Applebees restaurants are everywhere these days, so it has always been frustrating to see that their corporate office will not commit to anything on their menu being gluten free. With that said, that does not mean that you can’t eat a gluten free meal at an Applebee’s restaurant! Major companies are often hesitant to confirm anything is gluten-free due to cross-contamination concerns, but they still have many gluten-free options available on their menu. You’ll just have to work a little harder and make sure your server is aware of your gluten free needs.
According to my research and experiences dining at Applebee’s, there are a few fairly safe items which are gluten-free on the Applebee’s menu. Here are the items which are more than likely safe if cross-contamination is avoided:
- Garlic Herb Chicken
- Chicken Caesar Salad (make sure they know not to use croutons)
- Fiesta Lime Chicken
- Chips with Salsa
Make sure you educate your server on cross-contamination concerns so they can be sure that croutons aren’t added and then removed from the salad, for example. Typically when your server realizes the severity of your diet they can accommodate you without any problems.
Applebees also offers a “to-go” service, so knowing that there are a few okay items at Applebees can be useful when traveling. Just make sure you educate the person over the phone of your dietary needs when you place your order!
Have you eaten a gluten-free meal at Applebees? Let us know your experience (positive or negative) below in the comments!
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Applebee’s were wonderful
1 My favorite is their spinach and shrimp salad and the manager cooked mine on clean grill and fresh spinach with oil and vinegar. It was great!!!! She was wonderful!!!
Fiesta Lime Chicken made me sick
I was told at Applebees that the hamburg is gluten free but NOT the chicken! Can you pleae clarify????
to linda, i work at an applebees and i was also just recently diagnosed with celiacs and i can confirm that the burgers are gluten free. It is just fresh hamburger no added fillers or anything like that. as for the chicken it usually comes with a seasoning on it and if youd like to get it just ask for it without. however i have gotten the chicken sandwhich with no bun and it just has a light sort of seasoning on it and i have had no problems with it.
My thought is if you have any doubts or question whether something is truly GF then don’t eat regardless of what someone has posted. Some people are more sensitive than others. Ultimately we are all responsible for ourselves and should only use the recommendations as guidelines.
I work at an Applebees, and the burgers are fine, but you need to get them without seasoning, and if they can cook them on tinfoil on the flat top grill. The chips and the chips in the fiesta lime chicken are fried in the fryers with everything else….cross contamination. They even fry the baked potatoes before they put them in the microwave. Stick with plain veggies, fruit, plain chicken or mashed potatoes.
I recently tried Applebee’s for the first time since I was diagnosed. The chips with Queso Blanco were delicious, but now I know they were fried with the same oil as everything else (thank you Meghan!). I ordered the Grilled Shrimp N’ Spinach salad, and when I was half way through it I found that there were crunchy noodles that had probably accidentally gotten mixed in with some of the other toppings in the prep area. It’s always a gamble!
I love the queso blanco and the spinach artichoke dip, and right now they have it at half price from 10 pm to 2 am. I guess I’ll just have to bring my own chips! Thanks for letting us know!
Two days ago I ate the Fiesta Lime Chicken and my stomach is still very sore.. I never expected that kind of a reaction! Wish I would have read Meghan’s remarks first, but we were traveling and I was at the mercy of a recommendation.
I ate at an Applebee’s in July and my server was very helpful. She told me that they do fry the chips in oil but that they make theirs first thing, before frying anything else, with fresh oil. I took the gamble that this was true and I had them with the spinach and artichoke dip without any problems. I guess maybe it varies from one Applebee’s to the next. Just make sure you know which questions to ask.