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What’s gluten-free at Dunkin Donuts? That’s what I’ll be answering in this guide.
Note: this guide is based on the 2021 Dunkin Donuts Allergy Guide. As always, I encourage you to do your own research to determine if a product or food is going to be safe for you. Through my investigation, below are the gluten-free options at Dunkin Donuts.
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If you find any discrepancies or if you notice any updates needed to this list, please let me know.
P.s. Don’t forget to sign up for my FREE Gluten-Free Restaurant Cheat Sheets for the USA! In these free restaurant cheat sheets I cover what’s gluten-free at different USA restaurant chains and cuisines in the USA PLUS I give you scripts to help build up comfort with ordering. FREE Gluten-Free Restaurant Cheat Sheets
When talking about gluten-free Dunkin Donuts menu items, it’s important we know what gluten is. Gluten is a protein found in barley, rye, contaminated oats, and wheat. It may be helpful to remember the acronym “BROW” when trying to remember what foods have gluten.
In baked goods, gluten holds things together working as a binding agent. It gives texture and chew to foods.
Most people can safely eat gluten. However, some people have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease which means they need to avoid gluten. It can cause digestive issues such as diarrhea and nausea as well as nonintestinal symptoms such as rashes, headaches, or joint pain.
When talking about gluten-free Dunkin Donuts menu items, it’s also important we know what Dunkin Donuts is.
Dunkin Donuts is a large American chain of coffee and baked good restaurants. Founded in Massachusetts in 1950, it’s a popular place for people to grab breakfast and coffee.
Ordering gluten-free drinks at coffee shops involves a little bit of planning and a lot of self-advocacy. My biggest tip is to do your research (like you are doing now, yay you!).
My second tip is to make sure you’re avoiding cross-contact points. This means asking baristas to wash things that might be commonly rinsed between uses. These things include blenders, milk frothers, and more.
For more on ordering gluten-free coffee drinks, check out this post on how to order gluten-free coffee drinks.
The following drinks at Dunkin Donuts should be celiac-safe. Please note many of these drinks contain natural flavors which have a small chance of containing gluten but in most cases are generally safe.
A word on natural flavors: with natural flavors, typically if they are gluten-derived they are listed as such. Examples include malt flavoring and rye flavoring. However, always double check to make sure the natural flavors in the product you’re considering are gluten-free.
When contacting Dunkin Donuts, they would not disclose if they natural flavors were gluten-free so I chose what I assess to be low-risk items below. However assess suitability and safety for yourself.
I was able to confirm the natural flavors in the Hot Chocolate are gluten-free.
Most of the cold drinks at Dunkin Donuts are gluten-free. This means most of the iced coffee drinks, frozen drinks, refreshers, Coolattas, and lemonades are gluten-free.
Remember when ordering frozen drinks, if they are blending them, be sure to ask them to wash the blender before preparing your drink.
The Strawberry Popping Bubbles are gluten-free. If you want, add them to these refreshers.
The Hash Browns are gluten-free but they are made in a shared fryer. So if you have celiac, they aren’t safe for you.
The new Omelet Bites at Dunkin’ Donuts are gluten-free by ingredients but are not considered celiac-safe. That’s because they are prepared with high risk of cross-contact.
The Egg Bites aren’t gluten-free at Dunkin’ Donuts for celiac disease because they are prepared in a convection oven. Convection ovens cook things by circulating hot air. That hot air circulation can also circulate and gluten crumbs and debris that may left in the oven into your food.
I called Dunkin’ Donuts to confirm this, the told me the open the omelet bite package and place them into the convection oven. Because the omelet bites don’t remain in a sealed container when cooking in the convection oven, they could be subjected to gluten cross-contact and should be avoided.
Otherwise, nothing is really safe unless your Dunkin’ Donuts has gluten-free brownies.
Found this guide helpful? Check out my Gluten-Free Dining Course that walks you through how to dine out at popular chain restaurants and cuisines. Complete with information on cross-contact points and how to minimize them (like I cover in this blog post).
