Eating at CAVA with celiac disease, IBS or food allergies

Many people with food restrictions build a bowl at CAVA, because you choose each base, protein, dip, topping and dressing, and CAVA publishes a downloadable nutrition and allergen guide. As of October 2026, CAVA’s nutrition page asks guests to consult the app or tell a restaurant team member before ordering if anyone in the party has a food allergy. It also says CAVA can’t guarantee that its ingredients are 100% free of allergens or animal products, because it relies on supplier information, because of the potential for cross-contamination in shared preparation and cooking areas, and because ingredients may be substituted.

The allergen guide itself adds a detail worth knowing if you have a seafood allergy: it names salmon and shrimp as foods that may come into contact with other foods in shared preparation and cooking areas. It also encourages guests with allergies or intolerances to review the guide routinely, since it can change.

So the guide tells you what CAVA lists in each item. It doesn’t promise that a bowl is free from traces of anything else. This guide sums up what CAVA itself says, what that means for celiac disease, IBS and the major allergens, and what to ask in line.

CAVA’s guide has columns for the nine major US allergens: wheat, milk, soy, eggs, tree nuts, sesame, peanuts, fish (salmon) and shellfish (shrimp, where available). This table reflects the guide we downloaded from CAVA’s website in October 2026. Items not listed here had no allergen marks. That means CAVA doesn’t list those allergens in them, not that they are free from cross-contact.

When we checked, the guide showed no marks for the rice bases, black lentils, the greens, the grilled chicken, steak, braised lamb, harissa honey chicken, spicy lamb meatballs, roasted vegetables, harissa, roasted eggplant, the Greek, balsamic date and hot harissa vinaigrettes, skhug or garlic dressing. No item was marked for tree nuts or peanuts, and no item was marked for shellfish.

Two things to watch. First, the curated bowls and pitas are marked for the allergens in their parts, so most bowls carry milk and sesame marks because they include feta, tzatziki or hummus. Second, CAVA’s online menu showed a Greek goddess dressing on featured bowls that wasn’t in the guide we downloaded. If something on the menu isn’t in the guide, ask before you order it.

CAVA’s allergen guide has a wheat column but no separate gluten column, and it doesn’t describe any item as gluten-free. Wheat isn’t the only source of gluten; barley and rye count too, and the Celiac Disease Foundation lists malt and shared equipment among sources to watch. A missing wheat mark is useful information, but it isn’t the same as gluten-free.

Here is what the guide shows that matters most for celiac disease, as of October 2026:

• Pita and pita products are marked for wheat. CAVA’s menu describes its pita as made with sprouted grains. That includes the pita crisps, a crunchy topping on some curated bowls.
• Falafel is marked for wheat. If you avoid gluten, this is one to skip, even though it sits with the other proteins on the line.
• Pita chips are fried. CAVA’s menu describes them as cut, then fried. The guide doesn’t say what else shares the fryer, so if fried items matter to you, ask at your location.
• Desserts are marked for wheat, including the oat cookie.

On the line, pita crisps and falafel sit near the bases and toppings, and serving spoons can move between pans. The NIDDK notes that cross-contact can happen during preparation and serving and can make gluten-free foods unsuitable for someone with celiac disease. A glove change and fresh spoons are reasonable things to ask for.

Our guides to eating out with celiac disease and gluten-free vs celiac-safe go further on judging cross-contact. If you haven’t been tested for celiac disease, it helps to get tested while you’re still eating gluten, and a registered dietitian can help you plan eating out.

CAVA’s guide covers allergens, not FODMAPs, so for IBS you need the menu descriptions too. As of October 2026, CAVA’s menu describes several dips and toppings with ingredients that Monash University lists among higher-FODMAP foods, including garlic, onion and most legumes.

Most of CAVA’s curated bowls include hummus, Crazy Feta, pickled onions or tomato + onion, so a build-your-own bowl gives you more control. The menu doesn’t list full ingredients for the proteins, harissa or the vinaigrettes, so ask about garlic and onion in those directly. Absence from a menu description isn’t a guarantee.

With FODMAPs, the amount matters. A spoonful of hummus may sit differently from a large scoop plus lentils plus a garlic dressing, because FODMAPs can stack up across a meal. Our guides to hidden garlic and onion, beans, lentils and chickpeas and FODMAP portion sizes explain more.

If garlic and onion are among your triggers, a starting point might be a rice or greens base with a protein you’ve asked about, toppings like cucumber, tomato + cucumber or olives, and dips and dressings kept small or on the side. Only you and your dietitian know your own triggers, so treat this as a starting point, not a rule.

• Sesame: CAVA marks the hummus, red pepper hummus, lemon herb tahini and strawberry sesame dressing. Since hummus is on most curated bowls, many of them are marked for sesame too. Sesame became the ninth major US allergen under the FASTER Act, so it’s listed alongside the other eight.
• Milk: crumbled feta, Crazy Feta, tzatziki and the yogurt dill dressing are marked, along with the desserts and the kids’ milk drinks.
• Fish and shellfish: the glazed salmon is marked for fish. CAVA names salmon and shrimp in its cross-contact warning about shared preparation and cooking areas.
• Egg and soy: the guide marks these only on certain desserts when we checked.
• Tree nuts and peanuts: no item was marked when we checked, but CAVA’s general statement still applies: it can’t guarantee its ingredients are free of allergens.

Lactose intolerance and milk allergy are different. For a milk allergy, leaving off the feta, tzatziki and yogurt dressing is the start, and you still need to tell the team so they can change gloves and use fresh spoons. For lactose intolerance, you may tolerate some dairy; our lactose intolerance guide explains why amounts matter.

CAVA’s guide also has vegan and vegetarian columns. Vegan isn’t the same as allergen-free: the hummus is marked vegan and is also marked for sesame, so use the allergen columns, not the vegan columns, for an allergy.

1. Check the current guide or app before you go. CAVA asks guests with allergies to consult the app or tell a team member, and items change.
2. Say it at the start. Mention any allergy or celiac disease before the first scoop, not halfway down the line.
3. Ask for a glove change and fresh serving spoons. Pita crisps, feta and hummus sit close to other pans, and spoons can drift.
4. Build your own rather than adapting a curated bowl. Removing an ingredient after it’s been added doesn’t undo contact. FARE gives peeling cheese off a burger as an example of direct cross-contact.
5. Ask about anything not in the guide, such as new dressings or seasonal items.
6. Online orders: the app lets you build a bowl, but you can’t ask follow-up questions there. If you have a serious allergy or celiac disease, ordering in person lets you talk to the team.

FARE suggests choosing quieter times, asking what is in your dish and how it is prepared, and never leaving home without your epinephrine auto-injector if you have one prescribed. It also notes that chain restaurants tend to use the same ingredients and preparation at each location, which can make planning easier.

• "I have a sesame allergy. Could you change your gloves and use fresh spoons? I’ll skip the hummus and tahini."
• "I have celiac disease. Could you change gloves before you start, and keep the pita crisps and falafel away from my bowl?"
• "Is there garlic or onion in the chicken or the harissa?"
• "Could I have just a small spoonful of hummus, please, and the dressing on the side?"
• "Is this dressing in your current allergen guide?"

If an answer doesn’t feel certain, it’s fine to leave that item out. Our guide to talking to restaurant staff about allergies has more scripts.