Shopping gluten free at a discounter depends less on the chain than on the country. Aldi has a dedicated brand in Germany and a Free From range in the UK; Lidl has no permanent range in France but claims a wide one in Spain; Mercadona says it stocks more than 1,350 products. Here is what each chain publishes itself, checked on official websites in September 2026, and what we could not find.

Aldi gluten free: ENJOY FREE in Germany, FREE FROM in the UK

Aldi has structured its offer more than most, at least in two countries.

In the UK, Aldi has a page dedicated to the gluten-free diet and a FREE FROM brand — for example 500 g gluten-free spaghetti. In September 2026, that product page read: “This product is currently not available.” The brand exists; availability varies. Aldi’s own disclaimer adds that “products and their ingredients are liable to change at any time” and that you should always read the label.

In Germany, Aldi Nord sells an “ENJOY FREE Glutenfreies Brot”, a gluten-free loaf under a dedicated house brand, shown on its product page. The same ENJOY FREE brand appears in Aldi Süd’s product pages (gluten-free oat flakes and pasta), which we could not display in full. On oats, a reminder: even certified gluten free, oats are not tolerated by every coeliac — see our article on oats.

In France, we found no gluten-free range presented as such on Aldi’s website.

Lidl: one chain, several policies

Lidl is the most telling case, because the same chain says different things in different countries.

  • France. Customer service is unambiguous: gluten-free products “are not part of our permanent range, but we run occasional sales”. Gluten-free pasta or bread may appear in the leaflet one week and vanish the next.
  • Spain. Customer service says the opposite: “En Lidl te ofrecemos una amplia gama de productos sin gluten y sin lactosa” — a wide gluten-free and lactose-free range — with an “Intolerances” section on the website.
  • Portugal. Lidl’s gluten-free page mainly lists frozen and ready meals — tortellini, a monkfish rice kit, a seafood stew — and says other gluten-free products such as biscuits and pasta appear “occasionally” in the leaflet.
  • UK, Germany, Italy. We found no clear official statement about a permanent gluten-free range. In the UK, the old “gluten free range” address redirected to the home page in September 2026. We draw no conclusion from that, other than to check in store.

What this means for you: at Lidl, gluten free is often a matter of promotions. When a product that suits you comes round, there is no guarantee it will still be there next month.

The Spanish chain is by far the most committed. In a statement dated 8 May 2026, Mercadona announces more than 1,350 products suitable for people with coeliac disease, marked with its own logo, made with more than 250 specialist suppliers, and backed by collaboration with national associations including the Spanish coeliac federation FACE.

One point to understand: Mercadona’s gluten-free logo belongs to the retailer. Mercadona explains it itself: there are association symbols (the FACE guarantee mark, the international Crossed Grain) and manufacturers’ and retailers’ symbols, “each meeting its own standards”. The Mercadona logo guarantees what any “gluten free” claim guarantees in the EU — under 20 ppm — with the retailer’s own checks. It is not a FACE certification.

Mercadona also has stores in Portugal; we have not checked whether the range and the logo are identical there. For a trip to Spain, our guide to gluten-free travel in Spain gives the rest of the picture.

1,350+gluten-free products announced by Mercadona (May 2026)
250+specialist suppliers, according to the chain
20 ppmthe legal threshold behind every "gluten free" claim

Eurospin and Italian discounters

In Italy, the discounter Eurospin has a dedicated line, Amo Essere Senza Glutine. On its official page, the chain states that all products “are verified by AIC (Associazione Italiana Celiachia) and carry the Spiga Barrata mark on the packaging” — the Italian version of the Crossed Grain. That is a higher level of assurance than a simple “gluten free” claim.

The page does not list the products, and we have not checked other Italian discounters’ ranges. In Italy, the crossed-grain logo remains the safest marker on the shelf — see our article on the Crossed Grain symbol.

dm, the German drugstore

In Germany, many coeliacs do part of their shopping at dm, a drugstore chain that also sells food. Its organic brand, dmBio, has a “Glutenfrei genießen” page announcing “a large selection of gluten-free products, constantly expanded”.

In September 2026 it included, among others: wholegrain rice penne, gnocchi, two mueslis, carrot bread and chocolate cake mixes, sandwich biscuits and an instant pasta cup. Several products on the page were marked “nicht lieferbar” (not available online): here too, availability moves.

Shopping abroad

The table below sums up what each chain publishes itself. It says nothing about your local store: ranges vary by region and by week.

Chain Country What the chain says (September 2026)
Aldi UK FREE FROM brand; some products unavailable
Aldi Nord / Süd Germany ENJOY FREE brand (bread, pasta, oat flakes)
Lidl France No permanent range, occasional sales
Lidl Spain “A wide range” of gluten-free and lactose-free products
Lidl Portugal Frozen and ready meals; biscuits and pasta on promotion
Mercadona Spain More than 1,350 products, in-house logo
Eurospin Italy Amo Essere Senza Glutine line, AIC-verified, Crossed Grain
dm (dmBio) Germany Organic gluten-free range, “constantly expanded”

A few habits when you arrive in a new country:

  • Learn the word. Sin gluten, senza glutine, sem glúten, glutenfrei, sans gluten. And the grains: trigo, frumento, Weizen, blé; cebada, orzo, Gerste, orge.
  • Look for the logo, not the aisle. Gluten-free products are not always grouped; at Mercadona they are marked by the logo, not by an aisle.
  • Check the freezer. In Portugal as elsewhere, gluten-free bread and meals are often frozen.
  • Buy when you see it. At discounters with rotating promotions, this week’s product may not come back.

A “gluten free” claim means the same thing, under 20 ppm, on a national brand or an own brand. But own brands change suppliers more often: re-read the ingredients and “may contain” statements every time you buy, even for a product you know. Our article on traces explains what they are worth.

Scanning own-brand products

For products without a gluten-free claim — a sauce, a ham, an own-brand cracker — the quickest check is to scan the barcode. The Nutrixe scanner looks up the ingredients list in the open Open Food Facts database and flags wheat, barley, rye and their derivatives, as well as “may contain” statements. It never says “gluten free”: if the record is old or incomplete, it says so and sends you back to the label. We explain what to expect from a good scanner in this article.

And if the local supermarket falls short, there are specialist shops: our database lists 243, of which 221 are fully gluten free, all on the map. To keep the budget in check, our tips for eating gluten free on a budget round off this tour of the aisles.

Summary

  • Aldi UK: a FREE FROM brand, with some products shown as unavailable.
  • Aldi Germany: a dedicated ENJOY FREE brand at Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd.
  • Lidl France: no permanent gluten-free range, only occasional sales, according to its customer service; Lidl Spain claims “a wide range”.
  • Mercadona announces more than 1,350 products, with its own logo — not a FACE certification.
  • Eurospin: a line checked by the Italian coeliac association and marked with the Crossed Grain.
  • For own-brand products, read the ingredients and scan every time.

In the aisle, in doubt? The scanner in the Nutrixe app reads the ingredients list in seconds, free and without an account. And if you know a gluten-free shop missing from the map, suggest it.

Sources

  • Lidl France, LIDL vend-il des produits bio / sans gluten ?, service-client.lidl.fr, accessed October 2026. Gluten-free products are not part of the permanent range, only occasional sales.
  • Lidl España, ¿Tenéis productos sin gluten y sin lactosa?, atencion-al-cliente.lidl.es, accessed October 2026. “En Lidl te ofrecemos una amplia gama de productos sin gluten y sin lactosa” (a wide range of gluten-free and lactose-free products).
  • Lidl Portugal, Sem glúten, sem lactose, lidl.pt, accessed October 2026. Gluten-free frozen and ready meals (tortellini, arroz de tamboril, mariscada); biscuits and pasta “ocasionalmente” in the leaflet.
  • Open Food Facts, product record Glutenfreies Brot enjoy free! (4061458045841), openfoodfacts.org, accessed October 2026. 400 g gluten-free loaf under the enjoy free! brand, sold at Aldi.
  • ALDI UK, The gluten free diet and product page FREE FROM Gluten Free Spaghetti 500 g, aldi.co.uk, accessed October 2026. FREE FROM range; the gluten-free spaghetti page reads “This product is currently not available”.
  • Mercadona, Celiac Awareness Day. Every day at Mercadona, press release, 8 May 2026, info.mercadona.es. More than 1,350 products for people with coeliac disease, identified by an exclusive logo, over 250 specialist suppliers, work with FACE and Celíacs de Catalunya.
  • Eurospin, Amo Essere Senza Glutine, eurospin.it, accessed October 2026. Every product in the range is checked by AIC and carries the Spiga Barrata (crossed grain).
  • dm-drogerie markt, Glutenfrei genießen mit dmBio, dm.de, accessed October 2026. “Eine große Auswahl an glutenfreien Produkten, die ständig […] erweitert wird” (a large, constantly growing gluten-free range).
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 of 30 July 2014 on the requirements for the provision of information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food, Official Journal of the European Union, L 228. “Gluten-free”: no more than 20 mg/kg, whatever the brand.