Find out what chips are gluten-free, which brands to buy, and find out if your favorites are safe for your gluten-free diet.

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If you love chips and are looking for what options are available to you on your gluten-free diet, you’ll love this post.

We’re going to do a deep dive into what gluten is, where it’s most likely to be found in chips of all kinds, and gluten-free labeling, and what brands to look for.

We’ll also discuss some popular types of chips and I’ll share which flavors and options are gluten-free. I’m sure you have questions about enjoying chips on your gluten-free diet, so let’s get you the answers you’re looking for!

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

Where is gluten most likely to be found in chips?

Gluten can hide in the most unlikely places, including snack foods and chips. In chips, you might find gluten in the chips themselves if they contain wheat flour, wheat derivatives, or in some of the flavorings added to the chips to create unique flavors.

Many chips don’t contain any gluten-containing ingredients at all, but are not considered gluten-free, because they are processed on the same equipment as other snack foods with gluten. 

In this case, you’d have to do what you feel is best to determine whether or not a brand or flavor of chips is right for you, based on how sensitive and reactive your body is to gluten. 

Some people with gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance can tolerate trace amounts of gluten, while others can’t handle any at all.

What do I need to know about gluten-free labeling when it comes to chips?

If you’re looking for a gluten-free chip brand, flavor, or variety, you’ll need to know what it means when you find a package with a gluten-free label.

As per the FDA regulations, a packaged food cannot contain more than 20ppm of gluten in order to have the “gluten-free” label on it. 

This is helpful if you are gluten sensitive or intolerant when it comes to choosing chips that aren’t going to give you a reaction when you eat them.

On the other hand, there are plenty of chips that are available that contain no gluten-containing ingredients at all and still don’t have a gluten-free label. 

This is because the chips are processed and manufactured in the same facility or on the same processing equipment as products that do have gluten. 

The companies cannot guarantee that there isn’t cross contamination or they haven’t tested for trace amounts of gluten in order to meet the 20ppm threshold. 

The bottom line is that if you see a gluten-free label, you can feel confident that the product is gluten-free. If you don’t see it, it might still be okay for your diet if there are no gluten-containing ingredients and you aren’t sensitive to trace amounts of gluten from cross contamination.

How to find out if the brand of chips you’re looking at are gluten-free

The best way to determine if the chips you’re buying are gluten-free is to look for two (or three) things:

1. The ingredients list. Look for obvious and not-so-obvious wheat sources, gluten, or wheat derivatives. You can find out by looking for these names of gluten.
2. A gluten-free label. As required by the FDA, any package that contains less than 20ppm of gluten can have a gluten-free label. It doesn’t have to be “certified gluten-free” (although that’s great too), any gluten-free label must meet these requirements.
3. If you are Celiac, look for a gluten-free label AND a “processed in a gluten-free facility” note on the packaging. This will ensure that there is no risk of cross contamination in the product.

Which chips are gluten-free?

There are a number of chips that are gluten-free and safe for a gluten-free diet.

Some brands offer a complete line of gluten-free chips, like Kettle Brand potato chips or Late July tortilla chips. Others offer only specific flavors of their chip lines that are gluten-free.

I’ve done a lot of research around which chips and which brands are gluten-free to compile this information for you. 

There are a million (okay, I have no idea what the real number is) different chip brands, flavors, and varieties out there, but I’ve rounded up some of the most popular types to get you started and on the right track when determining what’s right for your gluten-free diet.

Potato Chips

Many brands of potato chips are gluten-free, while others contain gluten. The brands that opt to keep their processing and ingredients simple are more likely to be gluten-free than those that use a laundry list of ingredients in their products.

Even some brands that have gluten-free potato chips may offer some flavors that are not gluten-free, so you’ll always want to check ingredients lists for any hidden sources of gluten.

There are some brands that are better than others about identifying gluten in their products or having a gluten-free label. For example, Frito Lay products and Kettle Brand chips are excellent about disclosing which flavors of their chips contain gluten.

Be aware of the potential for cross contamination in potato chips when companies use the same processing equipment for potato chips that contain gluten as well as those that don’t. 

A potato chip might not contain any gluten-containing ingredients, but still have the possibility of coming into contact with gluten if it’s made on the same processing lines.

There is always a risk of gluten being added as a flavoring or from cross contamination as well. Depending on the level of sensitivity you have to gluten, you may want to look for a gluten-free label on the bag of potato chips before buying.

As required by the FDA, a packaged food can have 20ppm or less of gluten in order for it to have the gluten-free label on the product. If you can’t risk even the potential for cross contamination, be sure to look for that gluten-free label.

These are some potato chip brands that you can look for that offer gluten-free flavors:

• 365 by Whole Foods Market
• Better Made
• Cape Cod
• Good Health
• Kettle Brand
• Lay’s
• Luke’s Organic
• Maui Style Potato Chips
• One Potato Two Potato
• POPchips
• Route 11
• Ruffles
• Saratoga Chips
• Terra
• Utz

Note that just because these brands offer some gluten-free options, this doesn’t mean that ALL flavors of their chips are gluten-free. It’s best to read ingredients lists and look for a gluten-free label before purchasing.

For a larger list of brands and specific gluten-free flavors, read: Are Potato Chips Gluten-free?

Tortilla Chips

Since tortilla chips are made from corn tortillas, and these are most always gluten-free, we can confidently say that MOST tortilla chips are gluten-free.

However, depending on what other flavorings are added or other ingredients are added to the chips, they may not be gluten-free. You’ll want to look for a gluten-free label just to be sure.

Unfortunately, some tortilla chips do contain gluten, meaning you can’t just grab a bag of chips off the shelf of the grocery store and assume they are gluten-free.

Some brands use both corn and wheat flour in their tortilla chip recipes, meaning they aren’t safe for a gluten-free diet.

For more details on gluten-free tortilla chips, be sure to check out this blog post with brands and more information.

Read on: Do corn tortillas have gluten?

Read on: Are Takis gluten-free?

Fritos

According to the Frito Lay website, some of their Fritos chips are gluten-free, while others are noted as not containing gluten ingredients.

While none of their products contain actual gluten ingredients, they make the distinction between the two because a few flavors are made on the same lines as gluten-containing products for other brands. 

While they know their products don’t contain gluten, they don’t want to give consumers the false assumption that their facilities are dedicated gluten-free if there were in fact traces of gluten found in their products, or if someone were to get sick from eating them.

All the flavors of Fritos don’t contain gluten-containing ingredients, however only four of them are considered to be gluten-free.

The gluten-free flavors of Fritos are:

• Fritos Lightly Salted Corn Chips
• Fritos Original Corn Chips
• Fritos Reduced Fat Original Corn Chips
• Fritos Scoops! Corn Chips

In addition to these, this product is listed as gluten-free and containing no milk ingredients:

• Fritos Flavor Twists Honey BBQ Flavored Corn Chips

Read on for more detailed information in this post: Are Fritos Gluten-free?

Read on: Are Bugles gluten-free?

Cheetos

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.

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

• Cheetos Baked Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks
• 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

All Cheetos products contain dairy.

Read all the details about Cheetos and a gluten-free diet here: Are Cheetos gluten-free?

Corn Nuts

While these aren’t exactly chips, they’re in the snack food category and folks tend to eat them like chips.

Corn Nuts are considered gluten-free as there are no gluten ingredients added to any of the flavors of this snack food. When looking around online, I found that many retailers market Corn Nuts as gluten-free and they say they are labeled gluten-free, though I wasn’t able to find that myself.

Here are the flavors of Corn Nuts that they list on their website:

• Corn Nuts Original Crunchy Corn Kernels
• Corn Nuts BBQ Crunchy Corn Kernels
• Corn Nuts Chile Picante Con Limon Crunchy Corn Kernels
• Corn Nuts Ranch Crunchy Corn Kernels

Read on: Are Corn Nuts gluten-free?

Doritos

Only one flavor of Doritos are considered to be gluten-free: DORITOS® Simply Organic White Cheddar Flavored Tortilla Chips. Their DORITOS® Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla chips are considered gluten-free and made without milk ingredients as well.

Even though only one flavor is considered gluten-free, many other flavors of Doritos have no gluten-containing ingredients. These used to be listed as “not containing gluten ingredients” on the brand’s website, but they are no longer, likely due to liability and the chance of cross contamination.

Here is a list of the Doritos products that were previously listed as not containing gluten ingredients, but aren’t any longer:

• DORITOS® Cool Ranch® Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Dinamita® Chile Limón Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Flamas™ Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Flamin’ Hot® Limon Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Flamin’ Hot® Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Flavor Shots Fiery Habanero Triangles
• DORITOS® Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Poppin’ Jalapeño Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Simply Organic Spicy White Cheddar Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Spicy Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Taco Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Tangy Pickle Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Tapatio® Flavored Tortilla Chips
• DORITOS® Twisted Lime Flavored Tortilla Chips

This is a “proceed with caution” food. If you know that you can tolerate trace amounts of gluten, you MAY be able to eat Doritos without any issues.

However, since this brand uses the same lines in manufacturing, it is likely there will be some cross contamination from other products that do contain gluten.

Read more about eating Doritos on a gluten-free diet here: Are Doritos gluten-free?

Are chips dairy-free?

If you also avoid dairy products and are on a dairy-free diet like I am, you’ll want to look for chip brands and flavors that don’t have dairy or dairy derivatives in them in addition to gluten.

Some chips are dairy-free, while others aren’t. For the most part, most brands of chips are made with potatoes, corn, or other grains, which don’t contain dairy.

However, the places you’re most likely to find dairy and dairy derivatives are in the flavorings that are added to the chips to give them unique flavors.

For example, the tortilla chips used for Doritos are dairy-free, but most of the flavor options contain cheese and dairy. The powdered cheese, sour cream, or ranch flavorings added to chips are what often contain dairy in chips.

You’ll always want to check ingredients lists before buying if you are avoiding any food for a food intolerance, and this is definitely the case with dairy too. 

Look for hidden sources of dairy and any notes that say “Contains milk” under the ingredients list. This will help you find out if this food is safe for your dairy-free diet.

Be aware of any chip flavors that have names of cheese, cream, or ranch in them, like blue cheese, cheese, nacho, or butter. I’ve even seen dairy added to jalapeno flavored chips before, so it’s worth it to review the ingredients before you buy.

Gluten-free Chip Brands

While this list isn’t exhaustive, be on the lookout for some of these chip brands that are exclusively gluten-free to help you make a choice next time you’re perusing the chip aisle at the grocery store.

Gluten-free Potato Chip Brands

• Cape Cod
• Kettle Brand
• Luke’s Organic
• One Potato Two Potato
• POPchips
• Route 11
• Saratoga Chips

Gluten-free Tortilla Chip Brands

• Calidad
• Food Should Taste Good
• Late July
• The Better Chip 
• Way Better

Are my favorite brands of chips gluten-free?

Let’s go through some popular brands of chips to help you get the answers you’re likely looking for about your favorites.

Are Lay’s Chips gluten-free?

Many flavors of Lay’s chips are gluten-free, but not all. The Frito-Lay Company has a page on their website dedicated to sharing which products are gluten-free.

According to the Frito-Lay website, here is a list of their Lay’s products that are considered gluten-free.

• LAY’S® Baked BBQ Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Baked Original Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Baked Sour Cream & Onion Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Lightly Salted Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Simply Sea Salted Thick Cut Potato Chips
• LAY’S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Buffalo Wings with Ranch Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Cheddar Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Chile Limón Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Flamas® Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Mesquite Barbecue Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Original Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Sour Cream & Onion Flavored Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Wavy Lightly Salted Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Wavy Original Potato Chips

In addition to these, Lay’s indicates these options as gluten-free and containing no milk ingredients:

• LAY’S® Baked Original Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Dill Pickle Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Honey Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Kettle Cooked Original Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Original Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Sea Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Lightly Salted Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Limón Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Poppables® Honey BBQ Flavored Potato Snacks
• LAY’S® Poppables® Sea Salt Potato Snacks
• LAY’S® Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Simply Sea Salted Thick Cut Potato Chips
• LAY’S® STAX® Original Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® STAX® Salted Potato Crisps
• LAY’S® Wavy Lightly Salted Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Wavy Original Potato Chips
• LAY’S® Wavy Salt & Pepper Flavored Potato Chips

Are Kettle Chips gluten-free?

The Kettle Brand website confirms that “Kettle Brand® Potato Chips are gluten free and certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO).”

You can also look for a certified gluten-free label on the bags you find at the store and find this on every package. 

This is one brand you don’t have to worry about when it comes to gluten – hurray! All flavors and varieties are gluten-free. Here’s their most current lineup of gluten-free chips:

• Kettle Brand Classic Jalapeno
• Kettle Brand Classic Honey Dijon
• Kettle Brand Classic Farmstand Ranch
• Kettle Brand Classic Bourbon BBQ
• Kettle Brand Classic Backyard BBQ
• Kettle Brand Classic Korean  BBQ
• Kettle Brand Classic Less Fat Sea Salt
• Kettle Brand Classic New York Cheddar
• Kettle Brand Classic Parmesan Garlic
• Kettle Brand Classic Pepperoncini
• Kettle Brand Classic Sea Salt
• Kettle Brand Classic Sea Salt & Vinegar
• Kettle Brand Classic Sour Cream & Onion
• Kettle Brand Classic Unsalted
• Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Dill Pickle
• Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Habenero Lime
• Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
• Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Truffle & Sea Salt
• Kettle Brand Organic Country Style Barbecue
• Kettle Brand Organic Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
• Kettle Brand Organic Sea Salt

Are Ruffles gluten-free?

Some flavors of Ruffles are gluten-free, but not all. The Frito-Lay Company does a great job of disclosing gluten in their products and they have a page set up to help customers identify which products are gluten-free. You can find that here.

The original flavor of Ruffles is gluten-free and you can safely enjoy them if you’re on a gluten-free diet.

These other flavors of Ruffles are considered gluten-free:

• RUFFLES® Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored Potato Crisps
• RUFFLES® Baked Original Potato Crisps
• RUFFLES® Original Potato Chips
• RUFFLES® Simply Sea Salted Potato Chips

Are Pringles gluten-free?

According to the Pringles website, all flavors and varieties of Pringles contain wheat starch and are therefore not gluten-free or safe for a gluten-free diet.

If you are following a gluten-free diet, you’ll want to stay away from this brand of potato chips.

Are Cheetos gluten-free?

According to the Frito Lay company, only some flavors or their Cheetos are gluten-free.

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

• Cheetos Baked Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks
• 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

Are Sun Chips gluten-free?

Unfortunately, all flavors of Sun Chips contain gluten. They all have whole wheat as an ingredient, making this not a safe choice for folks who are following a gluten-free diet.

They also have a “Contains Wheat Ingredients” label on all their products near the ingredients lists. This is an easy way to help you narrow down options when trying to stick with a gluten-free diet.

Read on: Are Sun Chips gluten-free?

Are Miss Vickie’s chips gluten-free?

The Miss Vickie’s website does not share information about gluten, there are no gluten ingredients in any of their products.

None of the flavors have a gluten-free label on their packaging, so we know that this brand either does not test this brand of chips for gluten or they know there is some cross contamination happening during manufacturing and they cannot use a gluten-free label.

We can see on the Frito Lay website that Miss Vickie’s Chips is listed as a “Product Not Containing Gluten Ingredients.” This is what they say about these products:

“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.”

Keep this in mind before purchasing this brand of potato chips, knowing that you know your body best, what your level of gluten sensitivity is, and how your body reacts when you consume gluten.

Are Takis gluten-free?

Takis are not gluten-free. A note on their packaging under the ingredients list indicates that these chips “may contain milk, egg, and wheat.” If you follow a gluten-free diet, these chips should be avoided.

Are Tostitos gluten-free?

According to their website, these varieties are considered gluten-free and have a gluten-free label on the packaging.

Since I also follow a dairy-free diet and you may too, I’ve included an asterisk (*) for the items that are also considered dairy-free by the Frito-Lay company. 

• Tostitos Baked Scoops Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Bite Size Rounds Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Cantina Thin & Crispy Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Cantina Traditional Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Crispy Rounds Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Lightly Salted Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Original Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Reduced Fat Crispy Rounds Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Scoops!® Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Simply Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Simply Organic Scoops!® Tortilla Chips
• Tostitos Simply Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Strips Tortilla Chips*
• Tostitos Thick & Hearty Rounds Tortilla Chips

There are likely a number of different brands of gluten-free chips available on the market, but with this short list to get started, you’re bound to find something good at your local grocery store.

If you’ve been on the hunt for answers about gluten-free chips, I hope this information has been helpful for you. 

With any packaged food, do your due diligence before buying and look for gluten-free labels and read ingredients lists when in doubt.

It’s better to take a minute to review for hidden sources of gluten than deal with a gluten reaction that could have been avoided.

What questions do you have about gluten-free chips? Pop them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them! Happy snacking!

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