Gluten free Nando's 🐔

This blog was last updated in August 2024 🐔

Table of Contents

• Nando’s Gluten Free Statement

• Starters

• Peri-Peri Chicken

• Burgers, Pittas, Wraps

• Salads & Bowls

• Sharing Platters

• Veggie

• Sides

• Extras

• Sauces

• Desserts

• Drinks

• Nandinos (Kids)

Nando’s Gluten Free Statement

When I was first diagnosed with coeliac disease, I was wary of eating at Nando’s. This could have been to do with the open kitchen layout meaning that my ‘out of sight, out of mind’ philosophy didn’t really work when trying not to worry about cross-contamination. But the main reason was because Nando’s doesn’t advertise that they cater for those who are gluten free, but thankfully, that’s not quite the case…

On their website, there is an FAQ for ‘Is Nando’s Gluten Free?’ and their answer is:

“We don’t have any gluten-free restaurants at Nando’s and we use a lot of bread in the various burgers and wraps we sell- but don’t worry, we can take precautions to minimise any gluten contamination! Our manager on duty will always be happy to discuss this with you when you order. The menu information can help you avoid ordering any food that is intended to contain gluten, but the additional conversation with our manager on duty will minimise any risk of accidents”

Personally, I think that’s a great statement to make because they’re showing that they are aware of the cross-contamination risks but they’re also confident that they will be able to safely serve you a gluten free meal.

Nando’s follow certain processes when someone with an allergy orders; they make sure that the manager is the one to take the order, they also have the manager deliver the food to the table and they use allergy flags in the allergy dishes for that extra bit of reassurance. By insisting that you make the manager aware of your dietary requirement, Nando’s are also implying that they will do everything they can to minimise cross-contamination in the kitchen for your order, like cleaning prep and grill areas.

Over the past few years, I have eaten at Nando’s regularly and as someone with coeliac disease, I have only ever had great experiences. Aside from the buns, pittas and wraps, there’s plenty left on the menu suitable for those gluten free and I have gone through the menu with a fine tooth comb for you all.

I’ve broken down the current Nando’s menu into sections to outline what is gluten free and what is not gluten free. Please remember to always make the staff aware of your intolerance or allergy when you order so they can minimise the risk of cross-contamination.

To clarify, this is for UK & Ireland Nando’s only and should be used as a guide and not an official allergen matrix because menus and ingredients change all the time. You can find the Nando dishes and ingredients here.

Starters

The following Nando’s starters are gluten free:

✅ Halloumi Sticks & Dip
✅ Sweet Potato Wedges with Garlic Perinaise
✅ Spicy Mixed Olives
⚠️ Peri-Peri Nuts - may contain barley & wheat

The following Nando’s starters are not gluten free:

❌ Houmous with Peri-Peri Drizzle - pitta bread is not gluten free

Peri-Peri Chicken

The following Nando’s Peri-Peri chicken is gluten free:

✅ Chicken Butterfly
✅ 4 Boneless Chicken Thighs
✅ ¼ Chicken
✅ ½ Chicken
✅ Whole Chicken
✅ 10 Chicken Wings
✅ 5 Chicken Wings
✅ 3 Chicken Wings
✅ Whole Wing Roulette

The following Nando’s Peri-Peri chicken is not gluten free:

❌ Chicken Livers & Portuguese Roll

Burgers, Pittas, Wraps

Unfortunately, Nando’s do not offer gluten free buns, pitta bread or wraps so none of these options are gluten free but you can order the chicken separately without the bun/pitta/wrap:

❌ Garlic Churrasco Burger
❌ Butterfly Burger
❌ Grilled Chicken Burger
❌ Double Chicken Burger
❌ Sunset Burger
❌ Fino Pitta
❌ Grilled Chicken Pitta
❌ Double Chicken Pitta
❌ Fully Loaded Wrap
❌ Grilled Chicken Wrap
❌ Double Chicken Wrap

Salads & Bowls

Looks like there’s been an update to the Nando’s Salad & Bowls options and they’ve gone from having no gluten free salads to having two! That’s what we like to see!

✅ Spicy Rice Bowl
✅ Mediterranean Salad

There’s just one salad which isn’t gluten free:

❌ Caesar Salad

Sharing Platters

The following Nando’s Sharing Platters are gluten free when ordered with sides that are gluten free:

✅ Full Platter
✅ Boneless Platter
✅ Family Platter
✅ XL Wing Platter

Veggie

Unfortunately, none of the following Nando’s Veggie options are gluten free because they are all served in a bun/pitta/wrap but some can be made GF if ordered without the bun/pitta/wrap:

❌ The Great Imitator Wrap
❌ Grilled Mushroom & Halloumi Pitta (GF if ordered without the pitta)
❌ Beanie Burger (GF if ordered without the bun)
❌ Beanie Pitta (GF if ordered without the pitta)
❌ Beanie Wrap (GF if ordered without the wrap)
❌ Spiced Chickpea Burger
❌ Spiced Chickpea Pitta
❌ Spiced Chickpea Wrap

Sides

The following Nando’s Sides are gluten free:

✅ Fully Loaded Chips (sharing side)
✅ Chips
✅ Peri-Salted Chips
✅ Spicy Rice
✅ Coleslaw
✅ Corn on the Cob
✅ Creamy Mash
✅ Long Stem Broccoli
✅ Macho Peas
✅ Rainbow Slaw
✅ Portuguese Tomato Salad

The following Nando’s Sides are not gluten free:

❌ Peri-Mac & Cheese
❌ Garlic Bread

Extras

The following Nando’s Extras are gluten free:

✅ Peri-Chicken Gravy
✅ Grilled Halloumi Cheese
✅ Cheddar Cheese
✅ 2 Boneless Chicken Thighs
✅ Grilled Chicken Breast
✅ Grilled Pineapple
✅ Grilled Mushroom
✅ Beanie Patty
✅ ½ Avocado

The following Nando’s Extras are not gluten free:

❌ Toasted Pitta
❌ Tortilla Wrap
❌ Portuguese Roll
❌ Peri-Plant Strips

Sauces

The following Nando’s Sauces are all gluten free:

✅ Perinaise
✅ Garlic Perinaise
✅ Chilli Jam
✅ Peri-BBQ
✅ Peri-Peri Drizzle
✅ Lemon & Herb Peri-Peri Sauce
✅ Medium Peri-Peri Sauce
✅ Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce
✅ Hot Peri-Peri Sauce
✅ Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce
✅ Peri-Peri Salt

Desserts

The following Nando’s Desserts are gluten free:

✅ Vanilla Gelado
✅ Mango Gelado
✅ Chocolate Gelado
✅ Coconut Gelado
✅ Warm Chocolate Pud

The following Nando’s Desserts are not gluten free:

❌ One Pastel de Nata
❌ Four Pastel de Natas
❌ Choc-A-Lot Cake
❌ Gooey Caramel Cheesecake
❌ Bottomless Soft Swirl Cone

Drinks

The following Nando’s Soft Drinks are gluten free:

✅ Bottomless Coca-Cola
✅ Bottomless Diet Coke
✅ Bottomless Coke Zero
✅ Bottomless Fanta Zero
✅ Bottomless Sprite Zero
✅ Karma Drinks Gingerella
✅ Rubro Peach Iced Tea
✅ Rubro Berry Iced Tea
✅ Rubro Lemon Iced Tea
✅ L.A Brewery Kombucha
✅ Irn Bru
✅ Still Water
✅ Sparkling Water
✅ Strawberry & Dragon Fruit Quencher
✅ Cloudy Lemonade

The following Nando’s Beer, Cider & Wine are gluten free:

✅ Sxollie Cider
✅ Spier Chardonnay (South Africa)
✅ Spier Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa)
✅ Spier Merlot (South Africa)
✅ Levity Rosé (Portugal)
✅ Spier Rose (South Africa)
✅ Spier Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)
✅ Creative Block 2 (South Africa)
✅ Creative Block 5 (South Africa)

The following Nando’s Beer, Cider & Wine are not gluten free:

❌ Sagres
❌ Beavertown Lazer Crush Alcohol Free IPA
❌ Freedom Pils
❌ Five Points XPA
❌ Black’s Kinsale Pale Ale

Nandinos (Kids)

Mains

The following Nandino Main dish is gluten free:

✅ Chicken Breast

The following Nandino Main dishes are not gluten free:

❌ Mac & Cheese
❌ Little Pitta (GF if ordered without the pitta)

Sides

The following Nandino Side dishes are gluten free:

✅ Chips
✅ Corn on the Cob
✅ Spicy Rice
✅ Cucumber Sticks

Desserts/Drinks

The following Nandino Desserts & Drinks are gluten free:

✅ Bottomless Soft Swirl Tub
✅ Pip Organic Cloudy Apple Juice
✅ Pip Organic Pineapple & Mango Smoothie
✅ Cawston Press Apple & Pear

The following Nandino Desserts are not gluten free:

❌ Bottomless Soft Swirl Cone

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This was updated in August 2024 - please note that the Nando’s menu and allergen information can change at any time so use this as a guide but always double check the official UK Nando’s allergen guide.