When it comes to tracking down gluten-free restaurant information, some companies are excellent to work with while many others are difficult to get any official information from. Cracker Barrel is the latter, making it difficult to find any verified gluten-free menu information, either via phone call or their official website.
So, does Cracker Barrel offer anything that is safe to eat for those of us on a gluten-free diet? Surely the answer is yes, although they may be hesitant to put anything official in writing. So far the only thing I’ve been able to find that has any value is the following information provided by a Cracker Barrel restaurant manager:
Meats:
- Steak 10oz. Ribeye and Sirloin (You’ll need to request that these steaks and any other meats are not cooked on the “pancake/Bun/Sourdough Bread area of the grill”. Sometimes the cooks just don’t know what the meat-only grill is for. )
- Hamburger and Kids Burgers (no bun)
- Sugar Cured Ham
- Country Ham
- Bacon
- Grilled Chicken Tenders (un-marinated)
- Grilled Catfish (no seasoning)
- Grilled Trout (no seasoning)
- Pork Chops (grilled only)
- Turkey (request it be grilled as the dinner cut is baked in gravy when prepared for dinners, but it can be cut fresh from the breast and grilled)
Veggies:
- Corn
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Turnip Greens
- Mashed Potatoes
- Boiled Cabbage (Sunday offering)
- Boiled Red-skinned Potatoes (Tuesday offering)
- Sweet Potato Casserole (Thursday offering)
- Baby Lima Beans (Saturday offering)
- Applesauce
- Baked Potato (risky as prepped in the same area as croutons)
- Fried Apples (though you may want to avoid these as they sit on the steam table right in front of the hashbrown casserole that contains gluten in the soup base. Cooks have been known to drop bits of the hashbrown into the apples in the process of serving up plates.)
- Seasoned Rice (Saturday offering minus the baked chicken that it is served with, just tell them you want the rice as a veggie.)
Breakfast:
- Grits
- Eggs
Salads:
Cracker Barrel uses T. Mazetti dressings for most salad dressings. Their fat-free dressings (FF Italian, FF Ranch, FF Honey Mustard, FF Thousand Island) are also from T. Mazetti, and come served to your table in a packet, so you can just read the ingredients on the labels.
- Sirloin Salad (no croutons)
- Un-Marinated Grilled Chicken Salad (no croutons)
- Turkey Salad (no croutons)
- Chef Salad (no croutons)
- House Salad (no croutons)
- Tossed Salad (no croutons)
Desserts:
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
** The beef consume used in making brown rice (Friday offering) has wheat listed on the can. Brown rice is NOT safe.
The manager also recommends avoiding all foods that are fried at Cracker Barrel locations. The complete post and additional information can be read here.
I’ve also read some reviews from gluten-free diners at Cracker Barrel locations and the reviews have been mixed, so hopefully, the information provided above helps! Please remember to make sure to educate your server about your dietary needs.
I ate here on Friday the 15th of Jan and the manager stated that they cook everytihg on separate grills to avoid contamination! My experience was wonderful!
Steak, Eggs, hashbrowns with onions and S&P to season all…side of grits and I was good to go! even the butter was safe!
They handed me an allergen information packet and it said to suggest sausage – but I don’t see that on this list so I won’t try it…..haven’t had success with sausages yet.
A couple of months ago I ordered a baked potato off a gluten-free menu at Cracker Barrell. It wasn’t a gluten-free menu per se; but a list that the waitstaff is given, similar to the one that is posted here. When I got my baked potato, there was a funny-looking salt on it. I asked if I could see the package it came out of, and the ingredients included wheat powder. Not sure what is going on here, but this explained my getting ill a couple of times the previous couple of weeks, as I was traveling and had been eating there frequently. I haven’t eaten there since, because I can’t take them seriously.
I just found out I’m wheat sensitive, but I have nee dairy sensitive my whole life, add to that diabetic and diverticulitis, It’s very hard to chose something to eat. I get so frustrated! I didn’t really need this too.
I experience Dermatitis Herpetiformis when I come into contact with gluten. I know that I have in less than three to as much as 24 hours later. Eating out truly becomes a crap shoot as it all boils down to the vigilance, understanding, and care that others take when preparing your food. All to often, others literally don’t give a crap because they have not personally experienced the pain of gluten sensitivities, let alone Celiac disease. Eat at your own risk.
How long does it take the dermatitis to go away after ingesting gluten? What do you use to treat the dermatitis? Thanks in advance.
Dapsone…prescription for dermatitis herpeteformis
I work at Cracker Barrel and have celiac. What I know: I have yet to see a grill set up that has a specific uncontaminated grill, but they do thier best to clean and keep it seperate. Grilled chicken tenderloins are marinated in gleuten free dressing, fried apples are now gluten free. Steaks, chops, eggs, breakfast meats, carrots, green beans are generally safe. Salads without croutons and all current dressings with the exception of blue cheese and 1000 island.
usually have a good experience traveling and stopping at Cracker Barrel. but stopped at one in my sterling ky today that gave me a typewritten gluten free menu that basically had no entrees. only eggs, Apple slices, carrots, and a side salad with no crotons. very disappointing!
Ate at Cracker Barrel just now. Sent server to ask if grits here were gluten free he came back and said no there is flour in their grits ☹️😖🤨
Do the corn muffins served at Crackerbarrel contain gluten?
I was a manager at Cracker Barrel and I can tell you positively they have flour in them. It is a corn meal flour BLEND. Also, it is best to talk to the manager on duty about your gluten allergy to make sure the grill is properly cleaned and there is no cross contamination in the kitchen.