If you eat gluten-free, Pappas Bar-B-Q is the easiest barbecue chain in America to order from, and it is not close. Pappas publishes a complete parallel gluten-free menu — chicken combos, rib platters, plates, baked potatoes, salads and sides — priced identically to the standard menu. No other chain covered on this site does anything like it.
Pappas Bar-B-Q prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Gluten-free item | Price |
|---|---|
| GF Texas Dinner (3 sliced meats, half a pound each, 3 large sides) | $38.95 |
| GF Rib Trio | $22.95 |
| GF ½ Chicken & 1 Beef Rib | $19.95 |
| GF Mixed Platter | $18.95 |
| GF Baby Back Ribs | from $18.95 |
| GF Beef Ribs | from $17.95 |
| GF House Special | $17.95 |
| GF Beef | from $16.95 |
| GF Two Sliced Meat Combo | $15.95 |
| GF Chef Salad | $13.95 |
| GF Tamales | from $3.45 |
| GF Fresh Cut French Fries | $3.45 |
| GF Sides | from $2.95 |
Gluten: the parallel menu
The gluten-free menu is not a short list of exceptions bolted onto the bottom of a page. It is the menu, rebuilt.
Compare those against the standard menu and the prices match line for line — the GF Two Sliced Meat Combo is $15.95, exactly as the standard one is. The GF Texas Dinner at $38.95 is the flagship: three sliced meats at half a pound each with three large sides, which is a full table's worth of food. There is no gluten-free surcharge anywhere on this menu.
What to avoid regardless
- Po-boys, $8.95 to $14.95. Bread is the whole format. There is no gluten-free po-boy.
- Burgers, $10.95 to $12.95, including the brisket burger and brisket patty melt — buns and rye respectively.
- Jalapeño cheese bread, $5.95. The best side on the menu and firmly off-limits.
- Breakfast tacos and sandwiches, $1.89 to $3.65. Tortillas and bread.
- Kids' macaroni and cheese ($4.25), corn dog bites ($4.75), grilled cheese ($5.25) and chicken tenderloins ($7.75). Four of the five kids' items are gluten-bearing.
Dairy
Dairy is the easier allergen at Pappas because it clusters in obvious places. Smoked meats ordered by weight from the counter — sliced beef from $7.75, turkey breast from $7.25, sausage from $6.25 — are the safe core. What to skip: cheese fries ($5.75), chili cheese fries ($8.95), jalapeño cheese bread ($5.95) and the loaded baked potato from $10.95, which is loaded with exactly what you would expect. A plain baked potato at $7.95 ordered without butter or cheese is the reliable dairy-free filler.
Nuts and shellfish
Nuts live in the dessert case and nowhere else. The praline at $2.25 and the pecan pie from $5.95 are the two to avoid; carrot cake at $6.95 is a common risk in any kitchen. The brownie ($2.95), bars ($3.45) and chocolate cake ($3.95) are lower risk but made in a shared kitchen.
Shellfish is straightforwardly absent from the Pappas Bar-B-Q menu. Worth flagging clearly, because Pappas Bar-B-Q sits inside a family restaurant group that also runs seafood concepts — but those are separate restaurants with separate kitchens. Nothing on the barbecue menu contains shellfish.
Vegetarian and keto
Vegetarians will struggle, as they do at every barbecue counter. The realistic options are a plain baked potato ($7.95), a small or large tossed salad ($5.75 / $11.95), fresh cut fries ($3.75) and sides from $2.95 — but ask which sides are cooked with meat, since beans and greens commonly are at Texas counters.
Keto eaters have it far better. Order from Meats by the Pound, skip the bread and pickles, and you have an almost perfect low-carb meal: half a pound of sliced beef from $7.75, sausage from $6.25, or beef ribs at $31.95 a pound. The Pappas nutrition guide covers the calorie side, and the sides ranking notes which sides are worth the money. For the full board, see the Pappas Bar-B-Q menu.