Is Olive Oil Gluten Free? Info, Recipes and Popular Brands

Olive oil is one of the most popular oils in the world, used for various purposes.

It is derived from the fruit of the olive tree.

This oil is naturally gluten free.

Unless there’s cross-contamination, it is safe for people with gluten intolerance.

Is olive oil gluten free? Such a basic thing to ask yet when you suffer from celiac disease you must ask this simple question about anything you plan to put in your mouth.

In this article we will answer that question plus give you some more background information and popular brands selling gluten free olive oil

The Mediterranean countries have made many big contributions to the world, and one of their best gifts is olive oil.

It is nothing but a liquid goldmine! Put olive oil on your hair and skin, and you will glow in a few days. Make it a part of your diet, and you’ll find yourself losing fat and becoming fit in no time.

Put it in your salad or your pasta, and it will instantly have a new depth of flavor. But, is olive oil gluten free or not?

One common question bugging every gluten intolerant person before putting anything in their mouth is if it is gluten free.

The fear of eliminating something from the diet plan is valid and painful. And sadly, you have already given up on many sources of deliciousness from your life.

Thankfully, olive oil does not need to be one such item. It is made from the fruit of the olive tree and is inherently gluten free.

Is Olive Oil Gluten Free – What is olive oil

Olive oil is a staple in all Mediterranean foods. It’s the fat base in cooking Mediterranean delicacies. Besides, it is used as a flavoring agent or condiment.

It is extracted from freshly squeezed fruits of the olive tree. This tree is not related to any gluten grain and does not contain any gluten itself.

So, olive plants are not glutinous, and neither is olive oil. If you are allergic to gluten, you can enjoy this oil without any worry.

As the world is becoming more and more aware of gluten allergy, people are shifting to foods and dishes that do not contain gluten.

That’s because a gluten free diet is the only way to control this allergy, as well as the autoimmune disease called celiac disease.

Olive oil is a popular ingredient in most of the gluten free dishes, from gluten free pizza to gluten free vegan butter. It is an extremely healthy dietary choice.

But if you are severely allergic to gluten, you should always ensure that you’re absolutely safe by looking at the list of ingredients and the “gluten free” label.

This will mean that the product is not just made of naturally gluten free ingredients.

It will also mean that the oil has been tested for trace gluten due to cross-contamination, and it’s officially safe for you to consume, with less than 20 ppm gluten.

If the oil is not labeled as gluten free, you can try researching the manufacturer. Learn about its manufacturing process and company suppliers to understand if there is any chance of cross-contamination at the plant.

Find out if the brand uses products from reliable suppliers, performs internal quality checks, and does not share facilities with other foods that contain gluten. In most cases, these don’t happen.

Gluten in Olive Oil

As you’ve already understood, olive oil is naturally free from gluten because of its source.

So, there are only two ways for olive oil to end up with gluten:

Through cross-contamination
Because of adding gluten-rich flavoring agents or other add-ins to the oil.

Cross-Contamination

Like all other products, olive oil may come in contact with gluten content at the time of manufacturing, processing, or storage. This happens when the plant shares space with other products that may contain gluten.

When the olive oil comes in contact with glutinous products, it ends up with trace gluten.

Additives:

To add flavor to olive oil, some variants are infused with flavoring agents. Some of these might come from glutinous sources.

For instance, if olive oil is smoked, the smoke flavor is often added using smoked malt. Even if the additives aren’t glutinous, they may have trace gluten due to cross-contamination.

So, find out more about a brand before you buy its olive oil. Usually, the popular olive oil brands are safe for consumption, even if they do not test for gluten content.

Just to be on the safe side, consume them in small amounts to ensure that your body doesn’t react to it.

Gluten Free Olive Oil Brands

Here are some olive oil brands that produce gluten free products:

Bariani: This is a small company based in California. It produces cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. It’s a little expensive and not easy to find, but people with gluten intolerance swear by it.

Filippo Berio: This brand produces seven varieties of olive oil. No wonder it claims to “the first and last name in olive oil.” All the oils in this range are labeled as “gluten-free” and are safe for you.

Jovial: This is a brand of organic extra virgin olive oil that’s not only good for people with gluten allergy but also for other allergies. This oil is devoid of all kinds of allergens and is healthy.

Mary Ruth Organics: The company produced raw extra virgin olive oil that’s ice-pressed from olives at extremely low temperatures. This brand’s olive oil comes with a ‘gluten free’ label’.

Palermo: The olive oils of this brand are available in both pure extra virgin varieties. People with gluten intolerance trust this brand as it comes with a gluten free certification, from the GFCO.

Pompeian: This company makes four varieties of olive oil, all of which are available easily in the supermarkets. According to the company, all of these olive oil varieties are naturally gluten free.

While not all of these come with a gluten free certification, they are made from gluten free ingredients. Besides, people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease have reported that they did not have allergic reactions after having these.

Types of Olive Oil:

There are different types of olive oil available. These are as follows:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extracted by clod-dipping, pressing, or centrifuge, and then cold-pressed. Viscous and dark green, and used in dressings and condiments.
Virgin Olive Oil: Extracted by mechanical methods with heat. Light green in color and slightly runny, and used for salads as well as for cooking purposes.
Pure Olive Oil: Usually marked as just “olive oil”. Greenish-yellow and watery, with a neutral taste. Highly refined oil used for cooking.
Light Olive Oil: Highly refined oil. Light yellow color with just a tiny touch of green, and the perfect choice for cooking foods on high heat.

For your home or your eatery, it’s a good idea to keep a bottle of EVO for salads, condiments, or drizzling on foods to bring out the flavor, along with either pure olive oil or light olive oil for cooking on different levels of heat.

Benefits of Olive Oil

Olive oil is an extremely healthy oil for consumption. Here’s a quick look at its benefits:

It contains monounsaturated fats
It is rich in antioxidants
It has anti-inflammatory properties
It can prevent strokes.
It gives protection against heart diseases.
It does not cause weight or fat gain.
It might be preventive against Type-II Diabetes.
It has anti-cancer properties.

Altogether, you can say that is is one of the healthiest of all plant-based fat sources.

Gluten Free Recipes with Olive Oil

Olive oil is a crucial ingredient in many gluten free recipes, both sweet and savory. So we present to you two delicious gluten free recipes that you’ll fall in love with! Check them out.

Gluten Free Pasta in Olive Oil Sauce

Illustration only, result may look different | via Flickr

Ingredients:

For Pasta:

Blanched almond flour: 1 1/2 cups
Tapioca starch: 1 1/2 cup
Eggs: 2 pieces
Egg yolks: From 2 eggs
Olive oil: A few spoons

For Olive Oil Sauce:

Extra virgin olive oil: 1/2 cup + A little more for drizzling
Garlic: 3 cloves, sliced
Black olives (sliced): 1/3 cup
Artichoke hearts (jarred): 1/2 cup (sliced)
White wine: 1/3 cup
Capers (drained, rinsed): 2 tbsp
Red pepper flakes: 1/3 tsp
Roma tomatoes: 1 piece (diced)
Salt and pepper: To taste
Parmesan (grated): For garnishing
Italian parsley (chopped): For garnishing

Instructions:

Take a large bowl and mix the tapioca flour with the almond flour. Make sure that there are no clumps.
Using your fingers or a spoon, make a well in the flour mix and add the eggs and egg yolks.
Now, using a fork, mix them all together.
Once everything is combined, it will start to look dry and crumbly. Start kneading with hands.
Continue for 3-5 minutes and make a smooth dough. Over time, it will begin to look moist.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces and keep them covered with a wet tea towel for 15 minutes.
Dust the table with tapioca starch. Roll out one piece of the rested dough until it’s about ⅛ of an inch in thickness. The thinner it is, the better will be the final product.
Use a knife or a pizza cutter and cut thin strips out of the flattened dough.
Separate these strips and sprinkled them with some more tapioca flour to prevent them from striking to each other.
Boil 8 cups of water in a large bowl with some salt.
Once it coles to a boil, add the pasta and cook it for 3-5 minutes. Check the texture of the pasta when it starts to float up and make sure that you stop cooking when it’s still al dente.
Remove the pasta from the heat and strain the water out.
Add a few spoons of olive oil to the cooked pasta to make sure that they don’t stick to each other.
In a saucepan, add olive oil and turn the heat to medium.
Let the oil heat up slightly before you add the garlic slices, along with black olives and artichoke hearts. Saute everything for around 5 minutes.
Next, add the wine and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Put the red pepper flakes and the capers in the pan before removing it from the heat.
Now, add the cooked pasta into this olive oil sauce. Use a pair of tongs to make sure that the pasta is coated in this freshly cooked sauce.
Divide the pasta into serving plates and top each plate off with Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and tomatoes.

Your delicious pasta is ready to be devoured. If you’re not willing to make the pasta from scratch, you can simply use any store-bought gluten-free pasta and follow it from step 10 until the end!

Healthy Gluten-Free Olive Oil Banana Bread

banana bread gluten free recipe with olive oil — Illustration only – results may look different | Via Wikimedia

Here’s a dessert recipe that uses olive oil instead of butter. And, it’s gluten free, too! Check it out.

Ingredients:

Bananas (large): 3 pieces (mashed)
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/2 cup
Coconut sugar: 1/2 cup
Eggs (large): 2 pieces
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Oat flour (gluten free): 2 cups
Baking powder: 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder: 1 tsp
Chocolate chips, walnuts, blueberries: Optional

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line the bread dish parchment paper.
In a bowl, put the mashed banana, along with the oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk them all together until the mixture is smooth.
Add flour to the mixture, along with the baking powder and cinnamon powder. Mix again.
If you want to add choco chips, blueberries, or anything else, fold them into the mixture, too.
Put the mixture into the baking tray and bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
Allow the bread to cool for some time.

Your gluten free banana bread is ready to be sliced into pieces and served!

Conclusion

We can say that olive oil is naturally gluten free and is a versatile and flavorful choice.

This oil is not only a great fat base for your foods but also adds a robust flavor base to them. It is one of the healthiest oils available, and you can use it as a part of a strict diet.

Most olive oil brands, especially the reputed ones, produce naturally gluten free olive oil. But, if you want to go the extra mile, then find a brand that’s marked as gluten free.

This will ensure that the oil is not contaminated. You can also find out more about the facilities of the brand – just to be extra-sure.