[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Last Update: August 13, 2024
2024 Iowa State Fair Gluten Free
You have arrived at the best Iowa State Fair Gluten Free guide. This guide will be updated regularly as new information is released. Feel free to update me in the comments about anything I’ve missed.
Disclaimer: The information here is provided in good faith. I can not attest to the accuracy of the information provided by the Iowa State Fair or the individual vendors. You should inform the food vendors of your allergy or dietary needs. Cross contamination is always a possibility, especially when gluten free foods are prepared in an area that handles gluten containing ingredients. If this is a concern you should discuss preparation procedures with the individual vendors.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Destination Grille
Destination Grille has announced via their website https://www.destinationgrille.com/iowastatefair that their entire Iowa State Fair food trailer and menu will be gluten free for 2024. This includes their fryers. That means we get to join in on the fun foods that the Iowa State Fair is famous for. Their fried gluten free lobster corn dog looks incredible and were awarded an Iowa State Fair best new food top 3 finalist which you can read about at https://www.iowastatefair.org/food/whats-new. Other offerings from Destination Grille include chicken strips on a stick and candied bacon gnocchi. Their food trailer is located near the Iowa Craft Beer Tent.
Could I resist going there? No, I couldn’t. Here is the lobster corn dog. Innovative and delicious.
How about the candied bacon gnocchi? If you like gnocchi you will love this… and who doesn’t love gnocchi? Fantastic flavor.
Sometimes new food concepts are released at the ISF and you are excited to try them, but they don’t really work. Both of these were executed perfectly in my book. They tasted great and they were cooked perfectly.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Watcha Smokin’
Watcha Smokin’ announced via their Facebook profile https://www.facebook.com/whatchasmokinbbq that their entire 2024 menu will be gluten free with the exception of sandwich buns. This is a great move and should make it possible for them to avoid cross contamination. Hopefully they have a dedicated person who handles the buns to keep crumbs away from the rest of the food. Gluten free sandwich buns will be available for us in addition to their normal wheat buns. Their Iowa sm’oak’ed roll was also awarded a 2024 top three new fair food award. The Iowa Twinkie is back this year and was a top 3 new fair food winner in 2023. Their other 2024 gluten free menu options include “up in smoke snacks,” walking Frito pie, jalapeño cheddar craft link on a stick, chopped brisket sandwich, and pulled pork sandwich. They are located near the Iowa Craft Beer Tent not far from Destination Grille.
As a big fan of barbecue and a Celiac there was no holding me back. Here is the up in smoke snacks. It’s essentially a barbecue meat nachos. Not really revolutionary but it was delicious.
Here we have the Iowa sm’oak’ed roll. It was good. I was hoping for a bit more flavor. The pork tenderloin really took center stage. The other components were barely noticed. Possibly my roll was light on the internal filling, it seemed. Nothing a little added hot barbecue sauce can’t fix. What a fun concept and very innovative.
Speaking of sauces, I can’t imagine a more fun way to dispense it. Grab your favorite flavor by the utter and squeeze. All are clearly labeled gluten free.
With both of these locations serving unique new items near the Iowa Craft Beer Tent you will not have to go far to try both of them. They had no shortage of business but were staffed well to keep the line moving quickly.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
But wait, there’s more!
Below is the full list of vendors identified as having gluten free options for 2024, compliments of the Iowa State Fair website. Most of these have similar offering that they had in 2023. Keep reading the 2023 section for more details on these.
- Big Acai Bowl
- Campbell’s Corn Dogs (E. of Triangle, S. of Service Center)
- Completely Nuts
- Iowa Pork Producers
- Iowa Fruit/Vegetable Growers
- Ford’s Concessions
- Midwest Dairy Association
- Hill Concessions
- Hockridges
- Mexican Corn Stand
- Nitro Ice Cream
- Iowa Turkey Federation
- The Salad Bowl/Applishus
- Chicken City
- Beattie’s Melon Patch
- The Rib Shack
- Dawghouse Concessions
- Zag’s Popcorn
- Zag’s Po-Boy
- Steer ‘N Stein
- The Nut Farm
- Destination Grille
- Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ
Catch Des Moines lists Party Balls by JR’s Southpork Ranch as being another Iowa State Fair gluten free food on their website at https://www.catchdesmoines.com/fair/. However according to the vendor at https://jrsouthporkranch.com/menu/ this is a fried food and they don’t claim it to be gluten free. Most likely it is fried in a gluten contaminated fryer.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Gluten Free Options At The 2023 Iowa State Fair
The 2023 Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is home to an incredible number of food options. If you’re looking for Iowa State Fair gluten friendly and gluten free food options you are in the right place. Although it’s easy to find foods containing gluten you will have to look a little harder to find gluten free choices. But don’t worry, I’m here to bring you options regardless if you are Celiac, have a gluten allergy, or are cutting out gluten for other dietary reasons. There are enough gluten free food options at the 2023 Iowa State Fair to satisfy everyone’s appetite.
The Iowa State Fair has listed their official Iowa State Fair gluten friendly food vendors via their website. It’s nice that they did this and gives us a starting point to build on. Thank you to the Iowa State Fair for thinking about us! Unfortunately we are lacking information on what specific foods are gluten friendly. Some newly added gluten friendly additions were not included on their website. It would also be nice to have location information for finding these vendors within the state fair. A map would be awesome but I don’t expect anyone to take the time to create one. That’s why I made my own map (keep reading and you will see it below). You can find the Iowa State Fair official list on the ISF website at the bottom of: https://www.iowastatefair.org/food.
There is also a food and product finder on the Iowa State Fair website. Here you can locate various vendors if you happen to know what name they are entered as. In some cases the name of the business varies from the name of their food stand. When this happens it can be tricky to find the information you need. After finding a specific food vendor you will be presented with their menu of available food items. Unfortunately many who have gluten friendly options do not list them as such. This web tool provided by the Iowa State Fair is located at: https://www.iowastatefair.org/visit/product-food-finder
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Iowa State Fair Gluten Friendly Food Vendors 2023
This list is not all-inclusive. You will likely find additional Iowa State Fair gluten friendly options that are not on my list. The food vendors I have added to the map below were specified as having a gluten free food by either the Iowa State Fair or by the vendor their self. There are some vendors listed on the ISF website as gluten friendly which I did not include for various reasons. Most usually the they were omitted due to an inability to determine what items on their menu are GF combined with being unable to find a contact to validate their gluten free food offering. My goal is to error on the side of caution in an attempt to avoid guiding my fellow gluten avoiders to vendors who will disappoint them.
As always, you should inform the business if you have an allergy or health condition that prevents you from consuming gluten. Confirm that the food item you would like to order was prepared without gluten ingredients and discuss any cross contamination concerns. This not only helps assure your best chances at precautions being taken but also communicates to the staff the importance of food allergy safety. The more people they hear from the more they will hopefully understand how prevalent and serious food allergies are.
Notable Locations and Additional Details
Locations provided by the Iowa State Fair are approximated, possibly even subject to change. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like to add a detail or note a correction.
Bacon Box
Location: North of Varied Industries Building
The bacon balls, grinder balls, and chicken bacon ranch balls are gluten free. The staff confirmed with me that no breadcrumbs or other gluten grain binders are used in their meat balls. Fantastic! I have visited them and really enjoyed this unique food option. Who says gluten free has to be boring! https://www.eatbaconbox.com
Campbell’s Corn Dogs
Location: East corner of Triangle, South of Service Center
There are many Campbell’s Corn Dog stands located around the Iowa State Fair. However this is the particular location you should seek out as it is the only one with gluten free options. According to the Iowa State Fair website they offer gluten free corn dogs, gluten free foot-long corn dogs, gluten free turkey corn dogs, and veggie gluten free corn dogs. However it was reported that they no longer offer the veggie gluten free corn dogs this year. The stand owner has stated that there are no gluten ingredients at this specific stand. This is the gold standard for many of us. Thank you to Campbell’s! Just make sure that you visit the one that says gluten free. They have another location very close to this one that serves the gluten dogs.
Destination Grille
Location: Inside the Youth Inn
A well loved staple of the Des Moines area gluten-free community, Destination Grille of Grimes IA has a location at the Iowa State Fair. GF options include french fries, lobster rolls on a lettuce wrap, and ahi tuna lettuce wraps.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Hotchkiss’s Steak and Shake Ups
Location: East of Varied Industries Building by Farm Bureau Park
Mexican grilled corn on the cob (elotes) is most usually seasoned without gluten ingredients. I have not been able to verify the ingredients used by this vendor. The Iowa State fair website lists “Mexican Corn Stand” as a gluten friendly option but does not specify which vendor. Speak with food vendor staff to confirm there is not a gluten ingredient such as wheat flour in their seasoning.
Iowa Egg Council
Location: Inside the Agriculture Building
It’s free! The Iowa Egg Council has a long standing tradition of handing out a free egg to each visitor.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Island Noodles
Location: Front of Varied Industries Building
At the Island Noodles stand you can find gluten free Island Slaw with teriyaki chicken. Usually teriyaki sauce is a concern because it is most often made with soy sauce. Regular soy sauce contains gluten. However the vendor has confirmed that their version of teriyaki sauce does not contain gluten.
Over The Top
Location: West of the Riley Stage
Gluten free ice cream is available at Over The Top. Not all flavors are gluten free. Be sure to discuss your gluten free needs with the staff. As they handle ice cream cones there is a possibility of cross contamination you should be aware of.
Steer N’ Stein
Location: A standalone building on E. Grand Ave.
Gluten free hamburger and hot dog buns are a much welcomed option at this ISF location. They serve Nathan’s Original Beef Franks which are known to be gluten free. They stated all of their house seasonings and sauces are gluten free. Steer N’ Stein has a menu on their website where they list gluten free options. They have a GF breakfast selection called Kim’s Parfait which includes Greek yogurt, GF granola, fruit, jam, and a cheese covered hash brown. Definitely ask if the hash brown is cooked in a gluten contaminated fryer. I assume that it is. Lunch and dinner gluten free options include hot dogs, hamburgers, a pork belly pinwheel, turkey legs, lil smokies, and the Steer N’ Horns Pickle which is a pickle on a stick with spices and Lola’s hot sauce. A great list of delicious GF meaty choices. All of the frozen slushy mixes at their frozen bar are gluten-free including alcoholic and non-alcoholic offerings. Be weary of all fried foods here as the fryer is most certainly contaminated by gluten ingredients such as their breaded fried foods. https://www.steernsteinisf.com/menu
Watcha Smokin‘
Location: Near the Iowa Craft Beer Tent
Their permanent location in Luther Iowa is known to produce many barbecue meats with gluten free rubs, seasoning, and sauces. Except for buns/bread their entire fair menu is gluten free.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
Iowa State Fair Gluten Friendly Foods Map 2023
Gluten free at the Iowa State Fair doesn’t have to be boring. Look at all these options! Certainly there is something for everyone here. Reference this map as you walk through the fair to easily locate nearby gluten friendly food vendors.
[the_ad_placement id=”manual”]
In addition to these there are other possible snack options around nearly every corner including popcorn, cotton candy, and ice cream. Of course you should first inquire with staff regarding ingredients and the possibility of cross contamination if that is a concern for your gluten free dietary requirements. In the case of ice cream especially, there is the potential of cross contamination of utensils and work surfaces in the presence of gluten ingredients in other ice creams such as cookies.
While many of the fun food options at the Iowa State Fair contain gluten ingredients there are thankfully still many Iowa State gluten friendly foods. You should absolutely not skip the fair because you are avoiding gluten. Consult with staff to validate your gluten free food selections. Have a great time at the 2023 Iowa State Fair!
Leave a Reply