GLUTEN FREE CONFIDENCE SCORE: 3/10
In most cases, chicken wings are NOT gluten-free, however, there are many variables to consider so don’t lose all hope yet. A raw chicken wing is definitely gluten-free, it just depends on how it is prepared.
- Are the chicken wings breaded? If so (and assuming the breading contains flour) then it is definitely NOT gluten-free.
- Are the chicken wings fried? If so, there is a high chance for gluten cross contamination (assuming that the fryer is also used for frying foods that contain a flour-based breading or other gluten ingredients).
- Does the sauce used contain any wheat and/or gluten? There are so many sauces out there – many of them can contain gluten ingredients. Also, while your sauce may be gluten-free a restaurant could be using a bowl that is cross-contaminated with gluten.
You have to take all of this into account when trying to figure out if chicken wings are gluten-free or not. Your best bet for eating gluten-free chicken wings is to either make them yourself from scratch so you know exactly what is going into them or to order them grilled with sauce a gluten-free sauce on the side. Some restaurants that are serious about serving gluten-free foods have a dedicated fryer to prevent cross-contamination.