Accidental gluten free finds at Tesco 🔍

We absolutely LOVE an accidental gluten free gem, especially when we can grab them from the big UK supermarkets! The only difficulty is finding these accidental gluten free items because they’re usually hidden amongst the ‘muggle’ gluten food on the regular shelves. But lucky for you, that’s where we are your saving grace yet again, because we have done the work for you and found loads of gluten free products on the ‘normal’ aisles of Tesco.

If you’re thinking, “hold on, what in the world is an accidental gluten free product” then we’re about to seriously level up your shopping game. So, there will always be reasons us gluten free folk need to visit the free from aisle to get essentials like gluten free pasta, bread, flour but that doesn’t mean you should only ever shop down the free from aisle. There are hundreds if not thousands of products that supermarkets stock that are gluten free and safe for coeliacs, but they aren’t labelled gluten free because they’re just naturally gluten free without any of the BROW ingredients.

Take crisps for example, yes some crisps contain gluten, like pringles, which is why the free from aisle will have a gluten free alternative like Schar Snackers, but so many crisps are naturally gluten free and sit in the normal crisp aisle waiting for you to find them. It takes a little practice to make sure you’re confident with label reading and make sure to look out for those pesky ‘may contains’ but you could end up saving a lot of money!

You also need to take into consideration that the free from aisle isn’t just limited to gluten free, a lot of it is also dairy free which is why you’ll find things like pesto in the FF aisle - pesto is completely gluten free but contains parmesan so it’s there for the dairy free people, if you’re fine eating dairy, then get your pesto from the regular aisle!

It might sound confusing and take a little practice (I’ve been at this for 5+ years now) but learning to shop away from the free from aisle will save you so much money because as we all know by now, gluten free food is EXPENSIVE.

And remember, something doesn’t necessarily have to be labelled ‘GF’ for it to be safe for those avoiding gluten, as long as the ingredients do not list any of the BROW ingredients (Barley, Rye, Oats, Wheat) they are safe to eat. I see a lot of people state that they won’t ever eat something unless it’s specifically labelled gluten free which is downright ridiculous!

So, without further ado, I present to you, accidentally gluten free products found at Tesco, enjoy! 👇🏼🍾

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• Fresh Section 🍗🧆

• Sides 🥔🍟

• Ready Meals 🍛

• Cupboard Items 🌮

• Condiments🥫

• Snacks 🥨

• Desserts 🍮

Fresh Section 🍗🧆

Now, I would be seriously wasting my time (and yours) if I were to list every single non gluten containing item in Tesco because we all know that fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese (unless it’s been processed) etc are all naturally gluten free.

So these are items that I found in the fridge section of Tesco that you might not realise are gluten free. Everything is gluten free without any ‘may contain’ warnings so safe for those who are coeliac.

You’ll notice that there are a few ‘free from’ fresh items included like breaded chicken because Tesco doesn’t have a dedicated free from fridge section and you might not know that these products exist amongst the gluten containing items.

Also, the majority of Tesco’s finest sausages and burgers are gluten free which is great now that we’re coming up to BBQ season! Those that are, are actually labelled gluten free, which is a nice touch, so just look out for the little GF green square on the front of the packaging.

Sides 🥔🍟

I don’t know about you, but sides are arguably the best part of any meal and isn’t it great when you get to enjoy the same as everyone else! The following sides were found in the fridge sections and the freezer sections. Don’t waste your money on buying chips from the free from freezer, save yourself money and just check the label of the chips in the normal section and you’ll find so many that are GF! Here’s some of my favourites I picked out!

Ready Meals 🍛

I would love to pretend that every meal I eat is prepared fresh from my own kitchen, but let’s face it, sometimes, a ready meal is easy, quick and actually quite tasty! There are sooooo many gluten free ready meals in Tesco (apart from everything with pasta!) and ready meals have been a bit of a saviour for me over the past few years trying to stick to a gluten free diet whilst also keeping up with my social life. If I’m ever invited somewhere for a takeaway, I usually just grab one of the Indian ready meals, plus a few sides and have that instead. It means it’s not made into a big deal, I feel safer without the worry of cross-contamination, it’s so much cheaper and I still get to enjoy my life!

Here’s a hack for you, the Tesco Indian Meal for Two boxes are usually all gluten free if you don’t eat the naan bread which is packaged separately. So if you grabbed yourself a gluten free naan bread to go with your share, then you’re probably still saving money than if you got everything separately. Just don’t get too in the moment and forget that the naan is out of bounds!

Cupboard Items 🌮

If I’m honest, I would love to have gone through all of the tins, sauce mixtures, packaged rice etc so find any surprisingly gluten free items but my phone battery was dying at this point and let’s be real, we’re only here for the exciting products. So here’s a few of the highlights.

The Blue Dragon rice paper spring roll wrappers are seriously good for making your own summer rolls or fried spring rolls at home. Have a look at our Instagram for inspiration!

Condiments🥫

There’s a lot of people out there who assume that all condiments, especially sauces, are gluten free when actually, it’s one of the most common products that gluten is found in. It’s also very important to remember that although one sauce might be gluten free from one brand, it not always the same in another brand. There are lots of BBQ sauces out there that are gluten free, but there’s an equal amount who aren’t because they contain barley so always double check! This goes for tinned goods, sauce jars, salad dressings etc.

Snacks 🥨

What is life without snacks? Here’s some great gluten free finds at Tesco - don’t fall into the trap of buying things like the ‘Free From Bacon Rashers’ when actually in Tesco, the normal Bacon Rashers in the crisp aisle are gluten free and much cheaper!

Desserts 🍮

One thing that us gluten free foodies often miss out on is dessert but just look at all of these naturally gluten free desserts we found in the fridge and freezer aisles! Gluten free ice cream cookie dough? Errmmmm yes please!

Like I always say, please remember that ingredients can change at the drop of a hat so use this guide as inspiration for your shop but please make sure to double check the labels when you’re there! 💗

Have we missed anything? Let us know what you want to see more of!