Are Potato Chips Typically Gluten-Free?

While potatoes are gluten-free just like all other fresh vegetables, the same isn't always true once they are processed into chips. Fortunately, there are an abundance of gluten-free potato chips available in the snack aisle at any grocery store, but there are a few flavors, brands, and ingredients to keep an eye out for when avoiding gluten.

It is always a good idea to take a thorough look at the ingredients list to make sure that the chips do not contain wheat, barley, or rye. Also, there are lots of ingredients that may have hidden gluten, such as soy sauce, emulsifiers, and modified food starch. Another ingredient to be cautious of when looking for gluten-free potato chips is malt vinegar. Malt vinegar, malt extract, and malt flavoring are all usually made with malted barley, which contains gluten. Yeast extract may also be present; it is often (though not always) derived from brewer's yeast — a by-product of making beer, which usually requires a grain containing gluten.

As an example, Pringles brand chips are not gluten-free. Although Pringles technically are not potato chips since they're made from a dough with dehydrated potatoes rather than potato slices, they're widely regarded as potato chips among consumers. Nonetheless, the gluten-containing ingredient, wheat starch, is part of the recipe for all Pringles crisps.

Nowadays, many popular potato chip brands and almost all their flavors are gluten-free. These brands can voluntarily declare their products gluten-free on their potato chip packaging, as long as they meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards by having less than 20 parts per million of gluten in their products. 

According to Frito-Lay, numerous flavors of Lay's, Ruffles, Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, and Tostitos are gluten-free, including Lay's new All Dressed Up flavor. All flavors from Kettle Brand and Cape Cod are also FDA-certified gluten-free. If you're looking for a substitute for Pringles, the brand The Good Crisp Company offers a tasty, widely available stand-in that does not contain gluten. 

This is not an exhaustive list of all the gluten-free potato chip options out available — and thank goodness! You can even make potato chips right in the microwave. If you ever question whether or not a potato chip ingredient (or any packaged food for that matter) is gluten-free, it's always best to refer to the product's website for further information.