Do Goldfish Have Gluten?

Find out if Goldfish crackers are gluten-free, what it’s made from, and which flavors are safe for a gluten-free diet.

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Have you been looking for snacks for yourself or your family that are gluten-free and happened to find the cute little cheese fish-shaped crackers while perusing the grocery store aisles?

Finding snacks that are gluten-free can be tricky, but with a little research, you can easily find out whether or not each snack option from the store is safe for a gluten-free diet.

If you or your child loves Goldfish crackers, but need to keep a gluten-free diet for health reasons, you may be wondering how this snack food fits into that diet.

In this post, we’re going to talk about what Goldfish are, what flavors they come in, what they’re made of, and of course find out if they are gluten-free.

Find out everything you need to know about Goldfish crackers and a gluten-free diet.

What are Goldfish?

Goldfish are cheese-flavored crackers that are made by the Pepperidge Farm brand. These crackers are known for their signature fish shape with smiles on them that make them a favorite for both kids and adults.

Goldish comes in a variety of flavors and more recently colors as well. The brand touts no artificial flavors or preservatives in their Goldfish crackers, and colors that are sourced from plants, not artificial coloring.

Goldish are most commonly enjoyed as a snack, but can also be added to soup as a topping, in homemade trail or snack mixes, or Chex mix.

What flavors and varieties does Goldfish come in?

Goldfish comes in a variety of flavors and options, including their classic cheddar, colors, and “flavor blasted” options. Here are the current Goldfish flavors according to their website.

Goldfish Baby Cheddar
Goldfish Baked with Whole Grain Cheddar
Goldfish Baked with Whole Grain Colors
Goldfish Colors
Goldfish Flavor Blasted Cheddar & Sour Cream
Goldfish Flavor Blasted Cheddar Jack’d
Goldfish Flavor Blasted Sour Cream & Onion
Goldfish Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheddar
Goldfish Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheesy Pizza
Goldfish Grahams S’mores
Goldfish Grahams Vanilla Cupcake
Goldfish Limited Edition Star Wars The Mandalorian Cheddar
Goldfish Made with Organic Wheat Cheddar
Goldfish Mix Cheddar + Zesty Cheddar + Parmesan
Goldfish Mix Xtra Cheddar + Pretzel
Goldfish Original
Goldfish Parmesan
Goldfish Pizza
Goldfish Pretzel
Goldfish Special Edition Disney Mickey Mouse Cheddar
Limited Edition OLD BAY Seasoned Goldfish

What are Goldfish made from?

Goldfish are baked cheese-flavored crackers, but they do come in other flavors, so their ingredients may vary slightly between their products.

Here are the ingredients in their popular original Goldfish as well as their Goldfish Colors and Goldfish Pizza as shared on the Pepperidge Farm website.

Ingredients in original Goldfish

“Made with smiles and enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oils (canola, sunflower and/or soybean), salt, contains 2% or less of: nonfat milk, yeast, sugar, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate, paprika, spices, celery, onion powder.

Ingredients in Goldfish Colors

“Made with smiles and enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cheddar cheese ([cultured milk, salt, enzymes], annatto), vegetable oils (canola, sunflower and/or soybean), salt, contains 2% or less of: yeast, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, spices, celery, onion powder, monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, colors (beet, huito and watermelon juice concentrates; paprika and turmeric extracts).”

Ingredients in Goldfish Pizza Crackers

“Made with smiles and enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oils (canola, sunflower and/or soybean), tomato paste, cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), contains 2% or less of: salt, yeast, baking soda, spices, celery, paprika extract (color), monocalcium phosphate, onion powder.”

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.

Are Goldfish gluten-free?

Goldfish crackers are not gluten-free as all of them contain enriched wheat flour. All varieties of Goldfish also have notes near the ingredients list that state ‘contains wheat’ which helps you identify gluten in this product.

You may want to find another cheese-flavored gluten-free cracker to enjoy in place of this brand of crackers.

Which cheese crackers are gluten-free?

If you are following a gluten-free diet, you’ll want to find another brand of gluten-free crackers to snack on and enjoy with your favorite dips and trail mixes. Try one of these brands of cheese-flavored crackers that are also gluten-free:

Read on: The best gluten-free crackers

If you enjoy Goldfish crackers or have a family member who does, don’t be discouraged to find out that this brand of cheese crackers isn’t gluten-free. There are a number of other brands of gluten-free cheese crackers available to choose from. You might even find a new favorite brand!

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What are Goldfish?

What flavors and varieties does Goldfish come in?