Are you planning a gluten-free Thanksgiving this year? If any of your guests have celiac disease you will need to take a few precautions to keep their food safe from gluten cross contact.
Gluten is made of proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and often oats. When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, they have an immune reaction in their small intestine that can make them very sick and lead to further complications down the line. The smallest bit of gluten can have a big impact on their health.
That’s why it’s so amazing you are looking out for your guest and planning a gluten-free Thanksgiving! It may seem daunting at first, but this is completely doable. Read on for tips for your gluten-free Thanksgiving. Let’s talk turkey!
PS. Scroll through to the end for 5 bonus tips for gluten-free guests!
Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Menu
Even a tiny amount of gluten can make someone with celiac sick, so keep in mind that your celiac guest is not hoping for special treatment, they’re trying to stay healthy through the holidays!
Start the conversation when your gluten-free guests RSVP. You could ask if they have any recommended ingredients and brands for the gluten free meal.
Next, will this meal be entirely gluten free, or will you still serve items containing gluten? This is ultimately your choice, but will affect your prep work and how the food is served. As you read through this article, consider if it would be easier to make the meal mostly or entirely gluten free.
These days it’s pretty simple to modify family recipes to make them celiac friendly, and most whole foods are naturally gluten free to begin with. If you can avoid serving food made with the gluten grains listed above, you have yourself a gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!
When you cook from scratch with fresh ingredients you have more control over what goes into each dish. The 3 instances that I suggest going against this advice are stuffing/dressing, rolls, and desserts—I’ll explain more below.
The tricky part is, gluten turns up in some unexpected items in the grocery store. While it’s clear that conventional dinner rolls have gluten, sauces, dips, and dressings might not be on your radar. Let’s take a look at typical Thanksgiving offerings and how to keep them gluten free.
Turkey
All-natural turkey is gluten free, no matter what grains the bird was fed. You will want to make sure there is no gluten in the seasoning, so check the label, check the company website, or opt for a plain, unseasoned bird.
People with celiac disease can’t eat turkey roasted with gluten stuffing inside. Consider filling the cavity with aromatics like fresh herbs, onions, and apples.
Stuffing/Dressing
Although I’m an advocate of cooking from scratch with close-to-nature ingredients, I highly recommend using a premade gluten-free stuffing mix. Most gluten-free bread does not hold up in recipes like conventional croutons because of the lack of sticky gluten.
Just a quick note that cornbread often contains wheat flour in addition to cornmeal, so if you go with cornbread stuffing, double check that it’s actually gluten free.
Gravy
Most gravy has wheat flour in it, whether homemade or storebought. If your turkey came with a gravy packet, and it does not specifically say it is gluten free, you should not serve it with your gluten-free Thanksgiving meal.
Thicken homemade gravy with a cornstarch or arrowroot slurry instead of wheat flour, or shop for gluten-free gravy at the store.
Dips and Condiments
Even if condiments and dips are originally gluten free, once crumbs are introduced, they must be considered cross contaminated and not safe for celiac.
Potatoes
Potatoes can play an important role in a gluten-free diet, and it’s easy to prepare gluten-free mashed potatoes. That being said, other potato dishes might contain gluten ingredients, so double check how they were prepared.
Sweet Potatoes
Like white potatoes, sweet potatoes are naturally gluten free, but make sure any toppings are as well. For instance, most marshmallows made in the USA are gluten-free, but some may contain wheat from repackaging facilities.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce should be gluten free, especially if you make it yourself. If you plan to purchase cranberry sauce, check the label for a wheat warning.
Vegetables
Fresh, roasted, and otherwise cooked vegetables are naturally gluten free, however, they are often paired with seasoning, sauces, and dips that are not. Some items to look out for include:
- Dips—either gluten ingredients or errant crumbs
- Salad Dressing—some store-bought dressings contain wheat or barley malt
- Sauces—may be thickened with wheat flour
- Green Bean Casserole—both cream of mushroom soup and the crispy onion topping probably contain gluten
Bread and Dinner Rolls
Heat and serve gluten-free bread and rolls separately from traditional versions because even a crumb could make someone with celiac disease sick. Butter or any other condiment must not contain gluten crumbs.
Desserts
I do not recommend taking on gluten-free baking on top of all the other work you are putting into this gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner. If you do decide to bake, go with a premade gluten-free mix and read on for how to avoid gluten cross contact during prep and cooking, including avoiding an electric mixer and lining pans with parchment paper.
As far as gluten-free piecrust, purchase one at the store, use gluten-free graham crackers, or even gluten-free ginger snaps.
Shopping for Gluten-Free Ingredients
If this is your first time planning a gluten-free shopping trip, you will find some helpful tips in this article.
Start with as many fresh ingredients as you can, because label reading is a lot before you get used to it, and you can’t assume anything packaged is gluten free. However, I do recommend using a gluten-free stuffing mix, as well as premade gluten free pie crust or dessert mixes, because gluten-free baking is a whole other beast.
While we’re on baking, you should definitely start with new packages of ingredients if you are making anything from scratch. Butter and other condiments will have bits of gluten from making toast and sandwiches, and if you have ever used the same scoop for flour and then any other ingredient, that food is now harboring gluten as well.
Best case scenario, you will find certified gluten-free products. Otherwise, keep an eye out for wheat warnings in bold print, including contains, may contain, and so on. Wheat requires a warning because it is one of the top 9 allergens, but, barley, rye, and oats do not, so carefully read ingredient lists looking for these grains.
Here is a short list of ingredients that trip up some folks:
• Powdered mixes and seasonings might have gluten, most spices are fine, but you still need to check
• Soy sauce is made with wheat—substitute with gluten-free tamari
• Anything with malt, including Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes
• Salad dressing and dips (prepared and mixes)
•Most vegan/vegetarian protein stand-ins, like Tofurky
Storing Gluten-Free Food in a Shared Kitchen
To avoid any mix-ups, designate certain areas or shelves for your gluten-free ingredients. Store gluten free containers covered and packages closed. Marking refrigerated and frozen ingredient “GF” on a bit of tape or with a cute sticker will keep you organized as well.
Likewise, after the meal, transfer gluten-free leftovers to separate containers with clean utensils.
Avoiding Gluten Cross Contact During Prep and Cooking
It’s come up a few times so far, but I cannot stress enough that avoiding cross contact is super important. Treat gluten as a contaminant that will make your gluten-free guests very sick because in the case of celiac disease it will. However, gluten is not a pathogen, and you can't “kill” it with heat.
Ideally everything used for prep and serving will take a ride through the dishwasher. We’re talking measuring cups and spoons, utensils, you name it. I get that this isn’t possible in all cases, so next best would be to wash everything very well with warm soapy water.
Wash your hands and clean surfaces with warm, soapy water, and keep them free from gluten while handling anything your gluten-avoiding guests will eat.
Once you’ve done all this cleaning, it would be easiest to prep all the gluten-free food first if you haven’t decided to serve a completely gluten-free Thanksgiving meal.
• Counters and cutting boards
• Colanders (avoid these all together in your gluten-free prep)
• Convection ovens (gluten-free food must be tightly covered)
• Oven racks—use sheet pans or foil
• Toaster—don’t use
• Air fryers—skip these too
• Electric mixers
• Pantry shelves
• Wooden kitchen items
• Anything with deep scratches
• Cast iron and stoneware
Parchment paper, aluminum foil, and baking cups are your friends! Line sheet pans and muffin pans, and you might need to cover dishes in the oven with foil. If it’s not a convection oven there shouldn’t be a problem sharing space, but don’t let any gluten-y sauces drip or crumbs fall into the gluten-free food.
Do not use the same utensils, bowls, cutting boards, and so on to prepare gluten and gluten-free dishes. For instance, if you slice bread and then cut cheese with the same knife, some of that gluten will get transferred. If possible, create a dedicated space for your gluten-free prep (or quarantine the gluten prep if that’s easier).
Serving Your Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Meal
Every dish should have its own serving utensil to lessen the chance of contaminating gluten-free offerings.
If you are planning to serve a buffet that includes gluten dishes, set these at the end of the buffet for the least likeliness of cross contact. Heat and serve items like bread and rolls separately, and they'll also require separate butter, free from gluten crumbs.
Some people like to create small menu cards, but this may not be necessary, depending on the size of your crowd.
If you are serving a mostly gluten-free meal, consider isolating the gluten dishes rather than the other way around. For instance, if only dinner rolls and a pie have gluten and everything else at your Thanksgiving is gluten free, perhaps keep the dinner rolls and pie off to the side away from all of the gluten-free food.
Subtly offer people with medical food restrictions serve themselves first to avoid dropped crumbs and mixed up utensils. (But if someone doesn't want to go first don't make a big deal out of it). Likewise, your celiac guests might not want to discuss their gluten-free diet during the festivities.
Thank you for helping your gluten-free guests stay safe this Thanksgiving. I’m sure they are grateful for your effort!
Bonus: 5 Tips for Gluten-Free Guests
- Let your host know that you cannot eat gluten when you RSVP. Keep the medical details brief, rather focus on your needs and how to make this happen. Explain gently, don’t make demands. You can’t expect them to change their entire menu, but your host can’t make accommodations if she doesn’t know about your situation. Offer to bring a gluten-free dish so you know you will have something safe to eat.
- Assess the spread. Are there crackers on the charcuterie? Is the hummus shared between pretzels and veggies? Is there only one butter dish for everyone?
- It would be safest to serve yourself first. This is not being selfish; this is staying safe from cross-contact so you can stay healthy through the holidays. If this isn't possible, or if you would be mortified to go first, avoid using shared utensils, and use your best judgement on what is safe to eat.
- It’s okay to kindly double check on ingredients or ask how certain food was prepared. Don't assume anyone understands how easy it is to get glutened! If you aren’t sure, just skip it and find something you know is safe.
- Keep in mind that putting on a Thanksgiving dinner is a huge undertaking, and keeping even part of it safe for celiac is a feat on its own. Offer to help out, stay out of the way, and stay grateful.