Find out if corn flakes contain gluten, what to look for in gluten-free corn flakes, what brands to buy, and where to find them.

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Do you love a big bowl of cereal in the morning? Cereal is a nice quick and easy breakfast option, especially if you have a lot to do before scurrying off for work or getting the kids to school.

If you’re new to a gluten-free diet or you’ve been at it for a while, you know that looking at each and every food that enters your body to find out if it contains gluten is a necessity.

That’s why today, we’re looking at a specific type of cereal that you may have been enjoying for years and never knew if it contained gluten or not.

In this post, we’re going to dive into corn flakes and find out if this type of cereal is gluten-free, what it’s made of, and I’ll give you some brands to be on the lookout for next time you’re shopping.

We’ll wrap this whole post up with some recommendations on where to buy gluten-free corn flakes and even answer the question: are corn flakes dairy-free?

Corn Flakes Ingredients

While you can find corn flake types of cereal in different brands, we’re going to talk specifically about the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal for this post.

The ingredients in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes according to the Kellogg’s website are:

Milled corn, sugar, malt flavor, contains 2% or less of salt, vitamins and minerals: iron (ferric phosphate), niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin D3, vitamin B12.

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.

Gluten is naturally occurring, and therefore is impossible to strip away from the grain. If a grain naturally has gluten in it, there’s no way to make that food gluten-free.

Gluten can be found in some cereal products in the form of wheat, wheat flour, malt flavor, or malt barley. You can also find gluten hidden in flavorings in some cereal.

Are Corn Flakes gluten-free?

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are not gluten-free, as they contain malt flavor. Malt flavor is derived from barley, a gluten-containing grain.

There are some brands that make corn flakes without malt barley, so you can still enjoy this type of cereal without having to risk eating gluten.

Read on: Gluten-free Dairy-free Breakfast Food List

Read on: Is malt flavor gluten-free?

What to look for in gluten-free corn flakes

When you’re looking for a corn flake type of cereal taht is gluten-free, there are a few things to look for.

First, look for any mentions of “malt flavor” or “barley malt” in the ingredients list. This is a clear sign of gluten in the recipe used to make the cereal.

Second, to be sure, you can also look for a gluten-free label. According to the FDA, a gluten-free label can only be used on foods that have been tested to verify that the product contains less than 20ppm of gluten.

With a gluten-free label, you can be sure what you’re buying is safe for your gluten-free diet.

Brands of gluten-free corn flakes

If you’re looking for corn flakes cereal without gluten, there are a few options you might want to try out. Here are some brands that you can look for next time you’re shopping.

Arrowhead Mills Sprouted Corn Flakes

This brand uses no malt flavor or barley and is made from organic whole grain corn flour and brown rice flour. It is sweetened with fruit juice concentrate.

Read on: Is corn flour gluten-free?

Barbara’s Bakery Corn Flakes

Barbara’s corn flakes are made using non-GMO corn, organic fruit juice concentrate, and sea salt.

There is a note on this product that states that it is manufactured in a facility that also processes soy, peanuts, almonds and wheat. However, it also states that it is verified to contain less than 20ppm of gluten.

Envirokidz Amazon Flakes

This brand is from Nature’s Path and made more for kids than adults. It is made from cornmeal, cane sugar, and sea salt. It has a certified gluten-free label on it, so it has been verified to contain less than 20ppm of gluten in the product.

Nature’s Path Corn Flakes

There are a few different flavors of Nature’s Path corn flakes that are available. This brand of corn flakes are made using corn meal and/or yellow corn flour, fruit juice concentrate, and sea salt.

With the different flavors, you might also see honey, spices, and other additions like quinoa, flax seeds, and buckwheat flour. All of these are also gluten-free ingredients.

Try one of these gluten-free corn flake options from Nature’s Path:

Nature’s Path Fruit Juice Sweetened Corn Flakes
Nature’s Path Fruit Turmeric Corn Flakes
Nature’s Path Honey’d Corn Flakes
Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise Cereal
Nature’s Path Sunrise Crunchy Honey

Want more cereal options? Try one of these gluten-free dairy-free cereals!

Where to buy gluten-free corn flakes

You can look for some gluten-free corn flakes brands at your local grocery store or health food store. If you have a tough time finding them locally, you can find them on Thrive Market or Amazon.

Click here to buy gluten-free corn flakes on Thrive Market.

If you’re looking for a gluten-free corn cereal that you can find just about anywhere in the country, you might opt for Corn Chex.

This brand is available in most major grocery stores and pretty easy to find. It’s not quite the same as corn flakes especially when it comes to texture, but it uses similar ingredients and provides a similar flavor.

Are corn flakes cereal dairy-free?

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and most corn flakes types of cereal contain no dairy ingredients. If you also follow a dairy-free diet, this is a safe option for you.

Be sure you’re using dairy-free milk with your cereal to keep it 100% dairy-free.

If you’d love more breakfast ideas, be sure to read The Ultimate Gluten-free Dairy-free Breakfast Guide.

If you love enjoying a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast, I hope that you’ve found the information you need to make an informed choice when you’re at the grocery store next.

Remember Kellogg’s brand of corn flakes are not gluten-free, but there are other brands and options available to you that taste very similar without any gluten at all.

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Gluten-free Cereal

Find out what your options are for gluten-free cereal, brands to look for, and discover if your favorite cereals are gluten-free.

Are Corn Flakes Gluten-free?