The Popular Chicken Dish You Can Order Gluten-Free At Longhorn Steakhouse

Longhorn Steakhouse may be famous for it's char-grilled legendary steaks, but there are plenty of other items on the menu that might be right up your alley if you're curbing your red meat intake. One such dish is the Parmesan crusted chicken, which you can also request to be made gluten free on ordering.

Unlike a regular chicken Parm, which is coated in breadcrumbs and fried before the crunchy surface is smothered in sauce and cheese, Longhorn's take on a classic chicken and Parmesan flavor pairing is simpler and doesn't feature marinara. Instead, the chicken breast is freshly grilled as is (minus breadcrumbing), smothered in an aromatic garlic and Parmesan cheese blend and topped with a final scattering of breadcrumbs. 

The benefit of preparing the chicken in this way, where each element is layered on top of another, is that the chef can simply omit the breadcrumbs to make the dish gluten-free without altering any of the flavors in the rest of the recipe. Although you'll miss out on the crunch from the crispy crumbs, you'll still get that char-grilled texture from the smoky surface of the chicken and the creamy garlicky flavor from the rich cheesy topping. Order a baked potato, which is naturally gluten-free, from the sides menu, along with some fresh veggies, and you'll have an entire gluten-friendly meal to feat on (Psst! The vanilla bean ice cream on the dessert menu is gluten-free, too).

While many items on the Longhorn Steakhouse menu don't feature ingredients containing gluten, such as grilled chicken tenders , shrimp and lobster chowder, and seasoned rice, you should note that the kitchen itself can't be described as gluten-free. This is because it has shared areas where dishes that include gluten may have been prepped, which you should bear in mind if you're highly sensitive. In fact, at the top of Longhorn Steakhouse's gluten-sensitive guide, it states that "because of the handcrafted nature of our menu items, the shared cooking and preparation areas of our kitchens and our reliance on suppliers for information, we cannot guarantee any item is free of gluten." Having said that, the cooks will make every attempt to meet a gluten-restricted diet where possible by making slight changes to menu items, such as removing the bun from burgers and sandwiches, avoiding marinades that contain gluten, and removing croutons from salads. 

Of course, you could always stick to ordering popular items from the steak menu, such as Flo's Filet, the Outlaw Ribeye, or the Renegade Sirloin, which are gluten-free as is (according to the secrets of an ex Longhorn Steakhouse employee, fellow diners who aren't gluten-free can order their protein Parmesan crusted for a cheesy boost of flavor). Another idea is to recreate the dish at home using gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs.