Nutrixe
Yes, you can eat gluten free in Tenerife, and rather well: the Canary Islands count 22 verified places in our database, 19 of them fully dedicated kitchens. Tenerife has 14, Gran Canaria 6, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura one each. This guide gives you the big picture, points to our La Laguna and Las Palmas guides for the detail, and looks hard at what Canarian dishes hide — gofio above all.
Where the options are
Two hubs stand out: La Laguna, in the north of Tenerife, and Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, with four places each. The rest are spread from one end of the islands to the other, which matters when you are getting around by car. Two entries carry an administrative town that is not where you actually eat; we flag them below.
North Tenerife: La Laguna, Santa Cruz and the Orotava valley
La Laguna has its own La Laguna guide: two restaurants and two bakeries, including La Tasca de Arana, whose kitchen is entirely gluten free but whose bar serves wheat beer. We will not repeat it here.
In Santa Cruz, Tasca El Asunto Los Parres (4.8★, over 1,300 reviews), on calle Dique in the San Andrés district, is a small Canarian tasca that is entirely gluten free, house bread included, with classics such as almogrote (a spicy cheese spread) and fish churros. Its status is confirmed by the Canary Islands coeliac association. Also in town, Backer sin gluten (4.5★), on calle Pérez Galdós, is a bakery and patisserie whose workshop is exclusively gluten free, with vegan and lactose-free options.
In the Orotava valley, Restaurante Gran Tarajal SIN GLUTEN (4.5★, nearly 900 reviews) serves family-style Canarian food — grilled meats, picoteo sharing menus — that is entirely gluten free, with a gluten-free shop next door. This is the place to taste island cooking without asking ten questions.
Obrador Sin Gluten “Las Arenas” (4.6★) is in Puerto de la Cruz. This 100% gluten-free bakery, opened in 2016 and sold under the Bäcker brand, belongs to the same family as Backer in Santa Cruz. If you spot the Las Arenas name elsewhere, make sure the shop is the gluten-free one: we have only verified these two.
Also in Puerto de la Cruz, TOC-TOC Café (4.8★), on plaza 3 de abril, is a vegan café that is entirely gluten free, with a terrace looking out to Mount Teide.
South Tenerife: Costa Adeje, Los Abrigos and San Isidro
The tourist south has fewer places, but they are solid.
- Solis, in Costa Adeje: this Puerto Colón restobar (4.5★), on calle Valencia, is 100% gluten free and run by a coeliac owner. Sharing plates somewhere between Spain and Asia, a dedicated fryer, gluten-free beers and cocktails.
- Samelo Veg, in Los Abrigos: a restaurant that is both 100% vegan and 100% gluten free (4.8★, over 900 reviews), on calle Hernán Cortés, with house-made pasta and focaccia and a menu that changes with the seasons.
- Sin Gluten Raquel, in San Isidro: this small café-bakery (4.7★), filed under the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, is entirely gluten free and popular for its home-made pastries.
Two places in the west and centre need a different reading. Cielo y Mar (4.5★, over 1,500 reviews), in Puerto de Santiago, is known for its black paella and seafood; the claim that “the entire menu is gluten free” comes only from a customer testimonial, with no official statement. We list it as a gluten-free menu with a cross-contamination risk. Same caution for Asador Rincón de Chasna (4.6★), on the road up to Mount Teide in Vilaflor: coeliac customers say everything is gluten free, but no independent source confirms it. Handy after a hike, as long as you ask again on the spot.
Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
Las Palmas has its own Las Palmas de Gran Canaria guide: four dedicated places, including a pizzeria and a patisserie certified by the province’s coeliac association.
The south-east of the island adds two places, in Vecindario and Arinaga. In Vecindario, Panadería Mis Hijos Sin Gluten (4.7★), on calle Granados, is a family bakery founded in 2013 by a mother whose son is coeliac, exclusively gluten free: breads, pizza bases, cakes. Restaurante Ca’Miguel (4.5★, nearly 850 reviews), in Arinaga, is one of the very first 100% gluten-free restaurants in the Canaries, run by a cook and her daughter who are both coeliac. Fried octopus, fresh fish and gofio are on the menu.
The other two islands have one place each. On Lanzarote, Vive Libre (4.9★), in Puerto del Carmen, is a small 100% gluten-free bistro (burgers, tapas, gluten-free beers): cash only, no bookings. On Fuerteventura, Sanus Fuerteventura (4.7★, over 800 reviews), in Corralejo, is a 100% gluten-free restaurant with home-made bread and desserts.
Papas arrugadas, mojo, gofio: what coeliacs need to know
Canarian food has its traps, and not always where you would expect them.
Naturally gluten free
Still worth confirming
- Papas arrugadas: potatoes boiled in very salty water.
- Red mojo, in the recipe published by the Canary Islands government: garlic, chilli, cumin, paprika, vinegar, oil, salt.
- Grilled fish, grilled meat without marinade.
Check first
The real traps
- Gofio, a toasted flour that can be made from wheat.
- "Home-made" mojo: some published recipes thicken it with fried bread.
- Fried food (octopus, croquetas, fish churros): shared oil?
- The bread served with the sauces.
Gofio is not maize flour. It is a flour of toasted grains that can be wheat, barley or rye, and those gofios are off-limits for coeliacs. Maize gofio (millo) contains no gluten, but it gets contaminated if it is ground in a mill that also handles wheat. Certified gluten-free gofios do exist, including a buckwheat gofio launched in 2022. On a plate or in a cake, ask: “¿El gofio es sin gluten, certificado?”
What about guachinches? These are family wine cellars in the Canary wine-growing areas that sell their own wine. Canary Islands decree 83/2013 limits them to three cooked dishes at most, their own wine and water, and four months of opening a year. The menu is short and the cooking homely: great for the atmosphere, but no guachinche is verified gluten free in our database today. If you go, ask about the fryer and the bread, and walk away at the slightest doubt. Our upcoming article on Spanish dishes and gluten covers tapas and fried food in detail.
Supermarkets and hotels
Supermarkets on the islands apply EU law: the words “sin gluten” guarantee less than 20 mg of gluten per kilo, as everywhere in the EU. Our article on the 20 ppm threshold explains what that covers. For fresh bread, the dedicated bakeries in this guide beat any supermarket shelf, and La Korianda in Las Palmas also sells take-away meals.
On hotels, let us be clear: no hotel in the Canary Islands is in our database, so we recommend none. Two reliable leads:
- The local association. ASOCECA (Asociación de Celiacos y Sensibles al Gluten de Canarias), present in both Tenerife and Gran Canaria, works with partner businesses and trains kitchens.
- The FACE app. The Spanish federation of coeliac associations lists advised restaurants, hotels and shops in its Celiguía app (formerly FACEMÓVIL). It is for members only, but FACE says travellers can request temporary access.
For the method — asking in writing, testing breakfast, choosing half board or not — read our upcoming gluten-free hotel guide.
Our tips on the ground
- Say “Soy celíaco” or “Soy celíaca”, not just “sin gluten”, which is often heard as a preference.
- Two Canarian questions: “¿El mojo lleva pan?” (does the mojo contain bread?) and “¿La freidora es aparte?” (is the fryer separate?).
- Plan your route: outside La Laguna and Las Palmas, dedicated places are isolated, often one per town.
- Check the practicalities: Vive Libre, on Lanzarote, takes neither bookings nor cards.
- For the rest of Spain, see our guide to gluten-free travel in Spain, and the full list on the map of restaurants in Spain.
In short
- 22 verified places in the Canary Islands, 19 of them fully dedicated: 14 in Tenerife, 6 in Gran Canaria, 1 on Lanzarote, 1 on Fuerteventura.
- In north Tenerife, La Laguna, Santa Cruz and La Orotava; in the south, Costa Adeje, Los Abrigos and San Isidro.
- Cielo y Mar and the Vilaflor asador offer a gluten-free menu not confirmed as dedicated: ask again on the spot.
- Wheat, barley or rye gofio is off-limits; maize gofio is only safe when certified.
- Mojo may contain fried bread: ask.
- No hotel verified by Nutrixe: go through ASOCECA or the FACE app.
Figures as of 25 September 2026. The database grows every week: today's count is on the Nutrixe map. A Canarian place missing? Suggest it.
