Is Molasses Gluten-free?

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Dig deeper into this less commonly known ingredient and find out which brands of molasses are safe.

Molasses is one of those ingredients that most people don't know much about. Now that you're doing gluten-free baking, you're probably reading a lot of ingredients and wondering what they are and if it's gluten-free. So, is molasses gluten-free?

What exactly is molasses?

You've probably seen this jar of dark, thick liquid hiding in the back of your pantry but what is molasses?

To make it easy to understand, molasses is the byproduct that is left over when sugarcane is processed into sugar crystals.

When the sugarcane is harvested it is mashed up and boiled to help with the production of the sugar crystals. As the sugar crystals are formed, the liquid that remains is what becomes molasses once it is boiled down to become the darker, thicker liquid we know.

What are the ingredients in molasses?

Most molasses sold in stores will just list molasses as the ingredient.

Molasses in the past used to be treated with sulfur dioxide to help with preserving the sugarcane but most molasses sold today is unsulfured.

There are two other, not-so-common types of molasses, pomegranate molasses, and sorghum molasses.

• Pomegranate molasses is not actually molasses like it is when it's made from sugarcane. Despite the name. It's actually considered a middle eastern condiment. It is made by thickening the juice of pomegranates and has a similar constancy but is not sweet, instead, it has more of a sour taste.
• Sorghum molasses is made similar to traditional molasses but it is made by boiling down sorghum stalks down. Sorghum is gluten-free, which makes sorghum molasses also gluten-free.

Is molasses gluten-free?

Yes, true molasses that is derived from sugarcane is gluten-free and does not contain any wheat, barley, or rye ingredients.

It is still important to make sure you read any labels to make sure the brand you are using does not add any extra ingredients that make it not gluten-free.

Which brands of molasses are gluten-free?

These are the most common brands of molasses that can be found in the store.

Is Grandma's molasses gluten-free?

Yes, Grandma's molasses is labeled gluten-free.

Is Brer Rabit molasses gluten-free?

Brer Rabbit has three different varieties of molasses that they sell which are their blackstrap, mild flavor, and full flavor molasses. All three of them are considered gluten-free and labeled as such.

Is Plantation Blackstrap molasses gluten-free?

Yes, all varieties of plantation blackstrap molasses are considered gluten-free.

Is Wholesome Sweeteners molasses gluten-free?

Yes, Wholesome molasses is labeled gluten-free.

Is Golden Barrel molasses gluten-free?

Yes, Golden Barrel molasses is considered gluten-free.

Can you use blackstrap molasses instead of molasses in a recipe?

Molasses and blackstrap molasses are not the same and they should never be used as so in any recipe.

What is the difference between molasses and blackstrap molasses?

Molasses is formed after the byproduct of sugar crystallization. Blackstrap molasses goes further and undergoes three rounds of boiling and sugar crystal extraction. This leaves a much thicker, and less sweet liquid which is known as blackstrap molasses.

Molasses is gluten-free!

Now that you know molasses is gluten-free, you can get to using it in your favorite recipes like gluten-free gingerbread cookies, or even in a batch of some homemade bbq sauce.