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Ultimate Culver’s Gluten-Free Menu Guide For 2025

With a delicious selection of juicy burgers, boiled entrées, crispy salads, and sides, check out our Culver’s gluten-free guide to see what’s safe for celiacs.

Maybe it’s their iconic ButterBurgers, the signature Wisconsin Cheese Curds, or their Concrete Mixer, but Culver’s has a never-ending variety of special, mouthwatering fan favorites. 🍔🧀🍟

That said, celiacs and folks who are gluten intolerant beware, as fast food can be pretty tricky when it comes to wheat and gluten, and it’s no different when you’re dining out at Culver’s.

Most of their most well-known menu items, such as their burgers, chicken sandwiches, cheese curds, seafood dishes, and most of their sides, contain wheat and gluten ingredients. 🥪

To make things worse, with shared grills, fryers, and prep stations, your usual Culver’s kitchen environment could put even gluten-free items at risk of cross-contamination.

Still, at least celiacs aren’t completely out of gluten-friendly options, such as salads, sides, and custards, and you could even customize your ButterBurger to be served with a GF bun, too.

Alas, given that their buns, batters, and most of their toppings contain wheat, let our Culver’s gluten-free menu guide walk you through this minefield, and figure out what’s safe to order.

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Disclaimer

It’s important to bear in mind that Culver’s does not operate a dedicated, gluten-free kitchen, and all of their menu items are prepped and made on shared equipment and kitchen spaces.

Plus, none of their recipes and ingredients have been tested to meet the FDA’s <20 ppm strict threshold for any food item or drink to be labelled and classified ‘certified gluten-free’. ✍📝

This means that even their safest dishes, made without any wheat or gluten ingredients, may still pick up trace gluten and cross-contamination from the fryers, grills, and shared utensils. 🚫🌾

Speaking of, if you have celiac disease, you always have the option of letting your servers and even the kitchen staff know about your condition and other special dietary needs, too. 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳

With that information at hand, they might take extra precautions when preparing your order, such as using fresh gloves, clean equipment, and prep surfaces that have been wiped down.

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Culver’s Allergen Policy (Gluten-Free)

But hey, at least Culver’s does make it very easy for you to filter out their menu and figure out what you should order, and you could start by heading over to the Culver’s website. 🖥️🖱️🌐

Once you’re on the Culver’s homepage, scroll all the way down, then click on that ‘Nutrition & Allergen Guide’ link to open up the official Culver’s Nutrition & Allergen Guide page. 🚫🌾

This would soon load up a pretty neat little widget where you could browse through its entire menu in full, and every single menu item here to figure out the nutritional data for each one.

Click on each item, and here, you could count the calories, fat, cholesterol, carbs, protein, etc., if you’re concerned about your daily intake, and crucially, this is where it lists the allergens.

• The ‘Allergen Info’ section for each menu item mentions whether it contains any of the major allergens classified by the FDA, such as peanuts and milk, including the full ingredients list!
• For celiacs, if you have a non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or if you’re gluten intolerant, then what we should be paying attention to are menu items that contain ‘Wheat’ and ‘Gluten’. ✍📝
• Avoid ordering anything that contains wheat and gluten, and to make searching around way easier, click on ‘Lifestyle & Allergen Filter’, and then select ‘Avoid Wheat’ and ‘Avoid Gluten’.
• This is a speedier way to filter out the entire Culver’s menu to omit all items that contain any wheat and gluten, and just to be safe, you could also select ‘Avoid Cross Contact’, as well.

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ButterBurgers

There’s no better place to start off the Culver’s menu than their ButterBurgers, featuring a savory concoction of premium beef patties, which are seared in real butter. 🥩🧈

While Culver’s ButterBurgers come on wheat buns by default, you could customize them and swap in Rotella’s gluten-free bun, available at many locations, and make it celiac-friendly. 🍔

⚠️ The Culver’s Deluxe
⚠️ The Culver’s Bacon Deluxe
⚠️ ButterBurger Cheese
⚠️ ButterBurger
⚠️ Mushroom & Swiss
⚠️ Sourdough Melt
⚠️ Wisconsin Swiss Melt

Just to be extra safe, let’s check out what these ButterBurgers are made of and see how they compare against the rest:

The Culver’s Deluxe: ButterBurger patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles on a Rotella’s gluten-free bun, though remember to request clean grill surfaces and fresh gloves, too.

The Culver’s Bacon Deluxe: ButterBurger topped with applewood bacon, cheese, and veggies on that gluten-free bun substitute, and remember to ask staff to wipe down the prep area.

ButterBurger Cheese: Classic butter‑seared patty with American cheese on a gluten‑free bun, but I’d suggest omitting the ketchup packets that are handled on shared counters.

ButterBurger: Simple butter-seared beef patty on a gluten‑free bun, but ensure that the bun comes from a sealed package and request clean utensils to minimize cross-contamination.

Mushroom & Swiss: ButterBurger with sautéed mushrooms and Swiss cheese on a gluten‑free bun, though verify with staff that the mushroom skillet is wiped clean of any trace gluten.

Sourdough Melt: Two beef patties, Swiss, grilled onions on a gluten‑free bun, though since the sourdough bread needs to be replaced, confirm that there’s no residue left in the griddle.

Wisconsin Swiss Melt: Two patties, Swiss, Wisconsin cheese sauce on a gluten‑free bun, and I suggest asking the staff for a fresh griddle wipe to avoid any crumbs or cross-contact risks.

In short, while Culver’s ButterBurgers come with mostly wheat-based buns by default, you can customize your order to top off all that meat and toppings with Rotella’s gluten-free bun. 🧀

Swapping out those wheat buns isn’t enough to make your ButterBurger gluten-friendly, so it’s a good idea to request that staff take extra precautions to better minimize cross-contact. 🥪

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Chicken

If chicken is more your thing instead of beef, the Culver’s menu has a pretty great selection of chicken dishes, too, and with some customization, at least one is safe. 🥪🔥🍗

With a hearty variety of broiled and breaded chicken entrees, only the broiled options can be celiac-friendly, but only if you swap out the usual wheat buns with Rotella’s GF buns. 🚫🌾

⚠️ Grilled Chicken Sandwich
❌ Crispy Chicken Sandwich
❌ Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich
❌ Original Chicken Tenders
❌ Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Let’s take a deeper look at each of these poultry meals to see why most of them didn’t make it into my shortlist:

Grilled Chicken Sandwich: Seasoned, broiled chicken breast on a Rotella’s gluten-free bun, and it’s available as an option versus the regular wheat-based buns. Just be sure you request clean grill surfaces, fresh gloves, and a sealed gluten-free bun for a celiac-safe order.

Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Breaded, deep‑fried chicken filet on a wheat bun. However, this item contains wheat flour in the breading itself, and it cannot be made gluten‑free, even if you swap out the default wheat bun for Rotella’s gluten-free bun.

Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Breaded chicken tossed in spicy coating on a wheat bun, which, once again, you’ll find wheat in the breading and the seasoning itself, making it unsuitable for celiacs, regardless of the choice of bun that you order it with.

Original Chicken Tenders: Hand‑breaded chicken strips, with wheat flour in the batter, not to mention the cross‑contamination that comes from using a shared fryer (with shared fryer oil), and it cannot be made gluten‑friendly.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders: Breaded tenders tossed in Buffalo sauce, but since it’s breaded with wheat flour, it’s unsafe for gluten‑free diets and celiacs alike, in addition to the cross-contact risks that come with shared fryer oil.

This basically means that there is only a single chicken meal here that could be made gluten-friendly, if you swap out the regular wheat-based buns for Rotella’s gluten-free buns. 🥯🍖

Even then, remember to double-check for any cross-contamination, ask the staff for any extra precautionary steps, and omit all that (wheat flour) breaded chicken coating, too. 🌾

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Seafood

Otherwise, if you’re craving a taste of the sea, the Culver’s menu has a variety of seafood dishes, too, but alas, not a single one here is made for GF diets in mind. 🎣🚫🌾

Culver’s seafood offerings are all served either with wheat-based breading or they’re beer-battered, adding more wheat (not to mention cross-contamination) into each meal.

❌ North Atlantic Cod Sandwich
❌ North Atlantic Cod Dinner
❌ Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp Dinner
❌ Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp

Nevertheless, let’s check out what each of these seafood meals is made of and see why they are a terrible match for celiacs:

North Atlantic Cod Sandwich: Beer-battered cod filet on a wheat bun, and both the batter and the bun contain wheat flour, alongside shared fryer oil, posing even more cross-contamination risk, too. While the wheat bun could be swapped out for Rotella’s, it’s not enough.

North Atlantic Cod Dinner: Two beer-battered cod filets, fries, and a roll, and when you take into account the batter, roll, and the shared fryer, this entire meal is off‑limits for celiacs.

Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp Dinner: Breaded jumbo shrimp, fries, and a roll, though the shrimp coating and the roll contain wheat, as well as shared oil, adding extra cross‑contact risks.

Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp: A la carte breaded jumbo shrimp, but between the wheat‑flour batter and the shared fryer oil, this is unsafe for gluten-free diets and celiacs like me, alike.

Suffice it to say, if you’re gluten intolerant, avoid all of Culver’s seafood items, given that they rely solely on wheat-based batters, buns, and rolls, with no celiac-friendly substitutes. 🥯🍤

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Sandwiches

If you’re still starving for even more of Culver’s sandwiches, then awesome news: the Culver’s menu isn’t done just yet, with even more classic sandwiches to come. 🥪🍖🧀

Best of all, they could be made gluten-friendly thanks to Rotella’s gluten-free buns, except for their corn dogs, which are made with a wheat-based batter and are not safe. 🥩🌽

⚠️ Beef Pot Roast
⚠️ Grilled Reuben Melt
⚠️ Pork Loin
⚠️ Harvest Veggie Burger
⚠️ Grilled Cheese
❌ Corn Dog

Let’s take a closer look and figure out what these classic sandwiches are made of, and check if they’ll make it into my recommended list:

Beef Pot Roast: Slow-cooked roast beef served on a bun, and it’s gluten-friendly once you swap in Rotella’s gluten‑free bun and request clean prep surfaces to reduce any cross-contact.

Grilled Reuben Melt: Corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut on rye, but remember to order it on that gluten-free bun instead of rye, and ask for a wiped-down griddle to avoid crumbs.

Pork Loin: Breaded or glazed pork loin on a bun, and as usual, make sure you swap to Rotella’s gluten-free bun, and confirm that the bun is sealed and that all the prep areas are cleaned.

Harvest Veggie Burger: Plant-based patty with greens and sauce on a bun, though remember to replace the wheat bun with a GF bun, and verify that the patty contains no hidden wheat.

Grilled Cheese: American cheese melted between two slices of wheat bread by default, but it’s possible to customize this order to include Rotella’s gluten-free bread instead.

Corn Dog: Hot dog in a cornmeal‑wheat batter, and the batter contains wheat flour, before it’s then fried in shared fryer oil, making this a no-go for celiacs, or if you have gluten intolerance.

It’s nice to see Culver’s continuing to offer those gluten-free bun options, barring any risk of cross-contact, and at least you can try making your order a bit more gluten-friendly. 🥩🍖

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Sides

There’s no better complement to your entrees than the many sides that you could order from the Culver’s menu, including everything from crispy fries to fresh salads. 🍟🥗

Nonetheless, only a handful of them are gluten-friendly by ingredient, and it’s best to keep an eye out for any cross-contamination, especially those shared fryers and prep stations. 🧀🥔

⚠️ Crinkle Cut Fries
❌ Wisconsin Cheese Curds
❌ Onion Rings
❌ Pretzel Bites
❌ George’s Chili
❌ George’s Chili Supreme
⚠️ Chili Cheddar Fries
✅ Steamed Broccoli
❌ Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
✅ Coleslaw
✅ Applesauce
✅ Side of Pickles

For a comparison with the rest of the line-up here in the Culver’s menu, let’s take a peek at what each side here is made of:

Crinkle Cut Fries: Classic seasoned fries, with no wheat in the recipe. However, it shares fryers with battered items, so request fresh fryer oil to minimize trace gluten cross‑contamination.

Wisconsin Cheese Curds: Battered and fried in wheat flour, making this unsafe for gluten‑free diets, and for celiacs, as well as folks with severe gluten sensitivities and intolerances.

Onion Rings: Thick-cut onions in wheat-flour batter, which contains gluten, are treated just like all the other battered items here; skip this if you’re trying to maintain a strict gluten-free diet.

Pretzel Bites: Soft pretzel pieces made with wheat dough, and with no gluten-free substitute available, this one is also off-limits to celiacs and anyone here who is gluten intolerant.

George’s Chili: Beef‑and‑bean chili that has been thickened with wheat flour, which contains gluten, and as of writing, this particular menu item cannot be modified either way.

George’s Chili Supreme: Chili topped with cheese and onions, and just like the other Chili dish from earlier, the base chili itself contains wheat, making it hazardous for celiacs.

Chili Cheddar Fries: Fries topped with chili and cheese, and while there’s no wheat used in the recipe and ingredients, like those crinkle cut fries from earlier, be mindful of the fryer oil.

Steamed Broccoli: Fresh broccoli florets, which are naturally gluten‑free, and best of all, it has relatively minimal cross‑contamination if your local Culver’s is using clean steamers.

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy: Potatoes are gluten‑free, but both the brown and sawmill gravies are thickened with wheat flour, sadly making this a no-go for folks who are gluten intolerant.

Coleslaw: Cabbage and carrots in creamy dressing, with no wheat in ingredients, but careful with shared prep utensils, which might introduce some cross-contamination into the mix.

Applesauce: Sealed cups of fruit puree, which are gluten‑free, and there’s minimal handling risk, too. This is one of the safer gluten-friendly items on Culver’s menu today.

Side of Pickles: Dill pickle chips, which are also naturally gluten‑free, but to make it properly safe, ensure that the tongs and the scoop are clean when it’s serving up your pickles.

That said, if you want to stay celiac-safe, stick to the fries, broccoli, coleslaw, applesauce, and the pickles, but always be mindful of cross-contamination with the fryer oil.

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Salads

Amongst all that grease and fat in the Culver’s menu selection, their salads offer up a fairly health-conscious option, and to make them even more appetizing, they’re celiac-safe. 🍓🥬

Culver’s salads are built on fresh greens and toppings, and assuming you omit those croutons, none of them contain any wheat ingredients, though be careful of cross-contamination. 🥗

✅ Strawberry Fields Salad
✅ Chicken Cashew Salad
✅ Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad
✅ Garden Fresco Salad

For context, let’s figure out what makes these salads the ideal gluten-friendly meal within the Culver’s menu:

Strawberry Fields Salad: Mixed greens with fresh strawberries, Feta cheese, and some candied pecans, which are all gluten‑free by recipe. Just remember to ask for any dressings and utensils from a clean station to further minimize any cross‑contamination risk.

Chicken Cashew Salad: Grilled, seasoned chicken breast atop mixed greens with cashews, with some carrots and tomatoes. These also contain no wheat ingredients, though confirm that the slicing board and tongs are wiped clean of any trace gluten and residue.

Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad: Greens topped with dried cranberries, crispy bacon, Bleu cheese crumbles, and candied pecans. Like the other salads here, these are naturally gluten‑free, but ensure that those nuts and toppings are scooped with fresh utensils.

Garden Fresco Salad: A simple mix of greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded carrots, with a bit of cheese, and no gluten ingredients, either. It’s not a bad idea to ask the staff to prepare this for you in a clean area, free from any leftover crouton crumbs.

Some of these salads could be ordered with croutons, so be sure to omit them, and it doesn’t hurt to ask for clean prep surfaces, separate utensils, or a freshly wiped dressing station. 🥦

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Kids’ Meals

For the little ones, the Culver’s menu has a kids’ meal section, too, which offers child-sized entrées from earlier, but with a side and a drink, and some are even gluten-friendly. 🍔

⚠️ Single ButterBurger Cheese Kids’ Meal
⚠️ Single ButterBurger Kids’ Meal
❌ 2 pc Original Chicken Tenders Kids’ Meal
❌ 2 pc Buffalo Chicken Tenders Kids’ Meal
⚠️ Grilled Cheese Kids’ Meal
❌ Corn Dog Kids’ Meal

Just so we’re extra sure, let’s check out whether these kids’ meals deserve to make it into my recommended items list:

Single ButterBurger Cheese Kids’ Meal: Child‑sized ButterBurger with cheese, and after you swap the wheat bun for a Rotella’s gluten‑free bun, you could also request clean prep tools while trying to keep cross-contamination down to a minimum.

Single ButterBurger Kids’ Meal: Plain butter-seared patty on a bun, and you can order it on a gluten‑free bun to keep this celiac-safe. While you’re there, confirm with the staff on using a fresh set of gloves and clean utensils to further reduce cross‑contact.

2 pc Original Chicken Tenders Kids’ Meal: Breaded chicken strips, which contain wheat flour in the coating, not to mention using a shared fryer, making it unsafe if you’re gluten intolerant.

2 pc Buffalo Chicken Tenders Kids’ Meal: Breaded tenders tossed in Buffalo sauce, though it is breaded with wheat flour, and then fried in shared oil, which cannot be made gluten‑free.

Grilled Cheese Kids’ Meal: American cheese between two slices of wheat bread, but the bread contains gluten by default, so remember to swap it with Rotella’s gluten-free bun.

Corn Dog Kids’ Meal: Hot dog in wheat‑flour batter, and just like its bigger counterpart, that batter has gluten, and there’s also the cross-contamination risk from using shared fryers.

Every breaded item here and wheat-bread sandwiches are hazardous for your child if they’re gluten intolerant, but at least a couple of them can be made gluten-friendly. 🥪🧀🌽

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Sauces & Dressings

Be it for your entrees or your sides, the Culver’s menu has a wide range of sauces and dressings for you to pick from, and nearly all of them are gluten-friendly, too! 🌶️🧀🍅

✅ Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce
✅ Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup
✅ Culver’s Signature Sauce
✅ Buttermilk Ranch
✅ Marinara
✅ Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ
✅ Honey Mustard
✅ Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce
✅ Ken’s Boom Boom Sauce
✅ Tartar Sauce
✅ Ken’s Blue Cheese
✅ Culver’s Vinaigrette
✅ Cocktail Sauce
✅ Ken’s Raspberry Vinaigrette
✅ Horseradish
✅ Hot Sauce
❌ Malt Vinegar
✅ Mayo
✅ Yellow Mustard
✅ Salt
✅ Pepper
✅ Butter

Just so we know what to look out for in the future, let’s take a closer look at what makes these sauces and dressings the perfect fit for our needs:

Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce: Creamy cheese sauce with no wheat ingredients.

Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup: Classic ketchup poured from factory-sealed packets.

Culver’s Signature Sauce: Culver’s own burger sauce, but use a fresh ladle to minimize cross-contamination.

Buttermilk Ranch: Buttermilk‑based dressing, which contains no wheat, though remember to ask for a clean dispenser.

Marinara: Tomato‑herb sauce, which is also naturally gluten‑free, though ensure that the spoon or pump is clean.

Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ: Original BBQ sauce, but while it’s a gluten‑free recipe, ask for fresh utensils to minimize cross-contact.

Honey Mustard: Blend of mustard and honey, and it has no wheat ingredients.

Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce: Cayenne pepper sauce, but confirm a clean pump to help minimize any cross-contact risks.

Ken’s Boom Boom Sauce: Mayo‑based tangy sauce, which has no wheat, though use fresh spoons to avoid cross‑contact.

Tartar Sauce: Pickle‑and‑mayo blend, which is free of wheat, but request a clean ladle to reduce cross-contamination.

Ken’s Blue Cheese: Creamy blue cheese dressing, and it’s also gluten‑free, but ask about dispenser cleanliness, just in case.

Culver’s Vinaigrette: Oil‑and‑vinegar dressing, with no wheat ingredients, but ask for a fresh pour.

Cocktail Sauce: Ketchup‑and‑horseradish blend, and it’s gluten‑free, though ensure that the provided utensils are clean.

Ken’s Raspberry Vinaigrette: Sweet, fruity vinaigrette, and it has no wheat ingredients.

Horseradish: Prepared horseradish is gluten‑free and quite safe for celiacs.

Hot Sauce: Standard hot sauce, but ask the staff for a fresh dispenser spigot to help with possible cross-contamination.

Malt Vinegar: Made from barley malt, which does contain gluten, and it’s best to avoid this when you’re ordering fish or fries, so remember to omit this and pick other sauces instead.

Mayo: Classic mayonnaise, and there’s fairly minimal cross‑contact risk in sealed jars.

Yellow Mustard: Prepared mustard, with no wheat, and it’s quite safe for gluten‑free diets.

Salt / Pepper / Butter: Pure seasonings and butter, which are all naturally gluten-free.

As always, cross-contamination is a never-ending concern when you’re dining out, so ensure that you won’t forget to ask the local Culver’s staff for clean utensils and dispensers. 🍲🥣

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Fresh Frozen Custard

It’s impossible to think about Culver’s without a mention of their Fresh Frozen Custard, which makes every trip down to your local Culver’s a treat, and no doubt a special highlight. 🍨🍧

Still, as a celiac, it’s worth ordering carefully, as some of Culver’s creamy frozen custard treats in the Culver’s menu include malted milk powder or (wheat) cookie mix-ins. 🍦🍪

✅ Concrete Mixer (Vanilla)
✅ Concrete Mixer (Chocolate)
✅ Root Beer Shake
✅ Chocolate Shake
✅ Strawberry Shake
✅ Vanilla Shake
❌ OREO Cookie Shake
✅ Raspberry Shake
✅ Peanut Butter Shake
✅ Salted Caramel Shake
✅ Mint Shake
✅ Hot Fudge Shake
❌ Root Beer Malt
❌ Chocolate Malt
❌ Strawberry Malt
❌ Vanilla Malt
❌ OREO Cookie Malt
❌ Raspberry Malt
❌ Peanut Butter Malt
❌ Salted Caramel Malt
❌ Mint Malt
❌ Hot Fudge Malt
✅ Turtle Sundae (Vanilla)
✅ Turtle Sundae (Chocolate)
✅ Caramel Cashew Sundae (Vanilla)
✅ Caramel Cashew Sundae (Chocolate)
✅ Handpacked Pint

Let’s break down these creamy frozen custard treats one by one and figure out why some of them didn’t make it into my shortlist:

Concrete Mixer (Vanilla): Creamy vanilla custard blended with vanilla flavor, with no gluten ingredients, but request a clean mixing spout to minimize cross-contamination.

Concrete Mixer (Chocolate): Chocolate‑flavored custard mixed with cocoa, and it’s naturally gluten‑free, but ensure that the mixer is purged of any leftover cookie crumbs.

Root Beer Shake: Vanilla custard swirled with root beer syrup, and thankfully, malt powder is not added to the mixture, making it quite gluten‑friendly and safe for celiacs.

Chocolate Shake: Custard and chocolate syrup blend, with no added wheat or malt, though it might help to ask for a fresh machine cycle, just in case there’s trace gluten.

Strawberry Shake: Custard mixed with real strawberry puree or syrup, and it’s gluten‑free by recipe, but confirm that a clean mixing spout is used to minimize cross-contact.

Vanilla Shake: Classic vanilla custard with extra vanilla syrup, with no malt or cookie mix‑ins, but to be extra safe, you could request for clean equipment be used.

OREO Cookie Shake: Includes crushed sandwich cookies made with wheat flour, thus making this unsafe for celiacs, or if you’re gluten intolerant or have severe gluten sensitivities.

Raspberry Shake: Custard and raspberry syrup blend, with no wheat or malt, but ensure the dispenser is cleaned, since it might be shared with other mix-ins, such as OREO cookies.

Peanut Butter Shake: Vanilla custard blended with peanut butter, and while you won’t find gluten ingredients, it’s a good idea to double-check for any cross-contamination.

Salted Caramel Shake: Custard with salted caramel swirl, which is also gluten‑free by recipe, but remember to ask staff to wipe down the nozzle, in case there are glutenous leftovers.

Mint Shake: Custard with mint flavoring, with no cookie mix‑ins, and it’s quite safe when the machine is cleaned and purged of any potential cross-contamination or leftovers.

Hot Fudge Shake: Custard with hot fudge sauce, with no gluten ingredients in the sauce, but you could additionally request a fresh hopper cycle if you’re concerned about trace gluten.

Root Beer Malt / Chocolate Malt / Strawberry Malt / Vanilla Malt / OREO Cookie Malt / Raspberry Malt / Peanut Butter Malt / Salted Caramel Malt / Mint Malt / Hot Fudge Malt: All these malts contain malted milk powder, which is derived from barley, which also happens to contain gluten, thus making it unsafe for celiacs or if you’re gluten intolerant.

Turtle Sundae (Vanilla): Vanilla custard topped with caramel and pecans, and there are no wheat ingredients used here, but once again, request clean prep utensils, just to be safe.

Turtle Sundae (Chocolate): Chocolate custard with caramel and pecans, which is gluten-free, but ensure that the staff are using clean serving tools, just to be on the safe side, too.

Caramel Cashew Sundae (Vanilla): Vanilla custard drizzled with caramel and cashews, and while there’s no gluten to be found here, as usual, confirm that there’s no cross-contact.

Caramel Cashew Sundae (Chocolate): Chocolate custard with caramel and cashews, which are all naturally gluten‑free, but it won’t hurt to ask for fresh utensils, in case of cross-contact.

Handpacked Pint: Any flavor of custard packed into a sealed pint container, and there’s also minimal risk of cross‑contact if it’s left unopened, but check the label for mix‑in ingredients.

TL;DR, if you want to dine safely, stick to Culver’s plain and syrup-only shakes, their Concrete Mixers (vanilla or chocolate), sundaes (with gluten-free toppings), and Handpacked Pints. 🍦

On the other hand, if you want to know which ones to avoid ordering, if you’re a celiac, then avoid any malt-based drinks and shakes, as well as malt toppings, as they contain gluten. 🧁

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Beverages

To help quench your thirst, the Culver’s menu has drinks that span floats, fountain beverages, iced treats, and more, and to keep things nice and safe, they’re also gluten-free! 🥤

✅ Coca‑Cola Float
✅ Culver’s Root Beer Float
✅ Fanta Orange Float
✅ Cooler Lemon Ice
✅ Smoothie Lemon Ice
✅ Dish Lemon Ice
✅ Fresh Brewed Iced Tea
✅ White Milk
✅ Chocolate Milk
✅ Apple Juice
✅ Signature Roast Coffee
✅ Bottled Water
✅ Culver’s Root Beer
✅ Culver’s Diet Root Beer
✅ Coca‑Cola
✅ Diet Coke
✅ Coke Zero Sugar
✅ Dr Pepper
✅ Sprite
✅ Mello Yello
✅ Fanta Orange
✅ Powerade Mountain Berry Blast
✅ Minute Maid Lemonade
✅ Half Lemonade / Half Unsweetened Iced Tea
✅ Hi‑C Fruit Punch

As you can see, there’s a slight gotcha with some of these beverages from the Culver’s menu, so let’s take a closer look at what they’re made of:

Coca‑Cola Float / Culver’s Root Beer Float / Fanta Orange Float: Fountain soda with a scoop of frozen custard, and while all the ingredients contain no wheat, the shared spigots and custard machines may harbor trace gluten, so request clean equipment if you can.

Cooler Lemon Ice / Smoothie Lemon Ice / Dish Lemon Ice: Lemon‑ice treats made from flavored syrup and ice, and once again, while there are no gluten ingredients, the nozzles and the syrup pumps are shared, so to be extra safe, see if you can ask for a fresh pour.

Fresh Brewed Iced Tea: Brewed tea over ice, which is naturally gluten‑free, but they’re served from communal urns, so ensure that the spigot is wiped clean of any cross-contamination.

White Milk / Chocolate Milk: Sealed carton or dispenser, and the milk itself contains no gluten, while the sealed cartons also carry virtually no cross-contamination risk, as well.

Apple Juice: Factory‑sealed juice cup, which isn’t just gluten‑free, but it also features minimal handling and cross-contamination risk, making this one of the safest options here.

Signature Roast Coffee: Brewed drip coffee, with no gluten ingredients, but if you’re worried about potential cross-contamination, you can request a fresh carafe pour to avoid residue.

Bottled Water: Sealed bottle, with no gluten and practically no cross‑contact risk, making this another superbly safe choice for celiacs and for folks with severe gluten intolerance.

Culver’s Root Beer / Diet Root Beer / Coca‑Cola / Diet Coke / Coke Zero Sugar / Dr Pepper / Sprite / Mello Yello / Fanta Orange: Fountain sodas made to order, and all of them should be gluten‑free by recipe, but the shared nozzles might have a tiny risk of cross-contamination, so try asking staff to wipe them before pouring.

Powerade Mountain Berry Blast: Sealed powder‑to‑water mix at drink station, with no gluten ingredients, and relatively minimal cross‑contact risk if the spigot is kept clean.

Minute Maid Lemonade / Half Lemonade / Half Unsweet Iced Tea / Hi‑C Fruit Punch: Dispenser-poured fruit beverages, with no wheat in the mixes, though the shared spigots warrant a quick rinse before serving, should you be worried about cross-contamination.

All of Culver’s drinks are perfectly gluten-free by ingredient, but there are things that you could do to minimize cross-contact, like requesting clean dispensers, nozzles, and carafes. ☕🍹🍵

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To Sum Up

Overall, Culver’s is a pleasantly surprising bright spot among fast food chains when it comes to catering to the needs of celiacs and those of us with gluten sensitivities.

Most of their burgers and sandwiches could be made gluten-friendly with a simple bun swap, and while you won’t find gluten-free cheese curds here, a decent number of other sides are!

Elsewhere, while you don’t get a huge variety of salads at Culver’s, at least those few options here are celiac-safe, as are the many sauces and dressings to accompany your meals. 🥪🥗

Furthermore, there’s also Culver’s signature Fresh Frozen Custards, and aside from those that contain malt powder or cookie mix-ins, most of them are quite safe for celiacs, too. 🍨🍧🍦

Granted, I’d still advise caution when making an order at Culver’s, given just how much cross-contamination there is there, kicking up entire dust clouds of trace gluten everywhere. 🚫🌾

But, then again, for the most part, with an abundance of caution in mind, it’s easy enough to order something at your local Culver’s that’s relatively safe, yet extremely delicious, too! 🧀

In the meantime, if you want recommendations on other restaurants with an equally decent selection 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 gluten-free dining out guides to Chipotle, Five Guys, Starbucks (UK), Costa Coffee, Jack In The Box, Jersey Mike’s, Dairy Queen, Shake Shack, Cracker Barrel, Wingstop, Chili’s, PF Changs, First Watch, Potbelly and more! 🍔🍟🍗

Stay safe and gluten‑aware, my celiac friends! 💖🥗

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Frequently Asked Questions

While working on this Culver’s gluten-free guide, I came across some pretty interesting queries on social media and community forums, so I thought I’d try to answer them here:

Does Culver’s offer gluten‑free menu options?

Yes! Culver’s has several naturally gluten‑friendly choices, including most of their burgers and sandwiches (with the gluten-free bun option), some simple salads, and some of their sides, as well. The frozen custard treats (without malt) and all their beverages are gluten‑free by recipe, too. Of course, you should still be careful when it comes to any cross-contamination!

How can I order a gluten‑free ButterBurger at Culver’s?

All you need to do is ask for and order any ButterBurger variant (Deluxe, Bacon Deluxe, Cheese, Mushroom & Swiss, etc.) on a Rotella’s gluten‑free bun instead of the default wheat buns. You might also want to confirm that the bun is sealed in the first place, request fresh gloves, clean utensils, and a wiped‑down grill area to avoid crumbs or contamination from the shared grill.

Are Culver’s fries and sides safe for celiacs?

Culver’s Crinkle Cut Fries and Chili Cheddar Fries contain no wheat ingredients, and among the safe cold‑serve sides that you could order include the Steamed Broccoli, Coleslaw, Applesauce, and Pickles. Because all fries share fryers with battered items, remember to request that they use fresh oil, and avoid battered or breaded sides like Cheese Curds or Onion Rings.

Which Culver’s frozen custard treats are gluten‑free?

Gluten‑friendly options include all the Concrete Mixers (Vanilla, Chocolate), plain Shakes (Root Beer, Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Raspberry, Peanut Butter, Salted Caramel, Mint, and Hot Fudge), and sundaes with gluten‑free toppings (Turtle, Caramel Cashew). Be sure to avoid any Malt drinks and cookie‑mix‑in flavors (OREO) due to malted barley or wheat ingredients.

How do I minimize gluten cross‑contact at Culver’s?

First up, you should always inform staff of your celiac disease or gluten-sensitive diet, and they may take extra precautions, such as using fresh gloves, clean utensils, and clean prep surfaces, too. When it comes to cooking fries, remember to ask staff to use fresh fryer oil, and only ever use sealed gluten-free buns, and check that they didn’t share any shelf space with wheat buns.

Photo credit

Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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