Last Updated on June 1, 2022
Today, we’re going to be answering the question: are Lays BBQ chips gluten free? And taking a look at whether all flavors of Lays are suitable for a gluten-free diet. It’s more common than you may think for potato chips to have gluten as an ingredient. Gluten can be used to enhance the flavor and other benefits. Chips are the perfect snack, and it just so happens that Lays BBQ chips are my favorite flavor! But are they gluten-free? Let’s take a closer look.
What Are Lays BBQ Chips?
Lays BBQ chips need a little introduction. They’re one of the most popular flavors available when it comes to Lays. They have the perfect level of spicy and sweetness for a potato chip and their crispness makes them the perfect crunchy snack. If you’re from the UK, you may recognize the logo, but not the same. That’s because in the UK, Lays chips are called Walkers crisps; but made by the same people – and equally as delicious!
Read more about: Do Lays Potato Chips Contain Any Gluten?
Ingredients In Lays BBQ Chips
The ingredients you’ll find in the Lays BBQ chips are:
- potatoes
- vegetable oil
- salt
- sugar
- dextrose
- corn maltodextrin
- molasses
- torula yeast
- onion powder
- tomato powder
- paprika
- corn starch
- natural flavors
- caramel color
- paprika extract
- yeast extract
- garlic powder
- mustard seed oil
Nutritional Information Of Lays BBQ Chips
If you’re curious as to what the nutritional value is when it comes to Lays BBQ chips, look no further. Each bag contains the following:
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 9g
- Sat. Fat: 1.5g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Carbs: 16g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 2g
Do Lays BBQ Chips Contain Gluten?
As you can probably see from the list of ingredients – Lays BBQ chips do not contain any gluten ingredients. However, they are not marketed as gluten-free. If a product is gluten-free, it means that it’s been tested for gluten and has below the legal amount of gluten, which is 20ppm.
However, when a product does not contain any gluten ingredients, it isn’t tested. And Lays states that these chips may be made in the same area as gluten-containing products, which means we can’t be sure of their gluten-free status. If you’re celiac or particularly sensitive to gluten, it’s best to stick to their gluten-free flavors, which, unfortunately, their BBQ chips are not.
Gluten Free Lays Chips
While Lays BBQ chips may not be marketed as gluten-free, there are plenty of flavors that are gluten-free! In fact, Frito Lay (who make Lays potato chips) has a handy tool to help you navigate which flavors are suitable for a gluten-free diet. You can check this out here. Let’s take a look at their gluten-free products and their non-gluten-containing products.
Gluten Free
The following flavors are gluten-free:
- BBQ baked potato crisps
- Original baked potato crisps
- Sour cream and onion baked potato crisps
- Classic potato chips
- Lightly salted potato chips
- Thick cut sea salted potato chips
- Bacon and cheddar potato skins crisps (STAX)
- Buffalo wings with ranch potato crisps (STAX)
- Cheddar potato crisps (STAX)
- Chile limon potato crisps (STAX)
- Flamas potato crisps (STAX)
- Mesquite BBQ potato crisps (STAX)
- Original potato crisps (STAX)
No Gluten Ingredients
The following products do not contain any gluten in their ingredients, but are not marketed by Lays as “gluten-free”:
- BBQ potato chips
- Cheddar and sour cream potato chips
- Chile limon potato chips
- Honey barbecue potato chips
- Dill pickle potato chips
- Flaming hot dill pickle potato chips
- Cheddar jalapeno potato chips
- Extreme Cheddar potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Honey habanero potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Flaming hot potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Flaming hot limon potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Jalapeno potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Maui onion potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Original potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Smoky BBQ reduced-fat potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Jalapeno cheddar reduced-fat potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Original reduced-fat potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Sea salt and vinegar reduced-fat potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Sea salt and cracked pepper potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Vinegar and sea salt potato chips (kettle cooked)
- Limon potato chips
- Honey bbq (poppables)
- Sea salt (poppables)
- Sea salt and vinegar (poppables)
- Southwest ranch (poppables)
- White cheddar (poppables)
- Salt and vinegar potato chips
- Sour cream and onion potato chips
- Flamas extreme potato chips (STAX)
- Queso potato chips (STAX)
- Salted potato chips (STAX)
- Spicy chile limon potato chips (STAX)
- Tangy limon potato chips (STAX)
- XTRA flaming hot potato chips (STAX)
- Sweet southern heat bbq potato chips (STAX)
- Hickory bbq potato chips (wavy)
- Ranch potato chips (wavy)
Conclusion
I hope this article has helped to answer the question: are Lays BBQ chips gluten-free? And give you an idea of which flavors of Lays you can enjoy when following a gluten-free diet. Lays have quite a large selection of flavors, which are accessible from most grocery stores. It’s worth noting that this article is tailored to Lays in the US; nutritional information and allergens can vary from country to country. For this reason, always be sure to check ingredients.
What’s your favorite flavor of Lays potato chips? Please feel free to let me know in the comments below. Sharing is caring!
Learn more about: Do Tater Tots Have Gluten?
FAQs
Are Lay’s Barbecue Potato Chips Gluten Free?
While Lay's barbecue potato chips do not make gluten free claims, they do not contain any gluten ingredients. While it's not advised to eat products that do not carry a gluten free label, you can take the risk if you want too.
Are Baked Lays BBQ Chips Healthy?
Baked Lays aren't considered "healthy", but they're a much healthier alternative in comparison to traditional Lays. When opting for the Baked Lays option, you can save around 40 calories and 6.5g of fat per serving!
Are All Lays Gluten-Free?
No. Not all Lays chips are gluten free, so it's important to check ingredients labels and watch out for any gluten. While a lot of flavors are gluten free, the same can't be said for all flavors available.
Are Lay’s Barbecue Chips Dairy Free?
Yes. Lay's Barbecue chips do not contain any dairy among their ingredients, so are considered a safe choice for those following a dairy free diet.

Hi, my name’s Zoë. I’m 28 years old and live in London, UK. I work full time as a freelance writer and critic for West End theatre. Writing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I spend most of my free time at the theatre, or at conventions. I’m married to the love of my life, and live in a small apartment with my fur baby, Lillie. I run two of my own blogs: No Safer Place and Stage to Page: both of which have won awards. I also have a YouTube channel where I talk about all things stagey.