Greek Takeout Options For Those On A Gluten-Free Diet

If you are someone who adheres to a gluten-free diet, looking down the menu of a Greek takeout restaurant can be a bit intimidating. In Greek cuisine, so many dishes are served in or with pita bread, that you may initially assume there's nothing there for you. If you have celiac disease or are highly reactive to even small traces of gluten, then you may indeed want to dine somewhere else since there's a chance of your food coming into contact with gluten in a Greek kitchen. However, if you're on the less-sensitive end of the spectrum or simply eat gluten-free as a preference, there are a few Greek takeout dishes that tend to be safe.

Souvlaki Salad — Hold the Pita

If you were to order souvlaki, it would often come in a pita or with a pita as the main side. But if you order souvlaki salad, you'll typically get grilled meat over a bed of lettuce with feta cheese, olives, and sometimes tomatoes and onions. Pita might be served on the side, but you can ask for it to be left off your order.

Dolmades

Dolmades are grape leaves that have been stuffed with a seasoned rice mixture. Some versions contain some beef or lamb with rice and others are vegetarian. Either way, dolmades are not typically made with any wheat products, so they should be a good choice for a gluten-free diet. Some restaurants serve them with tzatziki sauce for dipping, which should also be safe to eat since the main ingredients are yogurt and cucumber.

Baked Feta

If you love feta cheese, look for baked feta on the menu. Typically, this dish is a bunch of vegetables, including tomatoes, eggplant, and onions, baked with plenty of feta cheese on top. It's filling, delicious, and made without ingredients that would typically contain gluten. Most baked feta is also vegetarian (although not vegan), which is another reason to order it.

Melitzanes Fournou

If you see this dish on a Greek takeout menu, definitely order it! Melitzanes fournou is essentially a stuffed, baked eggplant. The stuffing is typically made from minced beef cooked down with red wine, tomatoes, and onions. It's really filling and satisfying and is typically gluten-free. 

Again, if you're really sensitive to tiny amounts of gluten, you may not want to take the risk of ordering Greek takeout. But if you're more worried about avoiding dishes where wheat is a key ingredient, but not really worried about cross-contamination, any of these dishes would be a delicious and suitable choice.

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