Are Spices Gluten Free? Brand by Brand

This guide replaces the six separate spice articles we had running: paprika, cinnamon, garlic, garlic powder, mustard powder and salt. The answer turned out to be the same for all six, so they belong on one page, with the brand detail underneath.

A caution before the table. This is a starting point, not a clearance. Spice companies reformulate, and the same brand can be made in different facilities in different countries. If you have coeliac disease, the jar in your hand beats anything on this page.

The Spices at a Glance

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Spice	Short answer	The thing to check
Paprika	Usually yes	"May contain traces of wheat" on budget brands
Cinnamon	Usually yes	Cinnamon sugar and baking chips, which are blends
Garlic, fresh	Yes	Nothing. It is a bulb. FODMAPs are a separate issue
Garlic powder	Usually yes	Garlic salt and seasoning mixes rather than plain powder
Mustard powder	Usually yes	Cross-contamination, since it is milled near other grains
Salt, plain	Yes	Nothing. Table, kosher, sea and Himalayan are all fine
Seasoned salt	Check the label	This is a blend, so all the blend risks apply

Notice the pattern. Everything sold as one ingredient is fine. Everything sold as a mixture needs reading. That is the whole guide in two sentences, and it holds for spices we have not listed.

Where Gluten Actually Gets Into Spices

Dried herbs and ground spices contain no gluten of their own. These are the four ways it arrives.

• Anti-caking agents. Powders clump, so blends carry something to stop it. Silicon dioxide and calcium silicate are the common ones and both are gluten free. Wheat starch and plain flour are used by some manufacturers, and those are not.
• Flour as a bulking agent. In cheaper seasoning blends, flour pads out the volume. This is rare in single spices and common at the budget end of mixes.
• Shared facilities and mills. The reason a jar of pure paprika carries "may contain traces of wheat". The spice is clean, the production line is not dedicated. Mustard powder is particularly prone to this, because mustard seed is often milled where grain is milled.
• The blend itself. Curry powders, taco seasonings, gravy bases and rubs can include malt, soy sauce powder, hydrolysed wheat protein or wheat-based thickeners as actual listed ingredients.

Worth knowing: "may contain traces of wheat" is a cross-contamination warning, not an ingredient declaration. Many coeliac readers avoid those products entirely and many do not. It is a judgement about your own tolerance rather than a yes or no on the label.

Gluten-Free Spice Brands, Brand by Brand

These are the makers' own positions. "Not stated" means the manufacturer has not committed either way, which is common for spices precisely because the problem is so unlikely.

Spice	Brand	Status	What the maker says
Paprika	McCormick	Gluten free	Not labelled, but their allergen policy declares wheat whenever present, and paprika carries no declaration
Paprika	Great Value	Gluten free, with a caveat	Walmart lists it gluten free, but the jar says it may contain traces of wheat
Paprika	Kroger	Gluten free	Their smoked and sweet La Vera paprika are both listed gluten free
Paprika	Olde Thompson	Reported gluten free	No label, but reported gluten free by third-party checkers
Paprika	MasterFoods	Not stated	No gluten claim either way. Declares sesame, which is not a gluten issue
Paprika	Stonemill	Avoid if strict	Listed as possibly containing traces of gluten cereals
Cinnamon	McCormick	Gluten free	Same allergen policy as their paprika, no wheat declared
Cinnamon	Great Value	Gluten free	Walmart calls it naturally gluten free, though the jar is not labelled
Cinnamon	Simply Organic	Not stated	Says herbs and spices are generally gluten free, but does not test every product
Cinnamon	Kirkland	Not stated	No label on the organic ground Saigon cinnamon
Garlic powder	McCormick	Gluten free	No wheat or gluten declared, which under their policy means none present
Garlic powder	Lawry's	Gluten free	A McCormick brand. Ingredients are garlic, sunflower oil and parsley
Garlic powder	Clubhouse	Gluten free	Also McCormick, same policy
Garlic powder	Kroger	Gluten free	Listed gluten free
Garlic powder	Kirkland	Gluten free	Sold as granulated rather than powdered, and listed gluten free
Garlic powder	Stonemill	Avoid if strict	Reported as possibly containing wheat
Mustard powder	Badia	Gluten free	No label on the jar, but their website states it
Mustard powder	Colman's	Not stated	No label and no statement on their site
Salt	Any plain salt	Gluten free	Table, iodised, kosher, sea and Himalayan are all single-ingredient
Seasoned salt	McCormick Himalayan Pink with Pepper and Garlic	Gluten free	Carries a gluten-free label
Seasoned salt	McCormick Culinary Traditional	Not stated	No label on this one, unlike the product above
Seasoned salt	Lawry's Seasoned Salt	Not stated	No label and nothing on their site
Seasoned salt	Morton Season-All	Not stated	No label and nothing on their site
Seasoned salt	Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt	Not stated	No label and nothing on their site

McCormick is the useful one to understand, because it covers a lot of shelf. Their allergen statement commits to declaring wheat on the label whenever it is present. So on a McCormick single spice, the absence of a wheat declaration is itself the answer, even though there is no gluten-free badge on the jar.

Is Salt Gluten Free?

Plain salt is gluten free in every form you can buy: table salt, iodised salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt and Himalayan pink salt. It is a mineral, not a plant, so there is no mechanism for gluten to be in it.

Seasoned salt is a different product and a different answer. It is salt plus herbs, spices, sugar, anti-caking agents and sometimes a bulking agent, so it carries all the blend risks above. Most of the well-known seasoned salts do not carry a gluten-free label, which is worth knowing given how often they are treated as interchangeable with plain salt.

Is Garlic Gluten Free?

Fresh garlic is gluten free, whether raw, roasted or minced at home. A bulb of garlic is one ingredient.

Two things complicate it. Bottled minced garlic and garlic pastes carry preservatives, acids and occasionally thickeners, so they are worth a read where a fresh bulb is not. And garlic is high in fructans, which is a FODMAP question rather than a gluten one.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. Fructans cause bloating, wind and cramping in a lot of people, and they occur in both garlic and wheat. So somebody who feels better after cutting bread may be reacting to the fructans rather than the gluten, and will still react to garlic. If that sounds familiar, our gut health hub covers it properly.

Which Spice Blends Should I Be Careful With?

The single spices above are the easy half. These are the blends worth reading every time, because gluten appears in them as a real ingredient rather than a trace.

• Gravy and sauce mixes. Thickened with wheat flour more often than not.
• Taco, fajita and chilli seasonings. Frequently bulked with flour.
• Curry powders and garam masala. Usually fine, but asafoetida, a common ingredient, is very often cut with wheat flour.
• Stock powders and bouillon cubes. Can carry wheat, malt or hydrolysed wheat protein.
• Barbecue rubs. Can include malt powder or soy sauce powder.
• Anything sold loose from a bulk bin. Shared scoops move flour between containers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is paprika gluten free?

Paprika is usually gluten free, since it is ground dried peppers and, at most, an anti-caking agent. McCormick and Kroger are gluten free, and Walmart's Great Value is listed gluten free while still carrying a "may contain traces of wheat" warning on the jar.

Is cinnamon gluten free?

Cinnamon is gluten free as a single-ingredient product, whether ground or as sticks. Cinnamon sugar, cinnamon baking chips and cinnamon-flavoured products are blends and need checking, because the cinnamon is no longer the only thing in the packet.

Is garlic powder gluten free?

Plain garlic powder is usually gluten free. McCormick, Lawry's, Clubhouse, Kroger and Kirkland all qualify. Garlic salt and garlic seasoning blends are a separate question, because an anti-caking agent or bulking agent has been added.

Is mustard powder gluten free?

Mustard powder is naturally gluten free, being ground mustard seed. Cross-contamination is the realistic risk rather than the ingredient, because mustard seed is often milled in facilities that also mill grain. Badia states theirs is gluten free. Colman's makes no claim either way.

Is seasoned salt gluten free?

It depends on the product, and most of the big seasoned salts do not carry a gluten-free label. Plain salt in any form is always gluten free. The moment herbs, spices and anti-caking agents are added, the answer stops being automatic.

Do spices need a gluten-free label to be safe?

No, and most do not carry one. In the United States the label is voluntary, and certifying a product that was never likely to contain gluten is work many spice companies skip. An unlabelled single spice from a maker with a clear allergen policy is generally more reassuring than an unlabelled blend from anyone.

Are anti-caking agents gluten free?

The common ones are. Silicon dioxide, calcium silicate and magnesium carbonate are all gluten free. Wheat starch and flour are the exceptions, and they are the reason the ingredients list on a blend is worth reading even when every spice named in it is fine.

Are dried herbs gluten free?

Yes. Dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and the rest are dried leaves and nothing else. They follow the same rule as single spices: safe on their own, worth reading once they are part of a mixed seasoning.

Spices are the easy end of the gluten-free shop. The harder end is packaged food, where gluten hides in glucose syrup, malt and thickeners. Our gluten-free guide runs the same brand-by-brand check across 25 more foods.