Is Dairy Queen Ice Cream Gluten-free?

Find out if Dairy Queen ice cream contains gluten, plus the Dairy Queen menu items have no wheat ingredients.

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If you love to swing by the drive-thru of Dairy Queen on a hot summer day, you’re probably no stranger to all their yummy frozen treats. They have so many ice cream based desserts with loads of flavors and mix-ins available.

Blizzards that combine soft serve ice cream with cookies, brownies, swirls of chocolate or caramel, candy pieces, and nuts. Sundaes with chocolate, caramel, or strawberry sauce on top. Even ice cream cones and milkshakes that come in a variety of flavors and toppings.

If you enjoy Dairy Queen but are trying to stick with your gluten-free diet while still wanting to have a yummy ice cream treat once in a while, this post is for you.

Find out what Dairy Queen ice cream is made of and what it’s used in. Plus we’ll talk about if most ice cream in general is gluten-free, and of course if the ice cream from Dairy Queen is gluten-free.

We’ll wrap this post up with a list of the potential options you might want to consider ordering from Dairy Queen, with a big caveat of what to be aware of to stick with your gluten-free diet.

What is Dairy Queen ice cream made of?

The ingredients in the vanilla ice cream from Dairy Queen include the following ingredients, according to the Dairy Queen website:

“Milkfat And Nonfat Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Whey, Mono And Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor, Guar Gum, Polysorbate 80, Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate”

This vanilla ice cream is called Dairy Queen’s “artificially flavored vanilla reduced fat ice cream” and it is used in all their ice cream cones, sundaes, shakes, and Blizzards.

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.

Is ice cream gluten-free?

A lot of ice cream is gluten-free when it is made using dairy or dairy-free ingredients and no additional gluten ingredients.

For the most part, you’ll find gluten in ice cream where there have been mix-ins added in, like cookie pieces, graham crackers, cookie dough, or brownie bites. You might also find gluten hidden in additives, starches, or other flavorings.

Ice cream on its own as a single flavor is almost always gluten-free. Those with multiple flavors, you’ll want to look a little more closely at.

Read on: Is ice cream gluten-free?

Is Dairy Queen ice cream gluten-free?

The ice cream from Dairy Queen does not have any wheat ingredients, however the company does not specifically state that any of their menu items are gluten-free. This is due to the high probability of cross contamination with other ingredients in the restaurant.

Some of the ice cream menu items from Dairy Queen don’t have any wheat ingredients, like their sundaes, a few of their Blizzards, and shakes. Be aware of any of their products that have cookies or brownies mixed in, as these will contain gluten, like their Blizzards.

Dairy Queen also offers some packaged ice cream products that are produced on machinery with minimal potential for cross contamination. Since these are sealed, the chances of coming into contact with gluten in the restaurant setting is low.

Dairy Queen states these packaged items are their Dilly Bars, Buster Bar Treats, Fudge Bars, Vanilla Orange Bars, and Starkiss Bars.

Some locations of Dairy Queen also serve non-dairy Dilly Bars, which are also gluten-free.

Read on: Gluten-free Dairy Queen Menu Items

Gluten-free Dairy Queen Ice Cream Options

Dairy Queen has a number of different ice cream based treats and frozen desserts, including ice cream cones, milkshakes, sundaes, and Blizzards.

The following items are those that Dairy Queen has listed on their allergen information as containing no wheat ingredients, although they are not considered gluten-free.

These menu items still have a high probability of cross contamination with gluten due to the shared equipment and being prepared in the same kitchen as so many other gluten ingredients. Keep this in mind when making decisions about what and whether to order from this fast food restaurant.

Blizzard Treats

Cotton Candy Blizzard
Snickers Blizzard
Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard
Very Cherry Chip Blizzard

Shakes

Banana Shake
Caramel Shake
Chocolate Shake
Hot Fudge Shake
Peanut Butter Shake
Strawberry Shake
Vanilla Shake

MooLatte

Caramel MooLatte
Mocha MooLatte
Vanilla MooLatte

Curl on Top Treats

Banana Split
Peanut Buster Parfait

Sundaes

Add DQ Sprinkles*
Caramel Sundae
Chocolate Sundae
Hot Fudge Sundae
Peanut Butter Sundae
Pineapple Sundae
Strawberry Sundae

Cones

All Cones from Dairy Queen contain wheat ingredients and should be avoided on a gluten-free diet.

Cupcakes and DQ Treatzza Pizza

All Cupcakes and DQ Treatzza Pizza from Dairy Queen contain wheat ingredients, so you’ll want to steer clear of these menu items if you’re trying to maintain a gluten-free diet.

Packaged Frozen Novelties

Dilly Bars
Buster Bar Treats
Fudge Bars
Vanilla Orange Bars
Starkiss Bars
Non-Dairy Dilly Bars

If you’ve been wondering if Dairy Queen ice cream and their different ice cream treats contain gluten, I hope this post has given you the information you’ve been looking for.

While there are some options from this fast food restaurant that the company says don’t contain any wheat, none of their ice cream is considered gluten-free.

There is a high probability of cross contamination with gluten in most Dairy Queen ice cream treats if made in the restaurant’s kitchen.

You may opt for one of their sealed and packaged frozen treats, like Dilly Bars, Buster Bar Treats, Fudge Bars, Vanilla Orange Bars, and Starkiss Bars to know there is less risk of gluten coming into contact with your ice cream.

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Get a full list of gluten & dairy-free ice cream brands & flavors!

Warm Days, Cool Treats: A gluten & dairy-free ice cream guide

More Gluten-free Restaurant Menu Items

Gluten-free menu items from popular restaurants

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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