If you're eating gluten-free, an ice cream shop is friendlier territory than you might think. Ice cream itself — cream, milk, sugar, and flavor — starts naturally gluten-free. The gluten sneaks in around the edges: cookies, cones, and crunchy mix-ins. Here's how to navigate the case at Ryan's.
Start with the flavor, not the label
Many of the homemade flavors in our case are made without gluten ingredients: think vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, mint chip, butter pecan, and plenty more. The ones to double-check are the flavors built around cookies and cake — cookies n' cream, cookie dough, brookie, coffee cake, birthday cake, and friends. When in doubt, ask at the counter; the crew handles this question all the time.
Cones and toppings: the usual suspects
- Cones: cake cones and waffle cones are made with wheat flour. A cup gets you the same scoops with zero gluten.
- Toppings to skip: Oreos, brownie bites, cookie dough, and graham crackers are the obvious ones.
- Friendlier picks: our wet toppings — hot fudge, caramel, strawberry, pineapple, marshmallow — plus plenty of candy toppings. The crew can point out what's safe for you.
A word on cross-contact: We're a busy scoop shop with shared cases and dipping wells, so we can't promise zero cross-contact. If you're highly sensitive or celiac, tell the crew — they'll use their best care and help you pick the safest options.
Yes, you can have the cake too
Gluten-free options are available for our ice cream cakes. The classic crunchie center is made with chocolate cookie crunch, so for a gluten-free build the team adjusts the middle and skips the cookie-based mix-ins. Just note "gluten-free" in the important-notes box on the online order form, and the shop will walk through the details when they call to confirm your order.
Bottom line: come hungry. Between the naturally gluten-free flavors, Italian ice, and Dole fruit soft serve, a gluten-free visit to Ryan's is a full-menu visit.
Safe-bet flavors to start with
Scanning the board, the flavors built without cookie or cake pieces are your easiest yeses: Vanilla, Vanilla Fudge, Cherry Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Mint Chip, Coffee, Butter Pecan, Salted Caramel, Banana, and Lemon Sherbert among them. The ask-first list is exactly what you’d guess — Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough, Fruity Pebbles, and anything with “brownie” in the name. The crew can check any flavor’s ingredients on the spot.
The topping board, sorted
- Skip: Oreos, Brownie Bites, Cookie Dough, Graham Crackers — the wheat is the point of those.
- Usually friendly: the wet toppings — hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow, strawberry, pineapple, raspberry, black cherries — plus fruit-forward picks. Candy toppings vary by brand, so have the crew double-check a label if it matters.
- Bonus: sugar-free hot fudge and chocolate chips are on the board too, if you’re juggling more than one restriction.
Beyond the scoop case
Two whole sections of the menu start naturally gluten-free: Italian ice — fruit, sugar, and water in flavors from cherry to mango to watermelon — and Dole fruit soft serve in pineapple, strawberry, and cherry. Between those and the flavor list above, gluten-free at Ryan’s is a “which one” question, not a “whether” question.
Gluten-free cake, step by step
Order like normal, note it once. Place your cake order online with at least 48 hours’ notice and write “gluten-free” in the notes. When the shop calls to confirm, the team goes over the build — adjusting the cookie-crunch center and steering the mix-ins — so the cake that comes out of the freezer fits the guest of honor.
