Eating Gluten-Free in Greece

Having had to change my diet and eliminate gluten for health reasons, I am always just a little concerned about eating out in places I haven’t been before. So when I was preparing for my holiday in Greece, I did some research into the types of food, and usual methods of preparation for those dishes. I wanted to be able to choose easily, and quickly, without causing any fuss. The more I looked, the more confident I was that eating Gluten-Free in Greece was going to be fairly easy.

Greek food is delicious!

As well as that, so many of my favourite food items were off limits! Spanakopita, baklava, taramasalata (if it’s made with breadcrumbs not potato), gyros (souvlaki toast), Galaktoboureko …… But let’s not dwell on what we can’t have!

Gluten-free limitations just open you up to new food choices, which is a great opportunity.

I was also surprised by the amount of gluten-free food and snacks that were available in the little grocery stores and bakeries on the islands. There were rice cakes and gluten-free crackers and mini-toast bread things that you could use in dips. There were also gluten-free snack bars that came in handy.

Avoiding Gluten

Just to be clear, I am Gluten Intolerant, not celiac. There’s a big difference. The following options are some ideas for food choices that can be made without gluten . You still need to check with each restaurant about their preparation methods to make sure they are free of gluten where you are eating.

So what can you eat?

I think that breakfast was actually the most difficult meal of the day. Most of the hotels provide complimentary breakfast, which we would obviously want to try and take advantage of. However the food on offer was all designed to be put on bread. So I was eating a strange combination of things for breakfast. A boiled egg, a piece of fruit, some yoghurt with honey, and a piece of cold meat or a slice of cheese. Plus there are also salad items available for breakfast. One place had a full Greek salad available for breakfast. Once you get past the strange feeling of eating Greek salad and watermelon for breakfast, you’re ok.

One thing I was glad that I tried in Crete was the sheep’s milk yoghurt. Oh so tangy, but just amazing with some local honey for breakfast.

Lunch and Dinner were actually not a problem.

Most of the restaurants had the gluten free meal options clearly marked on their menus and there were a variety to select from.

To start off with, there’s the traditional Greek salad.

At home, our Greek salads come with a few pieces of fetta cheese tossed in the bowl with everything else ( you have to look hard for it). In Greece, we were amazed to see the Greek salads were served with an entire slab of fetta cheese on top of the bowl! Plenty for everyone.

Eating Gluten-Free in Greece Greek Salad — Greek Salad

Gyros on a plate!

When we were on Crete, we discovered that many places will put the gyros on a plate for you with a bit of extra meat and chips. So we sampled several of these which were all nice. The best one I tasted was at Rethymno just behind the waterfront street lined with tourist restaurants.

Gluten Free Gyros in Naxos.

Yes, that’s right. Corn bread Gyros so you can have one just like everyone else. What a great fast food idea! I think my Dad just did one big Gyros crawl across Greece on our last holiday.

Souvlaki

While Dad was doing his Gyros crawl, I was searching for the perfect souvlaki taste. The one I remembered from my childhood holiday. Fortunately, souvlaki is amazingly gluten free and if you can find the ones that are marinated, you definitely can’t stop at just one! Although this one in Crete was massive – that’s not the way they are served all the time.

Most of the time they are just 4-5 pieces of diced meat on a skewer that is cooked over an open char-grill flame. Some of the nicest souvlaki we tasted was from the Acropolis café style restaurant in Athens.

Tzatziki

A dip made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic and olive oil. This is nice on its own with some previously mentioned gluten free crackers, or as an accompanying side dish to a grilled meat dish (think souvlaki!), or a Gyros.

So many tasty choices….

Skordalia

A dip made with potatoes, garlic and olive oil.

Grilled calamari with baked vegetables!

Not just a few rings of calamari either. In Naxos, you get the whole squid on your plate.

In Nafpaktos, the calamari came in the form of one big octopus tentacle, char-grilled. You know you’re alive now.

Lahanodolmades

Cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice with a lemon style sauce. (Always check with the restaurant about the sauce, to make sure it is gluten-free)

Dolmades

Vine leaves stuffed with seasoned rice and simmered in lemon juice and water until soft. Also perfect dipped into tzatziki!

Gemista

Tomatoes and capsicums stuffed with seasoned rice and grilled.

And more

Apart from the above listed items there were many more choices. Fava bean dip, baked chickpeas, various dishes with eggplant, cabbage salad, assorted cheese and a lot of fresh fruit.