Are Burger King's Fries Gluten-Free? The Answer Isn't So Straightforward

Fast food is just that — a ready-made meal that's speedily prepared for you in only a few minutes. You're ordering at the cashier one moment, then biting into your burger the next. For those with special dietary requirements, though, it's not nearly as easy or mindless of a process. Those with gluten sensitivities must be especially careful when selecting what to eat at fast food restaurants, as even french fries, the go-to option you'll find just about everywhere, aren't always safe. Burger King's offering of this popular side dish is a prime example of this issue. Delicious as they are, whether or not Burger King fries are actually gluten-free falls into a sort of gray area.

While some fast food joints do have a solid allergy-friendly selection, such as Taco Bell's gluten-free menu items, others are less reliable. Burger King is only one of many chains that fall into this conundrum. Similar to the answer for whether Wendy's fries contain gluten, the answer for Burger King's version is both yes and no. This means the decision of eating or passing up on this snack falls into the hands of the consumer and how serious their intolerance may be.

Burger King's french fries are listed as one of the restaurant's options that are created with absolutely no wheat, barley, rye, or oats. This is a win for those who can't eat gluten, which is a type of protein found in each of these mentioned grains. However, the chain also notes that the potato-based side dish is prepared in the same oil used to fry other menu items — some of which contain gluten. The restaurant fries its fries in the same fryer as many other foods: fish filet, hash browns, onion rings, chicken patties, sausages, chicken nuggets, and French toast sticks.

People who adhere to a gluten-free diet are generally discouraged from trying these fries out. In a study published in 2021 in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, 20 orders of fries were purchased from 10 fast-food establishments. Each order of fries, the restaurants assured the researchers, were free of gluten as was the oil, but after being fried in the same oil as wheat-containing menu options, nine out of 20 fries came back with gluten in them.

For those with severe reactions to the ingredient, it can be dangerous to gamble whether or not your food will be contaminated, as it can lead to gluten sensitivity-induced issues like skin reactions, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle pain, bloating, and brain fog. For this reason, you should avoid eating at major fast-food chains if you're gluten-free.