First gluten-free Christmas – help!

[ChristmasMad1]

Hi all,
This will be my first Christmas being gluten free and I’m feeling a bit daunted about how much I’ll need to think ahead. I don’t want to miss out on the festive food.

Does anyone have tips for any good gluten free food, including nibbles, biscuits, chocolates etc?

Also is there any sneaky “hidden gluten” I might not think of at Christmas?

I’ll be with family who don’t eat GF, so I’ll probably need my own bits and pieces.

Thanks in advance – I really want to enjoy it without feeling like I’m missing out!

That's how it works here.

I'm happy for the others to have non-GF bread and breakfast cereal, or anything wrapped, but all meals and baking are GF. I definitely wouldn't have standard flour in the house as it's such a huge risk of cross contamination.

Thank you! I was just so worried as it my first Christmas.

Throughout the year I have a separate cupboard, as the family tend to eat my GF snacks then all that's left is gluten snacks!! I tend to separate all my stuff, so this was the plan for nibbles / snacks for Christmas

It's so much easier than it used to be. M&S do GF sausages or you can get minced pork to make your own sausage balls instead. We have GF, dairy free, and a veggie. I just make everything I serve on Xmas day GF so I know DSis can eat anything. I don't say anything to the other relatives and no-one has queried it tasting any differently. I even made a GF, dairy free trifle last year - not a crumb (no pun intended) left!

Agree with others if you are cooking you can easily make gf for all, save cooking separately. Gravy and roast potatoes can be gf and no one would notice. Stuffing you can make, or make pigs in blankets instead, most sausages are gf now.

dessert is a bit harder, but I’m usually happy with ice cream and lots of toppings to choose from.

you should look up the gluten free blogger, she regularly reviews gf foods (whether in gf section or in main aisles) and she usually does season ones for Easter, Christmas etc.

Second (Third?) the suggestion to just do the whole meal gluten free.

We don't have turkey and stuffing so it's only the gravy that has to be tailored to gluten free. But stuffing is fairly easy, either bought or made (it doesn't suffer from using gluten free breadcrumbs imo)

KitKat Christmas Santas are gluten free. If you're looking at bought desserts then the Aldi posset/mousse pots in glass jars are gluten free and feel special enough for Christmas. Otherwise we do pavlova or Eton mess or a chocolate roulade all of which are gluten free. I've never been able to find gluten free lady fingers to do tiramisu but apparently they are available.

We don't have to make many adjustments. I use GF madeira cake from Sainsburys instead of trifle sponges for sherry trifle. Cheesecakes are easy using GF digestive biscuits. Becky Excell's Baileys cheesecake goes down really well every year. Some years I can find the Baileys truffles for the top, other years I have just used Dairy Milk giant buttons.
I use GF flour in the Christmas cake and nobody seems to notice.
Most shop bought GF mince pies are quite nice. The ones with the icing star instead of a lid are particularly good.
DH doesn't like Christmas pudding so never tried it. With so much fruit, nuts and alcohol though I can't see how being GF would affect it much.
Becky Excell sends really useful emails every Christmas listing all the GF products per aisle in each supermarket.

Thank on everyone's advice - I will do a full GF dinner!

is there any good nibbles / snacks exclusively around Christmas time?

I do love a good biscuit, chocolate, cake etc 😂

Pork and chestnut stuffing. There's also a couple other really nice gf stuffings from Waitrose and M&S.
You can make cookies with rice flour, polenta and ground almonds instead of normal flour.
Turkey, veg, roasties, pig in blankets are all naturally gf. Just make sure you get pure pork sausages for them.
You can buy gf mince pies from most supermarkets.

That leaves Yorkshires. I'm sure someone wise has a version though I haven't ever made it.

Is there anything specific you recommend in Tesco? It's my normal shop and would like not to be running around to lots of shops for food

Morrisons gluten free beef gravy is really nice! My mum is coeliac and used to make 2 seperate gravies, however, we all like the morrisons one so she just uses that for us all now!

M&S do lovely gluten free food, my mum enjoys the spring rolls/quiche/chicken goujons/lemon drizzle slices and various bread and rolls.

If you enjoy a cheeseboard I'd recommend the sweet chilli rice crackers from home and bargains these are gluten free and really nice especially with some soft cheese!

It really is more about trying different gluten free brands and remembering what you like/dislike. My family always keep an eye out for new gluten free foods (pastas, cereal, breads, cakes, biscuits etc) and pick them up for mum to try. Its all so much more expensive than none gluten free food and we know she won't necessarily pick things herself to try!

I would recommend downloading a gluten free checking app (my mum has one but not sure what its called - i'll try and find out) you scan the barcode of products and it tells you if its suitable for gluten free or not, this is good for anything that doesn't clearly state its gluten free but the ingredients indicate it is, if you not dure you can scan it to confirm... the ones that are gluten free but not marketed as gluten free are usually normal prices and not inflated!

Tesco frozen cocktail sausages (blue pack I think!) are gluten free. The finest ready made stuffing and pigs in blankets are usually gluten free or you can buy gf packet mixes of stuffing - definitely get now as they are often out of stock at Christmas!

For snacks and nibbles, Becky Excell usually does a round up of all the gf and accidentally gf stuff in the supermarkets for Christmas (and Easter). Worth keeping an eye out for it on Facebook.

It will be so much more effort doing two dinners though. I’m guessing you have two ovens, but even so, there will be all this extra faff and people crossing over each other trying to check in their own meals. Much nicer to all cook as a family. I can’t think of anything major you will need to do separately? Stuffing is easily made gluten free (Tesco pork stuffing balls are GF naturally of you can’t be bothered to make), as is gravy. Most decent sausages don’t have gluten (I can’t think of supermarket that doesn’t have GF sausages as standard). You can buy GF bread sauce if you don’t want to make it. I really can’t think of anything else!! I’ve done GF Christmas meals for years and nobody has noticed. I hate Yorkshire puddings, so just get the ready made for people that like them and put them in a hot oven when we are plating up.

Don’t make things harder for yourself or risk being ill! It’s not worth it, people honestly won’t tell the difference!!

Does anyone know where I can find GF cocktail sausages (pre-cooked) or any similar picky bits (don't eat chicken) ?

Supermarkets do loads.

Sainburys is brilliant all year round and Morrisons is great at Christmas.

Tesco always do a range and even Aldi does GF stuff all year round mow
bit often does at Christmas.

you can make most things with GF flour replacement.

Part baked baguettes are easy to buy.

Getting things won’t be a problem - it’s the cost

Most places make their pre packed meats GF.

I have previously brought some from Tesco that needed cooking.

They will print it on the front of the package.

There are lots of 'normal' food that is naturally gluten free so you don't always have to pay extra for gf stuff e.g. bisto best gravy is gluten free. Quality street are gf and celebrations have got allergens written on the tub.

Just be careful of cross contamination in the kitchen and hidden barley, lots of people who are not gf don't realise barley is gluten too.

For dessert. Panne cotta. Is natually gluten free. Waitrose and m&s. Does little ones in individual bowls from their entertainment ranges.

Gluten Free Christmas Dinner 2025 | Gluten Free Xmas Food | COOK COOK https://share.google/MVwKNXyW5ugHA8zGS cook does a christmas dinner for 2. However its really.not hard to make the main deal gluten free without anyone notices.

Just roll do gluten free puff pastry which is easy to turn into some mini sausage rolls with some gf chipolatas or sausage meat. It also makes a nice cranberry snowflake to go with baked camembert salu-salo.com/camembert-snowflake/.

This is an easy yule log
www.freee-foods.co.uk/recipes/gluten-free-chocolate-yule-log/

Supermarkets do lots of really good gluten free crackers these days for cheese and biscuits.

I also make bread sauce with gluten free bread but following a recipe for normal home made bread sauce....except I don't put the bread crumbs in until just before serving because gf bread has nothing to hold it together.

For amazing gf pastries try this bakery, you can order by post but you have to buy in bulk. They can be frozen. mannadew.co.uk/
foods.co.uk/recipes/gluten-free-chocolate-yule-log/

Supermarkets do lots of really good gluten free crackers these days for cheese and biscuits.

I also make bread sauce with gluten free bread but following a recipe for normal home made bread sauce....except I don't put the bread crumbs in until just before serving because gf bread has nothing to hold it together.

For amazing gf pastries try this bakery, you can order by post but you have to buy in bulk. They can be frozen. https://mannadew.co.uk/

Bisto Best is a 'may contain' for gluten.

@ChristmasMad1 if you are as Christmas mad as your name then you really should get Becky Excell's Christmas book! Her FB group is fab too and lots of people share their GF supermarket finds.

Also on FB, follow Monty and Vito's Diner, as she is a wizard baker and does the best croissants and pain au choc, as well as GF French fancies, Viennese whirls, and more. She does selection boxes for various occasions through the year.

At Christmas I usually do a supermarket crawl to pick up the best bits they all have to offer.

M&S do lovely ready to eat cocktail sausages (they also do sausage rolls, samosas and spring rolls). I also like to stock up on their balsamic onions every year as pickled onions are rarely GF.

Asda sells GF pigs in blankets and GF stuffing in the sausage and bacon section. Last year we had stuffing with some cranberries in it, everyone liked it. Buy early and freeze as they sell out.

Ohh this is so easy then.
Do absolutely everything gf - I have a coeliac in the family and this is what we do:

Make a gf Christmas cake well in advance - Becky Excell’s recipe

But gf mini mince pies with a star on the top from Sains

Ready-stuffed turkey breast joint from M&S (all M&S stuffing/ sausages etc = gf)
M&S pigs in blankets
Buy fresh gf bread sauce and cranberry sauce from M&S
Home made roast potatoes
Home made roast carrots and parsnips
Home made cauliflower cheese (make the day before - use cornflour to thicken the cheese sauce)
Ready- peeled sprouts from M&S

Buy a gf Christmas pudding
serve with vanilla ice cream

cheeses and Nairns gf oatcakes for supper

Chocs - red Lindors

Oh! And M&S fresh gravy!

Tesco frozen cocktail sausages used to be gf (but not the pre cooked ones). I used to cook a batch and pop them in the fridge for dc1.

I just really miss the picnic cocktail sausages!!

The M&S 3 for £8 picnic range has honey and mustard cocktail sausages that are GF - spenny but lovely.

all I ate for a couple of weeks when I was pregnant!