5 Ways to Navigate Thanksgiving With Celiac Disease
A stress-free holiday season is possible!
Real talk: Thanksgiving can be tough when you have celiac disease. Even if your friend or family member swears what they’re cooking will be gluten-free, there’s probably always that worry in the back of your head that you’ll get sick afterward. Plus, you may be bummed to miss out on some of your gluten-filled holiday favorites, like green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.
Of course, you could decide to host Thanksgiving dinner at your place and do all the cooking to ensure everything is gluten-free. But that’s a ton of work to take on and therefore not necessarily a stress-free experience, either.
Thankfully (pun intended), there are ways to reduce your stress around Thanksgiving if you have celiac disease. Whether you’re headed to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving or hosting the holiday—and whether you love cooking a Thanksgiving feast from scratch or you’d prefer to curb your time in the kitchen this holiday season—I’ve got you covered with the following tips.
How to navigate Thanksgiving with celiac disease
1. Communicate your needs ahead of time
If you’re headed to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, a holiday potluck, or a Friendsgiving get-together, it’s important to communicate your needs to the host ahead of time. The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) recommends calling your host well in advance to let them know about your dietary restrictions.
Consider offering to help with the planning and food prep to ensure you can eat safely. Remember that gluten can hide in unassuming places, like gravy and cream of mushroom soup, so your host will specifically need to look for gluten-free versions of these ingredients if they’re cooking a Thanksgiving meal for you.
You can also offer to bring some gluten-free dishes to share with the group. I’ve done this previously for holiday potlucks. It takes a lot of stress out of the situation because I know I’ll at least be able to eat the food I brought with me (even if it requires me to do some extra work).
2. Avoid cross-contact at Thanksgiving dinner
In addition to alerting your host to your dietary restrictions, it’s important to take steps to minimize cross-contact once you get to Thanksgiving dinner. According to GIG, one way you can do this is by bringing labels or table cards so that gluten-free food will be easily recognized.
GIG also suggests using separate serving utensils for the gluten-free dishes to help prevent cross-contact. Rivas Digestive Center advises avoiding using shared equipment, like toasters, air fryers, and food processors.
Something else I’d do at a potluck or Friendsgiving is ask if I could serve myself first—that way, I won’t have to worry about gluten getting into any of the gluten-free dishes.
3. Pack a gluten-free meal you know you love with you
Another option you have for Thanksgiving dinner is to bring your own food with you. I usually spend the holidays with family, and this is what I feel most comfortable doing in this situation.
I’ll either make myself a nice meal or order gluten-free takeout a day ahead of time so I don’t have to do any cooking or prep on the day of the holiday. Then I pack it in my insulated lunch bag when I’m ready to leave home and I’m good to go.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of traditional Thanksgiving food, so I don’t always make turkey and stuffing. I usually just cook or order something I know I like so I can guarantee I’ll be satisfied (and not feel disappointed about not being able to eat any of the holiday dishes). I’ve had everything from gluten-free pasta to Thai takeout on Thanksgiving since my celiac diagnosis in 2020.
Here’s a look at the gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner I made for my partner and myself last year. I went all out and whipped up turkey meatballs with cranberry glaze, stuffing featuring Udi’s hot dog buns (the only good use I’ve found for them), pumpkin rigatoni with rosemary walnut crispies, and cacio e pepe potatoes—my twist on traditional Thanksgiving food. Bonus: I had more than enough leftovers to bring to our family’s Thanksgiving get-together later that weekend!
4. Make gluten-free versions of your favorite foods
What if, unlike me, you really crave all those Thanksgiving staples like stuffing, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie this time of year? I’m here to tell you that just about any holiday dish can be made gluten-free. That means you don’t have to miss out on your favorite foods this time of year.
Here are a few resources for delicious gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes and holiday cooking advice:
has a Thanksgiving e-book full of gluten-free recipes for the upcoming holiday
has rounded up her best gluten-free recipes for Thanksgiving in this helpful post
has a digital cookbook of holiday recipes and a guide to stress-free holiday cooking
has a list of gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes and info on where to buy gluten-free fried onions as well as additional gluten-free Thanksgiving resources
has gluten-free recipes for cornbread sausage stuffing and sweet potato pecan casserole
has a recipe for cauliflower mash that would be perfect for Thanksgiving
has gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes coming out this Friday
has all the gluten-free Thanksgiving side dishes you need
5. Give yourself a break in the kitchen
I’ll be honest with you: This year, I just don’t have the time or energy to cook all of my Thanksgiving dishes from scratch like I did last year. I’m tired and need a break—and it’s totally OK if you need one too. You should do what’s best for your mental well-being around the holidays—for me this year, that means relying on prepared options and minimizing my time cooking.
The good news is that there are plenty of pre-made gluten-free pies, five-minute gluten-free stuffing kits, and heat-and-eat entrees and side dishes that can help take the stress out of preparing Thanksgiving dinner if you have celiac disease.
Some of my favorite easy gluten-free finds for Thanksgiving include:
Tell me: What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? Do you have any favorite gluten-free holiday recipes?
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Great tips Christina!
This is so helpful! Thank you for making this, Christina! And thank you so much for including my cauliflower mash recipe! I’m honored to be part of your Thanksgiving tips. 😊 Wishing you a delicious and stress-free holiday!