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Gluten-free grains, seeds and flours

The complete list of grains, pseudocereals, seeds and flours that contain no gluten, including several that databases and older guides get wrong.

The number of naturally gluten-free grains is far larger than most newly diagnosed people are told, and some of the ones people avoid, such as buckwheat, teff, sorghum and millet, are avoided only because of a name or a taxonomy error. Buckwheat is not wheat. Teff has no relationship to any gluten grain and is flagged in several ingredient databases anyway. Getting them back adds real variety to the diet.

True cereal grains that are gluten free

Grasses, like wheat, but without the gluten proteins.

Rice (white, brown, wild, black, red)Wild rice is a different genus, and also gluten free.
Corn / maizeIncluding polenta, grits, masa and hominy.
SorghumMild-flavoured and one of the better bread-blend bases.
MilletSeveral distinct species, all gluten free.
TeffGluten free. Several ingredient databases wrongly flag it, so CiCi carries a correction.
FonioA West African millet relative, increasingly available.
Job's tearsSometimes sold as "Chinese pearl barley," but the barley is only in the name.

Pseudocereals: seeds used as grains

Not grasses at all, which is why their names mislead.

BuckwheatIn the rhubarb family. No relation to wheat despite the name.
QuinoaA chenopod, related to spinach and beets.
AmaranthHigh in protein and lysine.
ChiaAlso a useful binder in gluten-free baking.

Roots, tubers and legume flours

Cassava and tapiocaSame plant. Tapioca is the extracted starch.
Potato flour and potato starchDifferent products. The flour is the whole potato; the starch is only the starch.
ArrowrootA clean-tasting thickener that stays clear.
Chickpea / gram / besan flourThe base of many South Asian dishes that are naturally gluten free.
Lentil, fava and soy flourHigh protein, strong flavour.

Nut and seed flours

Almond flourNo structure of its own, so it needs a binder or an egg.
Coconut flourAbsorbs several times its weight. Never substitute 1:1.
Hazelnut, pecan and walnut mealBest as part of a blend.
Sunflower and pumpkin seed flourNut-free alternatives with similar behaviour.
Flaxseed mealAlso a binder. A flax egg replaces structure as well as egg.

The ones that only sound safe

Every entry here is wheat, and all of them get mistaken for gluten-free grains.

SpeltAn ancient wheat. It is marketed as an alternative to wheat, but it is wheat.
Kamut / khorasanTrademarked ancient wheat.
Einkorn, emmer, farroAll wheat species.
TriticaleA wheat-rye hybrid. Missing from several ingredient databases.
FreekehYoung green wheat, roasted.
BulgurParboiled cracked wheat.
CouscousSmall semolina pasta, not a grain.
Semolina, durum, farinaAll milled wheat under different names.
Barley, rye, maltThe two other gluten grains, and barley's most common alias.
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Food guides

Each guide covers a whole aisle and explains the mechanism, which is more portable than any list of names.

Gluten-free breadOrdinary bread is wheat and contains gluten. Gluten-free bread is a separate product category built from rice, sorghum, tapioca and starch blends. The…Gluten-free beerOrdinary beer is brewed from barley and contains gluten. Two different things sit on the shelf labeled for gluten-avoiders. Beer brewed from sorghum o…Gluten-free soy sauceMost soy sauce is not gluten free. Conventional soy sauce is brewed from roughly equal parts soybean and wheat, and the wheat is fundamental to the fe…Gluten-free oatsOats contain no gluten of their own, but the answer changes by country and by supply chain. In the US and EU, oats labeled gluten-free are permitted; …Gluten-free candyMost hard candy, most gummies and most plain chocolate are gluten free. Four things decide the rest: wheat flour in wafers and cookie pieces, barley m…Gluten-free sauces and condimentsCondiments are where gluten hides most reliably. Soy sauce is a wheat product, most Worcestershire outside the US contains malt vinegar, gravy and rou…

Other lists

Hidden sources of glutenThe ingredients that contain gluten without naming a gluten grain. It explains why careful label-readers still get sick.Gluten-free foods that sound like they aren'tIngredients people cut out unnecessarily. Over-restriction has a real cost, and this list is here to give some of that food back.Naturally gluten-free foodsWhole foods that never contained gluten in the first place. They are the cheapest and safest way to eat, and they sidestep the 183% price premium on labeled gluten-free products.Grains that contain glutenThe gluten grains, every alias they travel under, and the one grain whose answer changes depending on which country you are in.A gluten-free shopping listA working list for a first shop after diagnosis, organised the way a supermarket is. The few things in each aisle that need checking are called out.Gluten-free alcoholWhich drinks are gluten free, which are not, and why distillation changes the answer even when the starting grain does not.Eating gluten free at chainsChains are more predictable than independents, and that predictability cuts both ways. What to ask, what almost always fails, and why a published allergen menu is not the same as a safe kitchen.Newly diagnosed with celiac diseaseWhat to do first, what can wait, and the three mistakes almost everyone makes in the first month.
30 ingredients on this list

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Sources
FDA, 21 CFR 101.91 — gluten-free labeling