Is ice cream gluten free? Many people ask this question because they love ice cream but are concerned about its potential gluten content. Unfortunately, it is not an easy yes or no answer. There are just too many ice cream brands with ingredients that vary from one flavor to the next. Some varieties of ice cream have gluten while others are gluten-free. However, let’s take a look at what some popular ice cream brands have to say about gluten in their products.
Gluten-Free Ice Cream Brands
The companies listed below manufacture gluten-free ice cream, but not all of their products gluten-free. Some companies are very clear on which products are gluten-free while others are very vague. Please check the actual product labels/ingredients for information on gluten or contact the manufacturer directly if you have concerns.
Baskin Robbins – The company has a nutrition catalog (click here) where you can click on a particular flavor to see the allergy information and ingredients.
Blue Bunny – Blue Bunny indicates the following about their products, “Blue Bunny does not presently validate or certify that our products are “gluten-free” and consequently we do not label our products as such. We are committed to using the highest quality ingredients and reflect all required nutritional information in the nutrition label on each package, to assist consumers in purchasing products that meet their dietary and lifestyle needs.”
Breyer’s – The company makes a large variety of gluten-free ice cream flavors. Their gluten-free ice cream includes regular, 1/2 the fat, no sugar added, lactose-free, and gelato. Check out the flavors here.
Carvel – Carvel has a long list of ice cream flavors/toppings that they state are gluten-free. Click here for the list.
Cedar Crest – The company manufactures over 35 flavors of gluten-free ice cream. See the flavors here.
Cold Stone – At the time of this article, Cold Stone has gluten-free ice cream, sorbet, and yogurt flavors. In addition, they have several gluten-free mix-ins and toppings available. The list of gluten-free products is located here.
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Dairy Queen – DQ soft-serve chocolate and vanilla are gluten-free along with additional novelties, sundaes, and blizzard treats. Click here to view DQ’s gluten-free list.
Edy’s & Dryer’s – The company has the following to say about gluten in their ice cream, “Typically, the gluten in our frozen dessert products comes from the added bakery products such as cookies, cake or brownies. But some EDY’S/DREYER’S flavors have gluten from non-bakery products. Each flavor has ingredient listings if you’re interested in finding out more.” Basically, they do not list gluten information of individual products on their website.
Friendly’s – Friendly’s provides information on wheat gluten content for their ice cream products by clicking here.
Haagen Dazs – Per the company, “As a general rule, the gluten in our frozen dessert products is present only in added bakery products such as cookies, cake, or brownies. All products that are gluten-free are clearly marked as such on the packaging and the website.”
Tillamook – Tillamook has the following to say about gluten in their products, “Most Tillamook Ice Cream is gluten-free, too. However, flavors that include ingredients like pie, dough, or cake are not gluten-free. Specifically, these Tillamook Ice Cream flavors contain gluten: Caramel Toffee Crunch, Cookies and Cream, Chocolaty Chip Cookie Dough, Fireside S’mores, Marionberry Pie, and Grandma’s Cake Batter.”
Turkey Hill – You can find their gluten-free ice cream products by clicking here.
The above gluten-free ice cream list obviously does not cover every brand, but it gives you an idea of some of the gluten-free ice cream products available. If your favorite brand is not listed above, most manufacturers will list the gluten information on their websites. Usually, with a little searching, you can find the information. Generally (but not guaranteed), products that do not contain baked goods mix-ins like cookies, cakes, pie, etc., will not contain gluten. Simple flavors like plain vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry will usually be gluten-free.
