CAVA is not a gluten-free restaurant, but many of its menu items do not list wheat as an ingredient. If you're avoiding gluten, the main foods to skip are pita, pita chips, pita crisps, and falafel. The most important thing to know is that CAVA prepares food in shared kitchen areas and does not guarantee that any item is completely free from allergen cross-contact.
CAVA prepares food in shared kitchen areas and does not guarantee that any item is completely free from allergen cross-contact. If you have celiac disease or a serious wheat allergy, tell the CAVA team before your order is prepared.
CAVA is not a gluten-free restaurant, but many menu items are wheat-free.
Many bases, proteins, dips, toppings, and dressings do not list wheat.
Pita bread, pita chips, pita crisps, and falafel contain wheat flour.
CAVA does not guarantee that food is free from allergen cross-contact.
Check current allergen information and inform staff about your celiac disease or wheat allergy before ordering.
No. CAVA is not a gluten-free restaurant. However, many individual ingredients do not list wheat as an ingredient and can be used to build a wheat-free meal.
CAVA's build-your-own format gives you more control over your order. Depending on the current menu and allergen information, options can include rice, lentils, greens, several proteins, dips, vegetables, and dressings.
However, there is an important difference between an ingredient being wheat-free and a meal being safe from gluten cross-contact. CAVA uses shared preparation areas, including shared utensils, cutting boards, prep stations, and ingredient containers. Because of this, CAVA does not guarantee that menu items are completely free from allergen cross-contact.
If you have celiac disease or a wheat allergy, tell the person preparing your food before they begin assembling your CAVA bowl. Staff may be able to take additional precautions, such as changing gloves or using a separate scoop.
Yes. CAVA does not have a separate restaurant-wide gluten-free menu, but many individual ingredients do not list wheat. The easiest option is to build your own bowl and check each component individually:
CAVA provides recipe-by-recipe allergen information covering allergens such as wheat, milk, soy, eggs, tree nuts, sesame, peanuts, fish, and shellfish. Because CAVA recipes and seasonal menu items can change, the current allergen information should always take priority over an older menu or third-party website.
CAVA's allergen information specifically identifies wheat rather than providing a broad gluten-free certification. For most people who avoid gluten, this distinction may not change their choices. However, anyone who needs to avoid all gluten-containing grains, including barley or rye, should discuss their requirements directly with CAVA before ordering.
A build-your-own bowl generally gives you more control than a curated menu item because you can choose each ingredient individually.
CAVA's 2026 menu additions include Power Greens, Sumac Slaw, returning White Sweet Potatoes, and Glazed Salmon. New or seasonal foods should always be checked against the current allergen information before ordering.
Several CAVA bases are listed as wheat-free in its allergen information, including:
CAVA lists RightRice as wheat-free. It is a proprietary grain blend rather than plain rice, so customers with celiac disease or another medically necessary gluten restriction should still check the current ingredient and allergen information before ordering.
Several CAVA proteins are listed as wheat-free, including:
No. CAVA falafel contains wheat. Chickpeas themselves are naturally gluten-free, but CAVA's falafel uses wheat flour as a binder. That means it should be avoided if you have celiac disease or a wheat allergy.
CAVA's published allergen information lists Spicy Lamb Meatballs as wheat-free. However, some diners with celiac disease have reported receiving different guidance from staff at particular locations.
This means there are two separate questions to consider:
CAVA lists the meatballs as wheat-free in official nutrition disclosures.
The way an individual restaurant handles the item may require additional confirmation.
If you have celiac disease, ask your location before ordering the meatballs. If staff cannot confidently confirm the preparation, choosing another protein is the safer option.
Several popular CAVA dips and spreads are listed as wheat-free, including:
*Remember that wheat-free does not mean free from every allergen. For example: Hummus varieties contain sesame because they use tahini. Tzatziki and Crazy Feta contain milk. If you have multiple food allergies, check every ingredient individually.*
Many CAVA vegetable-based toppings do not list wheat, including:
No. Pita crisps are made from pita and are therefore a wheat-based food. Pita crisps are also handled on the restaurant's assembly line alongside other toppings. This creates a potential cross-contact concern for people with celiac disease.
Many CAVA dressings and sauces are listed as wheat-free, including:
*Also consider other allergens: Tahini-based dressings contain sesame. Yogurt Dill contains milk. Some garlic-based sauces may contain milk, depending on the current recipe.*
For a gluten-free or wheat-free order, the clearest foods to leave off are:
CAVA pita is a wheat-based bread product and is not gluten-free. There is no standard gluten-free pita substitute on the menu. Pita chips and crisps are made from wheat-based dough. Falafel contains wheat flour as a binder.
CAVA may be workable for some people with celiac disease, but it is not a dedicated gluten-free restaurant and cannot guarantee that an item is completely free from allergen cross-contact.
A bowl can contain ingredients that do not list wheat and still potentially come into contact with gluten during preparation through shared utensils, shared scoops, cutting boards, prep surfaces, ingredient containers, or fragments from pita products. For this reason, people with celiac disease should not rely only on a list of wheat-free ingredients. Preparation and cross-contact precautions matter as well.
Instead of simply saying "gluten-free," be specific if your restriction is medically necessary. You can say: "I have celiac disease" or "I have a wheat allergy." This makes the seriousness of the request clear. Ask whether they can use clean gloves, utensils, scoops, or preparation surfaces as needed.
The safest approach is to check the current allergen information before visiting or placing your order. Recipes and seasonal menu items can change.
For app or delivery orders, review the current ingredients before checking out instead of automatically reordering a saved favorite from memory. You can verify total calories and macros on our CAVA Nutrition Calculator or CAVA Calories Guide.
No. CAVA is not a gluten-free restaurant, but many menu items do not list wheat as an ingredient. CAVA also uses shared preparation areas and does not guarantee that menu items are free from allergen cross-contact.
CAVA's brown rice and saffron basmati rice do not list wheat in its allergen information. RightRice is also listed as wheat-free.
Grilled chicken, Harissa Honey Chicken, and Grilled steak are listed as wheat-free.
No standalone gluten-free PDF is provided. CAVA's current allergen information and wheat-free filtering tools on the app are the better references.
CAVA is not a gluten-free restaurant, but it offers many ingredients that do not list wheat and can be used to build a wheat-free meal. The clearest foods to avoid are pita, pita chips, pita crisps, and falafel. CAVA's Spicy Lamb Meatballs are listed as wheat-free, but anyone with celiac disease should confirm their preparation.
The bigger issue for people with celiac disease is cross-contact. CAVA uses shared preparation areas and cannot guarantee that any menu item is completely free from allergen cross-contact. Always communicate your dietary needs clearly with staff when ordering!