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If like me you’re a huge savoury fan, you’re probably always on the hunt for a bag of gluten free crisps to devour.
I love cakes and bakes, but nothing beats sitting down of an evening with a sharing bag of crisps to myself.
Add a nice dip and you’re basically in heaven!
But if you’re new to coeliac disease or a gluten free diet, you might be wondering which crisps are actually gluten free.
There are a lot of crisp brands I used to love pre-coeliac which I now cannot eat, so I’ve been on a mission to find replacements.
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Are crisps gluten free?
Most classic crisps are made from potatoes, which are naturally gluten free.
However there are some brands of crisps which are not gluten free – and that’s where you have to get used to reading labels.
All Walker’s crisps carry a ‘may contain gluten’ warning, so even if there is no gluten in the ingredients, they are not suitable for people with coeliac disease.
On the flip side, a lot of crisps are safe to eat – for example, Kettle Chips are all labelled gluten free, as are many others.
The rule with crisps is the same as any other gluten free packaged foods.
If there’s no specific ‘gluten free’ label, firstly check the ingredients list to see if there are any gluten-containing foods listed, such as wheat or barley.
These will be highlighted in bold in the UK and EU so will be easy to spot.
And secondly, check to make sure there are no ‘may contain’ warnings – if there are, these are not suitable for people with coeliac disease.
The best gluten free crisp replacements
While there are lots of gluten free options, it’s frustrating when you miss you absolute favourite crisps.
Of course, ingredients do change over time so while these products are gluten free at the time of writing (July 2021) please always double check them.
I’m also aware some products look very similar but only some are gluten free.
For example while some of the Lidl and Aldi products look almost identical, only one of them is gluten free in some cases – so please always check the ingredients.
Here are some alternatives to my favourite crisp brands which contain gluten…
Gluten free Pringles
I know how much you guys love Pringles, and you’ll be pleased to know that while Pringles are not gluten free, there are alternatives!
Schär have brought out their gluten free Curvies crisps in recent years, which come in BBQ or plain flavours.
They’re just like Pringles and can be found in Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s free from aisles.
You’ll also find the Lidl Snacktastic Stacking Potato Snacks are the perfect Pringles dupe, and also gluten free.
They come in a range of flavours and are only 84p a pack (bargain) – just don’t get them confused with the Aldi ones which look similar but are NOT gluten free.
Gluten free Monster Munch
Finding these Lidl Monster Claws was probably one of the best discoveries of the last couple of years for me!
I absolutely LOVED Monster Munch – particularly the pickled onion ones – and when I tasted these it took me right back to primary school.
Monster Munch have no gluten in the ingredients but they do have several ‘may contain’ warnings (classic Walkers) so are not suitable for people with coeliac disease.
No I’ve found these Monster Claws I don’t even care, because they taste exactly like the real deal and they’re much cheaper too.
Gluten free Nik Naks
I used to be absolutely obsessed with Nik Naks back in the day, and I swear they used to be gluten free because my early coeliac food diaries contain a lot of them.
But that was 20 odd years ago and now sadly Nik Naks contain gluten.
However, these Well & Truly Crunchies are an absolute Nik Nak dupe – it’s uncanny!
I had forgotten how much I loved Nik Naks until I opened a pack of these Really Cheesey Well & Truly Crunchies and devoured the pack in one sitting.
You can find them in the Tesco free from aisle and they have a few different flavours – the cheese ones are by far my favourite though.
Gluten free Skips
Prawn cocktail fans listen up – these Tesco Prawn Shells are here to fill the Skips-shaped hole in your life!
Although Skips are largely made from tapioca starch, they’re another Walkers product which has no gluten in the ingredients but an annoying ‘may contain’ warning.
So while we wait for Walkers to get their act together, these Tesco Prawn Shells are just as good.
In fact, my gluten-eating other half demolished most of this bag and told me he think they’re better than the real thing.
Gluten free Frazzles
I bloody loved Frazzles but sadly they contain gluten, as do a lot of the supermarket versions.
However these Sainsbury’s Bacon Crispies have come to the rescue as the perfect Frazzles alternative.
They’re deliciously bacon-y and have that lovely crunch which then just dissolves in your mouth.
I actually had a bit of a love affair with these when I first discovered them; pretty sure some Sainsbury’s exec somewhere has retired off the profits!
But seriously, if you love a bacon crisp then you have to give these a go.
Gluten free Doritos
If I could pick one gluten-containing crisp to eat symptom-free forever, it would be Tangy Cheese Doritos.
I used to polish off a multipack of these a week pre-coeliac and was so gutted that none of the Doritos range is gluten free (thanks again Walkers).
So when I found out the Sainsbury’s own tortilla chips are gluten free AND come in cheese, original and chilli flavours, I was over the moon.
Lidl also do a range of gluten free Dorito’s dupes but trust me, the Sainsbury’s ones are SO much better.
The original and cheese ones taste just like the real thing – I have to stop myself buying them because once I open the pack I lose all control!
Gluten free Hula Hoops
Sadly Hula Hoops have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, despite not having gluten in the ingredients.
But if you miss those crunchy potato hoops, give Lidl’s Potato Hoops a try.
They come in the same range of flavours as KP’s original Hula Hoops but they’re gluten free.
These were always a lunchbox favourite of mine so it’s nice to be reunited – I think you just can’t beat the ready salted flavour if you ask me.
Gluten free Wotsits
Wotsits fans, don’t panic – it turns out there are quite a few alternatives out there for you.
While Wotsits themselves aren’t gluten free, you can get supermarket versions from which are safe to eat.
Because they’re made with maize they’re a fairly easy snack to replicate completely gluten free.
So if you’re missing these, enjoy the range on offer!
Gluten free onion rings
Anyone else used to think the highlight of a party spread would be a bowl of onion rings!?
I’m not talking the battered kind, but the crunchy, super-strong crisp variety!
Sadly onion ring crisps aren’t gluten free, but Tesco has brought out this free from version which are gluten, wheat and dairy free.
They taste just like the real deal and can be found in the free from aisle.
Party spreads are once again complete – if you can bear to share them!
Which gluten free crisps do you miss?
I know there are probably lots of crisps out there that you guys miss, so please let me know in the comments below so I can find alternatives!
There are also still a few crisps I’d love to find an alternative to but haven’t had any success – namely Quavers!
So if you manage to find any gluten free Quavers please do let me know.
Don’t forget you can also share all your new gluten free finds and get advice in my free Facebook support group – come on over!
Love this! Also just found out that kettle chips have gluten free options and they even say gluten free in them! I got very excited. The sea salt and black pepper and the sour cream and sweet onion are really good 🙂
McCoy’s are the ones I miss! Great find with the hula hoops alternative, hopefully there’s a beef flavoured hoops alternative too!
Some of the Lidl McCoy’s dupes are gluten free – I think from memory all of them except the chicken ones!?
I find these days I have to settle for either plain ready salted crisps or salted tortilla chips because so many of the gluten-free ones contain milk – another no-no for me.
i miss chilli heatwave doritos SO much i can’t even explain i used to eat a whole big bag of them and now i can’t have any. i also miss ringOs the salt and vinegar ones and monster munch and just so many ðŸ˜
Love this blog Sarah, thank you! Like you I have also been on the hunt to find gluten free crisps- others I have found and buy regularly include: Seabrooks (Worcester Sauce and Beef are my fav) Tangy Toms and Transforma Snacks (for the old retro type crisps). I also quite like the new sour cream n chive pop chips for a Pringle type alternative.
Seabrook crisps are just so good. They taste better than walkers, are gluten free and come in lots of flavours. More supermarkets and shops should stock them and include them on meal deals….
This is so helpful – thank you! The ones my coeliac daughter misses the most are Quavers….I’ve never found a GF dupe for them – have you? X
I know it’s been two years but I had Eat Real’s creamy dill Lentil Chips yesterday and they tasted so much like quavers! They have lots of flavours too, though I’ve only tried those ones and their hummus chips
Great recommendations.
Have you looked at M&S crisps they have quite a few that are Gluten free and marked on the pack.
Marks and Spencer’s Cheese tasters are awesome! Better than Wotsits.
PomBears are Gluten free as are Aldi Bear faces think they are called but I dont like the Aldi product much but others do
Have you tried Iceland’s frozen hula hoops plain and beef, in the oven and ready in 10mins! Don’t say May contain or have any gluten ingredients not quite as good as the original hula hoops but gives a nice change.
Coop is another brand like kettle chips where most of their sharing bag crisps are gluten free. Even better some nisa corner shops stock coop brands. When flavour is craved there isn’t a lot of choice when you are coeliac! Does any one else find that food cravings are always Savoury Salty and very rarely sweet? For me it’s always a desperation for full flavour salty and it’s not easy to solve! Hubby found in nisa the coop range of crisps and kettle chips bbq pulled brisket beef share bag – OMG if you find them which is HARD try them they are sensational.
This is fab I have only recently been diagnosed so still spending hours at the supermarket studying labels! The one crisp (if you can call it that) I will always pine over is Twiglets I am so sad there is no alternative for those!