Is cheese gluten free?
Yes. Plain cheese is naturally gluten free: it is not made from wheat, rye or barley, the grains FDA names as the sources of gluten. None of the 61 cheese versions in USDA's survey database list a gluten ingredient, though 21 include a sauce, spread or mix that could contain one.
What the gluten-free label means
A food labeled gluten free in the US must have less than 20 ppm gluten, whether the gluten comes from an ingredient or from contact during processing. Foods that are gluten free by nature, like fresh fruits and vegetables, can carry the label too (FDA).
For celiac disease, the risk with plain cheese is cross-contact in packing plants and kitchens, not the food itself. Pooled testing studies found more than 20 ppm gluten in 28% of foods that are gluten free by nature, against 9.5% of products labeled gluten free, so the label lowers that risk without removing it.
Cheese in USDA recipes: which versions have gluten
USDA's survey food database (FNDDS) breaks each food Americans eat into ingredients. For cheese it has 61 versions: 40 with no gluten ingredient and 21 where an ingredient such as a sauce, gravy or spread could go either way.
Versions with no gluten ingredient
- Cheese, Brie
- Cheese, Feta
- Cheese, goat
- Cheese, Brick
- Cheese, Colby
- Cheese, Swiss
Dishes named after cheese that do contain gluten
- Cheese dip: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
- Cheese fondue: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
- Cheese pastry puffs: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
- Cheese quiche, meatless: Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched, baked
- Cheese sauce: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
- Cheese souffle: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
- Cheese sandwich, American cheese, on wheat bread: Bread, wheat
- Cheese sandwich, American cheese, on white bread: Bread, white, commercially prepared (includes soft bread crumbs)
Cheese on other diets
Who needs to avoid gluten, and what going gluten free costs
- Level E NIDDK states that people with celiac disease need a gluten-free diet for life to prevent symptoms and intestinal damage from returning. NIDDK (NIH), Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Celiac Disease
- Level C A meta-analysis of 40 studies found gluten above 20 mg/kg in 9.52% of labeled gluten-free products, against 28.32% of naturally gluten-free foods. Br J Nutr, 2022
- Level B Two granola bars a day carrying 10 g of gluten caused no more gut symptoms than gluten-free bars in 33 young people who felt better off gluten, difference on a 100 mm scale -0.01. Aliment Pharmacol Ther, 2022
- Level C Children who went gluten free after a celiac diagnosis had four times more arsenic in their urine six months later, because rice is what replaces wheat. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2025
Levels: A systematic review or meta-analysis, B randomized trial, C observational, D lab or animal, E expert body. How we grade evidence.
Keep exploring
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central (Foundation Foods), Cheese, swiss, FDC ID 746767, accessed 2026-10-12 · full nutrition facts
- FDA, Questions and Answers on the Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule, www.fda.gov (content current as of June 30, 2022), accessed 2026-10-12
- USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS 2021–2023 survey food recipes (input_food.csv, FDC release 2026-04-30), fdc.nal.usda.gov, accessed 2026-10-12
Numbers are USDA values scaled to the serving shown. Serving sizes are USDA household measures. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. Checked 2026-10-12 · How we verify. Information, not medical advice.