EVERYTHING Gluten-Free at Little Caesars in 2023

Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain in America after Pizza hut and Domino’s Pizza. They might have been your favorite pizza place growing up.

Their pizzas taste good and are economical, too. However, does Little Caesars have gluten-free pizza?

Unlike its competitors, Little Caesars doesn’t make gluten-free pizzas yet. Though most of their pizza toppings are gluten-free, their pizza crusts contain wheat.

And items other than pizza may also contain traces of wheat due to cross-contamination.

People with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity should avoid eating at Little Caesars. However, if you avoid gluten for some other reasons, here are some tips and gluten-free options you can try at Little Caesars.

Gluten-free items on Little Caesars menu  

Little Caesars became popular for its catchphrase “Pizza! Pizza!”. It meant you could buy two Little Caesars pizzas for the price of one pizza sold by their competitors.

Little Caesars introduced its popular Hot-N-Ready pizza, a pepperoni pizza, in 1997 for just $5. Due to the low price, the concept was such a success that it became a permanent item on their menu.

A variety of popular items are now part of the Hot-N-Ready menu, which allows immediate takeout.

Little Caesars makes a variety of pizzas like cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, vegetable pizza, and so on. They also make several types of pizza crusts like Detroit-Style Deep Dish crust,  stuffed crust, thin crust, and classic round crust.

Apart from pizzas, they also offer a few side dishes like different types of bread, different flavors of chicken wings, a couple of desserts, and beverages like Pepsi. They also offer salads in some locations.

Although Little Caesars has an extensive menu, they don’t have a dedicated gluten-free menu, nor is gluten included as an allergen on its allergen chart. 

However, they’ve included wheat and soy as allergens. So, here I’ve listed those items that don’t contain wheat and soy in particular.

Hot-N-Ready Caesar Wings

Note: Little Caesars bake their wings instead of frying them. And the wings are baked in the same oven as the pizzas. 

#1. Oven-roasted wings

The Oven-roasted wings are simply coated with 2% seasoning and are baked until they turn crispy and golden brown. You can have them with the Crazy sauce.

Nutritional information

• Calories: 510 kcal
• Fat: 35 g
• Carbs: 3 g
• Protein: 47 g

ALSO READ: What’s Gluten-free at McAlister’s Deli?

#2. Buffalo wings

The chicken wings are first seasoned and baked, then get coated in the buffalo sauce. You can order them with Cheddar cheese sauce.

Nutritional information

• Calories: 510 kcal
• Fat: 35 g
• Carbs: 3 g
• Protein: 47 g

#3. BBQ wings

The BBQ wings are prepared by first seasoning and baking, then get tossed with BBQ sauce. You can order it with ranch.

Nutritional information

• Calories: 620 kcal
• Fat: 35 g
• Carbs: 32 g
• Protein: 48 g

#4. Garlic Parmesan wings

The Garlic Parmesan wings are made by seasoning and baking the wings, then tossing them with Garlic Parmesan sauce. You can order them with Buffalo ranch.

Nutritional information

• Calories: 670 kcal
• Fat: 51 g
• Carbs: 5 g
• Protein: 49 g

RECOMMENDED: Bojangles Gluten-Free Options

Caesar Dips

#5. Cheese Jalapeno

Nutritional information

• Calories: 210 kcal
• Fat: 21 g
• Carbs: 3 g
• Protein: 1 g

#6. Ranch

Nutritional information

• Calories: 230 kcal
• Fat: 23 g
• Carbs: 4 g
• Protein: 2 g

#7. Buffalo Ranch

Nutritional information

• Calories: 230 kcal
• Fat: 23 g
• Carbs: 4 g
• Protein: 1 g 

#9. Cheddar Cheese Sauce 

Nutritional information

• Calories: 110 kcal
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbs: 7 g
• Protein: 4 g

Tips for ordering gluten-free at Little Caesars

Avoid Garlic butter

As per Little Caesar’s allergen chart, garlic butter doesn’t have wheat or soy, however,  it contains Barley. Barley contains gluten so it’s not recommended on a gluten-free diet.

Avoid the desserts

Little Caesars offers a couple of desserts like cookies and brownies. Avoid them because they are made of wheat flour.

Avoid Pizzas at Little Caesars

Pizzas are the specialty of Little Caesars, however, their crust is made of wheat flour. Wheat contains gluten so it’s not recommended on a gluten-free diet. Instead of pizza opt for wings. As per Little Caesar’s allergen chart, the wings don’t contain wheat.

Inform the server about your food allergy

Inform the cashier that you are allergic to wheat and ask them to change their gloves and prepare and package your food in a separate area. If such a facility is not available, walk away because it’s better than getting sick.

Cross-contamination risk at Little Caesars

Most of the dishes produced at Little Caesars contain wheat. And all of their food items are prepared in a shared space using the same equipment. So, even items without wheat may contain traces of wheat due to cross-contamination. 

Furthermore, Little Caesar is not a gluten-free pizza chain. So there are no strict rules for cross-contamination in place. Therefore, Little Caesars is not safe for people with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

What people say about Little Caesars

This is what people with celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitivity said about gluten-free options at Little Caesars. This part is gathered from around the net to help you make better decisions when ordering gluten-free at Little Caesars.

People said that “they wish big establishments like Little Caesars had more gluten-free options.” Some said, “Little Caesar’s pizza was their childhood favorite until they went gluten-free”.

Some advised to “not risk it if they don’t know if something is gluten-free”. And that “Garlic butter is not gluten-free since it has barley.”

Some also said that “they’ve tried their wings and have gotten sick”

A lot of people complained about their late delivery, rude staff, and no phone call response. It doesn’t matter what the location is, chances of getting gluten-free items are low, especially when there is no rule in place to prevent cross-contamination.

Gluten-free alternatives to Little Caesars

1. Hungry Howie’s

Are you craving Pizza on a gluten-free diet? Hungry Howies offers pizza with a gluten-free crust. They also have flavored pizza crusts that are also gluten-free.

Hungry Howies has an extensive list of toppings and sauces on their menu that are also gluten-free. However, the gluten-free pizza crusts, flavored and unflavored, are only available in the 8” size. 

Furthermore, Hungry Howies warns that their gluten-free pizza crusts are not for people with celiac disease due to the risk of cross-contamination.

2. Pizza Hut

Pizza hut is the world’s largest pizza chain in terms of the number of restaurants worldwide. Pan pizza is their most famous pizza. Apart from pizzas, Pizza Hut also offers wings, pasta, desserts, beverages, and some side items.

Pizza Hut also offers pizzas made of UDI’s gluten-free crust. These crusts are available in a variety of flavors. However, pizzas with UDI’s gluten-free crusts are only available in the ⅓ of the locations nationwide.

So, ask the establishment in your location whether they have gluten-free pizza crusts or not.

Pizza hut uses separate dedicated utensils for UDI’s gluten-free pizza. You can build your gluten-free pizza with standard Pizza Hut toppings, which are naturally gluten-free except for a few. 

3. Domino’s Pizza

Domino’s is the second-largest pizza chain having over 17,000 locations worldwide. Domino’s produces a variety of pizzas such as Ultimate Pepperoni pizza, Meatzza, Extravaganzza, and so on.

Apart from  Pizzas, Domino’s also offers pasta, sandwiches, salads, desserts, and beverages. 

Domino’s also offers pizzas with a gluten-free crust. These crusts are prepared in a separate location and are regularly tested before arriving at Domino’s stores.

These crusts don’t contain, wheat, rye, or barley and have a gluten content of less than 20ppm. 

However, the rest of the preparation of the gluten-free pizza takes place in a common kitchen and has the risk of gluten exposure.

Domino’s warns that their gluten-free pizza is not for people with celiac disease. And people with gluten sensitivity should exercise their judgment.

4. Papa John’s 

Papa John’s is the fourth-largest American pizza chain having over 5000 locations in 45 countries. Most of Papa John’s franchises are in America and Canada.

Some of the popular Papa John’s pizzas are Pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza, and sausage pizza. Apart from pizza they also have different types of Papadias, wings, desserts, drinks, and a few side items.

Papa John’s also has a gluten-free pizza crust which is made of grains like Sorghum, Amaranth, Quinoa, and Teff flour. You can build your gluten-free pizza with other gluten-free toppings such as cheese, pepperoni, bacon, etc.

5. The Keg

Want something other than pizza? Try Keg. The Keg is a chain of steakhouse restaurants that serves some of the finest steaks. Their vast menu also has seafood, salads, and many other options. 

The good news for you is that The Keg also has a dedicated gluten-free menu with plenty of options. You’ll find it on top of the menu section on their website.

Some gluten-free options you can try at The Keg are Scallops & Bacon, Cobb salad, and The Keg cuts like top sirloin, filet mignon, etc. This restaurant is suitable for lunch and dinner.