These Gluten-Free Cereals Are So Good You Won’t Miss The Wheat

Biggest struggles of a gluten-free diet: no bread, no pizza, and no morning bowl of cereal. (Womp, womp.)

Except, you're wrong. There are actually plenty of gluten-free cereal options out there to satisfy your Cap'n Crunch craving. “Cereals made of corn, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, amaranth, teff, rice, and gluten-free oats are naturally gluten-free,” says Suzanne Dixon, RD, with The Mesothelioma Center in Orlando, Florida.

Gluten can be sneaky, hiding in all sorts of places, under all kinds of names. If you see: wheat, wheat berries, duram, tritical, emmer, semolina, farina, farro, graham, spelt, khorasan, kamut, einkorn, rye, barley, brewer's yeast, wheat starch, malt, malted barley flower, malt extract or syrup, malt flavoring, or malt vinegar on your cereal's nutrition label, chances are there’s gluten inside that box.

And if you’re choosing an oat-based cereal, read the label to make sure the product is certified gluten-free—while oats are naturally gluten-free, many are processed in the same factories as gluten-containing grains. “In these cases, the oats are not truly gluten free. You need to avoid them if you're following a 100 percent gluten-free diet,” says Dixon.

Besides looking for the gluten-free label, you should also check to see if it includes nutrients that are often harder to get while on a gluten-free diet, such as B vitamins (niacin, riboflavin, and niacin) folate, fiber and iron. "Removing the wheat (as well as barley and rye) makes getting adequate intake of these nutrients a challenge, and one way to help meet this need is through a healthy cereal choice," explains Pam Cureton RD, LDN, member of the Grain Foods Foundation’s scientific advisory board.

If you feel like the healthier options are less tasty, Cureton recommends making a personal mix of cereal. "If you’re used to eating sugary cereals and are having trouble switching to a lower-sugar, high-fiber cereal it’s often helpful to make a mix of cereals by combining a small amount of the sweet with the healthier choice and adding some fruit for additional sweetness, fiber, and vitamins."

To be totally safe though, you can't go wrong with any of the following options. Look for these delicious nutritionist-approved gluten-free cereals next time you're stocking up at the store.