Choose a gluten-free oat-based digestive from Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda if you eat gluten-free oats and want a milk-free, vegan option with tea. If you avoid oats, Schär offers a non-oat digestive; check its soya and precautionary allergen information against your needs. Whichever route you take, look for a gluten-free claim on the current pack and read its full allergen statement.
A digestive’s familiar appearance is not enough to establish its gluten-free status. Start with a pack explicitly labelled gluten-free, then check its ingredients and allergen information. Coeliac UK says most people with coeliac disease can eat gluten-free oats, though individual suitability matters.
Tesco Free From, Sainsbury’s Free From and Free From by Asda have digestive biscuits described as milk-free and suitable for vegans. Check the particular pack for any other allergens you need to avoid.
Schär’s gluten-free digestive offers a recipe based on maize, soya and buckwheat rather than oats. It contains soya, so avoiding oats is only one part of the allergen check.
Choose the biscuit route by checking the gluten-free claim first, then whether oats and any other declared allergens fit your requirements. Tea-time use can help you decide between packs that pass those checks.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free status | Look for an explicit gluten-free claim on the current pack. UK Food Standards Agency technical guidance published on GOV.UK says this claim requires no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten in food as sold to the final consumer; read the ingredients and allergen statement as well. | I need a biscuit labelled gluten-free, rather than relying on its name, appearance or a general Free From range label. |
| Oats | Check whether the recipe uses gluten-free oats or a non-oat mix. Coeliac UK distinguishes specifically gluten-free oats from standard oats, which can be contaminated by wheat, barley or rye. | If I avoid oats, I want a non-oat digestive. If I eat gluten-free oats, an oat-based pack remains an option to consider. |
| Other requirements | Check milk-free and vegan claims separately from gluten-free status. Read declared ingredients and precautionary statements for allergens such as nuts, soya and lupin on the particular pack. | The biscuit also needs to fit any other dietary or allergen requirements in my household; a gluten-free label alone cannot answer that. |
| Tea-time use | Tesco describes its Free From digestive as dunkable, while Asda positions its digestive as a biscuit to have with tea. Schär also presents its digestive for afternoon tea and cheesecake bases; these are product descriptions, not comparative texture tests. | I want a digestive for a cup of tea, or one I can also use in a cheesecake base. I can weigh that use alongside the recipe and allergen label. |
Digestive biscuits can contain gluten-bearing ingredients; a similar-looking Free From version does not establish the status of another pack.
Choose a pack explicitly labelled gluten-free and read its current ingredients and allergen statement.
Coeliac UK says most people with coeliac disease can eat gluten-free oats, but standard oats can be contaminated and some people remain sensitive to gluten-free oats.
If you eat oats, check that an oat-based digestive itself carries a gluten-free claim. If you avoid oats, check the ingredients of a non-oat recipe instead.
Milk-free or vegan wording does not settle questions about nuts, soya or other allergens. Schär’s digestive, for example, contains soya and carries a precautionary lupin warning.
Read the full statement on the pack you are buying against every requirement that applies to you.
These brand references describe particular biscuit products or ranges, not a ranking or a promise that each brand makes a suitable digestive for every shopper.
Tesco Groceries lists a 188g gluten-free digestive made with gluten-free oat flour.
Sainsbury’s lists a 188g milk- and gluten-free digestive made with oats.
Asda lists a 188g gluten-free digestive and describes it as a biscuit to have with tea.
Schär offers a gluten-free digestive for tea or cheesecake bases, with a non-oat recipe described in the product information.
M&S lists gluten-free biscuit alternatives including shortbread rounds, gingerbread and flapjack cookies.
The product below is a gluten-free digestive for shoppers considering the non-oat route. Check its allergen information as carefully as you would for an oat-based pack.
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A non-oat digestive option for tea or a cheesecake base. The recipe uses maize, soya and buckwheat; it contains soya and may contain lupin, so check the current pack if those allergens matter to you.
UK Food Standards Agency technical guidance published on GOV.UK says food sold to final consumers may carry a gluten-free claim only if it contains no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten as sold. Look for that claim on the pack you buy, and read its ingredients and allergen information too.
No. Coeliac UK says most people with coeliac disease can eat gluten-free oats, but some remain sensitive to them; standard oats can also be contaminated with gluten-bearing grains. If you avoid oats, check a non-oat digestive’s ingredients and other allergens instead.
The Tesco Free From, Sainsbury’s Free From and Free From by Asda digestives described here have milk-free and vegan product claims. Those claims do not replace a check of the current pack’s full allergen statement.
Schär Gluten Free Digestive Biscuits are a non-oat option made with maize, soya and buckwheat ingredients. They contain soya and may contain lupin, so check the current label before choosing them for a household with other allergen requirements.