Gluten-free diets are easier to follow when you know what you can eat as well as what you must avoid.

Grains are edible seeds from the grass family.  The grass family is enormous, and includes such diverse plants as bamboo and your front lawn.  They also include problematic foods like wheat, and gluten-free grains like rice.

This article lists many gluten-free grains.  It also lists grains you must avoid.

There are several foods that can be confusing because they appear to be grains, but they’re not.  Are they gluten-free or not?  I will list some of these also.

This article does not include non-grain foods such as peas, beans, pulses and tubers.  It also excludes grain-like foods such as quinoa and amaranth

Gluten-Free Grains

Here is a list of gluten-free grains.

They can be bought and used whole as a breakfast cereal, the basis for stuffing, added to soups, and many other uses.

The flours from any of these grains are great for baking.

• Canary Seed
• Fonio
• Forage, Grain and Broomcorn
• Job's Tears
• Maize, (corn in North America)
• Millets (various kinds)
• Rice
• Sorghum
• Teff
• Wild rice

Gluten-Free Pseudocereals

Pseudocereals are similar to grains, but are not actually from the grass family.  By the time they reach your kitchen, this may not seem like an important difference, but they are listed separately here because they are not true grains.

• Amaranth
• Breadnut
• Buckwheat
• Cattail
• Chia
• Cockscomb
• Kañiwa
• Pitseed Goosefoot
• Quinoa
• Wattleseed (also called acacia seed)

Gluten-Containing Grains

Here is a list of grains to avoid.   Besides the obvious four, wheat comes in a number of varieties, and this often confuses people.  Some of the varieties are tolerated to some degree by people avoiding wheat, but this varies from one individual to another.

All of these grains must be avoided by celiac.

• Durum
• Einkorn
• Emmer
• Oats
• Rye
• Semolina
• Spelt
• Triticale
• Wheat

Grain Confusion

There are certain foods that seem like grains, but are not.

Some of them are made from grain. 

Some contain gluten, others are gluten-free

Gluten-Free Non-Grains

• Tapioca

Gluten-Containing Non-Grains

• Bulgur
• Couscous

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