Wendy’s is an extremely popular fast-food restaurant where many parents take their children. Due to their large popularity, you can expect Wendy’s to have a menu that caters to all types of diets.
A popular diet that needs to be considered is the gluten-free diet. People with celiac disease cannot eat gluten as their immune system falsely recognizes it as a threat.
People with the condition end up suffering from inflammation which leads to bloating and even diarrhea.
So what can gluten-free eaters enjoy at Wendy’s? Is a Frosty off-limits?
Are Wendy’s Frosties Gluten-Free?
Wendy’s Frosties are gluten-free. They were first introduced into the Wendy’s restaurant in 1969, the same year of opening. They were an instant hit and became the signature dessert of the restaurant.
If you’ve never had a Frosty before, here is what you can expect.
The flavor of a Frosty is considered “light chocolate”, but in reality, that taste is created using both chocolate and vanilla.
Until 2006, this was the only flavor of Frosty available, but now a vanilla option can be bought, and in some locations, strawberry too.
The texture of a Frosty is very significant to this iconic dessert. You see, a Frosty isn’t a milkshake and it isn’t a soft-serve ice cream. It’s almost a mixture of the two.
To keep this texture, the Frosty has to be served at 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
The History Of Frosties
Originally the Wendy’s diner experience only had a menu list of 5 items. Those items were Hamburgers, Fries, Chillies, Soft Drinks, and the one and only Frosty.
The Frosty was created when Dave Thomas (the owner of the franchise), wanted his guests to have something sweet, refreshing, and cold after their large hamburger meal.
The texture of a Frosty was perfect for this goal, but the flavor hasn’t been realized yet.
The original chocolate flavoring didn’t hit the mark. Thomas wanted the desert to be refreshing, but the chocolate flavoring was too dense.
Customers couldn’t eat a whole serving and would only buy a hamburger or a Frosty, not both.
They needed to try something different. Originally, Thomas would create every Frosty himself, using a single machine, he couldn’t get the balance of flavors right and so contacted the mixologists of companies, hoping to find a solution. Eventually, Thomas contacted Tom Kullman, a mixing specialist at Qualcon.
Kullman had made recipes for big names such as Dairy Queen. Thomas told Kullman about the texture and overall design he was going for, and not long after Kullman created the recipe we expect today.
Once this new vanilla and chocolate creation was added to the restaurant, Thomas couldn’t handle the influx of Frosty orders.
At that point he commissioned a Frosty machine to be made, giving his staff a quicker response to all of the Frosty orders coming their way.
Other Gluten-Free Options In Wendy’s
As we said before, Wendy’s is a large franchise which means it should have a large range of alternative options for people with restrictive diets.
When you sit down at a Wendy’s you can ask for the Gluten Free menu and will be offered the following alternatives:
Bunless Burgers
A bunless burger is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a burger without the bun, but with all of the other toppings and expectations you’d normally expect.
“But what about the burger itself?” We hear you cry.
Normally a burger patty isn’t gluten-free, and you need a special replacement instead. However, at Wendy’s all of the burger ingredients are gluten-free apart from the bun.
Simply taking away that carby covering is enough to make the meal healthy for someone with celiac disease.
Salads
There are two additions to the salad which can make them not gluten-free. Those are the croutons and the chicken.
The croutons aren’t gluten-free as they are literally made out of bread, but the chicken has a breaded coating that you shouldn’t include in your add-ons.
The rest of the salads will be gluten-free.
Chili
Wendy’s chillies are made from gluten-free ingredients without needing anything to be swapped or changed.
Even the ground beef is gluten-free, so you can order this classic meal without having to worry about anything triggering your immune system.
Baked Potato
Just like the chili, every option in the baked potato portion of the Wendy’s Menu is naturally gluten-free. From the sour cream and chives to the chili and cheese.
You can order anything from this part of the menu without worrying about a reaction later on.
Drinks
Most drinks are gluten-free unless you are buying something alcoholic. Wendy’s doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages, so rest assured knowing that any drink you choose, whether it’s a soda or a tea, is okay to digest.
Frosty
And of course, we couldn’t finish this list without also mentioning the main reason for this article – Frosty!
As we said before Frosties do not contain any gluten ingredients, so you can buy a large portion without a care in the world.
Condiments
Wendy’s has a lot of condiments to choose from but you should restrict your choices to the following: Smokey honey mustard sauce, light sour cream, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and ranch dressing.
Summary
As you can tell most of the Wendy’s menu is gluten-free, so if you have celiac disease know that an easy Wendy’s dinner will be perfectly healthy for your digestive system.
As a fast food restaurant, they are one of the only dining experiences available to you which include a wide range of options.
However, just because Wendy’s has multiple gluten-free options, that doesn’t mean you can keep your restrictions quiet. Make sure you tell your server about your condition.
This way silly mistakes will not be made, and you can be shown any special menu items according to your food restrictions.
So there it is. A Wendy’s Frosty dessert is gluten-free and always has been. Enjoy!
One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.
Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
- How Many Calories In Honeycrisp Apple? - March 7, 2023
- How Many Calories Are In A Small Banana? - March 7, 2023
- How Many Calories In A Granny Smith Apple? - March 1, 2023
