Three out of four Smart Travel Family members are celiac, so we know firsthand about this condition and the challenges and dangers coming with it. And – how difficult it is to find gluten-free food as a traveler in a new location.
This guide will help short-term tourists and those planning to stay in Tenerife for longer periods to quickly find both gluten-free essentials and treats. The guide includes a general overview and also covers all main supermarket chains in detail.
Do Mercadona Tenerife stores have a good gluten-free selection?
Yes, sort of. While the gluten-free assortment is not as large as in Alcampo (Auchan), there are number of food items that merit the occasional trip to the nearest Mercadona supermarket.
What gluten-free items are available in Mercadona stores on the island?
While Alcampo was our favorite Tenerife GF store, and we frequently went to SuperDino as it was close to where we lived, Mercadona was a strong contender for the 2nd spot when it comes to best gluten-free stores.
This was mainly due to three factors:
- Cheap and tasty gluten-free cookies
- The cheapest burger buns (btw, very tasty if you like sesame seeds)
- Gluten-free cakes that were not available in other stores
As you’ll see below, there are plenty of other GF goodies at Mercadona stores.
Did you notice something else in Mercadona stores? If yes, please leave a comment and, if possible, share a picture which we’ll gladly include in the article. You can send us an email to smarttravelfamilyhq@gmail.com or also on Facebook or Instagram.
Let’s dive into more detail – here are the items we noticed and a comment about each of them.
This article is part of a series on gluten-free selection in Tenerife’s supermarket chains. Go to the main article to get a quick overview and what’s on offer in other stores: Alcampo, SuperDino, Mercadona, Lidl, Aldi, 5 Oceanos.
Mercadona in-store brand cookies
Mercadona had a number of cookie types that were not available in other supermarket chains. The cookies tasted very good and very superbly priced. That’s a hard to beat combination. We always stocked up before hikes with kids and kept a few packs in the car’s trunk to avoid “hangry” meldowns while exploring the island.
Four gluten-free cupcakes for 2.90? Yes, please! Sufficiently moist and quite tasty. The product on the right was our favorite when you needed a particularly good sugar boost like on hikes.
Cakes
We only realized that Mercadona carried cakes about half-way in into our stay on the island. What a pity!
Regular folks won’t understand it but it’s not easy to get a gluten-free cake anywhere. On Tenerife it was easier due to the availability of specialty bakeries and the 5 Oceanos stores with their frozen Nestle cake offer, but it’s nice to switch things up.
The cakes were not super tasty, but very presentable and quite edible, at least by our standards. However, compared to Spanish sweets in general (we found them to be quite poor) the cakes were very Ok.
Affordable gluten-free burger buns
Gluten-free burger buns are usually quite expensive. However, in Tenerife you can get a pack of two for 2 euros. A good deal!
They were also quite tasty when toasted on a grill, provided you don’t mind sesame seeds.
Certified gluten-free chocolate mousse
Now here’s something you don’t get every day – a safe chocolate mousse!
While gluten-free chocolate (free from cross-contamination risk) is nothing special these days, other chocolate products are harder to find.
Bread
The bread was reasonably priced and different from the Schar and Alcampo brand varieties. 5 stars.
Tortilla bases
Staying on the topic of bread and affordability, Mercadona is the go-to store for gluten-free tortillas. A pack of 10 medium-sized tortillas cost 2.20 euros. In other stores you often can buy only two gf tortillas for 2-3 euros.
Non-frozen pizza
While the Mercadona gf pizza was no the tastiest, it wasn’t bad and offered variety. We usually bought the pizza at SuperDino, but that “got old” very fast. This brand allowed us to mix things up.
Mini bread sticks
We are blanking on the Spanish name of this product, but they were popular among the Tenerifians. These make for an excellent snack on roadtrips.
Crackers and tostadas
Gnocchi
We are not big fans of gnocchi, but we know people who are. If you’re one of them, Mercadona is your friend.
Pasta
Mercadona has its own in-store brand gluten-free pasta in at least 4 varieties: spaghetti, penne, fusilli and those tiny small ones for soups etc.
Breakfast cereal
Mercadona’s cornflakes were a let-down. Only one variety and the ones with the bland taste. Go to Alcampo for their in-store brand of gluten-free breakfast cereals.
Marketing gimmicks
Mercadona had its own marketing gimmicks as well in the gluten-free aisle. We present to you gluten-free yogurt, tuna, and beef. 🙂
Mercadona store locations in Tenerife
Mercadona appears to have over 40 stores in Tenerife. Tenerife stores tend to be fairly large, hence, you can expect roughly the same selection in all locations.
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