Jersey Mike’s knows how to do gluten-free right! In this post, I’ll share how you can safely eat at Jersey Mike’s when you’re following a strict gluten-free diet. Please see my disclosures.
Jersey Mike’s gluten-free menu is plentiful and totally safe for those with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and gluten intolerance.
In fact, gluten-free customers can order just about any sub on Jersey Mike’s gluten-free menu without worry of getting glutened.
While Subway struggles to serve the gluten-free community, Jersey Mike’s does it with flying colors and puts it at ease with its commitment to getting gluten-free right.
In this article, I’ll discuss what’s gluten-free on Jersey’s Mike’s menu, as well as reveal how Jersey Mike’s performed when I tested one of its gluten-free sandwiches for hidden gluten with my Nima Sensor, a portable gluten-detecting device.
Does Jersey Mike’s Have Gluten-Free Bread?
Yes, Jersey Mike’s offers gluten-free bread safe for customers with celiac disease and other disorders that require a person to follow a gluten-free diet.
It all started in December 2017 when Jersey Mike’s announced it would use pre-packaged gluten-free sub rolls by Udi’s at all of its 1,300 locations nationwide.
The company said, “Udi’s gluten-free sub rolls arrive at the restaurant individually wrapped and fully baked. The packaging is not opened until the sub is ordered and, as a result, there is little risk of cross-contamination with other subs.”
The bread roll ingredients included water, tapioca starch, brown rice flour (rice flour, rice bran), canola oil, egg whites, resistant corn starch, tapioca maltodextrin, cane sugar, sugar cane syrup, rice bran, yeast, sugarcane fiber, salt, gum (xanthan gum, sodium alginate, guar gum), cultured corn syrup solids, citric acid (mold inhibitor), locust bean gum, enzymes, and white rice flour.
Before its nationwide gluten-free launch, JerseyMike’s had begun testing Udi’s bread in 111 Los Angeles and 19 West Palm Beach locations in December 2016.
Why Did Jersey Mike’s Add Gluten-Free Options?
The idea of offering gluten-free bread rolls came from a franchisee whose daughter had celiac disease. Given the severity of celiac disease and the difficulties of feeding someone a safe gluten-free meal without exposing them to even a crumb of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats is a challenge.
The potential for gluten cross-contamination inside a sandwich restaurant is a real threat to the health of someone with celiac disease.
That’s why Jersey Mike’s enlisted the help of the Gluten Intolerance Group to help train its team members on how to carefully prepare a sub sandwich for someone with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Jersey Mike’s team members have been trained to change their gloves when handling the gluten-free bread rolls.
They also know to use clean knives and other utensils that haven’t touched other bread products when slicing the gluten-free rolls.
And they prepare each sub on parchment paper to avoid having the bread come in contact with gluten crumbs.
Jersey Mike’s Gluten-Free Menu
With the addition of gluten-free bread, almost every hot and cold sub on the Jersey Mike’s menu can be made gluten-free. Any hot or cold sub can also be served in a bowl as a salad.
The only exceptions include the #15 Meatball and Cheese and the #18 Chicken Parm. Both hot subs contain gluten and should be avoided by anyone on a gluten-free diet.
Jersey Mike’s offers a database on its site where you plug a sandwich name into the database, and it’ll list the exact ingredients contained in that sub.
Cold Subs That Can Be Made Gluten-Free
- #1 BLT
- #2 Jersey Shore’s Favorite
- #3 Ham Provolone
- #4 The Number Four
- #5 The Super Sub
- #6 Roast Beef and Provolone
- #7 Turkey and Provolone
- #8 Club Sub
- #9 Club Supreme
- #10 Tuna Fish
- #11 Stickball Special
- #12 Cancro Special
- #13 The Original Italian
- #14 The Veggie
- Salami and Cheese
- California Club Sub
- California Dreamin’
- Chipotle Turkey Sub
- Natural Turkey Sub
- Turkey Club Sub
Hot Subs That Can Be Made Gluten-Free
- #16 Mike’s Chicken Philly
- #17 Mike’s Famous Philly
- #19 BBQ Beef
- #20 Grilled Pastrami Reuben
- #31 California Chicken Cheese Steak
- #42 Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak
- #43 Chipotle Cheese Steak
- #44 Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak
- #55 Big Kahuna Chicken Cheese Steak
- #56 Big Kahuna Cheese Steak
- #79 Grilled Italian
Breakfast Options
The following breakfast sandwiches can be made gluten-free:
- #2 Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
- #3 Sausage, Egg and Cheese
- #4 Ham, Egg, and Cheese
- #5 Steak, Egg and Cheese
- Egg and Cheese Sandwich
Chips and Cookies That Are Gluten-Free
Jersey Mike’s also offers other gluten-free options at select locations:
Chips: You can find Lay’s potato chips, Doritos, and Cheetos at many Jersey Mike’s locations. Please note that some Miss Vickies chips contain barley malt and are therefore not gluten-free. Read ingredient labels carefully.
Cookies: As for dessert options, Jersey Mike’s carries pre-packaged gluten-free cookies by Udi’s.
How Jersey Mike’s Handles Gluten-Free Orders
Jersey Mike’s has put into place the following protocols to handle gluten allergy orders:
Pre-Baked and Wrapped Bread: Fully baked and wrapped Udi’s gluten-free sub rolls are delivered to the restaurants. The packaging is opened only once a customer orders a gluten-free sub.
Change of Gloves: JerseyMike’s team members will use new gloves when handling gluten-free ingredients.
Use of Parchment Paper: All gluten-free subs are prepared on a piece of parchment paper.
Clean Knives: Employees use clean knives and separate utensils when preparing and slicing the gluten-free rolls.
Griddle Wipe Down: For hot sandwiches, team members wipe down the griddle.
Fresh, Untouched Ingredients: Jersey Mike’s employees can pull fresh ingredients from untouched, clean containers at the customer’s request.
Dedicated Prep Area: In Jersey Mike’s in Greenwood Village, CO, the gluten-free sub is prepared on a different surface than the prep area used for making other sandwiches.
Did Nima Sensor Find Gluten at Jersey Mike’s?
I used my Nima Sensor to check if the sandwich I ordered at Jersey Mike’s was really gluten-free.
To test it for hidden gluten, I put a pea-sized amount of the sandwich inside a single-use Nima test capsule and allowed Nima to do its thing for 1-2 minutes.
A smiley face means no gluten found. A “Gluten Found” message means the device found gluten. (Read: Is the Nima Sensor Accurate?)
I tested both the bread and the meat inside my sandwich (two separate tests). You can watch me test my food for hidden gluten in the following video.
If you don’t have time to watch the full video, you can rest assured that my sandwich tested okay – no gluten found!
My Overall Thoughts on Jersey Mike’s
While I was pleased with the process and happy that Nima didn’t find any gluten, I wasn’t over the moon in love with my sandwich.
It looked sad and wasn’t all that delicious. But none-the-less, I appreciated the opportunity to eat a sub sandwich without worrying about gluten. For people with gluten allergies, this is a game-changer.
Additional Information
Read how other restaurants fared when put to the Nima Sensor test:
- What’s Gluten-Free at the Cheesecake Factory?
- What’s Gluten Free at the Olive Garden
- Is the Panera Gluten-Free Menu Really Gluten-Free?
- How to Eat Gluten-Free at Bonefish Grill
- Does Subway Have Gluten-Free Bread or Gluten-Free Menu?
Eat out often? Download my Ultimate Guide to Eating Out Gluten Free or read my book, Dear Gluten, It’s Not Me, It’s You.
Thinking of eating at Subway instead? Think again after reading my article about the non-existent gluten-free protocols at Subway.
