Setting Up a Gluten-Free Kitchen

If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, you’ll want to make a few changes to your kitchen setup. These changes will ensure you can stick to your gluten-free diet and avoid getting sick – aka glutened – in your own home. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

After my celiac disease diagnosis, I found it essential to set up my kitchen in a way that kept me healthy and safe.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats, was lurking everywhere, even in the tiny hidden bits of spaghetti clinging to the inner depths of my colander.

You can use one of two routes when setting up a gluten-free kitchen.

The first and preferred option is to make your kitchen 100 percent gluten free. This is ideal if you live alone or if your family will be going gluten free together.

I know many families that decide to make their kitchen a dedicated gluten-free kitchen even if just one member of the family has celiac. I love this “we’re all in it together” attitude!

However, a more realistic route is to figure out how to navigate a shared kitchen, as most of you will be sharing your kitchen with those who still eat gluten. You’ll need to make a few simple adjustments to ensure a safe shared eating and cooking environment.

My house was a shared household for the first four years of my celiac journey. But as time passed, and my husband began to recognize how difficult it was for me to feel safe even in my own home, we made the decision to make our kitchen a dedicated gluten-free space.

If you can make a dedicated gluten-free kitchen either now or one day, do it. In a world full of gluten, I know I’m always safe at home, which has done wonders for my mental health and sanity.

Regardless, I’ll help you figure out how to approach setting up a gluten-free kitchen, whether you’re setting up a dedicated gluten-free kitchen or sharing one with the gluten-eaters in your life.

Step #1: Audit Your Pantry and Fridge

Auditing your pantry and fridge can feel like the hardest step because you’ll have to quickly get up to speed on what is and isn’t gluten free. You’ll quickly learn how confusing and difficult many food labels are to read. However, label reading is the first skill you’ll need to master in order to successfully navigate the gluten-free diet easily.

I recommend sorting all your food in your pantry into three piles:

Gluten Free
Gluten
Not Sure

You can then research all the “not sure” items at one time and decide what you feel safe keeping and what has to go. If you’re sharing your kitchen with gluten eaters, you’ll save those gluten-y items for them to enjoy. You’ll want to do the same audit in your fridge.

I highly recommend reading, What Gluten-Free Labeling Laws and Certifications Really Mean, to help you understand how to read food labels and sniff out gluten. You may also want to refer to my article, Is Yeast Extract Gluten Free and 20+ Other Confusing Ingredients, to help you decode food labels.

Remember, never assume something is gluten free just by looking at it. Licorice “looks” gluten free, but I assure you, it’s not.

Step #2: Set Up Your Pantry and Fridge

After wiping down all surfaces to remove any lingering gluten crumbs in your pantry and fridge, it’s time to set up your pantry and fridge.

Assuming you’re sharing your kitchen with gluten-eaters, you’ll want to designate the top 2-3 shelves as “gluten free.” Create signage or labels that clearly states, “These shelves are for gluten-free foods only. Do not touch them.”

You want the top shelves for two reasons. First, the top shelves are just out of reach for most people, so your roommates or family won’t be tempted to sneak one of your gluten-free Oreo cookies if they can’t see them.

Second, if something spills, like an opened cereal box, it won’t fall onto your gluten-free foods if your foods are on the top shelves.

I also recommend labeling your foods, especially if your roommates don’t have clear boundaries about what they’re allowed to touch and take. You don’t want them putting their gluten-y hands inside your chip bag and contaminating the entire bag.

Step #3: Purchase New Food Items

After setting up your pantry and fridge, you’ll want to replace a few condiments and stock up on some gluten-free food items.

The following items should be purchased fresh and used only by you. Label these containers carefully, and ask your family and/or roommates not to use the food items labeled “gluten free.”

Sticks and tubs of butter
Mayonnaise
Peanut butter
Jelly
Sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and other baking items that might get cross-contaminated with flour when baking
Any other container where you use a knife to spread the item on bread (crumbs can linger and make you sick)

While at the grocery store, you’ll also want to purchase more gluten-free foods. Naturally gluten-free foods, like fruits and vegetables, will always be the safest bets. You can enjoy plenty of gluten-free labeled packaged foods as well.

Here are a few articles to help you figure out what to buy at the grocery store:

Remember to keep all your items on the designated gluten-free shelves and clearly label your food to keep gluten-y hands out of your stuff.

Step #4: Replace a Few Kitchen Items

While you’ll want to replace a few kitchen items, tools, and appliances with new items, you don’t need to replace everything. In fact, items washed in the dishwasher, like plates, utensils, and glasses, can be shared among gluten-free and gluten-full people. I also think knives can be shared and washed easily before and after use.

That said, the following items pose the greatest threat for potential cross contamination and should be dedicated for gluten-free use only. You can shop at HomeGoods, Target, Costco and/or Amazon find inexpensive replacement items for your kitchen.

What You Need:

Pots: You’ll want a pot for cooking pasta and a skillet pan for making your eggs. If you like cooking with cast iron, you’ll want to get a dedicated gluten-free cast iron pan because cast iron pans are difficult to clean between uses and often have caked-on food from prior uses.

Colander: Bits of gluten can get stuck in the nooks and crannies of a colander used to drain wheat pasta. Invest in a new one and designate it for gluten-free use only.

Spatulas: Purchase a couple of spatulas (spoon and flat), as spatulas often have gluten-y bits stuck on them, even after washing.

Measuring cups and spoons: You’ll likely be baking often, so you’ll want a designated set of cups and spoons for gluten-free use only. You can also thoroughly wash these items between uses and generally experience a low risk of gluten transfer.

Baking sheets: While you can share a baking sheet if you cover it with foil first, I recommend investing in a clean baking sheet for gluten-free cooking only.

Cupcake pan: If you want to make cupcakes and muffins, you’ll definitely need a clean cupcake pan since gluten bits easily become stuck in the grooves of a cupcake pan.

Cutting board: There is a slight risk that gluten could seep into the grooves of a cutting board, regardless of the material. It’s vigilant to invest in a new one just for you if possible. Read more about the risk in my article, Can Gluten Linger on a Cutting Board?

Toaster: A study found that the risk of cross-contamination in a shared toaster is low; however, toasters are notorious for harboring gluten bits. I recommend investing in one of your own and storing it out of sight, so others don’t mistakenly use it. Read my article, Do Convection Ovens, Toasters, Microwaves, and/or Air-Fryers Pose a Gluten Cross Contact Risk? to better understand the risks associated with kitchen appliances.

Gluten cross contamination in the toaster

Hand mixer: If you’re going to be baking (and I bet you will), you’ll want to invest in a new hand mixer. Gluten-y bits get stuck in the crevices of a mixer, posing a gluten risk in your baked goods.

Standing mixer: Standing mixers (think Kitchenaid) are expensive, so it isn’t easy to replace when you’re on a tight budget. If you have a standing mixer, run it for a few minutes to knock out any gluten bits and carefully clean it. Use it for gluten-free baking from here on out. If others are using this same standing mixer for baking with gluten, consider investing in a dedicated standing mixer.

Food Processor: If you use a food processor (Cuisinart) for making bread or homemade pasta (I do!) you’ll want to clean all the parts in your dishwasher and designate it for gluten-free usage from now on. If others are using the food processor, consider purchasing a dedicated food processor of your own since bits of gluten can become stuck inside the appliance’s nooks and crannies.

Hand towels: Gluten crumbs can linger in kitchen hand towels, so invest in some of your own. Store your hand towels in a separate place.

Sponges: Sponges can easily transfer bits of food and contaminants from one plate to another. You’ll want a dedicated gluten-free sponge for cleaning dishes. You can color code sponges to help everyone know which sponge is for gluten-free cleaning. In my house, pink is for cleaning gluten-free dishes, blue is for cleaning gluten-full dishes.

Step #5: Invest in a Few New Appliances & Tools

If you have the money, I highly recommend investing in these appliances (if you don’t have them already):

Rice Cooker: Rice is a gluten-free staple you can enjoy in plenty, and I think rice tastes best when cooked in a rice cooker. Invest in a rice cooker – you won’t be sorry.

Slow Cooker: I love making delicious slow-cooked meals in my Crock-Pot, including my famous turkey meatballs and this hearty chicken enchilada soup. While a Crock-Pot doesn’t absorb food allergens, it’s wise to clean your slow cooker well and designate it for gluten-free cooking from here on out. Please read, Does a Crock-Pot Absorb Gluten? for more information about the risks involved with using a shared slow cooker.

Juicer: I talk a lot about how juicing helped me heal my body in the aftermath of my celiac diagnosis. You can read more about the benefits of juicing and find juicing recipes in this article. I highly recommend investing in a juicer if you’re serious about healing and like the taste of green juices.

High-Speed Blender: If you don’t love juicing, you could invest in a high-speed blender instead. I love my high-speed blender because I can make smoothies, like my Blueberry Banana Spinach Smoothie. It also has a spiralizer feature, so I can make homemade zoodles (zucchini noodles) in seconds.

Immersion Blender: A handheld immersion blender makes it easy to puree soups, blend salad dressings, and chop onions in seconds.

Storage Containers: You may want to invest in a few storage containers to store your gluten-free flour, sugar, and other baking supplies. I recommend these storage containers from Oxo.

Air-Fryer: An air-fryer circulates air around the food and is risky to share with those who use it for cooking gluten-containing foods, even if it’s cleaned well between uses. Consider investing in a dedicated gluten-free air-fryer. Learn more in my article, Do Convection Ovens, Toasters, Microwaves, and/or Air-Fryers Pose a Gluten Cross Contact Risk?

I also recommend investing in other organizational tools and containers to help keep your pantry tidy. You can find storage container options at HomeGoods and The Container Store.

Step #6: Communicate

Finally, after setting up a gluten-free kitchen, you’ll want to call a family/roommates meeting to communicate your new setup and discuss how the entire household can help keep you safe. No one wants you to feel sick in the safety of your own home, do they?

Remind them not to use any items labeled “gluten free,” including butter and peanut butter jars, due to the potential for cross-contamination.

Remind them to leave your toaster, hand towels, and special appliances and pots alone, as these are designated for your use only. Color-coding and labeling your items, as well as keeping your items in a designated gluten-free area, will help prevent any mishaps or confusion.

Step #7: Don’t Sweat It

The process of setting up a gluten-free kitchen can feel overwhelming, but remember, once you set everything up, the hardest part is behind you.

It will take time for you and your family or roommates to adjust, but with time, it will feel like second nature to everyone.

Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as you get started on the gluten-free diet: