Who are you serving?

Hosts accommodating a gluten-free guest

Choose an identifiable gluten-free product and keep it apart from wheat-containing snacks. Coeliac UK advises cleaning surfaces and utensils to reduce gluten cross-contact.

Hosts balancing several dietary needs

A gluten-free label does not establish whether a biscuit suits someone who avoids milk, egg, soya or oats. Ask guests what they need and check each pack’s ingredients and precautionary statements.

Hosts planning a sharing table

Chocolate-topped biscuits, cookies, pouched biscuit breaks and filled bars offer different serving formats. Check the pack contents before working out how many to put out.

What should you check before buying?

Start with the gluten-free wording on the exact product, then check ingredients, serving format and pack contents.

Priority What to check Your needs
Gluten-free identification Look for a gluten-free claim on the exact pack, rather than relying on its brand or chocolate coating. The Food Standards Agency defines gluten-free as no more than 20 mg/kg gluten in the food as sold; ‘very low gluten’ is a different description. I want guests who need gluten-free food to be able to identify which biscuits are for them.
Other ingredients Check oats, milk, egg and soya in the ingredients, along with relevant precautionary statements. Coeliac UK notes that a small number of people with coeliac disease are sensitive even to gluten-free oats. If a guest also avoids oats or has another allergy, I need to choose for that requirement separately.
Serving and portions Check the count on the current pack and plan separate serving utensils. McVitie’s describes approximately eight biscuits in its 150 g Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs pack; a Sainsbury’s Tim Tam listing gives conflicting counts. I need enough suitable biscuits without relying on an uncertain online pack count.
Chocolate style Compare a chocolate topping, chocolate chips and a filled coated bar. McVitie’s lists milk chocolate on its gluten-free Hobnobs, Tesco describes dark chocolate chips in its Free From cookie, and Sainsbury’s describes the listed gluten-free Tim Tam as a filled bar. For this party, I’d like a format guests will recognise while keeping their ingredient requirements in view.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Assuming a familiar biscuit range is gluten-free

    McVitie’s lists wheat in Penguin Original and Club Orange, while Fox’s lists wheat in Viennese Milk Chocolate. McVitie’s separately makes specifically labelled Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs.

    Match the complete product name and gluten-free wording on the current pack; do not transfer a claim to another biscuit from the same maker.

  • Treating gluten-free as suitable for every guest

    The checked gluten-free recipes differ in their milk, egg and soya ingredients. Coeliac UK also notes that some people with coeliac disease are sensitive to gluten-free oats.

    Ask about each guest’s requirements and read the exact pack’s ingredients and precautionary statements.

  • Planning portions or recipes from a similar product title

    The Sainsbury’s gluten-free Tim Tam listing conflicts on biscuit count. A similarly named Joybuy Nairn’s listing also describes different ingredient proportions from Nairn’s manufacturer page.

    Check the physical pack’s count, gluten-free wording and recipe before serving or calculating portions.

Brands and ranges to distinguish

McVitie’s

Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs are McVitie’s specifically labelled chocolate-topped oat-biscuit option.

  • McVitie’s describes a 150 g pack with approximately eight biscuits.
  • Its listed recipe includes oats and milk, with precautionary wording for nuts and egg. McVitie’s ordinary Milk Chocolate Digestives contain wheat.

Tesco

Tesco Free From Choc Chip Cookie is a gluten-free chocolate-chip cookie with milk-free and egg-free claims on its product page.

  • Tesco lists gluten-free oats and dark chocolate chips for this cookie.
  • The ingredient list includes soya lecithin; claims for this cookie do not automatically apply to other products in the range.

Nairn’s

Nairn’s describes its Chocolate Chip Oat Biscuit Breaks as gluten-free oat biscuits supplied in pouches.

  • The manufacturer identifies a 160 g pack and chocolate-chip recipe.
  • Nairn’s manufacturer-listed recipe includes milk and soya. Check the exact variant rather than applying that recipe to a similarly named biscuit.

Arnott’s

A Sainsbury’s listing describes Gluten Free Original Tim Tam as a filled, chocolate-flavour-coated biscuit bar.

  • The listing states gluten-free and displays a Crossed Grain symbol.
  • It lists milk, egg and soya, and gives conflicting biscuit counts. Check the pack before planning portions.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s lists the Arnott’s gluten-free Tim Tam and a separate own-label Free From Triple Chocolate Cookies product.

  • These listings provide different chocolate-biscuit formats to consider.
  • Check each product’s own ingredients; the Arnott’s recipe cannot establish the own-label cookie’s suitability for other allergies.

Penguin

Penguin Original is a McVitie’s biscuit bar, not the company’s separately labelled gluten-free Hobnobs product.

  • McVitie’s lists wheat flour in Penguin Original, so do not substitute this checked variant for a gluten-free biscuit.

Club

Club Orange is another McVitie’s biscuit-bar variant that needs to be distinguished from its gluten-free product.

  • McVitie’s lists wheat flour in Club Orange; this checked variant is not a gluten-free choice.

Fox’s

Fox’s Viennese Milk Chocolate illustrates why a chocolate coating is not evidence of gluten-free suitability.

  • Fox’s lists wheat flour in this specific biscuit. That finding does not describe every Fox’s product.

Joybuy product options

These options include chocolate-coated coconut macaroons and oat biscuit breaks for a party table. Check each exact pack against guests’ requirements; the formats differ from the cookies and filled bars discussed above.

Mrs Crimble’s Gluten Free 6 Big Choc Macaroons

Mrs Crimble’s Gluten Free 6 Big Choc Macaroons

For a chocolate-coated coconut option rather than an oat biscuit, this pack is named as six gluten-free macaroons. Before serving guests with other allergies, check the pack’s egg and soya ingredients and its milk and nut precautionary wording.

View on Joybuy
Nairns Gluten Free Biscuit Breaks Chunky Oats, Dark & Coconut 160g

Nairns Gluten Free Biscuit Breaks Chunky Oats, Dark & Coconut 160g

These gluten-free oat biscuit breaks offer a different format from the coconut macaroons. The named variant is Chunky Oats, Dark & Coconut in a 160 g pack; ask guests about oats and check the pack’s milk precautionary wording before serving.

View on Joybuy

Questions about serving gluten-free biscuits

Does ‘gluten-free’ mean a biscuit contains no gluten at all?

No. The Food Standards Agency defines gluten-free as no more than 20 mg/kg gluten in the food as sold. ‘Very low gluten’ has a different threshold, so check the wording on the exact product.

Can guests with coeliac disease eat gluten-free oat biscuits?

Many can, but not everyone. Coeliac UK says a small number of people with coeliac disease are sensitive even to gluten-free oats, so ask the guest before choosing an oat-based biscuit for them.

How should I serve them beside ordinary biscuits?

Keep gluten-free biscuits and their serving utensils apart from wheat-containing snacks, and retain the packaging for ingredient checks. Coeliac UK advises cleaning surfaces and utensils to reduce gluten cross-contact.

How many packs should I buy for the party?

Work from the number of guests likely to eat each option and the count on its current pack. McVitie’s describes approximately eight biscuits in its 150 g Gluten Free Milk Chocolate Hobnobs pack; check the physical pack for other products, particularly where an online listing gives conflicting counts.

Do school-food or less-healthy-food rules prohibit these biscuits at a private party?

The Department for Education’s school-food standards concern food provided to pupils on school premises, not biscuits served at a private party. Government guidance addresses less-healthy-food advertising and retail promotions separately; neither a chocolate-biscuit description nor a gluten-free label establishes an individual product’s classification under those rules.