Thanksgiving dinner is a popular holiday that’s typically centered around a multi-course meal enjoyed with family and friends. The intricate menu planning, breaking bread with family, and teaching children to bake homemade favorites are cherished traditions.
For many, Thanksgiving dinner will serve gluten-free and gluten-eaters alike. But don’t worry: Thanksgiving is a celebratory meal where gluten doesn’t need to play a central role.
If you need to avoid gluten, almost everything on the traditional Thanksgiving table can be made gluten-free. But it does require planning in advance!
Not sure where to start for a Thanksgiving feast that’s free of gluten? Here are some tips!
Turkey
A fresh turkey is the easiest – but we know that these are uncommon during Thanksgiving. Unless you have access to a turkey farm, most people order frozen turkeys from traditional grocery stores. While it’s rare to find a plain frozen turkey with gluten inside of it, you should always be cautious. Some may be injected with broth to make them juicy. You should always read the ingredients to make sure this broth does not contain gluten in the form of flavoring (barley) or flour thickeners (wheat). Do not buy any turkey that already has gluten-containing stuffing inside.
If you are buying a pre-made turkey or pre-made turkey breasts, make sure you read all the ingredients. It may contain gluten-containing broth, gravy and/or gluten-containing stuffing inside.
Don’t like a turkey or don’t want to risk it? A chicken or game hen is great for smaller portion sizes or try another meat or seafood that’s naturally gluten-free like fish, shrimp, beef, lamb, or pork! There are so many ways to make your main dish exciting – and all made safe from gluten.
Gravy
Traditional gravy is thickened with flour, which doesn’t affect the flavor at all. Replacing this ingredient with gluten-free flour or cornstarch is just as effective.
It’s pretty easy to make your own gravy. If you make your own gravy, using homemade stock from the turkey, you can be sure no gluten ingredients are in it. How do you make your own gravy? Add poultry stock slowly to a roux made from equal parts butter (dairy-free works too) and cornstarch and/or gluten-free flour. Or you can start with the drippings from your cooked turkey for another way to get great flavor. For a great gravy recipe: visit the recipe on glutenfreepalate.com.
Stuffing/Dressing
Watch out for the stuffing and dressing – it’s just a dressed-up version of gluten-containing bread. Regular stuffing (cooked inside the turkey) and dressing (made in a pan) start with dried cubes of bread, typically made with gluten.
Gluten-free bread, however, is a perfectly acceptable substitute when you make your own! Cut slices of gluten-free bread into cubes, and let it dry out, either overnight or in an oven. The great flavors in stuffing come from savory ingredients like sautéed onions, celery, bacon, or sausage. You can even add a touch of sweetness with dried cherries or cranberries inside. These all can be stirred into the stuffing, along with butter and stock. For a great stuffing recipe, visit gfJules.com.
Rolls/Breads
A Thanksgiving table usually has a basket full of delicious, warm rolls fresh from the oven. If you are gluten-free, you’ve probably experienced that disappointment of passing on this basket before. But you can easily make your own rolls gluten free, make them from a mix, or even purchase them at the store!
For a great dinner roll recipe, visit MyGluten-FreeKitchen.com.
Vegetables
Give naturally gluten-free veggies a starring role. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and Brussels sprouts are all naturally gluten-free and in season. A simple vegetable dish can be colorful, flavorful, and easy to prepare. Fresh veggies are a great choice, but if you are using canned or frozen, just read the labels to ensure that any sauces or seasonings are safely gluten-free.
For a great green bean casserole recipe, visit FlippinDelicious.com. Make sure you use gluten-free soup and crispy fried onion toppings that are gluten-free!
Desserts
There’s no need to skip delectable desserts. After all, cakes, cookies, and pies can be made safely gluten free.
Traditional pies are made with a gluten-containing crust. While it may be tempting to just eat the filling – it’s not worth the cross-contact! Especially when you can really wow your guests with homemade, gluten-free pies. You can put practically anything into a great pie crust – but apple and pumpkin are the two top flavors for fall. For a great pumpkin pie recipe, complete with crust, visit gfJules.com.
To make things easier, use a GFCO-certified gluten-free pie crust mix or pre-made crust. Thankfully, these days you can also find gluten-free pie at many grocery stores.
Preparation is Key
Be sure to experiment with holiday baking a few weeks before the big meal to make sure you’ve got the gluten-free recipe down. Confirm that any packaged desserts are gluten-free by looking for a certification mark, gluten-free label, or reading ingredients.
To find GFCO-certified products for Thanksgiving (and beyond), head to our product database at our GFCO product database online.
Tips for Planning Ahead
A general tip that will help things go more smoothly, especially when you’re making a big meal, is to plan with time to spare.
- Plan the menu at least a few weeks in advance. Shop right away to make sure you’ve got all the needed shelf-stable ingredients on hand – and that the gluten-free options you want are not sold out. Get your vegetables and other fresh items several days in advance.
- Do your prep workdays in advance. Chop vegetables, cut up bread for stuffing, portion out ingredients into individual containers and label them – anything you can do to make the cooking more streamlined.
- If you’re making things from scratch, cranberry sauces can be made days in advance. Pies and other desserts can be baked a day or two ahead.
All this preparation works well if you are the Thanksgiving dinner host, but what if you are an invited guest and feeling stressed about staying gluten-free at someone else’s home?
- Call your host well in advance to let them know about your dietary needs. Offer to help with the planning and the food prep work. You can also offer to bring gluten-free side dishes and desserts with plenty to share for other guests. Most dinner hosts will want to accommodate their guests and any special food needs. Remember that your safety is most important.
- Being prepared – and good communication between hosts and guests – will help relieve any worry about eating gluten-free this holiday season. Bring labels or table cards so safe food can be easily recognized. Bring serving utensils (or borrow separate ones from the host) to prevent cross-contact.
You can learn more about safe entertaining on gluten.org.
With these tips and tricks, you’re sure to have a safe, and delicious, gluten-free Thanksgiving!
GFCO-certified Thanksgiving products
Please note that there may be more GFCO-certified gluten-free products in these categories besides these brands that are listed. If a GFCO label is on a product, that means that it’s been certified by the GFCO and tests below 10ppm. If you’d like to learn more about GFCO, visit GFCO.org. If you are a GFCO-certified company and have products that fit these categories, please reach out to us so we can add you to the list!
GFCO-certified gravy
- Simply Organic
- Pioneer Brand
- Road’s End Organics
- Harry’s Fresh Foods
- Imagine
- Kevin’s Natural Foods
- Primal Kitchen
GFCO-certified stuffing or dressing
GFCO-certified pre-made pies or pre-made pie crusts
- Raised Gluten Free
- Maine Pie Co.
- Katz Gluten Free
- Wholly Gluten Free
- Gem City Fine Foods
- Goodman Gluten Free
- Liteful Foods
- Mi-Del
- Outside the Breadbox
- Sweet Ali’s
GFCO-certified and pie crust mixes
GFCO-certified fried onions
- Fresh Thyme
- Golden Farms
- Good Graces (Hy-Vee)
- Lars Own
- Lieber’s
- LiveGFree (Aldi)
- O Organics (Safeway)
- Simply Nature (Aldi)
- Sprouts
- Top Taste
- 365 Whole Foods
GFCO-certified cream of mushroom soup
- 365 Whole Foods
- Health Valley
GFCO-certified dinner rolls or dinner rolls mix
- 365 Whole Foods
- Franz
- Gifted Breads
- Canyon Bakehouse
- JPs Pastry
- Kim and Jake’s
- Katz
- Local Oven
- Promise Gluten Free
- Sweet Ali’s
- The Difference Baker
- BFree
- Little Northern Bakehouse
- Bread SRSLY
The information on this website is for educational purposes only. Consult your healthcare team when considering this information.
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