Pizza should be an inclusive experience for everyone, regardless of dietary restrictions. Fortunately, Long Island pizzerias are increasingly catering to those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities, offering a range of gluten-free options.
“The choices available today far exceed what we had a decade ago,” says Cassy-Anne Figliuolo, an administrator of Gluten Free on Long Island’s Facebook page, which boasts over 11,200 followers. Figliuolo has been gluten-free for 13 years.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that prevents individuals from digesting gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains. It affects around 1% of the population, with many others reporting gluten sensitivity or simple preferences to avoid gluten altogether. Additionally, some individuals are allergic to wheat.
Gluten is the binding agent in wheat flour that serves as the backbone for many beloved foods, including pizza. This protein, when combined with yeast and water, creates the elastic structure that gives bread its characteristic chewiness.
As someone who loves gluten-laden pizza, I’ve received numerous inquiries about gluten-free options since I began compiling Newsday’s best pizza list in 2012. With my pizza-judging expertise, here’s what I discovered:
Risks of Cross-Contamination
The gluten-free Buffalo chicken pizza from Bare Naked Bakery in Garden City, the only place on Long Island where you can grab a slice of gluten-free pizza. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
As the demand for gluten-free options grows, food science has responded with improved products. Many gluten-free items can be safely prepared in dedicated facilities, providing consumers with peace of mind.
However, serving gluten-free foods in restaurants introduces complexities. While a few establishments on Long Island are entirely gluten-free (notably Bare Naked Bakery cafes in Bellmore, Garden City, Huntington, and Plainview), most pizzerias that offer gluten-free pizzas also prepare traditional wheat-based pizzas. This overlapping of food preparation increases the risk of cross-contamination: even with thorough cleaning, microscopic flour particles can linger in the air.
Take Donatina Neapolitan Pizza Cafe in Patchogue for example; it serves exceptional gluten-free Detroit and Neapolitan pizzas while implementing stringent safety measures for the 15% of customers who order gluten-free. However, owner John Peragine cautions that “if you have a severe condition, airborne particles can still pose a risk.”
Each pizzeria I explored mentioned utilizing dedicated utensils for gluten-free pizzas, baking them on separate trays, and preparing gluten-free dough using sanitized equipment during quiet times. Nevertheless, none maintained a completely separate gluten-free kitchen.
“If restaurants are offering gluten-free products, they must do so safely without hesitation,” Figliuolo asserts. “But no establishment that handles gluten can guarantee 100% safety—the consumer ultimately must assess their own risk.”
It’s All About the Crust
To create gluten-free pizza, pizzerias have various options. Many now source pre-made crusts that are par-baked and frozen; all that’s needed is to add toppings and bake again.
At the far end of the spectrum is the cauliflower crust, made primarily from riced cauliflower combined with non-wheat flour and other binding ingredients like egg or cheese. While these crusts can be made to brown, they fall short of replicating the authentic pizza experience—though they can still be quite tasty with the right sauce and cheese.
Other pre-made crusts are fashioned from non-wheat flours and starches, aiming to better mimic traditional pizza textures. Leading this market is Rich’s, a Buffalo-based supplier, but there are also smaller businesses like Zero Gluten Foods in New Jersey, Still Riding Foods in Connecticut, and Long Island’s own Bare Naked Bakery, which operates a wholesale facility in Shirley.
Typically, these crusts come in disposable aluminum trays, which eliminate contact with the pizza oven’s floor (where it may harbor flour from regular pizzas). Unfortunately, the materials used can hinder proper browning. Bridget Dernbach, the founder of Bare Naked, suggests a workaround: pizzerias should pre-bake the crust upside down until browned before flipping it and adding sauce and cheese.
From-Scratch GF Pizza
Gluten-free grandma pizza at Rustica Brick Oven Cafe in Garden City South. Credit: Megan Schlow
For Long Island’s top pizzaioli who prefer homemade crusts, two flours have proven beneficial: Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free mix and Fioreglut, produced by the renowned Caputo mill in Italy. While this flour creates a more bread-like dough, it also contains wheat starch, making it unsuitable for those with wheat allergies.
Fioreglut is a key ingredient in the gluten-free Sicilian pizza at Rustica Brick Oven Cafe in Garden City South. This pizzeria attracts customers from all over Nassau and Suffolk—despite its gluten-free options being about double the price of regular pizzas. Owner Maria Viti explains, “The Fioreglut flour is roughly five times more expensive than standard flour, and keeping our customers safe involves extra costs for gloves, plastic wrap, and cleaning supplies.”
Rustica has offered a gluten-free menu since its establishment in 2011, with sales previously accounting for about 20% of their business. During the pandemic, however, gluten-free sales surged, now representing roughly 70% of their revenue.
The kitchen incorporates a different gluten-free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill) for its round 12-inch pizzas. Although these pies may not rise much, the mix combines various whole grain flours (brown rice, millet, sorghum) to achieve a pleasingly grainy flavor. They even use the same dough for gluten-free chicken rolls, a typical pizzeria offering that is seldom made gluten-free.
Another establishment, King Umberto in Elmont, also uses both Fioreglut and Bob’s. Since 2010, founding pizzaiolo Ciro Cesarano has made a grandma pie using Bob’s for his celiac daughter, Anna. His son, Giovanni, now oversees the pizzeria, and continues this tradition, mixing Fioreglut for texture and Bob’s for flavor for an outstanding Sicilian pie since 2018.
10 Standout Spots for Gluten-Free Pizza
While this is not an exhaustive list of every Long Island pizzeria serving gluten-free options, nor does it guarantee safety from cross-contamination, it highlights ten establishments that excel in offering gluten-free pizzas with crusts that closely resemble traditional ones—enjoyable even for non-celiac customers.
1653 Pizza Company, Huntington
80 Gerard St., 631-824-6071, 1653pizzaco.com
The mortadella-pistachio-stracciatella pizza at 1653 Pizza Company in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
These are some of the trendiest pizzas you’ll find, and they can be transformed into gluten-free Detroit pies, including unique options like mortadella-pistachio-stracciatella and Bronx bacon-vodka.
Alfie’s, Rocky Point
41 Broadway, 631-744-1117, alfiesrockypoint.com
This community pizzeria prides itself on crafting from-scratch personal square pies, either Sicilian or Detroit style, using only high-quality toppings sourced from the adjacent Delfiore Italian Market.
Bare Naked Bakery
Locations in Bellmore, Garden City, Huntington, and Plainview, barenakedbakery.com
Long Island’s premier gluten-free bakery-café offers pizzas with its unique crust and remains the only venue for a grab-and-go gluten-free slice, reheated in an oven that has never come into contact with wheat—a truly rare find.
Donatina Neapolitan Pizza Cafe, Patchogue
18 West Ave., 631-730-7002, donatinapizza.com
Chef-owner John Peragine understands that the otherwise soft Fioreglut crust can achieve a crisp, golden finish through the Detroit-style preparation. This method involves baking in a heavy-duty steel pan, topped generously with Wisconsin “brick” cheese that caramelizes down the sides, imparting delightful crunch. This Newsday top pizzeria‘s gluten-free Neapolitan pizza is remarkably close to authentic varieties.
Dough & Co., Huntington
318 Main St., 631-213-2426, doughandcopizza.com
The gluten-free Sicilian pizza at Dough & Co. in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Chef-owner Danny Rocca, whose regular pizza has graced Newsday’s top pizza list since he opened in 2022, is continuously refining a gluten-free Sicilian with outstanding character.
King Umberto, Elmont
1343 Hempstead Tpke., 516-352-8391, kingumberto.com
King Umberto, another Newsday top pizzeria, was the first on Long Island to serve grandma pies. Their gluten-free variant closely resembles the original and claimed second place in the gluten-free category at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in 2017. Pizzaiolo Giovanni Cesarano quickly developed a Sicilian recipe of his own, mixing Bob’s flour with Fioreglut, resulting in a crust with great texture, crunch, and flavor. This creation won first place in 2018.
La Margherita, Medford
1231 Station Rd., 631-924-0048, lamargheritapizza.com
One of Long Island’s pioneering wood-burning pizzerias (est. 1991), La Margherita features its delicious sauce, cheese, and toppings atop a high-quality, pre-made crust from Bare Naked Bakery in Shirley.
The Pizzeria
Locations in Babylon, Bay Shore, Bayport, Islip, Lake Grove, Lindenhurst, and Smithtown, thepizzeriany.com
This rapidly growing local chain is spreading the word about gluten-free options, serving meticulously topped pizzas on Bare Naked Bakery crusts.
Rustica Brick Oven Cafe, Garden City South
1 Nassau Blvd., 516-292-2197, rusticabrickoven.com
A gluten-free specialist since its inception in 2011, this pizzeria stands out with a dedicated gluten-free oven. Beyond their homemade round and square pies, Rustica also offers gluten-free chicken rolls.
Sansone Market, Garden City Park
2147 Jericho Tpke., 516-447-3525, sansonemarketgardencity.com
While no gluten-free pizzas are served at the retail outlet of one of Long Island’s leading pizza supply wholesalers, they do offer two excellent frozen options to take home: an Italian-made pinsa (oval pizza) shell and a fully-prepared artisanal Margherita pie.
