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Ultimate Dairy Queen Gluten-Free Menu Guide For 2025

Whether you’re looking for something from the grill or the freezer, our Dairy Queen gluten-free guide will walk you through what is celiac-friendly!

If you think celiacs have an easy time browsing through the desserts menu, then you’d be very sadly mistaken, as the last 30 years have taught me that they’re often no safer than bread! 🍦🍨

Of course, you’re way less likely to find gluten in ice cream or a milkshake, compared to a sub or a burger, but still, if you’re gluten intolerant, never let your guard down. 🚫🍧

Ah, but what about Dairy Queen, probably the most well-known #1 fan favorite for any sweet tooth across the country… Are they friendlier to celiacs, or are they a glutenous minefield? 🌾

Famed for their soft-serve cones, Blizzard treats, and flame-grilled burgers, it turns out there’s a lot more gluten here than you’d think, before you even consider all the cross-contamination.

While some of Dairy Queen’s menu items are naturally free of wheat, rye, and barley, shared fryers, grills, and topping stations mean that you’re never far away from cross-contact risks, too. ❗

Thankfully, if you’re still not sure about what is safe to order, don’t worry, because our handy Dairy Queen gluten-free menu guide is here to walk you through each dish!

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Disclaimer

Now, it’s important to bear in mind that while there are a handful of Dairy Queen gluten-free menu items, they don’t technically operate a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, either. 🍨🚫🌾

Moreover, their menu isn’t tested to meet the FDA’s very strict <20 ppm ‘certified gluten-free‘ threshold, so you should treat our Dairy Queen gluten-free guide more like ‘gluten-friendly’.

In other words, even the safest, most non-gluten-free menu items here are still prepped, then handled with shared equipment: griddles, fryers, ice cream machines, and topping dispensers.

This also means that those items marked ‘gluten-friendly’ here in our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu guide could still pick up trace gluten during the preparation and serving process. 🍔🍟

Depending on how sensitive your allergies are, if you’re a celiac and if you have severe gluten allergies, it might be worth being extra cautious then, even with their gluten-free menu items.

I’d suggest letting your server or the kitchen staff know about your allergies and ask them to take extra precautions; use fresh gloves, use clean utensils, and wipe down the prep surfaces.

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Dairy Queen Allergen Policy (Gluten-Free)

But hey, at least Dairy Queen makes it easy enough for you to figure out which items on their menu are or aren’t safe for you, as a celiac, just by heading over to their website. 🍦👉🌐

Once you’re on their website, scroll all the way down and click on the ‘Nutrition’ tab, which is where you’ll find Dairy Queen’s nutrition and allergens page, with separate menu categories.

If you want to know what nutritional values and allergens are included in their Treats, all you need to do is click on ‘Treats’ and scroll through every single sweet treat on their menu. ✍

It’s not necessarily the most intuitive interface for this, if I’m honest, but it works, and if you need to scroll through this page quickly, a simple ‘CTRL+F’ on your keyboard will do the trick!

Here, you can find all the important nutritional data per menu item, and crucially, for celiacs, you could also check out what sort of allergens are included in each item, including ‘Wheat’.

Dairy Queen lists their allergens by letter, and according to the site legend, here’s what those letters mean (if you’re allergic, make sure to filter out anything with ‘W’, for ‘Wheat’):

• E – Egg
• F – Fish
• M – Milk
• P – Peanut
• SF – Shellfish
• S – Soy
• T – Tree Nuts
• W – Wheat
• SS – Sesame Seeds

Alternatively, you can click on and open each item on the online menu page, then scroll down to find a more concise Nutrition Summary for said item; calories, fat, fiber, carbs, protein, etc.

Below that, you’ll find their Allergens Summary, which is a lot easier to read through, and just like the earlier example, it includes all the major allergens that you need to watch out for. 🌾

Additionally, this page also shows off all the Ingredients used in said menu item, which is one other neat way to filter out their menu, and as a celiac, avoid anything with ‘Wheat Flour’.

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Blizzard Treats

Dairy Queen’s signature menu item is no doubt their Blizzard treats, which you might think is safe for celiacs, right? After all, each Blizzard starts off with their tasty vanilla soft-serve. ❄️

However, while that aforementioned vanilla soft-serve is naturally gluten-free by recipe, they are then mixed in with bits of pastry, sweets, and snacks that might contain wheat. 🍦🍨🍧

Moreover, aside from the prevalent presence of wheat flour and other bits of gluten, each of these Blizzards is then churned in shared machines, with cross-contamination aplenty! 🍪

❌ OREO Dirt Pie Blizzard Treat
❌ S’mores Blizzard Treat
✅ Cotton Candy Blizzard Treat
❌ Confetti Cake Blizzard Treat
❌ Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard Treat
❌ Mixing Bowl Mashup Blizzard Treat (depends on mix-ins)
❌ Superman Cake Batter Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat
❌ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat
❌ Mint OREO Blizzard Treat
✅ Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard Treat
❌ Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard Treat
❌ OREO Cookie Blizzard Treat
⚠️ Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Treat (may include wheat)
❌ Butterfinger Blizzard Treat
⚠️ M&M’S Milk Chocolate Candies Blizzard Treat (may include wheat)
⚠️ HEATH Blizzard Treat (may include wheat)
✅ SNICKERS Blizzard Treat
⚠️ Royal REESE’s Fluffernutter Blizzard Treat (may include wheat)
❌ Royal New York Cheesecake Blizzard Treat

Let’s break apart each of these Blizzard treats and see why some of them had the thumbs up from our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu, while others didn’t get the go-ahead:

OREO Dirt Pie Blizzard Treat: Contains crushed OREO cookies that are made with wheat flour, making this unsafe for celiacs, or if you’re highly allergic or are intolerant to gluten.

S’mores Blizzard Treat: Features graham-cracker pieces that contain wheat, so avoid it if you need a gluten-free option, or if you have pretty severe gluten allergies.

Cotton Candy Blizzard Treat: Cotton-candy–flavoured syrup blended into soft-serve with no cookie or cake bits, and it’s gluten-free by recipe, though the machine is shared.

Confetti Cake Blizzard Treat: Real cake pieces folded into soft-serve, but the crumbs contain wheat flour, making this unsafe for those with celiac disease or if you’re allergic to gluten.

Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard Treat: Swirls of graham-cracker crumble in a rich strawberry-cheesecake base, but the crumble contains wheat, so skip this one, too.

Mixing Bowl Mashup Blizzard Treat: Custom blend of up to three mix-ins. It’s only safe if you choose certified gluten-free candies, but cookie, brownie, or cake pieces make it unsafe.

Superman Cake Batter Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat: Contains cookie-dough bits and cake batter pieces made with wheat flour, making this hazardous for any celiac.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat: Features dough chunks made from wheat-flour cookie dough, rendering it unsafe for celiacs, and another item on their menu to skip.

Mint OREO Blizzard Treat: Uses crushed Mint OREO cookies made with wheat flour, so make sure you avoid this if you want to maintain a strict gluten-free diet.

Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard Treat: Pecan clusters and caramel-chocolate pieces with no wheat ingredients, making this one of the few reliable gluten-free options, but make sure you’re wary of cross-contamination at the machine.

Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard Treat: Includes fudgy brownie pieces made with wheat flour, so it’s not suitable for celiacs or if you’re highly sensitive to gluten.

OREO Cookie Blizzard Treat: Contains standard OREO cookie crumbs with wheat flour, so once again, avoid this if you’re highly allergic or are intolerant to gluten.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Treat: Primarily peanut-butter cups (which are gluten-free by recipe), but they’re flagged by Dairy Queen as ‘may include’ wheat, so tread very carefully, and see if you could confirm this with your local DQ store.

Butterfinger Blizzard Treat: Contains crushed Butterfinger candy (wheat-free by formula), but they’re sometimes processed on shared lines, and they’re flagged as containing wheat, too.

M&M’S Milk Chocolate Candies Blizzard Treat: Stirred with M&M’S (which are gluten-free by ingredients), but they’re listed by Dairy Queen as ‘may include’ wheat in the allergen guide, so be sure to confirm this with the local staff.

HEATH Blizzard Treat: HEATH toffee pieces are gluten-free by ingredients, but they’re marked by Dairy Queen as ‘may include’ wheat, so remember to double-check this with the local DQ staff on the ingredients, supplier, as well as the batch.

SNICKERS Blizzard Treat: Chopped SNICKERS bars (gluten-free by recipe) folded into soft-serve, and it’s another reliably gluten-free option, aside from the cross-contamination risk that you’ll have to be careful with, since it uses shared machines.

Royal REESE’s Fluffernutter Blizzard Treat: Combines marshmallow and peanut butter with REESE’s cups, but it’s listed in the Dairy Queen allergen guide as ‘may include’ wheat, so it’s worth confirming this with the local DQ staff on whether it’s safe for you.

Royal New York Cheesecake Blizzard Treat: Swirls of graham-cracker crust containing wheat flour, hence it’s unsafe for gluten-free diets, or if you’re a celiac like me.

Overall, it’s not a good start with our Dairy Queen gluten-free guide, given just how many of their signature Blizzard treats are a no-go if you’re a celiac or if you’re allergic to gluten. 🍦

On the other hand, even those that don’t technically feature any gluten in the recipe and the ingredients are still susceptible to a lot of potential cross-contamination during the prep. 👩‍🍳

So, to be extra careful, try asking your server to clean the treat machines before making your Blizzard, and to use a fresh spoon or spatula to further reduce any cross-contact risks. 🍨🍧

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Classic Treats

If the Blizzards in our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu aren’t to your taste, then good news, their Classic treats are the perfect substitute, and some of them are even gluten-free, too! 🧊🍦

These fan favorites use Dairy Queen’s vanilla soft-serve, which is gluten-free by recipe, but a couple of them might include cones, cookies, or brownies, so be careful with all that wheat.

Plus, never let your guard down when it comes to cross-contamination, especially with those ice-cream machines, so remember to ask the staff for a cleaned dip well and fresh scoopers!

❌ Vanilla Cone
❌ Chocolate Dipped Cone
❌ Crunchin’ Cookie Dipped Cone
✅ Hot Fudge Sundae
✅ Strawberry Sundae
✅ Chocolate Sundae
✅ Caramel Sundae
❌ HEATH Caramel BrownieCupfection
✅ Banana Split
❌ Brownie and OREO Cupfection
✅ Peanut Buster Parfait
✅ Non-Dairy Dilly Bar
✅ Dilly Bar
✅ BUSTER BAR Treat

For context, let’s check out these Classic treats and what they’re made of, and see how they’d compare with the rest of the Dairy Queen gluten-free menu:

Vanilla Cone: A classic cake cone holds a swirl of soft-serve. The cone contains wheat flour, so it’s unsafe for celiacs, even if the vanilla soft-serve itself might be free of gluten ingredients.

Chocolate Dipped Cone: Soft-serve in a cake cone dipped in hardened chocolate coating. Both the cone’s wheat and chocolate shells make it off-limits without a gluten-free cone alternative.

Crunchin’ Cookie Dipped Cone: Vanilla soft-serve in a cake cone dipped in chocolate and rolled in cookie crumbs (made with wheat flour). Skip this one if you need to avoid gluten, too.

Hot Fudge Sundae: Soft-serve topped with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, and optional nuts. All the components are gluten-free by recipe, but make sure the sauce ladle and topping scoop are wiped clean to reduce any risk of cross-contamination.

Strawberry Sundae: Vanilla soft-serve crowned with strawberry syrup and optional whipped cream. The syrup and cream are gluten-free, but remember to ask for a clean dispenser head to minimize cross-contact with any trace gluten.

Chocolate Sundae: Soft-serve layered with chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream. The syrup and the cream contain no wheat, but confirm that the pump is freshly wiped down to reduce any leftover cross-contamination.

Caramel Sundae: Soft-serve drizzled with caramel sauce and whipped cream. The caramel is gluten-free, though the shared pump warrants a quick wipe before pouring, especially if you are highly allergic or are intolerant to gluten.

HEATH Caramel BrownieCupfection: Chunks of HEATH toffee and brownie pieces blended into soft-serve with caramel sauce. Both the brownie and those HEATH pieces contain wheat flour, making this unsafe for celiacs.

Banana Split: Three scoops of vanilla soft-serve in a boat, topped with banana, hot fudge, strawberry syrup, pineapple, whipped cream, and nuts. All the syrups and toppings are gluten-free, but be cautious of shared topping spoons.

Brownie and OREO Cupfection: Swirls of brownie and OREO cookie crumbles folded into soft-serve with hot fudge. Both mix-ins contain wheat flour, so avoid this treat if you’re a celiac.

Peanut Buster Parfait: Layers of hot fudge, chopped peanuts, and soft-serve in a tall cup. All these ingredients are gluten-free by recipe, but request clean utensils for layering.

Non-Dairy Dilly Bar: Dairy-free ice dessert dipped in a chocolatey shell, and they’re also free of wheat ingredients. Make sure the dip well was wiped, since cones and cookies share the same station, so there’s a moderate risk of cross-contamination.

Dilly Bar: Vanilla soft-serve on a stick, dipped in a chocolate coating. The coating contains no wheat, but make sure you verify that the dipping machine was purged and cleaned after any coated-cone orders.

BUSTER BAR Treat: Soft-serve on a stick, coated in chocolate and chopped peanuts. No wheat in the ingredients, though the dip well may also handle cones, so ask for a bit of cleaning first.

When you’re ordering any of these Classic treats, remember to request that their staff change the dip well or ladle between cone and sundae preparations to reduce cross-contact risks. 🍦

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Burgers and Sandwiches

While Dairy Queen might’ve made a name for itself with desserts and sweet treats, the brand’s flame-grilled burgers and sandwiches are equally well-known, too. 🍔🔥🥪

Sadly, if you’re a celiac or if you’re highly allergic to gluten, every Dairy Queen sandwich and burger is served on wheat-based buns and bread, or they feature some wheat flour breading.

❌ Backyard Bacon Ranch Signature Stackburgers
❌ Cheese Deluxe Signature Stackburgers
❌ Bacon Cheese Deluxe Signature Stackburgers
❌ FlameThrower Signature Stackburgers
❌ Original Cheeseburger Signature Stackburgers
❌ Original Chicken Strip Sandwich
❌ Spicy Chicken Strip Sandwich
❌ Wild Alaskan Fish Sandwich
❌ Original Cheeseburger
❌ Hamburger
❌ Chili Cheese Dog
❌ Hot Dog

Just so we know what to avoid next time, let’s check out what these burgers and sandwiches are made of, and why they’re a bad match for our Dairy Queen gluten-free guide:

Backyard Bacon Ranch Signature Stackburgers: Two flame-grilled beef patties layered with crispy bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing, which is then tucked into a toasted wheat bun and prepared on shared grills.

Cheese Deluxe Signature Stackburgers: Classic double-patty cheeseburger with American cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, and mustard on a soft wheat bun, with cross-contact risks from shared toasters and prep areas, too.

Bacon Cheese Deluxe Signature Stackburgers: Two beef patties topped with melted cheese, bacon strips, and condiments on a sesame wheat bun, with no gluten-free substitutes, either, and they’re then assembled on shared surfaces alongside other gluten items.

FlameThrower Signature Stackburgers: Spicy jalapeño-peppered beef patties with Pepper Jack cheese and FlameThrower sauce on a wheat roll, making it unsafe for celiacs despite the fiery flavor.

Original Cheeseburger Signature Stackburgers: A single beef patty with cheese, pickles, onions, and condiments on a toasted wheat-based bun, in addition to all the cross-contamination risks that come with shared grills, too.

Original Chicken Strip Sandwich: Breaded white-meat chicken strips piled into a wheat bun with lettuce and mayo, but alas, both the breading and that wheat-based bun contain wheat flour.

Spicy Chicken Strip Sandwich: Crispy, seasoned chicken strips in a wheat bun with lettuce and spicy sauce, making it off-limits for anyone avoiding gluten or if you’re a celiac.

Wild Alaskan Fish Sandwich: Beer-battered Alaskan pollock fillet in a wheat bun with tartar sauce, containing wheat in both the batter and the roll, making it another no-go for celiacs.

Original Cheeseburger: Single beef patty with American cheese on a standard wheat bun, which is then assembled on shared grill stations, posing a pretty high cross-contact risk.

Hamburger: Beef patty with pickles, onions, ketchup, and mustard on a wheat bun, but none of the bun components are gluten-free, so avoid this if you’re highly allergic to gluten.

Chili Cheese Dog: All-beef hot dog in a wheat bun smothered in chili and cheese, though both the bun and the chili (thickened with flour) contain gluten ingredients.

Hot Dog: Classic beef frankfurter in a soft wheat bun, though no gluten-free bun alternative is offered right now, so you should avoid this if you’re highly sensitive to gluten.

In short, if you’re after a gluten-free meal at Dairy Queen, it’s best to skip all the sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs, as there’s not a single one here that could be made celiac-safe. 🍔🥪

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Chicken Baskets

If you want to fill up your belly with some delectable poultry, you’ll find a few Chicken Baskets in our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu guide, though all of them are unsafe for celiacs. 🍗🍟

Unfortunately, all of Dairy Queen’s chicken strip baskets are breaded in wheat flour, and they are then fried in shared fryer oil, so none of these are safe for those trying to avoid gluten. 🌾

❌ Chicken Strip Basket
❌ Buffalo Sauced & Tossed Chicken Strip Basket
❌ Sauced & Tossed Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Basket

Let’s check out what these chicken strip baskets are made of, and why they are not making it into my personal Dairy Queen gluten-free shortlist anytime soon:

Chicken Strip Basket: Five breaded white-meat chicken strips served with fries and your choice of dipping sauce. Both that bread and the shared fryer oil contain wheat, making it entirely unsuitable for celiacs, or if you’re highly allergic to gluten.

Buffalo Sauced & Tossed Chicken Strip Basket: Crispy chicken strips tossed in tangy Buffalo sauce, accompanied by fries. The strips are breaded in wheat flour, and they’re then coated in Buffalo sauce, with lots of cross-contact from the fryer, making it unsafe for gluten-free diets.

Sauced & Tossed Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Basket: Breaded chicken strips drenched in sweet honey BBQ sauce, served with fries. The bread contains wheat, and the shared frying and sauce prep stations pose additional cross-contamination risks, too.

For celiacs and folks who are highly allergic to gluten, avoid all these chicken strip baskets by all means, given how much gluten there is in the ingredients, as well as cross-contamination!

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Meal Deals & Bundles

For budget-conscious eaters, our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu has a decent mixture of meal deals and bundles to help save you a buck, without compromising on proteins, either. 🥨🍟

However, sad news for celiacs, most of Dairy Queen’s value meals and snacks here use wheat-based buns, batters, or pretzels, and only the fries are gluten-free, at least by ingredients. 🍔

❌ 3-Piece Chicken Strip $7 Meal Deal
❌ Original Cheeseburger $7 Meal Deal
❌ Pretzel Sticks with Zesty Queso
❌ 2 Piece Chicken Strips
✅ Regular Fries

That said, let’s take a closer look at what these bundles and meal deals are made of, and why most of them are a bad fit for my Dairy Queen gluten-free shortlist:

3-Piece Chicken Strip $7 Meal Deal: Three breaded chicken strips, a side of fries, and a small fountain drink. The strips are coated in wheat flour and fried in shared oil, making this dish unsafe for gluten-free diets or if you’re a celiac.

Original Cheeseburger $7 Meal Deal: A standard cheeseburger on a wheat bun, fries, and a small drink. Both the bun and the burger seasoning contain gluten, and any cross-contact is likely found on the grill, making this dangerously unsafe.

Pretzel Sticks with Zesty Queso: Warm soft pretzel sticks served with a cheese dipping sauce. The pretzel dough is made with wheat flour, and the queso might contain gluten-containing thickeners, making it unsuitable for celiacs, too.

2 Piece Chicken Strips: Two breaded chicken strips ready to order a la carte. The same wheat-based breading and shared frying equipment apply here with loads of cross-contamination, so these are not safe for anyone trying to avoid gluten.

Regular Fries: Straight-cut potatoes cooked in 100% vegetable oil. These fries contain no gluten ingredients, though they share fryers with battered items, so if you’re highly sensitive, consider asking the kitchen staff about oil changes or fryer protocols.

Unless you’re okay with just regular fries, and even then, there’s a healthy dose of likely cross-contamination, you’re better off avoiding these bundles and meal deals as a celiac. 🍔🍟🥨

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Snacks, Sides, & Salads

To complement the main dish, our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu offers up a ton of very tasty sides, snacks, and salads, but sadly, only their salads and fries are gluten-friendly. 🍟🥗🥨

✅ Crispy Chicken Strips Salad
✅ Fries
❌ Onion Rings
❌ Pretzel Sticks with Zesty Queso
❌ Cheese Curds

For a more in-depth look, let’s take apart these sides, snacks, and salads to see why these did not make it into our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu:

Crispy Chicken Strips Salad: Mixed greens topped with DQ’s signature breaded chicken strips, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and your choice of dressing. While their chicken strips use wheat flour, you can request them plain grilled (if available) or simply omit the strips and still enjoy a fully gluten-free salad.

Fries: Straight-cut potatoes cooked in 100% vegetable oil. These fries contain no gluten ingredients. However, they do share fryers with battered items, so if you’re highly sensitive to gluten, you could consider requesting fresh, clean, uncontaminated fryer oil.

Onion Rings: Sliced onions dipped in a seasoned wheat-flour batter and deep-fried. Both the batter and the shared fryer oil make these unsuitable for gluten-free diets and for celiacs.

Pretzel Sticks with Zesty Queso: Warm soft pretzel sticks made from wheat dough, served with a cheese dip that may contain gluten thickeners. Both components rely on wheat flour, making them unsafe for celiacs and if you’re severely allergic to gluten.

Cheese Curds: Bite-sized pieces of cheese coated in a wheat-based batter and fried. The batter contains gluten, and the shared fryer oil poses a pretty significant cross-contact risk.

Suffice it to say, you have limited choices among Dairy Queen’s snacks, sides, and salads, but it’s still worth being careful with those 2 safe options, in case of any cross-contamination. 🧀

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Kid’s Meals

For all the young’uns here, our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu offers you a great selection of kids’ meals, even though all the exciting, mouth-watering items are unsafe for celiacs. 🍌🍟

❌ 2-Piece Chicken Strips – Kids
❌ Hamburger
❌ Hot Dog – Kids
✅ Banana
✅ Kids’ Fries
✅ Applesauce
✅ Bottled Water
✅ Milk
❌ Kid’s Cone

For context, let’s break apart these kids’ meals and see how they compare against the others here in our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu guide:

2-Piece Chicken Strips – Kids: Breaded and deep-fried white-meat chicken strips coated in wheat flour batter, and cooked in shared fryers, making them unsafe for gluten-free diets.

Hamburger: Grilled beef patty served on a standard wheat bun. Both the bun and any shared grill surfaces pose a gluten risk, which is especially dangerous if you’re a celiac.

Hot Dog – Kids: All-beef frankfurter nestled in a wheat-based hot-dog bun, which contains gluten, plus all the potential cross-contact at the steam stations, too.

Banana: A single fresh banana, which is naturally gluten-free with virtually no cross-contact risk if handled in its own peel, making this a pretty safe option among celiacs.

Kids’ Fries: Straight-cut potatoes cooked in 100% vegetable oil with no added wheat ingredients. They share fryers with battered items, so if you’re highly sensitive to gluten, ask the staff if they could change to clean, uncontaminated fryer oil.

Applesauce: Factory-sealed pouch of pureed apples. There are no gluten ingredients, and there’s minimal handling once sealed, resulting in this being another fairly safe choice.

Bottled Water: Plain, sealed bottled water, with zero gluten and no cross-contact risk post-production, given that it’s sealed from the factory.

Milk: Sealed milk carton or bottle, which contains no gluten and carries minimal contamination risk when factory-sealed, as well.

Kid’s Cone: Mini soft-serve vanilla in a wheat-based waffle cone. The cone contains wheat flour, making this off-limits on a gluten-free diet, particularly among celiacs.

If you’re bringing your kids over to Dairy Queen, it might be worth looking elsewhere, as their kids’ menu doesn’t offer many appetizing options for kids who are allergic to gluten. 🌭🍟

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Drinks

On the bright side, if you’re thirsty, all the drinks in our Dairy Queen gluten-free menu are free of gluten and wheat ingredients… Perfect for cooling down celiacs on a hot day! 🥤🍹

✅ Chocolate Shake or Malt
✅ Hot Fudge Shake or Malt
✅ Peanut Butter Shake or Malt
✅ Caramel Shake or Malt
✅ Strawberry Shake or Malt
✅ Vanilla Shake or Malt
✅ Orange Cream Flavored Shake
✅ Mocha MooLatté
✅ Caramel MooLatté
✅ Vanilla MooLatté
✅ Misty Freeze
✅ Misty Slush
✅ Diet Coke
✅ Barq’s Root Beer Soda
✅ Coke
✅ Sprite
✅ Strawberry Banana Premium Fruit Smoothie
✅ Mango Pineapple Premium Fruit Smoothie
✅ Tripleberry Premium Fruit Smoothie
✅ Orange Julius Original
✅ Strawberry Banana Julius Original

Just to be extra sure, let’s double-check the ingredients and prep on these drinks and see if it’s right to add these into my personal Dairy Queen gluten-free shortlist:

Chocolate Shake or Malt: Creamy vanilla soft-serve blended with rich chocolate syrup, and for malts, there’s a dash of malted milk powder, adding a noticeably toasty note.

Hot Fudge Shake or Malt: Vanilla soft-serve mixed with velvety hot-fudge sauce, and the malt version includes malted milk powder for extra depth, and it’s equally celiac-safe.

Peanut Butter Shake or Malt: Silky vanilla soft-serve swirled with creamy peanut butter, and the malted milk powder could be added upon request, depending on what you prefer.

Caramel Shake or Malt: Vanilla soft-serve blended with buttery caramel sauce, and the malt option features malted milk powder for that really subtle nutty sweetness.

Strawberry Shake or Malt: Vanilla soft-serve mixed with real strawberry puree, but you could add malt powder to turn it into a malt, adding another layer to its deliciousness.

Vanilla Shake or Malt: Classic vanilla soft-serve thickened with an extra scoop of vanilla syrup, while the malted milk powder transforms it into a malt, and it’s as celiac-safe as the rest.

Orange Cream Flavored Shake: Vanilla soft-serve lightly flavored with orange syrup, recreating a creamsicle in shake form, but be wary of any cross-contamination during the prep.

Mocha MooLatté: Espresso-infused milk blended with vanilla soft-serve for a coffee-chocolate twist, topped with some whipped cream, but as always, be wary of cross-contamination.

Caramel MooLatté: Espresso and caramel sauce blended with milk and soft-serve, crowned with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle, and it contains no wheat or gluten by recipe.

Vanilla MooLatté: Espresso, milk, and vanilla soft-serve blended into a smooth, creamy coffee treat, but of course, if you’re highly sensitive to gluten, double-check for cross-contact.

Misty Freeze: Carbonated lemon-lime soda, which is a simple pour-over soft-serve for a fizzy float, and it’s fairly safe for celiacs, so long as it has not been cross-contaminated.

Misty Slush: Chilled lemon-lime slush blended with soft-serve for a tangy, icy treat, which is safe for celiacs and for folks with severe gluten allergies.

Diet Coke / Coke / Sprite / Barq’s Root Beer Soda: Fountain sodas are poured to order, and all of them contain no gluten ingredients, but the shared nozzles mean that there could be a risk of cross-contamination, unless you request a quick wipe.

Strawberry Banana Premium Fruit Smoothie: Real fruit smoothie of strawberry and banana purees blended with ice and a splash of fruit juice, with no gluten ingredients by recipe.

Mango Pineapple Premium Fruit Smoothie: Tropical mango and pineapple purées blended with ice for a bright, refreshing gluten-free and celiac-safe smoothie.

Tripleberry Premium Fruit Smoothie: A blend of strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry purees with ice for a vibrant berry-forward treat, and it’s celiac-safe, too.

Orange Julius Original: Citrus-y orange juice concentrate and vanilla flavor blended with ice and milk for a creamy, gluten-free froth, but be careful when it comes to cross-contact.

Strawberry Banana Julius Original: Smooth blend of strawberry and banana purées with milk and ice, delivering a creamy fruit-forward Orange Julius.

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To Sum Up

In summary, the Dairy Queen gluten-free menu is a pretty mixed bag, given that most of their signature menu items are dangerous for celiacs, or if you have a severe gluten intolerance. 🍦

This includes most of their Blizzard treats, flame-grilled burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs, as well as their sides, too.

There’s a never-ending sea of gluten that you have to wade through!

Moreover, even those few menu items, such as their Classic treats, which might not contain a trace of gluten in the ingredients, are still massively vulnerable to cross-contamination. 🍟🥨

Even though a few of their sweet treats and desserts are gluten-free by ingredient, I wouldn’t really trust that their ice cream machines are free of trace gluten exposure, either. 🍨🍧🧁

Personally, as a celiac, I’d only feel comfortable ordering Dairy Queen’s drinks, be it a latte or malt, as well as their fruit smoothies, too, but otherwise, I’m skipping the rest of their menu.

In the meantime, if you want recommendations on other places that actually offer you a nice selection of gluten-free items, make sure to stay tuned to us here at Great Without Gluten for even more 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 Dunkin Donuts, Sonic, Popeyes, Starbucks, Chipotle, Five Guys, Starbucks (UK), Costa Coffee, Jack In The Box, Jersey Mike’s and more! 🍔🍟🍗

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

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Frequently Asked Questions

As I was working on writing up this Dairy Queen gluten-free guide, I came across a few pretty neat questions across social media and forums like Reddit, so here’s what I have to say:

Which Dairy Queen treats are gluten-free?

Dairy Queen’s Cotton Candy Blizzard Treat, Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard Treat, and SNICKERS Blizzard Treat contain no wheat or gluten ingredients. Many drinks (shakes, malts, MooLattés, smoothies, Orange Julius, fountain sodas) and their classic sundae toppings (hot fudge, caramel, fruit sauces) are also gluten-free. Just remember to be wary of cross-contamination.

Can I order a gluten-free Blizzard?

Yes! Make sure you order the Cotton Candy, Turtle Pecan Cluster, or SNICKERS Blizzards, as the sole Blizzard treats that are gluten-free by ingredient. All other Blizzard treats contain wheat, and some may also include cross-contact traces (e.g., Reese’s, M&M’S, HEATH, Royal REESE’S), and for the latter selection, you could always try double-checking with the local staff.

Are any Dairy Queen food items safe for celiacs?

Almost all of their burgers, sandwiches, chicken baskets, sides, and pretzel items contain some traces of wheat and gluten. The Crispy Chicken Strips Salad and French Fries are gluten-free by ingredient, but they share fryers and prep areas, so ask about separate fryer oil or utensils. All in all, most of Dairy Queen’s food-based menus are mostly unsafe if you’re allergic to gluten.

Can kids eat gluten-free at Dairy Queen?

Yes! Just order a plain Banana, Kid’s Fries (if it’s prepared in separate oil), Applesauce, Bottled Water, Milk, or a Kid’s Cone of vanilla soft-serve. On the flipside, all the other kids’ meals could be found using wheat-based buns and bread, as well as wheat-based batter, making it unsafe for celiac children, or if your kids are highly sensitive, allergic, or are intolerant to gluten.

How do I minimize gluten cross-contact?

Always inform your local Dairy Queen staff about your celiac disease or if you have gluten allergies. While you’re doing that, request fresh gloves, cleaned scoops and blenders, as well as wiped nozzles, and, where possible, separate oil for fries. You could also stick to their sealed drinks and clearly gluten-free items to further reduce any cross-contamination risk, too.

Photo credit
Xnatedawgx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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