(More) Gluten Free Shopping in Italy

When most people think about going shopping in Italy their mind conjures images of gorgeous shoes, handbags and designer clothes. Me? It’s all about the gluten free food shopping.

Am I alone in returning home from a holiday with a bag heaving with piadina not Prada, Tuscan focaccia and not Ferragamo?

The trouble is, shopping senza glutine in Italy is really rather good.

If you’re heading for beautiful Italy soon I recommend you search out the nearest branch of the Coop. These stores range in size from tiny village corner shop to cavernous hypermarket and can be found all over Italy.

The Coop have their own excellent and extensive range of own brand gluten free products. In addition their carry products from DS (Dietary Specials), Agluten and many more.

Here is the vast product range found in one Coop supermarket in Poggibonsi, Tuscany.

Breads, foccacia, rice cakes:

Cakes, biscuits, breakfast items:

Various types of pasta and assorted flour mixes:

Frozen section including pizzas, baguettes, cornetto’s…and:

…the holy grail of missing gluten free product in the UK, it’s only puff pastry!:

Gluten free Daura at approximately half the price I pay in Waitrose:

But it’s not just about the processed foods, Italian supermarkets and markets are heaving with local produce which is naturally gluten free:

You can also read an earlier post here on gluten free shopping in Italy.

Looking for more gluten free travel inspiration for your holiday in Italy? You might find these posts useful for coeliac safe dining in Rome, my gluten free guide to Puglia and many more gluten free guides to eating out in Italy:

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8 Comments

  1. October 1, 2012 / 10:50 pm

    I do the same thing! Sometimes I even bring an extra carry-on bag for my gluten-free finds during my travels.

    • October 1, 2012 / 11:13 pm

      I’m glad I’m not alone!

      I often see people chatting on twitter about all the food they need to take on their holidays. I think it’s important to highlight that in many countries – such as italy and Sweden – they have lots of interesting gluten free products! I love trying out different GF food finds on my travels.

      • October 2, 2012 / 2:48 pm

        Whenever I go to a new city, I actually seek out places to by gluten-free food. I find supermarkets and health food stores in other countries to be interesting. It gives you a non-touristy look at how people live. It also lets you discover new gluten-free food.

        • October 2, 2012 / 9:37 pm

          You’re so right, it’s such an opportunity to explore how people live and eat in different places around the world. Definitely a positive aspect of being gluten free!

  2. October 9, 2012 / 3:36 pm

    It’s true! We are Danish but we live six month every year in Tuscany and our local Coop has a great selection of gluten-free products. We often have guests from Denmark and they are all surprised seeing the variety of delicacies – much larger than in our home country.

    • October 13, 2012 / 6:07 pm

      Hi Ida, you’re so lucky to live six months of the year in Tuscany, this is my dream! What is your favourite Italian gluten free product?

    • October 19, 2012 / 5:16 pm

      Hi Mrs D, yes we certainly consider ourselves very lucky. There are many gluten free Italian products, like the Ameretti Biscotti (very delicious cookies), the pasta and spaghetti from Pandea and Orgran (who also make breadcrumbs and whole cans of pasta with tomato sauce etc). You can also buy your own gluten free pizza crusts from Proceli (for baking your own pizzas). Lot’s of nice things! 🙂

  3. Liz Crawshaw
    October 18, 2012 / 5:55 pm

    I’m heading to Italy next week for a 10 day trip – Lake Como and Venice. Thanks for the tips! I’m looking forward to the polenta which is a speciality of Como.