Gluten-Free Salsa Brands: 8 Top Options

If you love salsa and need to avoid gluten, the good news is plenty of options line your grocery store shelves. Whether you enjoy it with Mexican food, on eggs, or as a condiment, gluten-free salsa ranges from mild, medium, and hot to more exotic varieties.

Generally speaking, salsa is made from non-gluten ingredients. But salsa can be subject to gluten cross-contamination in processing, and some minor ingredients, such as spice blends or even a splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce can include gluten. Therefore, you still need to be careful with salsa when eating gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Salsa List

Unless noted otherwise, the gluten-free salsas listed below are gluten-free to less than 20 parts per million, the current accepted U.S. standard. 

Amy's Kitchen

Amy's, well-known for its gluten-free frozen pizza and other organic gluten-free products, makes four gluten-free salsas:

• Mild
• Medium
• Black Bean & Corn
• Chipotle

All are considered gluten-free salsa, according to the company, and are made with mainly organic ingredients. They're also dairy-free, soy-free, lactose-free, tree nut-free, and vegan. The Black Bean and Corn variety contains distilled vinegar, which may be derived from gluten grains.

Chi-Chi's

Chi-Chi's, the product of MegaMex Foods, L.L.C. (a joint venture between U.S. food giant Hormel Inc. and Mexican food company Herdez del Fuerte), makes a variety of products, including gluten-free salsa:

• Thick and Chunky Salsa (Mild, Medium, Hot)
• Restaurant Style Salsa (Mild, Medium)
• Salsa Con Queso

If there's no gluten grain listed, the product includes no gluten ingredients (although it might still be at risk for gluten cross-contamination from other products made nearby or on the same equipment). The vinegar used is derived from grains, including gluten grains.

Desert Pepper Trading Co

Desert Pepper makes 15 gluten-free salsas, including:

• Salsa Divino (mild)
• Salsa Del Rio (medium green)
• Salsa Diablo (hot)
• Cantina (medium, hot green )
• Cantina (mild, medium, hot)
• Tequila Salsa (medium)
• XXX Habanero Salsa (extra hot)
• Peach Mango Salsa (medium)
• Pineapple Salsa (medium)
• Roasted Tomato Chipotle Corn Salsa (medium)
• Corn Black Bean Red Pepper Salsa (medium)
• 2 Olive Roasted Garlic Salsa (medium)

The company also makes two bean dips. Note they may be produced on shared equipment that processes gluten ingredients. Desert Pepper's vinegar can include gluten-grain-based distilled vinegar.

Frontera

Frontera, a specialty food company specializing in Mexican products, makes several types of gluten-free salsa in three lines: Gourmet Mexican Salsa, Salsa Mexicana, and Limited Edition Seasonal Salsa. Its salsas marked gluten-free include:

• Roasted Tomato (Gourmet Mexican Salsa)
• Jalapeño Cilantro (Gourmet Mexican Salsa)
• Chipotle (Gourmet Mexican Salsa)
• Mild and Medium (Salsa Mexicana)

The Salsa Mexicana products include distilled white vinegar. The seasonal salsas are manufactured in a shared facility and are not marked gluten-free, so steer clear of those.

Green Mountain Gringo

Green Mountain Gringo gluten-free salsa options are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, which requires products to meet a stricter standard of less than 10 parts per million of gluten, include:

• Hot, medium, and mild
• Roasted Chile Pepper
• Roasted Garlic

Green Mountain's gluten-free salsas are made from mainly fresh vegetables and spices. The company does not make any gluten-containing products. All gluten-free salsas use apple cider vinegar, not distilled white vinegar.

Newman's Own

Socially responsible Newman's Own (all profits go to charity) makes seven types of gluten-free salsa, including:

• Mango
• Black Bean & Corn
• Peach

None contains gluten, according to the company's Frequently Asked Questions page. However, all contain distilled white vinegar. Note that many Newman's Own products contain gluten, raising the potential for gluten cross-contamination in processing.

On the Border

This brand, a spinoff from the restaurant that bears the same name, makes several different types of salsa including:

• Mild, medium, and hot
• Mild chunky
• Medium chunky
• Cantina-style

According to the company, all are gluten-free salsa: "Our products must pass finished goods testing to meet FDA requirements for gluten-free labeling, and we prominently state “Gluten Free” on our packaging," the company says.

Pace

Pace is owned by the Campbell Soup Co., which includes the following Pace products on its gluten-free salsa list:

• Chunky Salsa (mild, medium, hot)
• Original Recipe Restaurant-Style Salsa
• Four Chile Pepper Salsa
• Fire Roasted Poblano 'N' Corn Salsa
• Honey Chipotle Salsa
• Mango Habanero Salsa
• Peach Mango Jalapeño Salsa
• Salsa Verde
• Organic Salsa 

Pace products use distilled white vinegar that can be made from gluten grains.

Non-Gluten-Free Salsa Brands

Although it's unusual for salsa to contain gluten ingredients, many companies decline to label their products "gluten-free." The following salsa brands and flavors are not considered to meet gluten-free standards.

Herdez

These salsas are produced by the same Hormel-Herdez del Fuerte MegaMex joint venture that makes Chi-Chi's salsa products. Again, Hormel will call out any gluten-containing ingredients (wheat, barley, rye, and oats) by name on the label.

If a Herdez product doesn't mention those grains, it's considered to have no gluten ingredients (although it still could be subject to gluten cross-contamination in manufacturing). The salsas do include distilled white vinegar that can be derived from gluten grains.

La Victoria

This is another MegaMex brand, and La Victoria salsa products will clearly label any gluten ingredients. The products include distilled white vinegar, potentially from gluten grains.

Old El Paso

This brand of salsa is produced by General Mills, which makes such gluten-free staples as Chex cereal and Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes. However, Old El Paso products are not considered gluten-free (despite safe-sounding ingredient lists), likely because of potential gluten cross-contamination at the factory.

Ortega

Ortega, made by parent company B&G Foods Inc., no longer has a gluten-free list. It makes a variety of salsas but no longer calls any of them "gluten-free."

Taco Bell

The Kraft Heinz Company, which will call out any gluten-containing ingredients on its label, makes Taco Bell salsa products for grocery store sales under license from the Taco Bell fast food company. The products don't contain gluten ingredients but can be subject to gluten cross-contamination in processing.

Tostitos

Frito-Lay North America, Inc., makes a variety of salsas under the Tostitos brand. These salsas do not include any ingredients from wheat, barley, rye, or oats, according to Frito-Lay.

However, the company hasn't tested them for gluten and they may be manufactured on the same lines as gluten-containing ingredients, so Frito-Lay does not consider them gluten-free.

Salsa Nutrition

Salsa adds a flavorful punch to food without adding fat or many calories. Most salsa is fat-free and two tablespoons of salsa may contain just 10 or 20 calories, depending on the brand.

Tomato-based salsas contain plenty of vitamin C, and salsa usually has a bit of fiber from the tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables it includes.

A Word from Verywell

Most people think of salsa as something that pairs well with their gluten-free tortilla or multigrain chips. But salsa has a myriad of other uses.

Try using it instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich (both to spice up the sandwich and cut calories and fat) or dip your fries into it. Salsa can spice up a vegetable omelet and even add a bit of a bite to tomato soup.