These are the 5 best UK supermarkets for gluten free food

Published by Finn Hayden

It wasn't long ago that the idea of going to your local supermarket and finding a wide selection of gluten free products seemed like a distant fantasy. Ask any coeliac over the age of 40 and they'll tell you of a time in recent history when all of their food tasted like cardboard. Here in the UK we're miles ahead of most countries in the world in terms of our gluten free options, and if you go into just about any UK supermarket you'll find a gluten free food section.

We thought it would be useful to round up the best supermarkets for gluten free food, so you can decide which place to head to for your weekly shop. Let's get into it:

Asda

Of all the supermarkets that we went to, we'd say that Asda had the best gluten free section. It's hard to even call it a section really - at the big Asda that we visited, there was almost an entire aisle dedicated to gluten free products. This included things like gluten free crisps, wraps, and granola. There were products here that we couldn't find at any other supermarket, even the larger ones, so we were blown away. The range of things like gluten free biscuits and cakes was also extensive, so if you're following a gluten free diet and you have a sweet tooth, definitely visit your local Asda. Explore the full range here - groceries.asda.com

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer definitely had one of the best gluten free food sections that we found. What really impressed us is that not only did we find a separate section of the usual suspects like bread and pasta, but there was also an entire fridge section dedicated to gluten free food (pictured). In most supermarkets, these would be lumped in a fridge section alongside other free from products like vegan and nut free products, but it's really impressive to see that M&S has an entire fridge section devoted to gluten free items. In fact, this was the only supermarket we visited that had anything like that. Very impressed! Explore the full range of gluten free items from M&S here - marksandspencer.com

Tesco

We've previously included quite a few of the gluten free products from Tesco in our guides, as we were impressed with both the gluten free pasta and bread from this supermarket. The Tesco finest gluten free cob even ended up in our list of the best gluten free bread you can buy. We love that the gluten free food section at Tesco always includes a lot of own-brand products as well as branded products, and a good mix of items too. For some reason, Tesco always seems to stock lots of gluten free biscuits (we're not complaining). Learn more and explore the full range here - tesco.com

Sainsbury's

Although we didn't find too many own-brand products within the gluten free food section at the Sainsbury's we visited, we did find a good selection of gluten free products from a range of brands, as well as some products that we couldn't find at any other supermarket. For example, you might spot the gluten free Bisto gravy in the photo we took, which is quite a hard product to find. And as with many of the supermarkets in the UK, there was plenty of gluten free bread to choose from. Explore the entire gluten free range from Sainsbury's here - sainsburys.co.uk

Co-op

As always, we feel that the Co-op is really punching above its weight in terms of its gluten free offering. This supermarket isn't nearly as big as the other we've included in this list, but they do a great job at catering for anybody who needs to avoid gluten in their diet. As you can see from the image, you've got a great selection of gluten free food including bread, cereal, snacks, and more to choose from. We didn't find a separate fridge section which is a negative, but we think that considering the size of the Co-op stores, this selection is very impressive. Explore the entire gluten free range from the Co-op here - coop.co.uk

Waitrose

We have to admit that although we appreciated the selection of gluten free products at Waitrose, we expected it to be slightly more extensive, especially given the choice we found at M&S. Having said that, one of the great things about the gluten free section at Waitrose is that you can find products which you won't find at any of the other supermarkets, especially slightly fancier, more expensive products. For example, the selection of gluten free cereal was really good (we include some in our gluten free cereal guide) and featured some brands that you won't find anywhere else. We also found a good selection of gluten free baking products, so if you're a keen cook then Waitrose is a good place to head. Learn more and explore the whole range here - waitrose.com

Hopefully, this guide helps you to find a supermarket with a great selection of gluten free food. Let us know if you have any other recommendations!

3 Comments

Chris
May 6, 2023 at 10:15 am Reply
Personally, I have found Waitrose especially, to be massively disappointing. Most branches have limited range of gluten free products and what they have tend to be heavy in sugar and salt.
So for, in my 2 years for coeliac living, Asda has consistently been the best option. Sadly, there isn’t an Asda that close to us.
Carrie
June 26, 2023 at 3:30 pm Reply
Every Waitrose I’ve been in has been disappointing for gluten free foods. There was no mention of morrisons here, yet their selection of gluten free food far outweighs Waitrose and is possibly on par with asda or tesco
Gerald Byrne
July 2, 2023 at 3:26 pm Reply
As all do have a variety of products, my complaint is too many sweet biscuits and cakes and not enough savoury snacks and ready meals. I find Marks are easily the best as they have pork pies and sausage rolls and they do mark their sausages and slow cooked range of meals as gluten free. Waitrose are poor for ready meals and although some of their Waitrose products are gluten free, their not marked e.g. Waitrose brand French fries are GF but it doesn’t say.

Asda

Marks & Spencer

Tesco

Sainsbury's

Co-op

Waitrose

Finn H

3 Comments

Chris

Carrie

Gerald Byrne

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