Sauces & condiments · Category-wide: McCormick, Lawry's, Pioneer, Knorr, Orrington Farms

Is au jus gluten-free?

! Depends

Real pan jus is gluten-free. The packet mixes usually are not, McCormick and Lawry's both declare wheat.

Evidence
CPublished label or regulation
Last checked
2026-08-10
Varies by country
No

Source mccormick.com+5 more

The mechanisms behind this verdict: barley malt and gluten · certified vs no gluten ingredients · modified food starch and labelling · soy sauce and wheat · what 20 ppm means

Why

Au jus means "with juice." The classic version is not a sauce at all: you roast beef, pour off the fat, deglaze the pan and serve the resulting liquid. There is no thickening step, which is precisely what separates a jus from a gravy. A jus that has been thickened has stopped being a jus, and thickening is where the wheat gets in.

The packet mixes are gravy bases wearing the word "jus." They have to deliver body, colour and beef flavour from a dry powder, so they lean on hydrolysed proteins, starches and flour. Three of the four brands you will find on a US shelf declare wheat:

  • McCormick Au Jus Gravy Seasoning Mix lists hydrolysed corn gluten, soy protein and wheat gluten, with an allergen statement reading Contains Wheat, Soy, Milk. The 30% Less Sodium version additionally lists enriched bleached wheat flour (wheat and malt barley flour), so that one brings barley in as well.
  • Lawry's Au Jus Gravy Mix (also McCormick) lists hydrolysed corn, soy and wheat proteins, wheat starch and soy flour, and declares wheat, soy and milk.
  • Pioneer French Dip Au Jus Gravy Mix lists wheat starch and declares wheat and soy.

That is not a trace-contamination problem or an ambiguous "modified food starch." Wheat is an intentional, declared ingredient in all three.

Wheat starch is not a loophole. Plain wheat starch, as used in these US mixes, is not the specially-processed, gluten-removed wheat starch that some certified European products use. It has not been tested to under 20 ppm and it is not safe on a US label that simply says "wheat starch."

Restaurant French dip is the highest-risk version of this. A French dip is usually built on a foodservice au jus base, and the bread it is served on is wheat, and the sandwich is dipped into the jus. Even if the base were clean, the bowl on the table has had bread in it. Order the beef without the roll and ask for the jus in a fresh, untouched ramekin, or skip it.

We could not locate a French's-branded au jus mix. If you have seen the brand referenced, the retail packets actually on US shelves are McCormick, Lawry's, Pioneer and Knorr. Check the panel of whichever one you have; the pattern above holds across the category.

How much risk is this?

Celiac disease: treat any unlabelled au jus mix as containing wheat until the panel says otherwise. Homemade pan jus is completely fine, beef, its own juices, stock, maybe wine, salt, pepper.

Non-celiac gluten sensitivity: same, though the dose in a few tablespoons of diluted mix is small.

Wheat allergy: the packet mixes declare wheat outright. Avoid.

The stock is a second checkpoint. Even when you make jus from scratch, some beef stocks, bouillon cubes and "beef base" products contain hydrolysed wheat protein or barley malt. Check the carton before you deglaze into it.

Wheat must be declared on a US label. Barley and rye need not be.
Wheat must be declared on a US label. Barley and rye need not be. Full explanation

What to have instead

  • Orrington Farms Restaurant Style Au Jus Mix
    Carries a gluten-free claim on the label; the ingredient list is salt, corn maltodextrin, sugar, yeast extract, corn starch, caramel colour, onion, natural flavour and pepper, no wheat.
  • Knorr Professional Instant Au Jus Gravy Mix
    The foodservice tub is labelled gluten-free and uses modified corn starch and hydrolysed soy protein. Note that this is not the same product as the small retail Knorr au jus packet, which has been reported to contain soy sauce and hydrolysed wheat protein, the professional tub and the supermarket sachet are different formulations.
  • Mom's Place Gluten Free au jusYes
    Made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, which is the highest assurance level in this category.
  • Make it in four minutes
    Beef drippings or a tablespoon of butter, a finely chopped shallot, a splash of red wine or dry sherry, a cup of gluten-free beef stock, a dash of tamari for depth, reduce by a third, season. No thickener needed, jus is supposed to be thin.
  • If you want it slightly thickened,
    Use a cornstarch or arrowroot slurry, not a flour roux. One teaspoon per cup is plenty.

Is French dip au jus gluten-free? Rarely, in a restaurant. The base is usually a foodservice mix containing wheat, and the sandwich roll is dipped into the same bowl. This is one of the harder things to order safely at a casual American restaurant.

Is beef gravy gluten-free? Usually not. Traditional gravy is thickened with a wheat-flour roux, and the packet versions almost universally contain wheat. Cornstarch gravy is the fix.

Is beef broth or stock gluten-free? Most are, but not all, watch for hydrolysed wheat protein, barley malt and undeclared "natural flavour" in bouillon cubes and beef bases. Several brands carry a gluten-free label; buy one of those and stop worrying about it.

What does "modified food starch" mean on a US label? If it is wheat-derived, FALCPA requires "wheat" to be declared, so on a US product an unqualified "modified food starch" is corn, tapioca or potato. On imported products that guarantee does not apply.

Is au jus the same as gravy? No, and the difference is the point. Jus is unthickened pan liquid; gravy is thickened, traditionally with flour. Products that call themselves au jus but behave like gravy are the ones that fail.

Can I use the drippings if the roast was floured? No. If the beef was dredged in flour or the pan was deglazed after a floured sear, the jus carries that flour. Sear dry or use a gluten-free flour.

How we checked

SourceTier
McCormick, Au Jus Gravy Seasoning Mix product page, declares wheatC
McCormick, Lawry's Au Jus Gravy Mix product page, wheat protein and wheat starchC
Pioneer French Dip Au Jus Gravy Mix label, wheat starch, declares wheatC
McCormick au jus published ingredient panelC
Knorr Professional Instant Au Jus Gravy Mix, gluten-free labelledC
Orrington Farms Restaurant Style Au Jus Mix, gluten-free labelledC

Overall source tier: C. The negative half of the verdict rests on published ingredient and allergen panels, McCormick's and Lawry's own pages declare wheat, but a declared panel is a label, not a manufacturer statement about gluten, and neither company has ruled on packet au jus as a category. The positive half (pan jus is gluten-free) is a compositional fact rather than a sourced claim. No national celiac organisation has published on au jus, and the gluten-free alternatives carry manufacturer label claims rather than third-party certification.

Last verified: 10 August 2026. Mix formulations change, and the same brand can ship a different recipe in its retail and foodservice sizes. The packet in your hand outranks this page.