Buying allergy friendly food is so much easier than it was a few years ago. Here’s where you can find gluten free and lactose free products in Dubai:
- SPINNEYS: You will find a range of dairy free milks here. They stock soy milk, rice milk and almond milk. They also have a jam that is labelled gluten free, by a company called Duerr’s. They stock quinoa, gluten free rice cakes, gluten free flours, and other gluten free snacks like cookies, macaroons and tomato-cheese sticks by Mrs Crimble’s. They also have some gluten free pastas and rice noodles as well as rice paper wrappers. I use those for samosas! I’ve also seen some small crisp sized packets containing flavoured gluten free rice cakes. These were in the section for food for infants. They even stock products by Waitrose. The most amazing think I saw was gluten free vegetable stock by Kallo! I can’t have these due to other allergies, but if you can, then hooray!
- CHOITHRAM: The Choithram that I’ve been to in Dubai Silicon Oasis has an aisle for health conscious people. They have rice cakes, quinoa, and dairy free milk.
- CARREFOUR: I always buy my gluten free spaghetti from here. They stock this brand called Peacock’s and have a variety of gluten free spaghetti noodles which are white rice noodles, brown rice noodles and vermicelli noodles. This is the cheapest (7-8 AED) brand of gluten free spaghetti I have found in Dubai. Most cost over 20 AED and contain corn which is something I cannot have. Carrefour also stocks lactose free milk by Al Marai. Look for it in the UHT section. They also sell soy milk but I have never seen any almond milk there.
- LULU HYPERMARKET: I have heard about Lulu’s stocking lots of gluten free food but I don’t usually go there so I don’t know what they have. I recently found out that they stock almond milk by a brand that I’ve heard about repeatedly, especially from consumers in the US: Almond Breeze. I don’t drink this because apparently there is some amount of soy in it, but everyone gives it great reviews!
- HYPERPANDA: They have a tiny little section dedicated to gluten free food, which makes me so pleased. There, I have seen rice crackers, Peacock’s gluten free spaghetti, and quinoa.
- HOLLAND & BARRETT: This is a small, nifty little store just outside Hyperpanda in Dubai Festival City. They’ve got quinoa and lots of gluten free grains and flours.
You can always also go to ORGANIC FOODS AND CAFE in Dubai Mall but I don’t usually go to Dubai Mall. (Can you blame me? It’s always so crowded and takes ages to get from one end of the mall to the other!) There is also a Waitrose store there. In both stores, you will find a range of allergy friendly products. I haven’t listed any here because I’ve never been there.
For quick reference, use the lists below when you go shopping. The first list is sorted by product type, and the second is by store.
SHOPPING LIST
- Gluten free/lactose free rice cakes in Spinneys and Choithram
- Dairy free milk in Spinneys, Choithram, Lulu Hypermarket and Carrefour
- Lactose free milk in Carrefour
- Gluten free spaghetti (Peacock’s) in Carrefour and Hyperpanda
- Gluten free flours in Spinneys and Holland & Barrett
- Gluten free jam (Duerr’s) in Spinneys
- Quinoa in Spinneys, Choithram, Holland & Barrett and Hyperpanda
- Gluten free snacks and treats in Spinneys
- Rice paper in Spinneys
- Rice noodles in Spinneys
- Gluten free vegetable stock in Spinneys
SHOPPING LIST
- SPINNEYS: Gluten free/lactose free rice cakes, dairy free milk, gluten free flours, gluten free jam, quinoa, gluten free snacks, rice paper, rice noodles, gluten free vegetable stock
- CHOITHRAM: Gluten free/lactose free rice cakes, dairy free milk, quinoa
- CARREFOUR: Dairy free milk, lactose free milk, gluten free spaghetti
- LULU HYPERMARKET: Dairy free milk
- HYPERPANDA: Quinoa, gluten free spaghetti
- HOLLAND & BARRETT: Gluten free flours, quinoa
Begone, Gluten! 