When someone has gluten-associated medical problems, it can be difficult to find gluten free White Castle options or other ways to enjoy popular chains.1, 2 As you may be aware, gluten is the main protein in wheat, and as much as the 7% of the population of US may have intolerances or conditions that cause gluten to become harmful.3
On the surface, a gluten intolerance may make most burgers off limits, but luckily there’s still some menu items White Castle that are GF as seen on the secret menu that includes breakfast, sauces, and fries are also considered although they’re not quite GF at this restaurant.
Is White Castle Gluten Free?
Under normal conditions, only the drinks, milkshakes, smoothies, condiments, and applesauce at White Castle are gluten free. All of the bread in White Castle foods have high gluten content, and breaded, fried foods will also have high amounts of gluten.
For that matter, any deep fried foods at White Castle have minor traces of gluten due to cross contamination from the shared vats.
Source: smpics via Canva.com4
That said, there are options at White Castle to eat gluten free foods, or to eat certain foods without the gluten-heavy components.
The Complete Gluten Free White Castle Menu
Many foods at White Castle are never gluten free. However, everything on the following menu is either gluten free or can be gluten free with minor accommodation from the kitchen staff.
Modifications like ordering a bunless burger aren’t on the official menu, but customer reviews indicate that staff are often helpful when it comes to secret menu-style preparation.
Gluten Free Burgers & Toppings
White Castle buns all use normal, glutinous wheat. However, the sliders and other burgers at White Castle can be gluten free if there’s no bun. Staff may accommodate a request to deliver a burger without a bun, or wrapped in lettuce to serve as an alternative to a bun.
Since there’s no wheat or wheat byproducts in the meal, the end result will be gluten free.
- The Original Slider (140 calories)
- Double Original Slider (250 calories)
- Impossible Slider (190 calories)
- Veggie Burger (190 calories)
- Cheeseburger (170 calories)
- Double Cheeseburger (300 calories)
- Smoked Cheeseburger (180 calories)
- Double Smoked Cheeseburger (310 calories)
- Bacon Cheeseburger (220 calories)
- Lettuce and Tomato Topping (>5 calories)
White Castle Breakfast Menu for Gluten-Free Diets
The apple sauce at White Castle is gluten free, but the breakfast sliders are the same as the burgers. They can be gluten free, but only when there’s no bun or contact with bread.
- Mott’s Apple Sauce (40 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Egg & Cheese (200 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Egg & Jalapeño Cheese (210 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Egg & Cheddar Cheese (210 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Sausage, Egg & Cheese (350 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Sausage, Egg & Jalapeño Cheese (360 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Sausage, Egg & Cheddar Cheese (360 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bacon, Egg & Cheese (260 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bacon, Egg & Jalapeño Cheese (260 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bacon, Egg & Cheddar Cheese (260 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bologna, Egg & Cheese (350 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bologna, Egg & Jalapeño Cheese (360 calories)
- Breakfast Slider w/Bologna, Egg & Cheddar Cheese (360 calories)
- Original Slider w/Egg & Cheese (270 calories)
- Original Slider w/Egg & Jalapeño Cheese (280 calories)
- Original Slider w/Egg & Cheddar Cheese (280 calories)
White Castle Sauces That Are Gluten-Free
All White Castle condiments are gluten free.
- BBQ Sauce (15 calories)
- Fat-Free Honey Mustard (20 calories)
- Mayonnaise (70 calories)
- Ranch (120 calories)
- Tartar Sauce (45 calories)
- Zesty Zing Sauce (110 calories)
- Yellow Mustard Packets (5 calories)
- Dusseldorf Mustard Packets (5 calories)
- Horseradish Mustard Packets (5 calories)
Gluten-Free Beverage Options at White Castle
All White Castle drinks should be gluten free, since none of them are derived from or include wheat.
- 100% Apple Juice (100 calories)
- Monster Energy Drink (210 calories)
- Barq’s Cream Soda (280 calories)
- Simply Orange Juice (160 calories)
- Coffee (5 calories)
- Hot Tea (0 calories)
- Decaf Coffee (0 calories)
- Hot Chocolate (240 calories)
- Southern Sweet Iced Tea, Small (180 calories)
- Southern Sweet Iced Tea, Medium (260 calories)
- Southern Sweet Iced Tea, Large, (340 calories)
- Southern Sweet Iced Tea, Gallon (1,100 calories)
- Unsweetened Iced Tea (>5 calories)
Gluten-Free Milkshakes & Smoothies at White Castle
Currently, White Castle offers milkshakes and smoothies on a local basis. Not all locations will have all options, and some may have no smoothie or milkshake options at all. When available, the smoothies are a gluten-free breakfast option at White Castle, while the shakes serve as a tasty gluten-free dessert.
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie (360 calories)
- Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie (370 calories)
- Chocolate Shake, Small (550 calories)
- Chocolate Shake, Medium (780 calories)
- Chocolate Shake, Large (1040 calories)
- Vanilla Shake, Small (460 calories)
- Vanilla Shake, Medium (660 calories)
- Vanilla Shake, Large (890 calories)
- Strawberry Shake, Small (540 calories)
- Strawberry Shake, Medium (770 calories)
- Strawberry Shake, Large (1020 calories)
Low-Gluten White Castle Options
Besides the truly gluten free foods at White Castle, there’s also a range of foods that have extremely small traces of gluten. These are either below or just above the tolerable threshold for gluten content among those with celiac disease.
While it’s potentially harmful for a celiac to eat even small quantities of these foods, those with more common, milder gluten intolerances may consider enjoying them in moderation.
- French Fries, Small (330 calories)
- French Fries, Medium (600 calories)
- Cheese Fries (400 calories)
- Loaded Fries (530 calories)
- Hash Round Nibblers, Small (360 calories)
- Hash Rounder Nibblers, Medium (720 calories)
When is White Castle Gluten Free?
In short, White Castle is gluten free when the food either has no gluten content or doesn’t come in contact with glutinous foods. For instance, the breaded chicken and fish at White Castle aren’t gluten free because of the breading.
Most of the sliders would be gluten free, except the bun has gluten in it. But if the meat and toppings never touch bread and the staff wrap them in lettuce or tomato, that’s a gluten free burger.
Source: Ozphotoguy via Canva.com5
White Castle doesn’t have an official policy on making burgers and sliders gluten free. This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to request that the staff make a lettuce-wrapped burger, but it is up to their discretion.
If a person simply walks in and asks for a gluten free burger, there’s no guarantee that the staff will even understand what’s the customer is asking of them. Despite that, online reviews and individual experience indicating that the staff of White Castle are often accommodating and willing to take the steps to prepare a gluten free burger.
Asking about practices at local locations is a good way to know about if there’s any unofficial policy in place, or if staff will accommodate the request. The Google My Business listing or Facebook page of a specific location are both suitable starting points, as is sending an email or calling in ahead.
It’s also acceptable to simply ask on the spot, although the staff might decline the request. If they’re not willing to do, so, that will mean there aren’t any gluten free meals available at the location.
Unfortunately, White Castle’s french fries always have traces of gluten and are never safe for someone with celiac disease or a strong gluten intolerance.
Are There Gluten Free White Castle Fries?
Fries are the most popular side at White Castle, particularly the loaded fries that come with cheese and thick crumbs of bacon. Cheese, potatoes, bacon – none of these ingredients have gluten, so it seems like it’d be the perfect choice for someone with a gluten intolerance.
This isn’t the case, though, because of the preparation methods that White Castle uses for its fries.
Since the chain doesn’t take precautions to prevent gluten contamination in its fried foods, French fries from White Castle suffer gluten contamination. Incidentally, this also means that all other deep fried foods at White Castle aren’t gluten free.
The White Castle Hash Rounds would be gluten free, except that they also fry in the same vat as glutinous foods.
Why Aren’t White Castle Fries Gluten Free?
Gluten remains intact throughout the frying process, so breaded foods leave gluten particles behind in the oil that they were fried in. These particles transfer over to any food that fries in the same oil. According to studies on gluten cross-contamination in fryers, the rates of contamination are inconsistent and it’s impossible to safely predict whether these contaminated fries will have sufficiently low gluten levels for a celiac.6
Depending on the amount of breaded food that the staff have used the fryer to prepare, gluten concentration can vary widely. It’s usually somewhere between 20 and 80 parts per million (PPM), which may not sound like much but which can quickly add up.
Having celiac disease means that a person can only tolerate about 10 mg of gluten per day, but a 5.5 ounce serving of fries in oil with 80 PPM gluten will end up having more than 12mg of gluten.7 A small order of fries at White Castle is 5.2 oz, which translates into a roughly 20% chance of being unsafe for celiac.
However, celiacs have an extremely low tolerable threshold for gluten, much lower than non-celiac gluten sensitivity.8 In comparison, milder gluten intolerance shouldn’t prevent someone from enjoying a small or medium order of White Castle fries.
The only way that a restaurant can make gluten free fries is by having a special fryer set aside. By separating gluten-free foods and frying them in oil that hasn’t touched foods with gluten, restaurants can prevent gluten cross-contamination.
However, there are no White Castle restaurants that do this as of November 2022. Without these measures, there’s nothing that individual manager and staff can do to prepare gluten free fries.
A person could try to ask for the staff to change the oil in the vats before preparing their fries. This process wouldn’t make White Castle fries gluten-free because residual gluten could still be present, posing a risk of exceeding the safe threshold for people with celiac disease.
GF Example Order at White Castle: Gluten Double Smoked Cheeseburger with Ice Tea & a Strawberry Shake
Start with a double smoked bacon cheeseburger and request that the staff wrap it in lettuce or at least serve it without the bun. Request an iced tea as the drink, and place an order for a strawberry shake as dessert. With proper food handling, the meal will be entirely gluten free and have the following macros:
- Calories: 740
- Net Carbs: 106g
- Protein: 26g
- Fat: 27g
In any case, it can be difficult to eat out with celiac or other gluten sensitive conditions so be sure to follow this secret menu and its special instructions around burgers and fries to enjoy low-gluten and gluten free White Castle snack or meal.
Related Reading:
- Gluten-Free Options at Waffle House
- Chuy’s Gluten-Free Menu Options
- Whataburger Gluten-Free Options Available
- Bon Chon Gluten-Free Food Options
Frequently Asked Questions
Does White Castle Have An Allergen Menu for Dairy, Nuts, Gluten Etc.?
While White Castle doesn’t offer many options for allergen-sensitive eating, it does publicize information about which major food allergens are present in different menu items. Searching to the White Castle allergens and ingredients page online will lead to a simple, convenient page with resources to the nutritional value and allergen content of White Castle’s grocery line and in-restaurant food items.
The nutrition information contains allergen information on wheat, nuts, dairy, and other categories, but not on gluten. White Castle doesn’t officially endorse or market any of its foods as being gluten free, or explicitly acknowledge the gluten content of any of its foods either.
Can You Get a Gluten Free Burger at White Castle?
Assuming good food handling practices, most burgers at White Castle are gluten free if they have no bun. All buns at White Castle contain gluten, which means that it’s necessary to exclude the bun or find an alternative. Restaurant staff might or might not accommodate requests to wrap burgers in a piece of lettuce, the common method for producing a makeshift gluten free bun.
References
1Изображения пользователя Yuliia Balchenko. Canva. Accessed 16 April 2023. <https://www.canva.com/photos/MAEcRn94ocI-burger-with-beef-patty-and-lettuce-wrapped-with-napkin/>
2Akhondi, H. (2022, January). Gluten Associated Medical Problems. NCBI. Retrieved November, 10th, from <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538505/>
3Biesiekierski, J. R. (2017, March). What is gluten? NCBI. Retrieved November, 10th, from <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28244676/>
4smpics. Canva. Accessed 16 April 2023. <https://www.canva.com/photos/MAC_xUX0TJQ-bacon-cheeseburger/>
5Ozphotoguy. Canva. Accessed 16 April 2023. <https://www.canva.com/photos/MADBr2K9DlY-hamburger-sliders/>
6Thompson, T. (2021, 3). Gluten-Free Foods Cooked in Shared Fryers With Wheat: A Pilot Study Assessing Gluten Cross Contact. NCBI. Retrieved November, 10th, from <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33834035/>
7Posner, E. (2022, August). Celiac Disease. NCBI. Retrieved November, 10th, from <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441900/>
8Roszkowska, A. (2019, May). Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity: A Review. NCBI. Retrieved November, 10th, from <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6630947/>