Find out if Cheetos are safe for a gluten-free diet and what to be on the lookout for when shopping. Also find a list of other gluten-free cheese puff brands.

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If you’ve ever enjoyed Cheetos, there is nothing quite like having your hands coated in orange dust and licking off the remains. Yeah, Cheetos are definitely not a health food, but they do make for some delicious snacking. 

If you follow a gluten-free diet, you may be wondering if you can continue eating these beloved cheesy snacks. In this post, we are going to focus on Cheetos and find out what they are, what they’re made of, if they’re gluten-free, and talk about which flavors are safe for your gluten-free diet.

We’ll wrap the post up talking about if they contain dairy, and what other gluten-free cheese puff brands you can be on the lookout for at the grocery store if you want to skip the Cheetos entirely. Let’s get into it!

What are Cheetos?

Cheetos are a puffed corn snack that are coated in a cheese flavored powder. They’re made by the Frito Lay company and come in a variety of flavors.

What are the ingredients in Cheetos?

According to the Cheetos website, the ingredients in these cheese snacks are:

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Sunflower Oil), Cheese Seasoning (Whey, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Canola Oil, Maltodextrin [Made from Corn], Natural and Artificial Flavors, Salt, Whey Protein Concentrate, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Artificial Color [Yellow 6]), and Salt.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in most wheat products, and acts as the “glue” that helps to hold wheat, barley, kamut, spelt, farro, durum, bulgur, rye, and semolina together to maintain their shape.

You can find gluten in whole grains, but also in many processed foods as well. If you purchase wheat bread, there will be gluten in it, because wheat by nature has gluten.

When you think of squishing a piece of bread in your hands, it will form a ball, then will bounce back. That bouncing back is often indicative of gluten. The gluten is the naturally sticky glue that is part of many whole grains.

Many processed foods have hidden gluten in them in the form or gluten or wheat derivatives. These are also in the form of flavorings, binders to keep ingredients together, or other additives.

Read on: What is gluten in food? The basics of a gluten-free diet

Are Cheetos gluten-free?

According to the Frito Lay company, some flavors or their Cheetos are gluten-free, and others contain no gluten-containing ingredients. 

The difference here is that those labeled gluten-free have been confirmed to contain less than 20ppm of gluten, the amount required by the FDA to have this label on their packaging.

All flavors and information regarding the products mentioned in this post can be found on the Frito Lay website.

Which flavors of Cheetos are gluten-free?

These are the Cheetos flavors that are considered gluten-free by Frito Lay:

• Cheetos Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeño Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Limón Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy XXtra Flamin’ Hot Flavored Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Fantastix! Chili Cheese Flavored Corn and Potato Snacks
• Cheetos Fantastix! Flamin’ Hot Flavored Corn and Potato Snacks
• Cheetos Paws Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Puffs Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Puffs Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Simply Crunchy White Cheddar Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Simply Puffs White Cheddar Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Simply Puffs White Cheddar Jalapeño Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Reduced Fat Puffs Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Reduced Fat Puffs Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks

Frito Lay Gluten Statement

Frito Lay also states that while some of their products do not fit the qualifications of the 20ppm of gluten in the product, that some of their other flavors contain no gluten.

This means that these might be safe for a gluten-free diet if you are satisfied with the idea that there may or may not be the potential for cross contamination with gluten ingredients.

This is the statement from the Frito Lay website regarding their products with no gluten-containing ingredients:

“The Frito-Lay products listed below do not contain wheat, rye, barley or oat ingredients (we include oats in this list as a precaution as oats are often commingled with gluten-containing grains). 

Please note however, some of the products listed below may be manufactured on the same lines as products that contain gluten. 

Although our lines are cleaned between production runs, Frito-Lay has not tested these products for gluten content and the ingredients in these products may have come into contact with gluten-containing products prior to manufacturing. Individuals who are sensitive to gluten should take these factors into consideration in consuming these products.”

Which flavors of Cheetos have no gluten?

These are the Cheetos flavors that are considered to have no gluten-containing ingredients by Frito Lay:

• Cheetos Cheddar Flavored Popcorn
• Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix Cheese Popcorn and Snack Mix
• Cheetos Double Cheddar Eggs Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Flamin’ Hot® Flavored Popcorn
• Cheetos Flavor Shots Flamin’ Hot Asteroids Flavored Corn Puffs
• Cheetos Sweetos™ Cinnamon Eggs Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos White Cheddar Bites Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos White Cheddar Snowflakes® Cheese Flavored Snacks

Are Chester’s puffcorn gluten-free?

Chester’s brand of products are similar to Cheetos. Some of the flavors are gluten-free, while some contain no gluten-containing ingredients.

Gluten-free Chester’s Flavors

• Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Flavored Fries
• Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Flavored Popcorn

No Gluten-Containing Ingredients Flavors

• Chester’s Butter Flavored Puffcorn Snacks
• Chester’s Cheese Flavored Puffcorn Snacks
• Chester’s Flamin’ Hot® Flavored Puffcorn Snacks

Are Hot Cheetos gluten-free?

According to the Frito Lay website, these are the Hot Cheetos and Chester’s products that are considered gluten-free:

• Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Limón Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Crunchy XXtra Flamin’ Hot Flavored Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Fantastix! Flamin’ Hot Flavored Corn and Potato Snacks
• Cheetos Puffs Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Cheetos Reduced Fat Puffs Flamin’ Hot Cheese Flavored Snacks
• Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Flavored Fries
• Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Flavored Popcorn

These are the Hot Cheetos flavors that are considered to contain no gluten-containing ingredients:

• Cheetos Flamin’ Hot® Flavored Popcorn
• Cheetos Flavor Shots Flamin’ Hot Asteroids Flavored Corn Puffs

Are Baked Cheetos gluten-free?

The Frito Lay website indicates that Cheetos Baked Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks are gluten-free and should be labeled so on the packaging. These are safe for a gluten-free diet.

Are Cheetos dairy-free?

No flavors of Cheetos are considered dairy-free or safe for a dairy-free diet.

Now that we’ve covered the Cheetos brand, let’s talk about some of the other options for cheese puffs that are available to you. 

What other cheese puff brands are gluten-free?

Cheetos are a well-known brand, but there are other manufacturers who make gluten-free cheese puffs. Here are some other gluten-free cheese puffs you can look for at your local store or search for online.

Since I also follow a dairy-free diet, I’ve indicated with an asterisk (*) those in the list that are also dairy-free. 

This list is not exhaustive and each of these brands may offer other flavors, but this will give you a nice jumping off point of options to be on the lookout for.

• Annie’s Organic Cheddar Cheesy Puffs
• Barbara’s Bakery Original Cheese Puffs
• Beanitos Baked White Bean Mac N’ Cheese Crunch
• Biena Chickpea Aged White Cheddar Snack Puffs
• Hippeas Organic Vegan White Cheddar Chickpea Puffs*
• IWONOrganics Protein Puffs
• Lesser Evil Paleo Puffs “No Cheese” Cheesiness*
• Luke’s Organic White Cheddar Cheese Puffs
• Pirate’s Booty Cheese Puffs
• Schoolyard Snacks Cheddar Cheese Keto Puffs
• Shrewd Food Baked Cheddar Protein Puffs
• Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs*
• The Daily Crave Beyond Puffs*
• Thrive Market non-GMO Vegan Nacho Grain-free Puffs* 
• Utz Cheese Balls
• Wise Snacks Cheez Doodles Baked Puffs

I hope if you’ve been looking to find out if you can still enjoy your beloved Cheetos on a gluten-free diet, that this information has helped you get the answers you need.

Most Cheetos flavors are gluten-free or contain no gluten-containing ingredients, however they are not dairy-free. Be aware that if you also avoid dairy, you’ll want to look for one of the other dairy-free options listed above.

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