Celiac and the Jewish holidays – a gluten-free guide from Rosh Hashanah to Shavuot

The Jewish calendar is full of festive meals, and most of them come with flour, crumbs and shared frying oil. We went holiday by holiday to sum up what to check, what to swap and how to enjoy the festivities without worrying about every bite.

03.11.2026 · 7 min read

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: honey cake, round challah and the break-fast

The Jewish year opens with a full table: round challah, apple dipped in honey, the symbolic foods and honey cake to finish. Challah and honey cake are almost always wheat, but both are fairly easy to replace – dedicated bakeries sell round gluten-free challahs, and honey cake is one of the most forgiving cakes to bake with a gluten-free flour blend. If you bake yourself, our guide to gluten-free flours can help.

The symbolic foods themselves – dates, pomegranate, beets, leeks and squash – are usually gluten-free, as long as they aren’t fried in batter or breadcrumbs. Keep an eye on the honey dish, too: if everyone dips regular challah into it, it’s no longer safe. A separate little bowl for the apples and the gluten-free challah solves that in a second.

On Yom Kippur the challenge comes in two parts. The pre-fast meal sometimes includes kreplach – filled dough dumplings in soup – which you can make with gluten-free dough or swap for gluten-free kneidlach or noodles. And at the break-fast everyone is hungry, cakes, bourekas and kugel come out, and hands move fast. The simplest approach is to prepare a covered plate for yourself in advance, so you don’t have to investigate the table after 25 hours without food.

💡 Buying a gluten-free challah or honey cake for the holiday? Order early. Dedicated bakeries are swamped before Rosh Hashanah, and stock runs out quickly.

Sukkot: meals in the sukkah and hosting the whole family

On Sukkot the food leaves the kitchen, passes through many hands and ends up on one long table – sometimes in a neighbor’s sukkah or the synagogue’s. That’s a classic recipe for cross-contact: a tray of pastries next to the salads, a spoon that travels between the couscous and the rice, and crumbs scattered by the wind.

If you’re hosting, you set the rules: you can make most of the menu gluten-free without anyone noticing – rice, potatoes, roasted meat and vegetables – and serve the bread and pastries at the far end of the table. If it’s an “everyone brings something” meal, ask guests to label what each dish contains, and help yourself first from any dish you’re sure about.

A serving spoon for each dish, with gluten-free dishes served first
Pastries, bread and cakes at one end of the table, away from the safe dishes
Cover dishes on the way to the sukkah – against flies and crumbs alike
Heading out on a Chol HaMoed trip? Check places in the area on Bli Perurim in advance and confirm with the staff

Hanukkah: sufganiyot, latkes and the oil everyone fries in

A regular sufganiyah is a yeasted wheat dough, so there’s nothing to debate. The good news is that in recent years more bakeries offer gluten-free sufganiyot. As with any bakery, it’s worth asking two questions: is the dough prepared separately, and are the doughnuts fried in oil that’s separate from the regular ones?

Latkes are more of a surprise. A potato latke sounds innocent, but many recipes add flour, matzah meal or breadcrumbs to hold the batter together. You can swap in potato starch, cornstarch or gluten-free flour – and the result is just as crispy.

Then there’s the oil. If regular latkes, schnitzels or doughnuts are fried in the same oil, the gluten stays in it and passes to whatever is fried next. Coeliac UK recommends frying gluten-free foods in clean oil or a separate fryer. At home, the simple order is to fry the gluten-free batch first in fresh oil and only then the rest – or to use a separate pan.

💡 At a restaurant or stall serving latkes or fries, ask explicitly whether the fryer is shared with breaded or dough-based items. “The latke itself is gluten-free” doesn’t mean much if the oil is shared.

Tu BiShvat and Purim: dried fruit, hamantaschen and mishloach manot

On Tu BiShvat, fresh fruit and plain nuts are usually gluten-free, but it’s worth reading labels on mixes, coated dried fruit and cereal bars – some contain gluten ingredients, and others contain oats, which Israeli regulations list among the gluten-containing grains. If you hold a Tu BiShvat seder and want to display the wheat and barley of the seven species, you can set them on the table in a separate small dish.

Purim is a holiday of baked goods: hamantaschen, cookies and cakes passed from hand to hand. You can bake gluten-free hamantaschen at home with a shortcrust made from a gluten-free blend, and some dedicated bakeries make them ahead of the holiday.

Mishloach manot are the big challenge: homemade cookies, wafers and packaged sweets sit together in one basket, and crumbs end up on everything. Well-sealed, labeled items can usually be checked by their label; anything that was unwrapped in the basket is better skipped. And if you like, sending gluten-free mishloach manot to friends is also a nice way to show how enjoyable this way of eating can be.

Passover: matzah, “kosher for Passover” and kitniyot – three different things

Regular matzah is made from wheat, and so are matzah meal and matzah crumbs – which show up in kneidlach, cakes, meatballs and Passover schnitzels. The “kosher for Passover” label is about the laws of chametz, not gluten, so a kosher-for-Passover product can certainly contain matzah meal. What counts is the ingredient list and a “gluten-free” label.

Oat-based matzah is available, and some is baked under the supervision of a gluten-free certification body. OU Kosher notes that oat matzah isn’t necessarily completely free of gluten, and recommends that sensitive people discuss it with their doctor and their rabbi. Remember, too, that in Israel oats are listed by regulation among the gluten-containing grains: most people with celiac tolerate gluten-free oats, but a small minority react even to those – so this is a decision best made together with your doctor or dietitian. There are also matzah-like products made from other flours and starches; with those, the main question is a halachic one.

Kitniyot is a completely separate issue. Many Ashkenazi Jews have the custom of not eating rice, corn, legumes and more on Passover – but that’s a Passover custom, not a gluten matter. A “kitniyot-free” product isn’t necessarily gluten-free, and vice versa: rice and corn are naturally gluten-free. If you do eat kitniyot on Passover, you’ll find plenty of gluten-free products based on them.

“Kosher for Passover” ≠ “gluten-free” – check the ingredients of every product
Matzah meal, matzah crumbs and matzah cake meal are wheat
Oat matzah – only after talking to your doctor, and only with a gluten-free label
“Kitniyot-free” and “gluten-free” are two different labels

💡 Which matzah fulfils the mitzvah of eating matzah at the seder, and what to do when regular matzah harms your health – those are questions for a rabbi. Don’t decide on your own, and don’t compromise your health without asking.

Shavuot: cheesecake, blintzes and cookie crusts

The cheese itself usually isn’t the problem – what surrounds it is. Cheesecake bases are typically made from crushed tea biscuits, blintzes and quiches start with a flour batter, and cheese bourekas are wheat puff pastry.

Most of these are easy to swap: a base made from crushed gluten-free cookies or from nuts and butter, a baked cheesecake with no base at all, or blintzes made with a gluten-free batter. With ready-made dairy products it’s still worth glancing at the label, especially on flavored cheeses, yogurts with crunchy toppings and ready-made desserts.

Guests at a family holiday meal: how not to be “the complicated ones”

Holiday meals with family may be the most sensitive part. Some relatives get it right away, and some still think a little flour in the sauce “isn’t a big deal”. A few days before the holiday, a short, calm explanation works better than a list of demands: celiac is a disease, even a crumb matters, and you don’t expect the whole menu to change – you just want to be able to eat safely.

The most effective move is to offer to bring a dish or two, such as a main course and a dessert, so you have something to rely on. If your hosts want to cook for you, let them know what to watch out for – flour in sauces, breadcrumbs in meatballs, soup powders, and dishes and trays that previously held baked goods.

At the table, help yourself first from the safe dishes, before the spoons start wandering, and ask for them to be placed to the side with their own spoon. And if something still doesn’t feel safe, it’s fine to skip it. We covered Shabbat, the challah board and kiddush in our shared-kitchen guide, where you’ll also find more ideas for family meals.

💡 For holidays when you eat out, Bli Perurim can help you find restaurants and bakeries that declare gluten-free options. The badges are based on the places’ own declarations, so always confirm with the staff before ordering.

FAQ

Is a product labeled “kosher for Passover” gluten-free?

Not necessarily. Kosher for Passover is about chametz, and many kosher-for-Passover products contain matzah meal, which is wheat. Check the ingredient list and look for a “gluten-free” label.

Is oat matzah safe for people with celiac?

There’s no single answer for everyone. Oats can be contaminated with gluten, OU Kosher notes that oat matzah isn’t necessarily completely gluten-free, and a small minority of people with celiac react even to uncontaminated oats. Talk to your doctor or dietitian before adding it to your diet.

Can I buy gluten-free sufganiyot or latkes at a regular bakery?

Sometimes, but you need to ask. Beyond the dough itself, find out whether it’s prepared separately and whether it’s fried in oil that’s separate from the regular products. Shared oil transfers gluten.

Which matzah fulfils the obligation at the seder, and what blessing is said over gluten-free challah?

These are halachic questions, and the answer depends on the product and on your health situation. We don’t rule on them – ask a rabbi and describe your medical situation and the product you’re considering.

Sources

OU Kosher – Gluten Free MatzotOU Kosher on matzah for people sensitive to gluten: oat matzah isn’t necessarily completely gluten-free, some matzah is baked under gluten-free certification supervision, and a recommendation to consult a doctor and a rabbi.
Coeliac UK – Oats and the gluten free dietThe UK coeliac charity: most people with coeliac disease tolerate gluten-free oats, the risk with regular oats is contamination, and a very small number react even to gluten-free oats.
Coeliac UK – Cross contaminationGuidance on preventing cross-contamination at home, including frying in clean oil or a separate fryer and keeping separate condiments and spreads.
Celiac Canada – Gluten cross-contamination in the kitchenCeliac Canada on research into cross-contamination in kitchen appliances, including fryers, and how replacing oil and cleaning reduce contamination.
NIDDK – Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Celiac DiseaseThe US National Institutes of Health: which foods contain gluten, reading labels, and following a gluten-free diet with the guidance of a doctor or registered dietitian.

General information only – not medical advice. For personal questions, talk to your doctor or a dietitian.

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