Here's Where To Find Gluten-Free Fast Food Fries

Perhaps one of the most inconvenient parts of having a food allergy is that you can't be easy, breezy, and carefree when eating out. Some lucky folks simply drive down the road, get a hankering for fries, and pull up to those telltale yellow arches whenever they please (because we all know that when it comes to fast food french fries, McDonald's stands above the rest). For people with food sensitivities, however, there are more factors to consider.

Some popular chains, like McDonald's, use hydrolyzed wheat proteins to improve the flavor of french fries, thereby disqualifying them as an option for those who need to avoid gluten. Unfortunately, knowing whether a restaurant's french fries are safe for someone with a gluten intolerance isn't always as easy as identifying the ingredients. For these folks, even trace amounts of gluten have the potential to damage their digestive system. As such, cross-contamination is a concern. (An example of this is when foods containing gluten are fried in the same oil as fries that would otherwise be considered safe.) However, at fast food joints like Chick-fil-A, Five Guys, In-N-Out, and Red Robin, gluten-free french fries are typically on offer.

If you adhere to a gluten-free diet, you may be curious about how Chick-fil-A's waffle fries are really made. Though more than a handful of ingredients go into them, gluten isn't on the list. This, of course, doesn't automatically make them gluten-free, as the cooking process must be taken into consideration. Although the restaurant doesn't unequivocally rule out the possibility of cross-contamination within its stores, we do know that the waffle fries are cooked in canola oil while the breaded chicken is fried in peanut oil. As such, there should be a designated fryer for the waffle fries, keeping them safe from any rogue bits of breading that might linger if the food is made in a shared fryer.

While there are folks on message boards dedicated to celiac disease who have shared positive experiences about Chick-fil-A's fries being cooked in their own fryer, others have claimed that the opposite is true. That's why it's best to ask an employee at your nearest location whether or not the fries are made in a designated fryer so you can be sure.

For those who love a rustic, boardwalk-style french fry, there are few things better than that extra scoop of fries thrown into the bottom of your Five Guys bag. Not only are the fries made from fresh potatoes that are hand-cut in house, but they're also one of the top gluten-free menu items you can get from fast food restaurants. That's because there's nothing that goes into these bad boys but potatoes, peanut oil, and salt. While the seasoning on the Cajun-style fries may give some celiacs room for pause, we're here to tell you that there are no hydrolyzed wheat proteins to worry about. Just a good old-fashioned sprinkling of garlic, salt, onion, paprika, oregano, white pepper, red pepper, and a little bit of spice.

As for the possibility of cross-contamination in the fryer, you can feel confident that your Five Guys fries are safely gluten-free. Other than this item, nothing on the menu requires frying, effectively meaning that all of the chain's frying equipment is exclusively for french fries.

If you find yourself on the West Coast with a longing for gluten-free french fries, look no further than California's beloved In-N-Out. Known for having fresh, well-sourced ingredients, it should come as no surprise that this particular restaurant is easy to navigate for folks with food allergies. As for the fries, much like Five Guys, In-N-Out cuts and fries fresh potatoes in house. They're then fried in sunflower oil and sprinkled with salt, keeping them free from any major allergens. Also like Five Guys, fries are the only fried food on In-N-Out's menu, meaning the oil is free from contaminants.

The chain even has a name for a burger that comes sans bun, so you can order an entire gluten-free meal without any confusion. One of the restaurant's signature ways to order your burger is protein style, which gives you a burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun. As a matter of fact, TV host Hunter March told Mashed that eating protein-style burgers at In-N-Out is his hack for remaining gluten-free even when he's craving fast food. Letting the cashier know that you have an allergy will also give them the opportunity to make a note of that on your order, so employees can take extra measures to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.