While Little Caesars launched a gluten-free pizza option in 2022, the restaurant says its gluten-free pizza is unsuitable for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. This article includes everything you need to know about eating gluten-free at Little Caesars. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
In January 2023, Little Caesars began testing gluten-free pizza in Colorado, making it the last of the big five pizza restaurants to launch a gluten-free option.
Currently, the gluten-free pizza option is not available nationwide, and Little Caesers has not returned any of my numerous inquiries to help me determine if it’s testing gluten-free pizza in other markets.
I suspect that should the test go well in Colorado, Little Caesars will launch its gluten-free pizza option in other cities nationwide.
Since I’m in Colorado, I can see a gluten-free crust option on the company’s online ordering system. The square-shaped, deep-dish gluten-free pepperoni pizza is listed for $8.99, and you can also select the gluten-free crust to build your own pizza.
Little Caesars’s Gluten-Free Pizza Is Not Suitable for People with Celiac Disease
As I began to order a gluten-free pizza online, a pop-up appeared that said, in a nutshell, that Little Caesars’ gluten-free pizza, like its predecessors, isn’t suitable for people with celiac disease. In this common genetic disorder, gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats, triggers the immune system to mistakenly attack the tissue surrounding the small intestine.
It says, “We proudly make our wheat-based pizza dough fresh daily in each of our Little Caesars kitchens and are happy to now offer a gluten-free crust that does not contain wheat, rye, or barley. Since all of our fresh dough products are made in the same kitchen, there is potential for gluten exposure. Therefore, we do not recommend this pizza crust for customers with celiac disease.”
Just like Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Papa Murphy’s, Little Caesers is offering gluten-free pizza not suitable for people on a gluten-free diet. (Read: Restaurants that Don’t Recommend their Gluten-Free Pizza for People with Celiac Disease.)
I called a local restaurant to glean what information I could about how the gluten-free pizza would be prepared inside the restaurant. The person working at one of the Colorado-based Little Caesars told me the pizza is cooked inside a deep-dish pan. He said they’re the same pans for cooking both regular and gluten-free deep-dish pizzas.
He said he hadn’t received special training on preparing a gluten-free pizza and confirmed that everything is prepared in a shared prep area.
At first, I was tempted to order the pizza and test it for hidden gluten with my Nima Sensor, but I didn’t feel it would be safe for me, so I couldn’t bring myself to order it.
Are Little Caesars’ Chicken Wings Gluten Free?
I also inspected Little Caesars’ menu for other potential gluten-free options. According to the nutrition guide, the wings and dips don’t contain wheat; however, people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance should avoid the wings.
While the wings are baked, not fried, they’re baked in a shared oven alongside the pizzas, where gluten cross-contamination is high. I also understand that some Little Caesars restaurants offer breaded boneless wings, posing another cross-contamination threat.
If you want wings, I recommend making them yourself or finding a restaurant that specializes in gluten-free wings, like WingWok in Denver. (Remember, Wingstop wings are NOT gluten free.)
The Bottom Line
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend Little Caesers gluten-free pizza for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance due to the high risk of gluten cross-contamination. The gluten-free community mustn’t support such restaurants, as it only encourages restaurants to create products the gluten-free community cannot safely enjoy.
Be sure to read Restaurants that Don’t Recommend their Gluten-Free Pizza for People with Celiac Disease for more details on how other pizza restaurants fail to properly produce a gluten-free pizza.
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