Which Sodas Are Gluten-Free?

Fans of soda who also happen to have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity will be pleased to know that most popular sodas (known as "pop" in some places) are considered gluten-free by their manufacturers. Popular sodas considered gluten-free by their manufacturers include:

• 7UP
• Coca-Cola
• Diet Coke
• Diet Pepsi
• Pepsi
• Sprite
• Sunkist

However, before you run out and buy cases of various sodas to enjoy, a word or two of caution is in order.

Gluten-Free Soda: An Overview

This list of gluten-free sodas applies only to the U.S. and Canada. Unfortunately, formulations vary (sometimes significantly) by country, and a soda considered safe in the U.S. might not be in other places. In addition, some sodas may have no gluten ingredients but may be manufactured on shared equipment or in a shared facility, making them unsafe.

Second, this list only applies to brand-name sodas. Generic or store-brand versions of the same drinks may or may not use the same ingredients, and may not be gluten-free. Unless the store labels its own products "gluten-free," you may be better off buying the name brand.

Third, these beverages are all quite processed and are considered gluten-free only to less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten (a lower number is better). Therefore, if you tend to react to less gluten than that—as many people do—it may take some trial and error for you to find a gluten-free soda brand that suits your particular level of sensitivity.

Gluten-Free Soda List

Here's the list of major brands and flavors the manufacturers consider to be gluten-free soda (plus a couple of popular beverages that do not appear on gluten-free lists):

1893 Original Cola

1893 Original Cola from PepsiCo. is considered gluten-free. Flavors include Original Cola (sweetened with sugar; 150 calories per 12 oz. serving) and Ginger Cola (sweetened with sugar; 150 calories per 12 oz. serving).

7UP

7UP considers all its sodas gluten-free to 20 ppm. This includes 7UP (240 calories per 20 oz. serving), Diet 7UP (sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K), 7UP Cherry (240 calories per 20 oz. serving), and Diet 7UP Cherry (sweetened with aspartame).

A&W Root Beer

A&W Root Beer comes in five flavors, including original, diet (made with aspartame), A&W 10 (made with aspartame; 10 calories per serving), cream soda, and diet cream soda (made with aspartame). All A&W Root Beer flavors are gluten-free to 20 ppm, according to the company, which is part of the Dr. Pepper-Snapple beverage group.

Barq's

Barq's is a Coca-Cola company. Barq's products include root beer, diet root beer (made with aspartame), creme soda, and red creme soda. All are considered gluten-free (to 20 ppm) in the U.S. and Canada.

Coke and Coca-Cola

According to the Coca-Cola Co., the following Coke-branded products are considered gluten-free to 20 ppm in the U.S.:

Coca-Cola, Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke (made with aspartame), Caffeine-Free Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero (made with aspartame and acesulfame K), Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke (made with aspartame), Cherry Coke Zero (made with aspartame and acesulfame K), and Diet Coke with Splenda. 

Dr. Pepper

All Dr. Pepper products are considered gluten-free to 20 ppm, according to the company. This includes Dr. Pepper, Dr. Pepper Cherry, Dr. Pepper 10 (made with aspartame; 10 calories per serving), Diet Dr. Pepper (made with aspartame), Caffeine-Free Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry (made with aspartame), Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla, Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla (made with aspartame), and Diet Caffeine-free Dr. Pepper (made with aspartame).

The company notes its products contain corn gluten, which is not harmful to people with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Fanta

Fanta Grape, Fanta Orange, and Fanta Orange Zero are considered gluten-free to 20 ppm in the U.S. They are Coca-Cola products. Note that they don't appear on Coke's Canadian gluten-free soda list.

Fresca

Fresca, which has zero calories and is caffeine-free, is considered a gluten-free soda in the U.S. and Canada, according to manufacturer Coca-Cola. It's available in three flavors: original citrus, peach citrus, and black cherry citrus (all sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K).

Mello Yello

Mello Yello is not considered a gluten-free soda, according to manufacturer Coca-Cola.

Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew (sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K) are available in a huge lineup of flavors, all considered gluten-free.

Options include Mountain Dew Kickstart, Mountain Dew Voltage, Live Wire, Code Red, Major Melon, and Major Melon Zero Sugar.

Mug Root Beer

Both Mug and Mug Cream Root Beer are considered gluten-free soda by manufacturer PepsiCo.

Pepsi

All Pepsi-branded carbonated sodas are considered gluten-free to 20 ppm. Options include Pepsi (150 calories per 12 oz. serving), Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Wild Cherry (160 calories per 12 oz. serving), Pepsi Zero Sugar (sweetened with aspartame), Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry (sweetened with aspartame), Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry (sweetened with aspartame), Pepsi Real Sugar (sweetened with sugar; 150 calories per 12 oz. serving), Pepsi Caffeine-Free (150 calories per 12 oz. serving), and Diet Pepsi Caffeine-Free (sweetened with aspartame).

Sprite

Both Sprite (Original, Cherry, and Tropical Mix), Sprite Lymonade, and Sprite Zero (Original and Cherry) are gluten-free to 20 ppm in the U.S. and Canada. Regular Sprite contains 240 calories per 20 oz. serving, Sprite Lymonade contains 130 calories per 12 oz. serving and Sprite Zero is sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K.

Sunkist

Sunkist makes several fruit-flavored drinks that blur the lines between sodas and fruit punches. All its products are considered gluten-free to 20 ppm. Diet Sunkist is sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K.

As a reminder, this list is only valid in the U.S. and (where noted) Canada.

A Word From Verywell

Note many of these gluten-free sodas contain caramel coloring as an ingredient. It's possible to make caramel coloring out of gluten grains, and gluten-grain-based caramel coloring is used outside the U.S. However, in the U.S., you're unlikely to encounter a gluten-grain-based version of caramel coloring, so you shouldn't worry about it in the context of sodas. Caramel coloring is one reason you need to be cautious with sodas produced for sale in other countries.

Finally, if you have doubts about an off-brand soda you've just been handed, you may want to drink plain water—fortunately, that's always gluten-free.