Powdered sugar is fluffy and soft. It is the key ingredient when making frosting, coating donuts, and dusting over desserts. Before you grab a bag of powdered sugar at the grocery store, be sure to look at the label. Is powdered sugar gluten free?
What is Powdered Sugar?
Powdered sugar, also known as confectioner’s sugar, is a combination of sugar and an anti-caking agent. These ingredients are milled together, and the resulting powder is superfine in texture. It helps bring lightness and fluffiness to baked goods, frosting, and more.
Powdered sugar is used in a lot of baked goods recipes. It has a very low melting point, so it is perfect for making icing, glazes, and frosting.
Note that although powdered sugar has many uses, it is not advised to substitute it for regular sugar in a recipe. It has a lower melting point than regular sugar, which can affect the recipe.
Check out my Baking Ingredients research to ensure you use gluten-free ingredients! If you like to use sugar, see Is Coconut Sugar Gluten Free?
Answer: Is Powdered Sugar Gluten Free?
Most powdered sugar “should” be gluten free. It isn’t common that gluten ingredients to be used to make powdered sugar, but a brand could use wheat starch as the anti-caking agent. Another potential red flag is if the powdered sugar is manufactured in a plant where gluten ingredients are made.
When in doubt, reading the ingredients label on the powdered sugar package is always best. Look for hidden gluten ingredients like natural flavors.
Most companies will not declare if their powdered sugar is made on shared equipment, so to be safe, stick with the brands I list below that say gluten free on the package! You can also go to the manufacturer’s website to double-check the safety.
What Is Powdered Sugar Made With?
Powdered sugar has only two ingredients. Sugar and an anti-caking agent. That is it unless it has added flavoring like vanilla.
The most common anti-caking agents in powdered sugar are cornstarch, tapioca starch, and potato starch. They can make up to 5% of the total blend of powdered sugar.
If you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, it is critical that you do not ingest any products that have gluten. Let’s look at whether powdered sugar is gluten free.
If you prefer, it is really easy to make homemade powdered sugar!
Gluten Free Powdered Sugar Brands:
- Wholesome Powdered Sugar
- Great Value Powdered Sugar (Walmart brand)
- Simple Truth Organic Powdered Sugar
- HEB Organic Powdered Sugar
- Aldi Brand Powdered Sugar (They call it icing sugar)
Ways to Use Powdered Sugar:
- Powdered Sugar is incredible when it comes to coating these Gluten Free Donut Holes.
- Powdered sugar is the main ingredient in homemade frosting recipes. Check out all of these incredible gluten free frosting recipes!
