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Packaged gluten free snacks used to mean specialty-store boxes that cost too much and tasted like disappointment. Now, some of the best GF snacks are sitting right next to the regular crackers, cookies, chips, and mac and cheese.
These are the gluten free snacks that taste good and feel normal. They make it easier to pack a lunch, stock the pantry, or just make a hungry kid smile.
How I chose these snacks
This isn’t a list of every gluten free snack on the market. It’s a curated roundup of the packaged snacks I actually buy regularly and recommend, from the perspective of someone who's had a gluten free home since 2005.
Like the recipes I develop, this list is built around one goal: making gluten free life as normal as possible. When my son was young, he didn’t want snacks that screamed “gluten free.” He wanted what his friends were eating.
Most of these snacks are mainstream products that are naturally GF, or familiar favorites that now come in a gluten free version. I’m grateful to dedicated gluten free brands for their innovation. But for this list, I leaned into the products you’re more likely to find in regular grocery stores, often at a better price.
As always, check the label before you buy, since ingredients and manufacturing practices can change. If you’re looking for a product locally, try searching for it on Instacart to see which stores carry it near you. Then buy it in person for the best price and fewer broken crackers.
Gluten free crackers
Here are some of our favorite gluten free crackers:
- Gluten Free Original Cheez-Its: Officially available in the U.S. in early 2026, this was huge news in the gluten free community. They do not disappoint, and I find them at most larger grocery stores now.
- Good Thins: Made from rice or corn and rice by food giant Mondelēz International, these crackers come in 8 different gluten free varieties.
- Blue Diamond Almonds Nut Thins: Made from a combination of almonds and rice flour by Blue Diamond, they come in lots of different flavors, including plain, cheese, and even dill pickle.
Gluten free bagged snacks
Chips and popcorn
Here's where we have a ton of naturally gluten free riches. Most corn chips, most potato chips, and most popcorn are gluten free (except certain flavorings, so read labels carefully). And with most companies like Frito-Lay having reliable “contains” allergen statements, you can read the ingredient list and know what's safe and what isn't.
Pretzels
There are so many varieties of gluten free pretzels that I recommend 8 different kinds to try. We love Snyder's brand, and they're always coming out with new shapes, like their “snaps” that look like they'd be great in Chex mix. My son's favorite is the Snack Factory brand gluten free pretzel crisps, though.
Gluten free boxed mac and cheese
If you make it from scratch, gluten free mac and cheese is a meal. If you make it from a box, I'm more likely to consider it a snack. Luckily, lots of mainstream brands now make a gluten free variety. I've tried most of them, and here are my favorites:
- Kraft gluten free mac and cheese: The original, with the powdered cheese, is always a winner, and for the boxed kind, I'm partial to the tiny, straight mini hollow shape, probably for nostalgic reasons.
- Velveeta gluten free shells and cheese: My son doesn't love this kind, but it's the only one he could make in college even when he didn't have milk and butter on hand. I'm not 100% sure it's any different than melting Velveeta cheese and pouring it onto pasta, but either way, I'm a fan.
- Annie's rice pasta and cheddar: Tastes more like real cheese than the others, if that's your thing, and comes in a white cheddar variety. Plus, it has that nostalgic shaped pasta for me.
Gluten free rice cakes
Most rice cakes are naturally gluten free, so this almost feels like a cheat. But rice cakes go way beyond the somewhat tasteless disks not everyone loves. Most flavors of the mini cakes (called rice crisps, I guess) are gluten free, but not all, so be sure to check labels.
And I love it when some new popular snack like Drizzilicious mini rice cakes just happen to be gluten free. I'm a huge fan of anything birthday cake flavored, but there are so many flavors. They're not cheap, but they often go on sale.
Gluten free crispy rice bars
I love homemade gluten free rice krispie treats, but they have one flaw: you can't pack them to-go very easily. They tend to get squished and sticky. I'm still annoyed that Kellogg's Rice Krispies make their cereal with barley-derived malt, so they're not gluten free, and their packaged treats are also off-limits for the same reason.
There are a few brands that just kind of happen to be gluten free, including Annie's and Made Good, and they aren't cheap but do often go on sale. They're not as satisfying as a protein bar, but they do hit the spot sometimes.
Gluten free Nabisco cookies
Finally, I will always be grateful to Nabisco for creating gluten free varieties of Oreos and, more recently, chewy Chips Ahoy! They did it of course for business reasons, and there were other fake Oreos like Trader Joe's and Kinnikinnick, but I really wanted my gluten free son to have the real thing.
I love that they make different varieties (golden are my favorite), and my son had his college friends taste his cookies and was happy to report that they said they're “really close.” And the chewy Chips Ahoy! are absolute packaged cookie perfection.
These are all really great!! Thanks for sharing! Some of my favorite gluten-free snacks are made by the brand Simple Mills. They have great almond flour crackers and other good snacks.
Thanks for sharing that, Adelaide! I was thinking about adding Simple Mills to the list I share of our favorite crackers, and didn’t mostly because I don’t think of them as mainstream in the way I do some of the others here. But I agree with you that they’re great-tasting, tons of availability, and often have coupons available, so they’re a great addition!
When I found out I needed to be gluten free I was sure baking was no longer going to be part of my life. Then I discovered you and your wonderful and delicious recipes! Thank you for all the work you have done and for making it available for non creative people like me!
You’re so welcome, Karen! I’m so glad that my recipes have helped give you hope that life could return to normal. Normal tends to be way underrated, but it’s the whole goal here!
It may be stretching the word “snack”, but I’ve been disappointed with the lack of a GF Cheerios cereal. I’ve looked at other brands of oat “o”s, too, and they all have wheat added to the cereal. Has anyone found a brand that is safe for the GFD?
P.S. Thanks very much for this GF on a Shoestring site. It’s my go to place for ideas and recipes.
Hi, Sue, I actually love cereal as a snack, so I love this comment! Only you can make the choice about whether or not you’re willing to eat General Mills Cheerios, but I highly recommend you read this article from my friend Jenny about it before you decide. I have learned so much from her and her site, Good For You Gluten Free. As far as other brands, I really like Nature’s Path Whole Os a lot!
I used a lot of your baked goods in a coffeehouse I opened a few years back. Once I sold it, I thought I would not need as many recipes. Then my son married a girl who is celiac and my husband diagnosed as celiac. I need you!! :) I still make your scones, fruit tart, brownies and blondies. And we love the classic pizza dough!
Thanks for many years of GF!
Oh wow, Kellie, that’s a great story! You’re clearly meant to be the mother in law and wife to celiacs. Life sometimes has a way of working out like that, I guess! Thanks so much for sharing that.
Great list! I keep forgetting to check for the gluten-free Cheez-its when I go shopping. Hopefully I’ll remember now!
They’re worth the hunt, Stephanie! I hope you find them soon. :)
I like soft pretzels
Me too, Rose! I don’t know of any gluten free soft pretzels you can buy, but you can certainly make gluten free soft pretzels!
Nicole I LOVE your posts and recipes, and hesitate to post any thing that isn’t positive because you’re my “go-to” person for recipes etc. – understanding that GF doesn’t necessarily mean healthy – but most people that need to eat GF already have inflammation & food sensitivities. The majority of these snacks are loaded with sugar, Seed oils, and so many chemical stabilizers. Definitely great list for special “treats”
I understand your concerns, Annette, and really appreciate your trust in my recipes. I have no problem with seed oils, which no one has ever actually proven to be harmful, or sugar. Of course, highly processed foods are not healthy, but my focus has only ever been onnormalcy. Everyone always has to make their own choices for themselves and their families. I’m only here to provide ideas, and I make no assumptions about why anyone eats gluten free, and wish others wouldn’t either. To each their own!
Thanks for all the snack tips for when I need a quick “fix” that crunches! As for pretzels I will not turn away from Snyder honey mustard pretzels! The best : )
Well that’s a gem I didn’t know existed, Diane! I didn’t even realize that Snyder’s made those, but I’ll have to try them! The flavor seems to be “honey mustard and onion.” I think my son would LOVE those. Thank you for sharing!
Of the items you have listed that I’ve tried (Oreos, pretzels) I 100% agree. Thanks for the list! And thank you Nabisco for nailing it with the cookies.
Yes yes yes, Val! I will never not be grateful to Nabisco for giving us these great treats! ❤️