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Krispy Kreme Gluten-Free – Are Their Doughnuts Safe?

In our Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide, we’ll show you just how few of their donuts are safe for celiacs, and which items you can and can’t trust in their menu.

Eating out as a celiac is a sad reminder of how many tasty treats and goodies I’d have to omit just to stay safe!

After over 30 years of being gluten-free myself, it is still disappointing that a lot of restaurants still haven’t opened up their menus to being friendly to celiacs, or even safe for folks with severe gluten allergies, and Krispy Kreme’s glazed donuts are no different! 🍩

While it might seem like a harmless treat at first, if you’re a celiac, Krispy Kreme might as well be the antichrist, as every single doughnut is made with wheat flour.

That includes bran, germ, gluten, starch, and flour – enemies of the state as far as celiacs like us are concerned. To make matters worse, all Krispy Kreme products are prepared in shared facilities. ☕🍩

Whether it’s their doughnuts or their coffee, there’s a severe risk of exposure to peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, eggs, and wheat, so everywhere you look, if you have any of these allergies, it would be safer just to skip Krispy Kreme and visit your local, gluten-free bakery.

But, since I’ve covered other eatery chains before, I might as well take a look at Krispy Kreme, too. I like to do a thorough job! ✍

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Disclaimer

Perhaps in keeping with the fact that all their doughnuts use wheat-derived ingredients and it doesn’t have a single gluten-free alternative or substitute, Krispy Kreme’s Nutritional Info page is laughably lacking in actual information.

However, we do know that their doughnuts do have traces of wheat flour, gluten, starch, bran, and germ – a key part of all their recipes. 🌾

This alone makes Krispy Kreme a no-go for any celiac or someone suffering from severe gluten allergies. Plus, their shared kitchens also process other major allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, and eggs.

This means that even simple beverages share equipment and utensils with the doughnut prep zones. So, if you’re highly allergic, be extremely cautious! ☕

Of course, that’s not to say that Krispy Kreme is a bad place or anything. In fact, Krispy Kreme follows ServSafe protocols, and they also post nutritional and allergen charts to make it super clear for folks who are allergic to specific allergens.

However, it is pretty clear that they won’t be meeting the FDA’s <20 ppm designation for menu items to be truly ‘gluten-free’.

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Krispy Kreme Allergen Policy (Gluten-Free)

In short, if you’re a celiac, make sure that you skip all the doughnuts at Krispy Kreme! More to that, if you’re ordering drinks, remember to stick to their plain beverages only, like their black coffee, tea, or hot chocolate drinks, without any added doughnut crumbles or flavored syrups.

Still, even if you’re a celiac, I can’t help not be at least a bit curious to see what they offer.

Again, Krispy Kreme’s Nutritional Info page is practically useless, as they don’t have a central chart or menu to show nutritional and allergen information for each menu item.

Instead, you are advised to click into each menu item and check the Nutritional & Allergen Info for each of the individual doughnuts and drinks. It’s not intuitive, but I guess it works. ✍📝

These Nutritional & Allergen Info pages also highlight that every single doughnut does contain wheat, making them completely unsafe for celiacs.

Elsewhere, Krispy Kreme does have a fairly comprehensive Allergen & Nutritional Information page, but this is made for Krispy Kreme UK, not their US chains.

Bear in mind that there are huge differences between regions! 🍩

So, while you could refer to the UK-specific allergen and nutritional page, just for reference, it should not be 100% representative of the same allergens and nutrition per doughnut that you get here in the US-of-A.

With that out of the way, let’s dive even deeper into our Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide, and let’s see if there’s any way you could dine here safely as a celiac!

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Doughnuts

When you walk into a Krispy Kreme and see those gorgeous glazed rings, remember… They all use enriched wheat flour (bran, germ, gluten, starch, and flour) in their recipes.

With plenty of other allergens included in each doughnut, not a single donut here is celiac-safe. Nonetheless, for the sake of completion, let’s see how they fare in our Krispy Kreme gluten-free list. 🍓🍫

❌ Original Glazed Doughnut
❌ Chocolate Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles
❌ Strawberry Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles
❌ Chocolate Iced Doughnut
❌ Original Glazed Raspberry Filled Doughnut
❌ Original Glazed Blueberry Cake Doughnut
❌ Original Glazed Lemon Filled Doughnut
❌ Chocolate Iced Custard Filled Doughnut
❌ Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut
❌ Cake Batter Doughnut
❌ Original Glazed Cinnamon Roll

Whether classic-glazed, iced, filled, or cake, not a single Krispy Kreme doughnut is safe for any celiac, neither you nor I. They rely on enriched wheat flour in the batter, and even the ‘cake’ style donuts use wheat starch and flour. Let’s take a closer look at what each doughnut here is made from:

Original Glazed Doughnut: Their flagship glazed donut uses enriched wheat flour in both the dough and glaze, making it unsafe for celiacs.

Chocolate Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles: Chocolate icing plus candy sprinkles rest on the same wheat‐flour base.

Strawberry Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles: Iced strawberry glaze and sprinkles don’t change the wheat‐flour foundation.

Chocolate Iced Doughnut: A simpler version, but still 100% wheat‐flour dough beneath, so it’s unsafe for celiacs.

Original Glazed Raspberry Filled Doughnut: Filled dough uses a wheat‐flour shell plus a filling, but the shell is not gluten-free.

Original Glazed Blueberry Cake Doughnut: Even though called ‘cake,’ it’s made from enriched wheat flour batter.

Original Glazed Lemon Filled Doughnut: Lemon custard inside, but the dough itself is wheat‐based.

Chocolate Iced Custard Filled Doughnut: Custard filling over a wheat‐flour shell coated in some chocolate icing.

Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled Doughnut: Kreme-filled center, yet still a wheat‐flour exterior, so it’s equally unsafe for celiacs.

Cake Batter Doughnut: Flavored cake batter doughnuts are made with wheat flour and starch.

Original Glazed Cinnamon Roll: A twist on the roll, but uses the same glutenous dough as the glazed line.

All in all, no Krispy Kreme doughnut is gluten-free. As such, if you have celiac disease or if you have a severe gluten intolerance, you should absolutely avoid any of their doughnuts, even if you’re salivating at the sight of them!

So far, it’s not a good start to our Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide, and it isn’t going to get any better as we move to the next part of their menu.

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Doughnut Dots & Mini Doughnuts

Just like their regular-sized doughnuts, our Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide here finds plenty of celiac-unfriendly allergens, too. Their selection of Doughnut Dots and Mini Doughnuts uses the same enriched wheat-flour dough, and whether glazed or iced, it contains wheat flour, gluten, starch, bran, and germ.

If you’re a celiac, consider avoiding these. 🍩🎁

❌ 10 Count Original Glazed Doughnut Dots
❌ 10 Count Assorted Doughnut Dots
❌ 24 Count Original Glazed Doughnut Dots
❌ 24 Count Assorted Doughnut Dots
❌ Mini Original Glazed Doughnut
❌ Mini Chocolate Iced Glazed Doughnut
❌ Mini Chocolate Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles
❌ Mini Strawberry Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles

With that out of the way, let’s break down each of these doughnut dots and mini doughnuts to see why none of them made it into our Krispy Kreme gluten-free menu:

10 Count Original Glazed Doughnut Dots: Bite-sized versions of the Original Glazed, made from the same enriched wheat-flour dough and finished with the classic sugar glaze.

10 Count Assorted Doughnut Dots: A mix of 2 Original Glazed, 2 Cookie Crumb, 2 Cinnamon, 2 Powdered, and 2 Sprinkled doughnut dots, and each variety uses a wheat-flour base.

24 Count Original Glazed Doughnut Dots: A larger shareable pack of Original Glazed doughnut dots, identical in recipe to the 10-count but scaled up, making them unsafe for celiacs.

24 Count Assorted Doughnut Dots: Four each of Original Glazed, Cookie Crumb, Cinnamon, as well as Powdered and Sprinkled dots, but they’re still built on wheat-flour dough.

Mini Original Glazed Doughnut: A scaled-down Original Glazed doughnut, identical in its recipe and ingredients, as well as the glaze, just smaller. Similarly, it still uses that wheat dough.

Mini Chocolate Iced Glazed Doughnut: Miniature version of the Chocolate Iced Doughnut, with the same enriched wheat-flour dough and chocolate icing, similar to the full-size version.

Mini Chocolate Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles: A small Chocolate Iced doughnut topped with candy sprinkles, matching the full-size one, with the wheat flour dough, but miniaturized.

Mini Strawberry Iced Doughnut With Sprinkles: Mini Strawberry-iced doughnut with sprinkles, mirroring the full-size version’s wheat-flour dough and icing, with lots of gluten traces.

Overall, just like their full-size counterparts, all these Doughnut Dots and Mini Doughnuts from Krispy Kreme are neither gluten-free nor celiac-safe, as each variant uses enriched wheat flour.

Plus, they’re being made in shared spaces that also handle wheat, soy, milk, eggs, peanuts, as well as tree nuts. If you’re allergic to anything, Krispy Kreme’s donuts could be hazardous! 🍩

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Coffee & Drinks

We’re pretty much done with all the foods in our Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide, but we’re not done yet! It’s time to check out Krispy Kreme’s huge selection of coffees and other drinks, since I know a lot of people often visit Krispy Kreme just for a hot cup of Joe, without even looking at their doughnuts!

Thankfully, we finally have something here that’s safe for celiacs! ☕🍵

✅ S’mores Specialty Latte
✅ Iced S’mores Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen S’mores Specialty Latte
✅ Blackberry Infusion Lemonade Chiller
✅ Strawberry Infusion Lemonade Chiller
✅ Classic Brewed Coffee
✅ Classic Decaf Brewed Coffee
✅ Latte
✅ Vanilla Latte
✅ Original Glazed Latte
✅ Caramel Specialty Latte
✅ Caramel Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Cappuccino
✅ Espresso
✅ Americano
✅ Iced Coffee
✅ Iced Vanilla Coffee
✅ Iced Original Glazed Coffee
✅ Iced Caramel Coffee
✅ Iced Caramel Mocha Coffee
✅ Iced Latte
✅ Iced Vanilla Latte
✅ Iced Original Glazed Latte
✅ Iced Caramel Latte
✅ Iced Caramel Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Iced Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Vanilla Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Original Glazed Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Caramel Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Caramel Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Frozen Mocha Specialty Latte
✅ Strawberry Chiller
✅ Lemonade Chiller
✅ Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate

Now, I should mention that even though these coffees and drinks don’t contain any wheat and gluten, Krispy Kreme’s cafés and kitchens handle wheat (as well as other allergens) in the same spaces, including grinders, steam wands, blenders, and drink stations.

Plus, equipment used to make drinks, such as milk frothers and blender jars, is shared between doughnut glaze and mix stations, as well as drink prep.

Adding to the cross-contamination risk, syrup pumps, spoons, and pitchers may contact with wheat-containing products.

Sure, you could ask the Krispy Kreme staff to change gloves, clean all their equipment, and use a clean prepping station, but it’s not always a guarantee.

Personally, if you’re a super sensitive celiac, I’d highly advise treading cautiously with Krispy Kreme’s drinks and coffees.

Speaking of, let’s break down each drink to see what they’re made of:

Classic Brewed Coffee / Decaf: 100% Arabica coffee beans, with no wheat in sight.

Espresso / Americano / Cappuccino: Shot-based drinks, and all of them use pure espresso and steamed milk.

Lattes & Specialty Lattes: Steamed milk + espresso + flavored syrups (with no gluten).

Original Glazed Latte: Uses the same Original Glazed doughnut glaze syrup, and it’s gluten-free by the base ingredients.

Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate: Cocoa powder + milk, with no wheat thickeners.

Iced Coffee / Decaf: Brewed coffee served over ice, with no flavorings.

Iced Lattes & Mocha: Espresso, cold milk, ice, and syrup.

Iced Flavored Coffees: Vanilla, Caramel, Original Glazed, Caramel Mocha, and just like the earlier drinks, the syrups are gluten-free.

Iced Specialty Lattes: It’s the same base as hot lattes, just chilled.

Frozen Specialty Lattes: Espresso blended with ice and syrup, with no gluten.

Chillers (Strawberry, Lemonade, Infusions): Fruit-based slushies, but they use fruit purees and lemonades, with no wheat or gluten.

Frozen Original Glazed Specialty Latte: Includes Original Glazed syrup, and they’re gluten-free by the base ingredients.

Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate: Premium cocoa blend + steamed milk, with no wheat.

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To Sum Up

Unlike some of the other restaurants and eatery chains that I’ve covered before, my conclusion for this Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide is pretty easy… Avoid them if you’re a celiac.

There’s not a single Krispy Kreme doughnut that could be ordered gluten-free and celiac-safe, as they have loads of gluten traces, courtesy of Krispy Kreme using an enriched wheat flour dough. 🌾🍩

The only Krispy Kreme gluten-free exception is their equally iconic coffees and drinks, and they are technically gluten-free by ingredient.

However, Krispy Kreme doesn’t operate a strictly gluten-free kitchen, as per the FDA’s <20 ppm gluten threshold requirements.

As such, there is a high risk of cross-contamination between the drink prep stations and the doughnuts. ☕🍵

For super-sensitive celiacs, I’d go as far as saying their drinks are a no-go either, given that it’s prepped in kitchens where it comes into really close contact with wheat and gluten-containing doughnuts, among plenty of other allergens in the kitchen.

So, depending on your intolerance to wheat and gluten, it may or may not be worth the risk, which is a bit of a shame. 🙁

And hey, we’ve covered plenty of other restaurants and eateries that actually have loads of gluten-free and celiac-safe options, unlike Krispy Kreme! 🥗🥪🥩

While you’re here, you might also want to check out my other eating out guides and some tasty gluten‑free recipes!

If you’re craving other fast-food or casual dining chains and gourmet meals, do check out my celiac-friendly, gluten-free guides to Jimmy John’s, Firehouse Subs, Waffle House, Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin, The Cheesecake Factory, Chick-fil-A, IHOP, Applebee’s, Panda Express, Taco Bell, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Denny’s, Sonic, Popeyes, Dunkin Donuts, Texas Roadhouse, Chipotle, Starbucks and more! 🍔🍟

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Frequently Asked Questions

While doing some research for this Krispy Kreme gluten-free guide, I’ve found some interesting questions that I thought I’d try and answer here:

Does Krispy Kreme offer any certified gluten-free doughnuts?

No. Every single doughnut at Krispy Kreme uses an enriched wheat flour (which includes bran, germ, gluten, starch, and flour) in the dough. They don’t carry an FDA-approved gluten-free label, either. For celiacs, you’re going to have to skip Krispy Kreme’s doughnut menu.

Are any Krispy Kreme Doughnut Dots or Mini Doughnuts safe for celiacs?

Unfortunately not. All Doughnut Dots and Mini Doughnuts begin with that same wheat-flour dough as the full-size doughnuts, and are processed on shared equipment, which makes cross-contact pretty much unavoidable.

Which Krispy Kreme beverages are gluten-free?

By ingredient, all brewed coffees, espresso drinks, iced coffees, specialty lattes (hot, iced, and frozen), chillers, and Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate are made without wheat or gluten ingredients, so they’re all naturally gluten-free. Of course, don’t discount the risk of cross-contamination.

How can I minimize cross-contact when ordering drinks at Krispy Kreme?

For their drinks, remember to let the staff know that you have celiac disease or a very severe gluten allergy. You can also request them to use fresh gloves and cleaned or swapped utensils (blender tins, milk pitchers, spoons, etc.) before drink prep. Adding to that, you should also let them know and ask for rinsed or separate equipment, especially blended or frozen drinks.

Is the Original Glazed syrup used in lattes gluten-free?

Yes. The Original Glazed syrup, as a standalone flavoring, contains no gluten ingredients. Yet, because it’s dispensed through pumps that also handle other flavored syrups—and alongside the doughnut glazing machines—cross-contact remains a huge risk for celiacs.

Image credit

Malcolmxl5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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