing and the jars of fruit with syrup added.

You may also find refrigerated meat substitutes in this section. Unfortunately, many of these meat substitute products contain wheat-derived ingredients that aren't safe on the gluten-free diet. You'll need to track your protein intake in order to get enough protein on the gluten-free vegetarian or vegan diet.

When it comes to frozen or canned fruits or vegetables, single-ingredient products almost certainly will be vegetarian/vegan. They may not be safely gluten-free, however, depending on how sensitive you are to trace gluten. You'll need to read labels carefully to look for warnings that the product has been processed in a shared facility or on equipment shared with wheat.

Finally, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables with multiple ingredients may or may not be gluten-free and/or vegetarian/vegan. You'll have to scan the labels for unsafe ingredients.

Breads, Snacks and Pasta

You may purchase gluten-free bread, pasta and snack products if you're following a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan diet. But you'll need to watch your labels carefully, since many makers of gluten-free products use ingredients such as eggs and milk.

When it comes to gluten-free bread, you might want to consider Ener-G and Schar products—both brands include gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free options. Manufacturers also make gluten-free bagels, gluten-free English muffins and gluten-free crackers in vegetarian and vegan options.

If you're craving cookies, many of the more popular gluten-free store-bought options are vegetarian or vegan—just check the ingredients list to be sure. If you need vegan cookies, Lucy's Cookies, Enjoy Life, Andean Dream and Nana's all offer selections of gluten-free vegetarian or vegan cookies.

Meanwhile, gluten-free vegetarian and vegan snacks will be somewhat easier to find. Many conventional chips and gluten-free crackers already omit dairy and egg.

For gluten-free pasta that's also vegetarian or vegan, your options expand even more. Pasta ingredients typically include just a blend of flours, possibly with some sort of binder.

Check out Ancient Harvest's quinoa pasta, made with a blend of quinoa and organic, non-GMO corn flours, or Jovial Foods pasta, made with only brown rice and water. Both are made in gluten-free facilities, and the Jovial Foods product is certified gluten-free. Banza pasta, made from chickpeas, is gluten-free and vegan.

Soups, Frozen Pizza and More

As you might imagine, most conventional prepared foods aren't safe on a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan diet. But if you shop the health food section as opposed to the regular grocery aisles, you will have some decent choices.

We've identified several gluten-free vegan frozen pizza alternatives on the market, plus another handful that would suit you if you eat eggs but not dairy. Alternatively, you always can make your own pizza using your choice of toppings and a gluten-free vegan crust.

If you do eat dairy products, you can find frozen or boxed gluten-free vegetarian macaroni dishes. Glutino and Amy's each produce gluten-free vegetarian pasta meals, as does Conte's Pasta. In addition, "just add water" entrees from Thai Kitchen are listed as vegan and gluten-free to less than 20 parts per million.

Amy's also makes several gluten-free vegan "bowls," including Indian entrees—all are considered gluten-free to less than 20 parts per million. And several of the boxed soups from Pacific Natural Foods and Imagine Foods are listed as vegan and gluten-free to below 20 parts per million.

Udi's Gluten-Free and GlutenFreeda each make gluten-free vegetarian frozen burritos (GlutenFreeda also makes one that's vegetarian and dairy-free). And more than half a dozen companies have come out with gluten-free vegetarian and vegan veggie burgers. 

Baking Mixes and Supplies

As a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan shopping for baking mixes, you'll obviously be buying only "gluten-free"-marked packages. But you'll also need to watch out for animal ingredients... and unfortunately for vegans in particular, many of the various possibilities contain either milk or eggs.

Still, vegans do have a few options. Cherrybrook Kitchen considers its full line of gluten-free mixes to be vegan, and most of Pamela's Products' mixes also are vegan—the possibilities include cakes, brownies, cookies and pancake batter. Glutino has a vegan brownie mix, and everything Wholesome Chow makes is gluten-free and vegan.

Meanwhile, if you do eat milk products or eggs, you can use virtually any of the gluten-free mix products on the market. Just be sure to double-check the ingredients.

When baking from scratch, you probably know that baking supplies such as cornstarch and gluten-free flour are acceptably vegetarian and vegan. But not all baking supplies are created equal on the gluten-free diet: some are considered gluten-free, while others are not. For example, not all oatmeal is gluten-free, and some sugar options are better than others.

Condiments and Drinks

Buying condiments and drinks is relatively easy when you're gluten-free and vegetarian, especially if you eat dairy and eggs. And it's not too much trouble even when you're a gluten-free vegan, either.

Ketchup, salsa and mustard rarely contain any animal-derived ingredients (although you'll need to watch out for honey if you're vegan) so you'll really only need to watch out for their gluten-free status. Any animal-flavored spices are most likely to be clearly labeled as such (watch out for seasoning blend mixes), so just double-check your choices for added gluten.

True mayonnaise-based salad dressings won't work for vegans as they likely will contain eggs and possibly milk ingredients. But they will work for vegetarians who consume those ingredients. There's a huge variety of possibilities of gluten-free salad dressings on the market.

Vegans who crave gluten-free mayonnaise can turn to Vegenaise, which the company considers gluten-free. Alternatively can use one of the gluten-free-labeled oil-and-vinegar-based dressings on the market.

Many non-alcoholic beverages on the market are considered gluten-free. This includes a wide selection of juices, soda, iced tea, sports drinks, and energy drinks. Many also are considered suitable for vegans and vegetarians, although a few may contain gelatin, cochineal, or shellac. Check labels for those ingredients and for gluten ingredients. Most non-alcoholic drinks are gluten-free, but some aren't.

If you want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage, you face several pitfalls. Not all alcohol is gluten-free. Conventional beer is an obvious example of a non-gluten-free drink, but some people also react to distilled alcohol derived from gluten grains.

And even if the drink you find is gluten-free, it may not be vegetarian or vegan. Many beer and wine products are clarified using animal-derived substances such as gelatin, egg albumen and casein (milk protein), and a few may contain cream or honey.

Fortunately, there are numerous vegan wines on the market. But you may need to call manufacturers to confirm the vegan status of a particular wine. There are even a few gluten-free vegan beers, including Green's Original Gluten-Free and Harvester Brewing.

A Word from Verywell

If you're a gluten-free vegetarian or vegan, it may sometimes seem that most foods are off-limits to you. But there's actually plenty you can eat (even if you have to do more cooking than most people). Just remember to check ingredients lists carefully, and watch your protein intake to make sure you get enough.

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