Tuesday 12 February 2013

Gluten Free McDonalds here in the UK?

Well not quite... but you can certainly come pretty close! They're a guilty pleasure, it was very rare that I had a McDonalds even before becoming gluten free but just now and again I'd have that craving. Since becoming gluten free, I thought that surely McDonalds would be off limits?  Of course you can make excellent beef burgers yourself and we've even made gluten free wagyu beef burgers at home but there's a unique taste to a McDonalds Big Mac that you just can't recreate.

Actually though, it's not off limits. McDonalds have an extremely thorough allergen menu available online. As they break down the components of their burgers you can actually see which components contain gluten and which don't. For example, take the Big Mac, only the bread bun has gluten. Asking for a burger without a bread bun does earn you some funny looks but the branches I've visited have been more than happy to provide the rest of the burger! They make it from scratch and usually put it into a breakfast tray clearly labelled. All you have to do then, is add your own bread bun! The fries are also cooked in a separate fryer to anything containing gluten. You can also check the McFlurry flavours available online too, as some of these are gluten free. I obviously can't speak for the cross contamination procedures in place across every branch of McDonalds but I've never had any issues. If you're unsure though, it's probably best to ask.

One day coeliacs might have a full gluten free burger option in McDonalds, it's already available in country's such as Sweden, but for now, at least you can satisfy that occasional craving.
Big Mac created with a gluten free bread bun!

4 comments:

  1. Good to read. My little one (almost 7, diagnosed coeliac when just turned 3.)is off to a birthday party with Macdonalds as the food and I had no idea what he could have. I'm vege so MacDs never been on my radar!!
    Am v glad he can pretty much have the same as the others if I send along a bun for him, makes him feel less 'different'. Cheers!! Karen :)

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  2. Glad I could help and hope he got on okay! Must be difficult for gluten free kids to try to 'fit in' with things like birthday parties. Good luck :)

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  3. McDonalds in Innsbruck, Austria,(2017) have a menu of 6 beef burgers using gluten free buns. You only have to look at the size of the free-from isles in Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's to realise how many people need gluten free. When is McDonalds UK going to cater for this large section of the population with a gluten free bun menu?

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  4. If you take your own bread bap all the branches I've visited will actually put it on for you too. The only disappointing factor about McDonald's is they say they can't give you mayonnaise in a little cup because it's a problem with health and safety.... I don't know what they think I'm gonna do with it but I just want it for my chips and burger!!

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