The Definitive Noodles and Company Gluten-Free Menu Guide
Explore our Noodles and Company gluten-free menu guide with top safe dishes, allergen tips, and how to customize your order for gluten-free dining.
Noodles are one of the greatest forms of food to exist ever, and they’re truly cosmopolitan, as noodles build the foundation to some of my favourite cuisines around the globe, from China and Japan, to Korea, and all the way to Italy and beyond! 🍜🍝🍲
However, noodles are a tough sell for celiacs, given that most of them are made with wheat and other glutenous components, which is a big no-no if you’re also highly gluten intolerant, not to mention if you have severe non-celiac gluten sensitivity. 🚫🌾
With that said, some restaurants do at least try to accommodate gluten-free and celiac-safe substitutes. So, how about Noodles and Company, a chain that specializes in bringing you a plate full of many different noodle dishes from every corner of the world?
On paper, it appears as though Noodles and Company has the basic building blocks to make you something safe, including a pretty large variety of grilled proteins, plain rice, vegetable bases, and many other condiments and sauces, too. 🍚🍛🥡
Look even closer, and it gets a bit more complicated, as Noodle and Company’s lineup is made up of wheat-based noodles, such as pastas, stir-fried noodles, in addition to breaded proteins, sauces with wheat-derived thickeners, and lots more. 🥘
However, unlike many places we’ve looked at, with simple substitutes and gluten-sensitive noodles, you could easily make them safe, but even then, as our Noodles and Company gluten-free menu guide shows, cross-contamination is tough to ignore.
Table of Contents
Disclaimer
Speaking of, it is worth bearing in mind that Noodles and Company doesn’t operate dedicated gluten-free kitchens, and as such, cross-contamination is a very real possibility, particularly when you take into account trace gluten exposure. 👉🚫🌾
Therefore, even if you’re looking at a specific menu item that doesn’t naturally include any wheat in its ingredients list, in addition to any other glutenous components, such as rye, barley, malt, and/or oats, that doesn’t mean it’s celiac-safe. ⚠️
Owing to Noodles and Company relying heavily on shared kitchen spaces, including shared cookware, cutting boards, serving utensils, toasters, fryers, blenders, pots, as well as ladles and woks, even wheat-free items could still pick up traces of gluten.
For this reason alone, and just to be extra, super-duper safe, it’s not a bad idea to treat even the safest, most “gluten-friendly” items on Noodles and Company’s menu more like “gluten-sensitive” rather than being 100% “gluten-free”, as there’s no guarantee.
To make things even more challenging for celiacs, just like in most restaurants, Noodles and Company doesn’t really test its menu items to meet the FDA’s fairly strict <20 ppm threshold for food and drink items to be labeled as certified “gluten-free”.
As always, if you are a celiac or have a severe gluten intolerance or sensitivity, remember to inform the staff about your dietary restrictions and ask for extra precautions, such as using fresh gloves, clean utensils, separate plating, and no shared scoops.
To drive home the importance of being cautious when you’re dining at or ordering from your local Noodles and Company location, especially as a celiac, here’s what the brand has to say about cross-contact risks and how they accommodate special diets:
Made with ingredients that do not contain gluten. Although we can prepare dishes with ingredients that do not contain gluten, we cannot guarantee any of our dishes are completely gluten-free due to potential cross contact during cooking. Due to the nature of our concept, our restaurant environments contain gluten and we cannot fully eliminate all risk of cross contact that is innately within our cooking processes. If you are highly allergic or intolerant to gluten, we recommend checking with your physician before dining here.
Noodles and Company Allergen Policy (Gluten-Free)
On that front, at least Noodles and Company makes it a smidge simpler for people like us to look through their entire menu beforehand, filter out every single menu item that’s not safe, and figure out which ones are instead. 📑✍️📝
This starts by heading over to the official Noodles and Company website, and once you’re on the homepage, click or tap on the “Menu” button on the top-most navigation bar, or maybe scroll a bit further down and click on the “View Full Menu” button.
Doing this will load up Noodles and Company’s online menu page, and from here, you could view every item on their menu, which includes tiny icons (you could find the legend near the bottom of the page) to tell you if it’s spicy or if it meets a vegetarian diet.
Best of all, for celiacs and folks out there with a severe gluten intolerance or sensitivity, you could also find a tiny symbol (which looks like a wheat stalk with a cross symbol on top of it), which would quickly let you know if a specific item is “gluten-sensitive”. 🚫🌾
If that still isn’t enough and you’d like even more detail, right at the very bottom of Noodles and Company’s online menu page, you’ll find a section here on “Additional Resources”, with quite a few extra links and resources that might come in handy:
- Nutrition, Allergen & Lifestyle Calculator – This is probably the most helpful link there is, as it loads a special widget where you can quickly filter out the entire menu based on your diet, or whether you’re allergic, intolerant, or are sensitive to anything, such as wheat and gluten.
- Allergen Information Chart – Speaking of, that widget from earlier also has a special allergen chart, which offers you an alternative way to filter through Noodles and Company’s menu, so for any celiacs out there, just skip any menu item that contains wheat and gluten allergens.
- Nutrition Information Chart – Okay, this isn’t that useful if you’re still trying to comb through Noodles and Company’s menus to find something safe to eat, but if you’re conscious of your dietary intake, this will give you a breakdown of all the nutritional info you’d really need.
- Ingredient Statement – Or, if you prefer the old-fashioned way, you could also check out their entire ingredients list, which includes individual components used for every single dish on the menu, so if you’re a celiac, watch out for ingredients like wheat flour, malted barley, etc.
Culinary Classics & Chef-Curated with Protein
Of course, there’s no better place to start off than Noodles and Company’s signature staples, their massive selection of noodle-based dishes, and while most of these are heavily based on wheat, they could easily be modified to be a bit safer! 🍜🍝
⚠️ Basil Pesto Cavatappi
❌ Chili Garlic Ramen
✅ Pad Thai
❌ Japanese Pan Noodles
⚠️ Buttery Parmesan Noodles
⚠️ Pasta Fresca
❌ Roasted Garlic Cream Tortelloni
⚠️ Rigatoni Rosa with Parmesan Chicken
❌ Spicy Korean Steak Noodles
⚠️ Crispy Chicken Bacon Alfredo
⚠️ Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine
⚠️ Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi
⚠️ Chicken Parmesan
⚠️ Spaghetti & Meatballs
⚠️ Chipotle Chicken Cavatappi
Just to make sure we didn’t miss anything, here’s what each of these dishes is made of:
Basil Pesto Cavatappi: Creamy basil-pesto tossed with cavatappi pasta, olive oil, Parmesan, and herbs. Just swap the standard cavatappi for the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle to avoid wheat, and ask for clean utensils and the sauce ladle swapped for extra safety.
Chili Garlic Ramen: Wheat ramen noodles in a spicy chili-garlic broth with aromatics and scallions. The broth and the noodles contain wheat by ingredient and recipe, plus shared noodle pots increase cross-contact risk, so avoid this if you need to be strictly gluten-free.
Pad Thai: Rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce, eggs, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Made from rice noodles by recipe and ingredient, it’s naturally wheat-free, though you should still ask that the wok and utensils be cleaned to reduce trace cross-contact in busy kitchens.
Japanese Pan Noodles: Thick wheat pan noodles stir-fried with vegetables and savory sauce. These are made with wheat noodles and often use shared woks and ladles for multiple sauces, so they’re unsafe for strict gluten avoidance unless the location confirms separate prep.
Buttery Parmesan Noodles: Rich butter and Parmesan tossed with egg noodles and cracked pepper. Remember to swap the egg noodle for the pipette gluten-sensitive noodles to remove any wheat, and ask the staff to prep on a clean surface and to use fresh utensils for plating.
Pasta Fresca: Rigatoni with bright tomato, herbs, and a light sauce, and it’s a pretty simple pasta dish. Plus, you could replace the rigatoni with the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle to make it safe, and request separate sauce ladles and a fresh plate to lower cross-contact risk.
Roasted Garlic Cream Tortelloni: Cheese-filled Tortelloni in a roasted garlic cream sauce. Tortelloni are wheat-based stuffed pastas and are prepared with other dough products, so this item contains gluten and is not suitable for celiacs without a proper substitute.
Rigatoni Rosa with Parmesan Chicken: Rigatoni in a creamy tomato rosa sauce topped with Parmesan chicken. Just swap to the pipette noodles and request grilled chicken instead of the Parmesan breaded chicken to make it substantially safer for gluten-sensitive diners.
Spicy Korean Steak Noodles: Wheat-based noodles stir-fried with spicy Korean glaze and sliced steak. The noodles and many of the sauces contain wheat or wheat-derived soy additives, and shared woks increase cross-contact, so avoid unless the restaurant confirms gluten-free prep.
Crispy Chicken Bacon Alfredo: Breaded Parmesan chicken and bacon over fettuccine with Alfredo sauce. To make it safe, choose the grilled chicken option (or any other safe protein) and the pipette noodle option. However, remember that the breaded chicken and the shared fryers are the primary gluten hazards to watch out for.
Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine: Fettuccine tossed in a Cajun cream sauce with seasoned shrimp. All you need to do to make this safe is replace the fettuccine with the pipette noodle from earlier to remove wheat from the pasta, and confirm that the sauce contains no wheat thickeners, while also asking for fresh utensils for assembly to reduce cross-contact.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi: Fettuccine with lemon-garlic shrimp and buttery sauce. Just remember to swap in the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle and ask for clean plating and no shared pasta scoops. Also, verify that the sauce contains no wheat-based thickeners before ordering if you’re highly sensitive.
Chicken Parmesan: Breaded Parmesan chicken served with rigatoni and marinara. Make sure that you order the grilled chicken and a pipette noodle swap, as with some of the other dishes from earlier, to make it safer for celiacs, as the standard Parmesan chicken is breaded with wheat, and the default rigatoni is wheat-based, so both need to go.
Spaghetti & Meatballs: Classic spaghetti with meatballs and marinara. Just replace the default spaghetti option with the pipette noodle, and swap the oven-roasted meatballs for grilled chicken, steak, or sautéed shrimp to avoid wheat in the meatball binder. Plus, to be extra safe, you could request separate prep and clean utensils.
Chipotle Chicken Cavatappi: Smoky chipotle pasta with cavatappi and chicken. To make it safe, you need to swap out the wheat-based cavatappi for the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle to avoid the primary wheat component, and ask for grilled (not breaded) chicken. You should also double-check the Chipotle sauce for hidden wheat thickeners, too.
Despite their vast lineup of wheat-forward pastas, most of these pasta entrées can be made safer by swapping in Noodles and Company’s gluten-sensitive pipette noodles and choosing grilled proteins, though be wary of cross-contamination. 🍲🥡
Mac & Cheese, Salad & Soup
Aside from the many noodle dishes that we looked at earlier, there’s still more within their huge menu if you want something a bit different at Noodles and Company, including a big variety of macaroni and cheese dishes, salads, and soups! 🍜🧀🍝
⚠️ Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese
⚠️ Buffalo Chicken Ranch Mac & Cheese
⚠️ Pulled Pork BBQ Mac & Cheese
⚠️ Garlic Bacon Crunch Mac & Cheese
⚠️ Chicken Caesar Salad
⚠️ Mediterranean Chicken Salad
❌ Chicken Noodle Soup
❌ Baguette
Let’s break these dishes down and take a closer peek at what they’re actually made of:
Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese: Classic elbow pasta tossed in a rich cheddar sauce. By default, this dish contains wheat pasta, but swap the elbow for the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle and request dedicated utensils to make it suitable for gluten-sensitive diners.
Buffalo Chicken Ranch Mac & Cheese: Spicy buffalo chicken folded into mac and cheese with a ranch finish. Replace the elbow with the pipette noodle like earlier, and remember to swap the Parmesan chicken for grilled chicken (or any other safe protein), and skip the crispy onions to reduce cross-contact risk.
Pulled Pork BBQ Mac & Cheese: Smoked pulled pork and BBQ sauce layered into cheesy pasta. The standard elbow noodle contains wheat, so request the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle instead, and omit the crispy onion topping. You should also ask staff to use clean utensils to avoid shared-batch contamination.
Garlic Bacon Crunch Mac & Cheese: Smoky bacon and crunchy garlic topping over creamy mac. Swap the elbow pasta for the pipette gluten-sensitive noodle option, and skip the crispy onions/crumbly crunch add-on. To be extra safe, you should also ask that the bacon be plated separately or handled with fresh gloves to lower cross-contact.
Chicken Caesar Salad: Romaine, Parmesan, and Caesar dressing served with garlic butter croutons by default. Remember to ask for no croutons, and confirm that the dressing contains no wheat stabilizers. You could also request separate tossing and a fresh utensil to reduce cross-contamination risks on the line.
Mediterranean Chicken Salad: Mixed greens with olives, feta, and cavatappi for texture by default. Remember to request the salad without the wheat-based cavatappi noodle and omit garlic & butter croutons. Additionally, you could ask the staff to assemble on a clean surface and use fresh gloves for the safest result.
Chicken Noodle Soup: Traditional broth with egg spaghetti-style noodles and shredded chicken. The soup uses wheat-based noodles and shared ladles, so it’s not suitable for celiacs unless the restaurant offers a certified gluten-free noodle and strict dedicated prep, which they typically do not.
Baguette: Oven-baked wheat bread served as a side. This item contains gluten by recipe and ingredient, and it’s also prepared alongside other wheat-based bakery items, so it’s unsafe for celiacs and cannot reasonably be modified to be gluten-free.
Thankfully, most of these could be adapted for gluten-sensitive diets by replacing the wheat pasta with gluten-sensitive pipette noodles, and carefully omitting from the salads their glutenous croutons and crunchy, crispy onion toppings to make them safe. 🥗
Sides & Desserts
Whether to complement your entrée or if you’re looking for something lighter, you can find plenty of side dishes and desserts, which include tempting bakery treats and smaller plates, and while some aren’t safe, a few of them actually are. 🧀🥗🍲
❌ Potstickers
❌ Cheesy Garlic Bread
❌ Korean BBQ Meatballs
✅ Garden Salad
⚠️ Caesar Salad
❌ Side of Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese
✅ Lemon Parmesan Broccoli
❌ Side of Chicken Noodle Soup
❌ Rice Crispy
❌ Chocolate Chunk Cookie
❌ Snoodle Doodle Cookie
Just so we’re absolutely sure that some of these are properly safe, let’s take a closer look:
Potstickers: Steamed or pan-fried dumplings wrapped in wheat flour skins, usually filled with pork or vegetables. The wrapper contains gluten, and they’re also often prepared on shared surfaces, so potstickers are unsafe for celiacs and highly gluten-intolerant diners.
Cheesy Garlic Bread: Sliced baguette or ciabatta topped with garlic butter and melted cheese. This is a straight bakery item made from wheat-based bread and toasted on shared grills, so it’s unsafe for anyone who must avoid gluten strictly.
Korean BBQ Meatballs: Seasoned meatballs often bound with breadcrumbs or even wheat-containing fillers, and then finished in a thick sauce. Because of binder ingredients and shared prep, these meatballs are not safe for celiacs without a certified gluten-free recipe.
Garden Salad: Mixed greens, fresh veggies, and a simple dressing by default. The salad is naturally wheat-free by ingredients, but remember to ask the staff to assemble it away from the croutons and with clean tongs to minimize cross-contact for sensitive diners.
Caesar Salad: Romaine, Parmesan, and Caesar dressing served with garlic & butter croutons by default. Request the salad without croutons and confirm the dressing has no wheat stabilizers, while also asking for separate tossing and fresh utensils to reduce cross-contact risk.
Side of Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese: Smaller portion of elbow pasta in cheddar sauce. The standard elbow contains wheat, but unlike the regular-sized Mac & Cheese dishes that we looked at earlier, you can’t swap the elbow noodles for the gluten-sensitive pipette noodles.
Lemon Parmesan Broccoli: Steamed or roasted broccoli finished with lemon and grated Parmesan. This vegetable side is naturally free of wheat ingredients and low-risk, though request separate tongs and plating away from breaded items to avoid trace contamination.
Side of Chicken Noodle Soup: Broth with shredded chicken and egg or wheat noodles. The soup uses wheat-based noodles and shared ladles, making it unsafe for strict gluten avoidance unless Noodles and Company starts offering these with a gluten-sensitive noodle option.
Rice Crispy: Marshmallow rice crispy bar or treat often made with malt flavoring (barley) or prepared in shared bakery lines. Because of the malt and the shared equipment concerns, these bakery treats are unsafe for celiacs and highly sensitive diners.
Chocolate Chunk Cookie: Bakery-style cookie made from wheat flour, sugar, and chocolate. Baked alongside other pastries and handled on shared trays, this dessert contains gluten and should be avoided by anyone requiring a gluten-free diet.
Snoodle Doodle Cookie: Soft, cinnamon-sugar style bakery cookie made from wheat flour. As a wheat-based pastry baked and handled with other bakery items, this cookie is 100% unsafe for celiacs and those needing strict gluten avoidance.
It’s nice to see that you can get a few genuinely low-risk sides at Noodles and Company, like the Garden Salad and Lemon-Parmesan Broccoli, though it doesn’t change the fact that the majority of their sides and desserts aren’t celiac-friendly. 🍪🍫🍩
Kids Meals
If you’re bringing some kids along, then great news, as the Kids Meals over at Noodles and Company, consisting of mainly simple comfort plates, could be made safe by swapping out their wheat pastas and breaded proteins. 🍜🍝🥡🍛
⚠️ Buttery Parmesan Noodles
⚠️ Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese
⚠️ Spaghetti & Meatballs
✅ Grilled Chicken Breast with Marinara
Let’s now break these dishes down in much more detail and check out how they’re made:
Buttery Parmesan Noodles: Rich butter and Parmesan tossed with egg noodles. Remember to swap to the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle to avoid wheat, ask for fresh utensils and a clean pot, and skip any breadcrumb or crispy onion toppings to reduce cross-contact.
Creamy Cheddar Mac & Cheese: Classic elbow pasta in a creamy cheddar sauce. Make sure to swap to the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle, and ask staff to omit crispy onion toppings, while also ensuring that the serving spoon and bowl are fresh to minimise cross-contact with wheat-based pastas.
Spaghetti & Meatballs: Traditional spaghetti and oven-roasted meatballs served in tomato sauce. Once again, all you need to do is swap to the pipette noodle and omit the meatballs (they often contain breadcrumbs), and request separate pots and utensils to lower cross-contact.
Grilled Chicken Breast with Marinara: Simply seasoned grilled chicken topped with marinara. By recipe and ingredient, this dish contains no wheat, but double-check the sauce and request separate plating and utensils to avoid contamination from nearby pasta or bakery items.
By simply swapping to the gluten-sensitive pipette noodles and omitting meatballs, all you need to worry about now, after removing the primary wheat components, is looking out for cross-contamination risks from shared prep. 🍞🥩👉🌾
Drinks
Like most restaurants, Noodles and Company’s drinks menu is largely low-risk for celiacs, as they mostly consist of bottled sodas, brewed teas, juices, and milk, and ingredient-wise, you would find that all of them are naturally wheat-free. 🍵🥤☕️
✅ Coca-Cola Freestyle Beverage
✅ Unsweetened Tea
✅ Spindrift Sparkling Water – Orange Mango
✅ Spindrift Sparkling Water – Raspberry Lime
✅ Spindrift Sparkling Water – Lime
✅ IZZE Strawberry
✅ IZZE Apple
✅ IZZE Blackberry
✅ IZZE Clementine
✅ Dasani Water
✅ Coke de Mexico
✅ Gold Peak Sweet Tea
✅ Gold Peak Green Tea
✅ smartwater
✅ Organic Apple Juice
✅ Organic Fruit Punch
✅ Organic Lowfat Milk
✅ Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk
Just to be extra safe, let’s nonetheless take a closer look at each beverage here to be sure:
Coca-Cola Freestyle Beverage: Freestyle fountains mix syrup pumps with tons of unique flavors. The syrups themselves contain no wheat, but shared nozzles and pumps could introduce trace gluten contamination, so ask the staff to wipe the nozzle or choose a sealed bottled alternative when possible.
Unsweetened Tea: Brewed tea is free of wheat ingredients and a straightforward, low-risk choice. Remember to request a fresh pour away from the pastry stations and confirm that there are no added flavored syrups to avoid cross-contact from shared pumps or spoons.
Spindrift Sparkling Water – Orange Mango: Bottle or can of sparkling water flavored with real fruit. Factory-sealed Spindrift is ingredient-simple and very low-risk for cross-contact, and pick the sealed bottle for maximum safety when dining out as a celiac.
Spindrift Sparkling Water – Raspberry Lime: Real-fruit flavored sparkling water in a sealed bottle. The product itself contains no wheat ingredients, and sealed packaging eliminates fountain/nozzle concerns and makes it a reliable, low-risk drink at restaurants for gluten-sensitive diners.
Spindrift Sparkling Water – Lime: Lime-flavored, fruit-forward sparkling water sold in sealed bottles. It’s gluten-free by ingredient, and it’s also pretty well-suited for celiacs who prefer minimal cross-contact risk, but always opt for factory-sealed containers when available.
IZZE Strawberry: Sparkling fruit beverage sold in bottles or cans. Made from fruit juice and carbonated water with no wheat ingredients, though choose the factory-sealed containers to avoid any dispenser or pump cross-contact in foodservice settings.
IZZE Apple: Apple-flavored sparkling beverage with a short ingredient list and no wheat. Bottled IZZE offers a very low cross-contact risk, and if it’s served from a tap, make sure to ask the staff about the cleanliness of the nozzle before pouring.
IZZE Blackberry: Blackberry-flavored sparkling beverage that’s naturally wheat-free. Sealed cans or bottles are a safe option, and when requesting a fountain pour, request a wiped nozzle to reduce the already-small risk of cross-contact from adjacent dispensers.
IZZE Clementine: Citrusy clementine soda with simple, fruit-forward ingredients and no wheat. As with other bottled sodas, sealed packaging is the safest option for celiac diners to avoid any dispenser-related contamination.
Dasani Water: Factory-sealed bottled water with zero gluten ingredients. Bottled water is the safest beverage choice for celiacs since it avoids shared dispensers, syrup pumps, and kitchen handling that could introduce trace contaminants.
Coke de Mexico: Glass-bottled Coca-Cola that is often sweetened with cane sugar. The glass bottle format and simple ingredient list make this a reliably low-risk choice for people avoiding gluten, and a sealed glass minimizes any dispenser cross-contact concerns.
Gold Peak Sweet Tea: Bottled brewed sweet tea with no wheat in its recipe. Sealed Gold Peak bottles are low risk for cross-contact, and if served from a dispenser, remember to ask the staff to confirm syrup composition and wipe the nozzle beforehand.
Gold Peak Green Tea: Bottled brewed green tea with a straightforward ingredient list and no wheat. Factory-sealed bottles are the lowest-risk option and avoid shared fountain or pump contamination common in busy kitchens.
smartwater: Electrolyte-enhanced, factory-sealed bottled water with no wheat ingredients. smartwater is a safe, zero-risk beverage choice for celiac diners, and the sealed packaging keeps it free from kitchen cross-contact and dispenser issues.
Organic Apple Juice: Sealed organic apple juice cartons or bottles with no wheat ingredients. Factory-sealed juice is a very safe option for celiacs, as it avoids shared dispensers, pumps, and any back-of-house handling that could introduce crumbs.
Organic Fruit Punch: Prepackaged organic fruit punch without wheat ingredients. Choose the factory-sealed bottle or carton to remove any dispenser or pump cross-contact risk, and sealed packaging is ideal for anyone with celiac disease.
Organic Lowfat Milk: Sealed low-fat milk cartons with straightforward dairy ingredients. Milk itself contains no gluten, and sealed cartons are a very low cross-contact risk, though confirm that any flavored milks or additives are wheat-free if used.
Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk: Chocolate milk in sealed cartons or bottles. All of the base ingredients here are typically wheat-free, but check the labels for flavoring additives, and sealed packaging offers the safest option to avoid cross-contact in the serving area.
While Noodles and Company’s countless beverage options might be naturally free of wheat, remember to be wary of cross-contamination, so check that the staff have wiped down their fountain nozzles, use clean syrup pumps, and clean dispensers. 🧃
To Sum Up
Typically, restaurants whose menus are brimming with noodles, whether Italian or Asian, do not pair well with celiacs and anyone with a severe gluten intolerance or sensitivity, since it’s well-known that most noodle varieties are made out of wheat. 🍜🍝
Even rice-based noodles are then mixed with wheat or other glutenous components, which is going to render them unsafe regardless. So, upon first coming across Noodles and Company, it’s safe to assume that they’re an absolute nightmare for celiacs. 🍲🍚
Oh, how wrong I was, because after checking out their menu in full, it turns out that you can dine on noodles, but come out alive on the other end. The simple addition of gluten-sensitive noodle alternatives, as well as other substitutes, is their USP. 🍛🥗
Granted, you still have to watch out for cross-contact risks, which remains a real hazard, but for the most part, if you order really carefully, Noodles and Company is more than pleased to offer you a plate full of delectable, celiac-friendly noodles! 🙌
In the meantime, if you want recommendations on other restaurants with plenty of gluten-free items, make sure to stay tuned to us here at Great Without Gluten for even more celiac-friendly and gluten-free eating out guides! ✍📝
And, 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 other celiacs-friendly, gluten-free dining out guides to LongHorn, Pei Wei, Wendy’s, Cheddar’s, Bob Evans, BJ’s, Maggiano’s, Carrabba’s, MOD Pizza, Little Caesars, Qdoba, Whataburger, Tim Hortons, Arby’s, In-N-Out, Del Taco, Baskin-Robbins, El Pollo Loco, and more! 🍔🍟🍗
Stay safe and gluten‑aware, my celiac friends! 💖🥗
Frequently Asked Questions
While working on this Noodles and Company gluten-free menu guide, I came across a few pretty interesting questions floating around popular food forums, so here’s what I think of them:
Is Noodles and Company gluten-free?
Nope! Noodles and Company is not a certified gluten-free kitchen. Some dishes (like Pad Thai) are wheat-free by ingredient, and many of their pasta dishes can be made gluten-sensitive by swapping to the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle, but cross-contact on shared lines is possible.
What Noodles and Company menu items are safest for celiacs?
The safest items here by recipe and ingredient would be their Pad Thai, grilled proteins (plain), salads without croutons, and most bottled drinks. For pasta dishes, request the pipette noodle and omit crispy onions and croutons, but as always, you should still approach with caution.
Can Noodles and Company accommodate celiac diners?
They can often accommodate special modifications, such as swapping wheat-based noodles for gluten-sensitive pipette noodles, omitting crunchy toppings, and choosing safe grilled proteins. Always tell the staff that you have celiac disease, and ask them to use fresh gloves and a clean set of utensils, and confirm they can plate or prepare your order away from wheat items.
Which sauces, toppings, or add-ons should I avoid at Noodles and Company?
Make sure you avoid the breaded proteins, crispy onions, garlic-butter croutons, and any pasta or dishes that use regular wheat noodles unless you swap to the pipette noodle option. It’s also a good idea to check sauces for hidden thickeners, and skip any crunchy or battered add-ons.
How should I order to minimize cross-contact at Noodles and Company?
First up, inform the staff about any dietary restrictions, and ask for the gluten-sensitive pipette noodle instead of any wheat-based noodles, ask for no croutons or crispy onions, request fresh gloves and clean utensils, and ask staff to plate your meal separately to reduce cross-contact.
Photo Credit
M.O. Stevens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Becky ✍️
Hi, I am Becky. I am a passionate recipe maker and having been a coeliac (celiac) for 30+ years I focus on gluten-free recipes. My blog is my online cookbook of gluten-free tasty recipes. You can follow me on X: @beckygwg
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