Living Gluten free is hard enough as it is during your childhood and teenage years. One benefit of going gluten free as a child is you have your family to support you through your change in diet. But when it’s time for you to go to college, you’re forced to do it all on your own.

Going away for college and following a gluten free diet on your own may seem daunting, so I decided to put this guide together for how to follow a gluten free diet in college. If I could do it, anyone can. If you’re reading this, you likely have already been living gluten free for at least a little while, or maybe you’re a parent looking for some tips to help your child deal with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity on their own (away from home).

This guide touches on many of the key aspects of college life, and how to have a great college experience while following a gluten free diet. I’ll explain everything from how to judge a school’s gluten free dining options, easy dorm room foods to make, dining hall food,  and social aspects of college. This guide is relevant for those in the college admissions process and for those already a few years into school.

You really don’t have to go anywhere else to get a good feel on what it’s like to live gluten free in college, and how to do it. As always, if you have any experiences of your own to share or any questions to ask, leave a comment below. So, here it is – the guide to living gluten free in college.

The Gluten Free College Search

So, you’re wrapping up high school and are starting to think about your future. If you’re like most, you’ll start creating a college list – schools you’d like to apply to based on several factors. Many common factors students consider when looking at schools are degrees offered, tuition costs, location, and size. If you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, you should add another item to that list of factors to consider – the availability and quality of gluten free food options.

Many schools require students to live on campus and purchase a dining plan for at least a year or two, if not more. So, you guessed it, you should evaluate the dining halls of every school you plan to apply to. Luckily, most schools have at least some gluten free options in their dining halls nowadays, but some are definitely better than others. You may not know what to look for right now, but take it from me, I didn’t either when I first started touring schools. After your first couple of college tours, you’ll start seeing some clear differences in the availability and quality of the gluten free options.

Here are some things to do and look for when visiting a potential college’s dining hall:

1. Do a quick Google search

Do this before you schedule a campus tour. If the school you’re looking at has really good gluten free options, you’ll be able to find information on what they offer before you even visit. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t find anything online, though. You may be surprised at what they have to offer once you visit.

2. Look for a dedicated gluten free section

Many schools now have dedicated freezers and cabinets full of gluten free breads, breakfast items and snacks. This is like heaven on earth for a gluten free college kid. You really feel like you’re getting what you’re paying for (most dining plans are not cheap) when you’re stuffing your face with gluten free sandwiches, bagels and muffins. Most of these areas also include dedicated toasters and food prep surfaces. This is a top priority item every gluten free student should look for when touring schools.

3. Look for allergen labels

Many dining halls provide labels next to each food item they’re serving that display allergens the food contains. This is also a great find when touring schools. Nothing made me feel better than being able to eat something with confidence that I wasn’t going to get sick afterwards. 

4. Check the dining website for ingredients

My school didn’t display the allergens directly next to the food they were serving. Instead, they uploaded the menu for the day to the dining website. The menu contained all of the ingredients for every food they served. This was great because I could check every food item being served for the day and prepare myself before going to the dining hall.

5. Talk to your tour guide

Ask your tour guide about gluten free options . You don’t have to do this in front of everyone. Whenever your guide has a second, ask them if they know about the gluten free options in the dining halls. Chances are they know someone who follows a gluten free diet and can at least give you some basic information.

6. Contact dining services

Many schools have nutritionists available for students with food allergies or who have other dietary needs. It is worth reaching out during the application process to get more information on the school’s ability to accommodate a gluten free diet.

7. But what if…?

Okay, so your dream school doesn’t have many gluten free options. Although this is unlikely nowadays, it could still happen, especially at a smaller school. I went to a larger school, and there were days when even I wasn’t impressed with the gluten free options available that day. When I couldn’t find much to eat, I resorted to plain foods I knew were gluten free, and most of the time my meal was still tasty. Always keep grilled chicken, rice, fruit, and vegetables in the back of your mind. They are life-savers.

The Top 25 Gluten Free Colleges

Again, not all schools are created equal in the gluten free dining world. Some offer tons of gluten free options, and some somply don’t. The only way to truly determine if you would be interested in living and eating at a certain school is to visit the dining hall itself. Just for fun, here are the top 25 colleges when it comes to food for people with allergies, according to bestcolleges.com:

1. Syracuse University
2. Georgetown University
3. Cornell University
4. University of Alabama
5. University of Arizona
6. Vanderbilt University
7. Michigan State University
8. Kent State University
9. Marquette University
10. University of Michigan
11. Purdue University
12. Columbia University
13. Penn State University 
14. Stanford University
15. University of Southern California
16. George Mason University
17. University of Washington
18. East Tennessee State University
19. Liberty University
20. University of Vermont
21. University of New Hampshire
22. Wesleyan University
23. Westfield State University
24. Williams College
25. Skidmore College 

Gluten Free Dorm Room Food

UPDATE: August 6, 2019 – This post previously stated Kellog’s Rice Krispies are gluten free. In 2011, back when I used to eat them regularly, Kellog’s produced a gluten free version of Rice Krispies. These have since been discontinued in the United States. Rice Krispies contain malt syrup, which is made from barley, so they are NOT gluten free.

Whether you’re studying or just hanging out in your dorm room, you’re going to need snacks and quick meals to keep you from going hungry. There will be days when you just don’t want to go to the dining hall, you don’t have time to make the walk, or you run out of meals for the week. Luckily, there are many great gluten free food products out there that you can just pop in the microwave for a quick meal. Add those to the long list of gluten free snacks available, and you’ll be just fine.

You’ll discover your favorites along the way, but here are my favorite quick gluten free dorm room meals:

Udi’s Frozen Gluten Free Meals

Udi’s has tons of frozen gluten free pasta dishes and more. Udi’s is easily one of the best gluten free food brands out there, and they don’t skip a beat when it comes to quick and easy meals for college students.

Annie’s Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar

This gluten free mac and cheese was easily my favorite microwaveable meal in college. You may have seen this mac and cheese in the box version, but they also have a microwaveable version that comes in small plastic cups! 

Amy’s Gluten Free Foods

Amy’s is the queen of gluten free food options that you can pop in the microwave. The options include pizza, rice bowls, burritos, pasta, soups and more. I can’t tell you how many times I needed a quick bite to eat and came across an Amy’s burrito in my freezer. These products saved the day on many occasions. Amy’s products are found in most grocery stores, so you should be able to find them almost anywhere. 

Lean Cuisine Gluten Free Foods

Lean cuisine has a variety of gluten free frozen foods that you can just pop in the microwave. The options range from roasted chicken to fried rice and enchiladas. Super easy and quick – perfect for college students short on time.

Cereal

More and more cereals are jumping on the gluten free bandwagon, mainly by making sure the oats in their ingredients are gluten free. Here are my favorites:

 Cheerios 

Yup. All cheerios are now gluten free. Available basically everywhere, I lived off of cheerios for breakfast in college. General Mills makes sure all of the oats in their cereals are gluten free (read how here). However, there has been some controversy over their manufacturing processes and just how safe these cereals are for celiacs. So if you have celiac disease, you might want to stay away from General Mills products.

Lucky Charms 

I was surprised to learn lucky charms are gluten free, but they are! Also made by General Mills, the oats in this cereal are gluten free. (If you have celiac disease, see the note under Cheerios above before eating these)

Fruity Pebbles 

Made from rice, Fruity Pebbles is a delicious breakfast cereal option.

Barbara’ Puffins Cereal

Before all the big-name cereals became gluten free, Puffins was my go-to. It still is delicious, though. It’s available in multiple flavors as well.

Gluten Free College Snacks

Snyder’s Gluten Free Pretzels

Glutino Gluten Free Pretzels

There are two delicious options for gluten free pretzels, Snyder’s and Glutino. I lost count of how many people who have told me that these pretzels are better than their gluten-containing counterparts. They’re so crunchy and tasty, I could crush a whole bag by myself if I’m not paying attention. They even have different flavors! I always had a bag of these laying around my dorm. 

Glutino Gluten Free Crackers

Pair these up with some cheese and pepperoni, and that makes for the perfect dorm room snack.

Kind Whole Grain Clusters

I love this stuff. It’s just a bag of granola clusters, but it comes in a variety of flavors, so it never gets old.

Kind Bars

I try to keep one of these with me wherever I go, just in case I’m limited on gluten free food options. They have a few different versions. My favorites are the KIND nut bars and the healthy grains bars.

Popcorners

If you love popcorn, especially popcorn with extra flavors, you’ll love Popcorners. They’re popcorn formed into the shape of chips. They’re so light, fluffy and delicious.

Pirate’s Booty

Funny name, I know, but it’s good. It’s just puffed rice and corn, but it comes in a few different flavors. I loved this as a kid and kept snacking on it in college.

Potato Chips

Luckily for us gluten free folk, most potato chips are gluten free. The ingredients are usually just potatoes, salt, and some additional flavors. You just need to be careful with the ingredients in some of these flavors. Be sure to read the ingredients label when you’re unsure!

Living Gluten Free Off-Campus

Not everyone stays on campus and buys a meal plan for the dining hall every semester. I moved off campus in my junior year and had to learn how to cook gluten free food for myself. I didn’t start off cooking fancy gourmet meals you might see online. I started simple – chicken, rice, beans, vegetables, and gluten free pasta. Here’s a quick guide to off-campus gluten free living:

Breakfast

If you like cereal, you’re in luck. It’s certainly the easiest and quickest breakfast option for anyone, not only for college students. I personally was never a huge fan of cereal as a child, probably because there weren’t many tasty gluten free cereal options back then. Luckily, the cereal game has changed, and many of the big name cereals are now gluten free (see the section on college dorm food above). 

If you’re not a cereal person, there’s still plenty of easy college breakfast options. Here’s some ideas:

Eggs

Scramble them up, cook the over-easy, or fry them and throw them between two pieces of gluten free toast to make a breakfast sandwich. Eggs are super easy to cook, only take a few minutes, and they’re pretty cheap. I would sometimes even make them for dinner!

Gluten Free Bagels

There are several popular gluten free bagels found in stores. Multiple popular gluten free food brands make pretty good bagels that you can keep in the freezer for a while.  Simply microwave one and throw it in a toaster whenever you want one. Here are some of my favorite brands of gluten free bagels:

Udi’s Gluten Free Bagels

Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bagels

O’Dough’s Gluten Free Bagels

Gluten Free Muffins

Udi’s has some pretty tasty gluten free muffins. They come in packs of four and there are a few different flavors.

Gluten Free English Muffins

Many different brands of gluten free english muffins are available. My favorites are Canyon Bakehouse and Katz. Throw these in the toaster and they taste close to the real thing.

Gluten Free Donuts

Kinnikinnick makes delicious gluten free donuts. I’d keep them in the fridge or freezer if you aren’t going to eat them all in a week. But you might. These are dangerous…

Lunch

My go-to lunch in college was a sandwich on gluten free bread. You can make literally any kind of sandwich you want, which is why sandwiches are the best. Some days, I’d just take whatever sandwich meat I had leftover from the past few days and throw it all into one sandwich. That’s right, put that ham, turkey, and chicken together in one sandwich. Don’t judge until you try it!

The best part about lunch is you can easily throw in any of your favorite gluten free snacks, whether it’s a bag of chips or a protein bar. The options are really endless with lunch, which makes it the easiest meal of the day for a gluten free college student to scrounge something up. 

Dinner

Cooking “real” meals on your own for the first time can be overwhelming, especially when you can’t eat gluten. But it doesn’t have to be. Start simple, then begin trying more complex recipes if you’re up to it. As I mentioned before, I cooked a lot of chicken, rice, beans and gluten free pasta in college. When I wanted to try something new, I found recipes online. We live in a world with infinite gluten free dinner recipes at our fingertips, so take advantage of that!

When you’re not feeling chef-like, there’s plenty of pre-made gluten free meals as mentioned above.

The Gluten Free Social Life in College

Making new friends in college can be hard as it is, and following a gluten free diet definitely doesn’t help in most cases. For me, I struggled with bringing up the fact that I had celiac disease when I met new people. When do I bring it up? Right away? When we go get food? I had some social anxiety over this issue. In the end, I figured it out, and you will too if you’re in the same type of situation. Here’s some tips from someone who already went through it:

Telling people you’re gluten free

Don’t bring it up right away. When you meet new people, just be yourself. Don’t worry about trying to tell people you’re gluten free. I’d recommend waiting until you’re going to get food with some people. If people start asking what everyone wants to get for dinner, then it is a good time to bring up that you’re gluten free. Simply say something like “I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s gluten free. I have celiac disease/a gluten intolerance.”

Now, the reactions you get from people will vary. Some might understand right away, and some may have only heard of gluten and don’t yet understand what it is. We all know there is a stigma out there surrounding the gluten free diet. Some people still believe it is just a fad diet people start to try to lose weight or eat healthier. So, some people won’t really take it seriously. That’s okay. All you have to do is tell them it’s a health condition, and you’ll get really sick if you eat gluten. Most of the time, that’s all people have to know and they will respect your health.

Eating out

Get the Find Me Gluten Free app. It will save your life. Regardless of where you go to school, this app will help you find restaurants with gluten free options. All you do is download the app and allow it to use your location. Then you can find every restaurant in your area that has a gluten free options, along with links to the menu and reviews by other gluten free people.

When it comes to going out to eat with others, make sure you remind them that you’d prefer to go somewhere that has a gluten free menu so you can get something other than a salad to eat.

Well, that’s all I have for tips and tricks for living gluten free in college. Be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten Free Diet, and my other posts on food and celiac topics. Be sure to leave a comment below with your experiences, or any questions you may have.

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