Gluten-free at the Stockholm Christmas market: what a coeliac can actually eat

The short answer

Stockholm’s classic Christmas market fills Stortorget, the square in Gamla Stan, the Old Town. It’s a mixed market, not a gluten-free one. At the stalls, the reliable things are roasted chestnuts and the glögg in your mug once you’ve asked what’s in it; candied almonds are ask-first. Pepparkakor and saffron buns are wheat. The real win is off the square: Stockholm has dedicated gluten-free bakeries we’ve checked against their own sites, and a gluten-free hummus restaurant.

New to markets? Start with the method: how to eat gluten-free at any Christmas market

This season’s market

The Stortorget Christmas market (Stortorgets julmarknad) is arranged by Stockholms-Gillet. The organiser says it started in 1837 and calls it the oldest Christmas market in Stockholm and in Sweden. The organiser hasn’t printed the 2026 dates and hours yet. This year’s dates are on the organiser’s page: stortorgetsjulmarknad.com.

It’s a mixed market, not a gluten-free one, so treat it the way the hub describes.

What’s likely gluten-free at the stalls, and what isn’t

The Swedish Advent staples here are glögg (hot spiced wine), roasted chestnuts, candied almonds (brända mandlar), pepparkakor (thin ginger biscuits) and saffron buns (lussekatter, eaten through Advent and especially on St Lucy’s Day, 13 December). Roasted chestnuts are naturally gluten-free, handling permitting. Glögg is an alcoholic drink, and like any drink over 1.2% alcohol it needs no ingredient list, but the seller must still be able to tell you if it contains a gluten allergen. Ask what’s in it, especially if it comes from a ready mix. Candied almonds are ask-first: ask whether anything is dusted on after roasting.

Pepparkakor and saffron buns are a pass. Wheat flour is a main ingredient of pepparkakor, and saffron buns are a wheat-flour yeast bun. Treat both as a no unless a stall shows you a labelled gluten-free version.

The three questions to ask a stall

Where to eat gluten-free in Stockholm

Always tell them you have coeliac disease and confirm how they handle it on the day.

★ Dedicated gluten-free

• Gullegårdens Glutenfria Bageri, bakery, Brantingsgatan 33 (Gärdet) and Gjörwellsgatan 37 (Kungsholmen), Stockholm. Its own site says its baking is always completely gluten-free. Checked against its own site, 24 September 2026.
• Happy Atelier, The Bakery, bakery, Hantverkargatan 47, 112 21 Stockholm (Kungsholmen). Its own site says everything it makes is 100% free from gluten and oats. Checked against its own site, 24 September 2026.
• Reggev Hummus, restaurant, Ringvägen 145, Stockholm (Södermalm). Its own site says all its food is gluten-free. Checked against its own site, 24 September 2026.

Listed as dedicated gluten-free, not yet checked by us

• Bodybuddy, café
• Green Praline, café
• Holy Greens, restaurant
• Malvas Glutenfria Hantverksbageri, bakery
• Orgánico, restaurant
• Pepstop, restaurant

Gluten-free options, read against the venue’s own info

• Kafé Plattan, café

Gluten-free options, listed by a directory or Google, not yet checked by us

• Eatnam, restaurant
• FECA, restaurant
• Ristorante Paganini, restaurant
• Weidao, restaurant

Options are not dedicated kitchens. If you know a gluten-free-friendly kitchen in Stockholm we should look at, tell us. A reader’s tip is how this page grows.

Stockholm and the rest of Scandinavia on the Atlas

Getting there and staying

Stortorget is in Gamla Stan, in the middle of Stockholm, so the market itself needs no separate trip planning. We don’t yet have a gluten-free breakfast we can vouch for at a Stockholm stay, so we don’t name one here. Whichever hotel you pick, ask about the gluten-free breakfast when you book, and plan a morning stop at one of the dedicated bakeries above.

FAQ

What can I eat at the Stockholm Christmas market if I’m coeliac?
The whole things: roasted chestnuts and the glögg in your mug once you’ve asked what’s in it. Candied almonds are ask-first. Pepparkakor and saffron buns are wheat. Ask before you eat anything assembled.

Are pepparkakor gluten-free?
Not the standard kind. Wheat flour is one of the main ingredients. We haven’t found a gluten-free version sold at this market, so ask, but expect a no.

Are there dedicated gluten-free places in Stockholm?
Yes. Gullegårdens Glutenfria Bageri and Happy Atelier, The Bakery are dedicated gluten-free bakeries, and Reggev Hummus on Södermalm says all its food is gluten-free, all three checked against their own sites. Six more are listed as dedicated but not yet checked by us.

Is glögg gluten-free?
Ask. Like other alcoholic drinks over 1.2%, it needs no ingredient list, but the seller still has to tell you if there’s a gluten allergen in it. Ask especially about a ready mix.

Sources and review

Market organiser, history and the fact that 2026 dates aren’t out yet from the organiser’s page stortorgetsjulmarknad.com and stockholmsgillet.se, last verified 24.09.2026. Pepparkakor from Swedish Wikipedia’s Pepparkaka entry, saffron buns and St Lucy’s Day from Wikipedia’s Saffron bun entry, both last verified 24.09.2026. Food and labelling facts: EU 1169/2011 and the German coeliac society DZG (allergen declaration on alcoholic drinks, almonds), and the Swiss coeliac society IG Zöliakie (chestnuts). Venues from the HTGF Atlas, each with the evidence label shown above; Gullegårdens (gullegardens.se), Happy Atelier (happyatelier.se) and Reggev Hummus (reggevhummus.se) read against their own sites, last verified 24.09.2026. We haven’t walked this market in person yet: this page is answer-first and grows after a visit or a reader’s verified tip.

Reviewed for the 2026 season. What we promise: /what-we-promise/

Next stop

Stockholm to Gothenburg, Sweden’s other market in this set, or across to Copenhagen. Back to the method, or see everywhere else in the region on the Scandinavia Atlas page.