Cracker Barrel Gluten-free Menu Items

Find out what menu items from Cracker Barrel do not contain gluten and what you need to know about their gluten-free options.

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If you love the comfort food side of things when you’re looking for a restaurant to visit for dinner, you may have found yourself in a Cracker Barrel. This chain restaurant offers breakfast all day, lunch, and dinner options.

Some popular menu items are their pancakes, chicken n’ dumplin’s, country fried steak, and meatloaf. But if you’ve been to this restaurant before or are just going to the first time, you may have wondered with all the options, “are there any gluten-free options?”

In this post, we’re going to talk about what Cracker Barrel’s allergen statement is, what you can expect if you’re trying to eat gluten-free at this restaurant, and what menu items you might be okay with eating while on a gluten-free diet.

Before we get to that information, we’re going to cover some of the basics of gluten, where you’re most likely to find it in food, in restaurant food, and what you need to know about cross contamination in a restaurant setting.

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.

Where can you find gluten in food?

Gluten can be found in the form of wheat and grain products, like bread or flour in the more obvious places.

You can also find gluten as a binding ingredient, an ingredient added for texture like to make a food more crispy, or as a thickening agent.

Where can you find gluten in restaurants?

Depending on the restaurant you’re visiting, you may find gluten in a variety of places. 

At most restaurants, there will be gluten in hamburger buns, the breading of crispy chicken sandwiches or chicken nuggets, some French fries, salad dressings, croutons on salad, and chili or soup options.

At other restaurants, you’ll find gluten in flour in sauces, in pizza or other pastry dough, pasta, and as a thickener in some soups. 

Where gluten is found in the menu items will vary from restaurant to restaurant. That’s why it’s always a good idea to review menus from home, and see if you can find any allergen information before you get to the restaurant itself.

Being able to review nutritional information and allergen statements before visiting a restaurant can be the difference between ordering something that you think is safe for your gluten-free diet and getting sick.

Being knowledgeable about what specific menu items you’ll be able to eat without any worries of later reactions is crucial to sticking with your gluten-free diet.

Cracker Barrel allergen statement

If you’re wondering how Cracker Barrel handles gluten and other allergens at their restaurants, this is what their Allergen Guide states:

“The information provided in this guide is based upon ingredient statements provided to us by our suppliers and highlights which menu items are prepared without allergen containing ingredients. 

Our normal kitchen operations involve shared preparation and cooking areas, including common fryer oil; therefore, cross-contact of all our menu items is possible. We have identified menu items cooked in our fryer or on our grill that may come in contact with ALL allergens and are marked with a “Y.” 

Fried and Grilled items should NOT be consumed if you have a food allergy. We cannot guarantee that the menu items listed are completely free of allergens. Regarding gluten, menu items that do not contain gluten does not necessarily meet the definition of “gluten-free” for those who are highly sensitive. 

We recommend our guests with food allergies speak with the restaurant manager prior to placing an order, to make the kitchen aware of your needs.”

What you need to know about eating gluten-free at Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel lets us gluten-free folks know that there is nothing on their menu that they can consider gluten-free, because of the shared prep and cooking areas. Here’s what they say about that in their Allergen Guide:

“Our normal kitchen operations involve shared preparation and cooking areas, including common fryer oil; therefore, cross-contact of all our menu items is possible.”

What to know about cross contamination at restaurants

Most restaurants are not considered gluten-free establishments so it’s useful to keep this in mind when making decisions about where to go and what to order.

It’s important to know that even if a restaurant claims that their menu items do not contain gluten, that the possibility and probability of gluten in their products is going to be high if there is even one menu item with gluten available. 

Depending on your level of sensitivity to gluten, this can be make or break information for you.

If you are Celiac and are allergic to trace amounts of gluten, you’ll likely want to avoid restaurants that offer any bread products or French fries that are cooked in a shared fryer with other gluten-containing ingredients.

If you are not sensitive to gluten at the trace level and have adverse reactions to gluten due to a food intolerance, you may decide that these trace amounts of gluten from cross contamination are worth risking for a quick, easy, and convenient food option.

Being aware of how you have reacted to gluten in your diet in the past and how much gluten it takes for your body to react is useful knowledge when it comes to situations like these.

Use your best judgment about what you know about your body, how you react to gluten, and what the risks are for you specifically.

Cracker Barrel Gluten-free Menu Items

Though none of the menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free by the restaurant because the likelihood of cross contamination is high, these are the options that the company says do not contain gluten or wheat ingredients.

Items with an asterisk (*) are noted as a “potential risk of cross-contact to all allergens due to cooking method” by Cracker Barrel.

All information listed here was found in the Cracker Barrel Allergen Guide last updated in 2022.

Cracker Barrel Classics

• Two Farm Fresh Eggs*
• Egg Whites*
• Butter Cups
• Thick-Sliced Bacon*
• Smoked Sausage Patties*
• Country Ham*
• Sugar Cured Ham*
• Grilled Chicken Tenders*
• Spicy Chicken Sausage*
• Impossible Sausage Made from Plants*
• Country Ham*
• Sugar Cured Ham*
• U.S. Catfish Filet (grilled)*
• U.S. Catfish Filet (fried)*

Pancakes n’ Such

None of the Pancakes n’ Such menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Sweet Toppings

• 100% Pure Natural Syrup
• Strawberry Syrup
• Our Blueberry Syrup
• Sugar-Free Syrup
• Low-Sugar Fruit Spread
• Country Peach (Warm Fruit & Whipped Topping)
• Cinnamon Spiced Apple (Warm Fruit & Whipped Topping)

Sunrise Specials

None of the Sunrise Special menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Barrel Bites

None of the Barrel Bites menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Breakfast Sides

• Fried Apples
• Tomato Slices
• Course Ground Grits
• Fresh Seasonal Fruit
• Thick-sliced Bacon*
• Smoked Sausage Patties*
• Spicy Chicken Sausage*
• Impossible Sausage Made from Plants*
• Sugar Cured Ham*
• Country Ham*

Kids Breakfast Menu

• Kids Milk Straw

Daily Dinner Features

None of the Daily Dinner Feature menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Cracker Barrel Favorites

• Grilled Chicken Tenders*
• Dill Pickle Ranch
• Honey Mustard
• BBQ Sauce
• Sugar Cured Ham
• Country Ham
• U.S. Farm-raised Catfish (grilled)*
• U.S. Farm-raised Catfish (fried)*

Signature Fried Chicken

None of the Signature Fried Chicken menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Home Cooked Classics

• Monday Maple Bacon Grilled Chicken*
• U.S. Farm-raised Catfish (grilled)*
• U.S. Farm-raised Catfish (fried)*
• Country Vegetable Plate

Southern Suppers

• Lemon Pepper Grilled Rainbow Trout*

Vegetables n’ Sides

• Mashed Potatoes
• Steak Fries*
• Sweet Whole Baby Carrots
• Whole Kernel Corn
• Pinto Beans
• Country Green Beans
• Turnip Greens
• Cole Slaw
• Fried Apples
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Coarse Ground Grits
• Loaded Baked Sweet Potato
• Loaded Baked Potato
• Hashbrown Casserole Tots*
• Fresh Seasonal Fruit
• Bowl of Pinto Beans
• Bowl of Turnip Greens
• Beans n’ Greens

Weekday Lunch Features

• Loaded Baked Potato
• Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Country Salads

None of the Country Salad menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Sandwich n’ Burger Platters

None of the Sandwich n’ Burger Platter menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Salad Dressings

• Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette
• Blue Cheese
• Buttermilk Ranch
• Honey Mustard
• Dill Pickle Ranch

Hot Soups

None of the Hot Soup menu items from Cracker Barrel are considered gluten-free.

Kid’s Lunch/Dinner Menu

• Grilled Chicken Tenders*
• BBQ Sauce
• Dill Pickle Ranch
• Honey Mustard Sauce
• Country Vegetable Plate

Crafted Coffee

• Latte, regular
• Vanilla Latte
• Caramel Latte
• Mocha

Iced Tea n’ Beverages

• Unsweetened Iced tea
• Sweetened Iced Tea
• Peach Tea
• Lemonade
• Hot Chocolate
• Milk (skim, reduced fat, whole, chocolate)
• Orange Juice
• Apple Juice
• Soft Drinks (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Mello, Yello, Dr Pepper, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Cherry, Seagram’s Ginger Ale)
• Stewart’s Bottled Soda Root Beer
• Coffee (decaf or regular)
• Hot Tea (Twinings of London)

Desserts

• One scoop vanilla ice cream

If you love Cracker Barrel or have been looking for a restaurant to visit while steering clear of gluten, I hope this post has been helpful for you. 

Cracker Barrel isn’t the most gluten-friendly and you’re better off looking for a different restaurant if you want to eat a main dish without feeling concerned about cross contamination. 

That said, some of the side dishes and drinks would likely work best for you if you found yourself at this restaurant and were looking for the best possible option that has no gluten or wheat ingredients.

Looking for more information on gluten-free restaurants?

Be sure to check out my Gluten-free Restaurants post or get all the information in one place with my Gluten-free Restaurant Guide!

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More Gluten-free Restaurant Menu Items

If you’re looking at other popular restaurants and wondering what gluten-free menu items they offer, be sure to check out my Gluten-free Restaurant Guide. I’ve outlined all the gluten-free options from 45+ popular restaurants and fast food chains.

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