Are Chocolate Chips Gluten-Free?

With everyday ingredients like soy sauce and deli meat containing gluten, you often have to look at the most unassuming items with a discerning eye. Baked goods, of course, are an item of concern for people with celiac disease — but it's not always because gluten-free flour isn't in the dish. Chocolate chips in a dessert may make you hesitant to try it, but the ingredient is mostly safe for gluten allergies.

While chocolate in its natural form doesn't have gluten, certain additives used in producing the candy may contain the protein. Ingredients used to flavor or boost the texture of the chocolate, like barley malt, flour, or wheat-derived glucose syrup, have gluten.

Since a majority of the chocolate chips on the market are gluten-free, you don't have to seek out premium chocolate makers to find one that fits your needs. Popular chocolate chip brands like Nestle and Hershey have gluten-free chocolate chips. However, you should always examine the label of the product to ensure none of the ingredients contain the protein. Though Ghirardelli's chocolate chips aren't made with gluten, several of its products are made with wheat or barley, increasing the risk for cross-contamination.

Although it's nice that a vast majority of chocolate chips are gluten-free, sometimes you need something different to spruce up your desserts. After all, you may want to break up the deep, chocolatey flavor of your gluten-free almond crinkle cookies with some zesty mint chocolate morsels. From cinnamon and salted caramel to peanut butter and strawberry, flavored chocolate chips can enhance all kinds of treats. Adding extra ingredients to the chocolate could potentially introduce gluten, but most of the time, they tend to be gluten-free.

If you'd like to add a rich touch to gluten-free almond coffee cake, caramel-flavored chocolate chips are a great addition. Caramel from the U.S. tends to be safe for gluten allergies, but if the caramel-flavored chocolate chips are from Europe, double-check to make sure they don't contain wheat starch. Peanut butter is another ingredient that tends to be gluten-free, but you should always examine the label for any additives or cross-contamination risks. The nutty blend of peanut butter and chocolate chips perfectly complements the sweet, earthy taste of this gluten-free buckwheat banana bread.