Gluten-Free Maui: The Best Food on the Valley Isle

Maui is an island with luxurious resorts and incredible experiences in the outdoors. It’s such a popular travel destination.

It’s no surprise Maui is a gold mine for celiacs if you know where to look! I’ll dish on the best gluten-free restaurants I experienced in Maui.

The Road to Hana and Haleakalā are two of my favorite experiences from our trip to the islands. It gave me a perfect combination of all the things I love: great gluten-free food, adventure, and relaxation. T

he weather in January was perfect so that probably helped!

Just remember, my celiac isn’t your celiac or gluten-free journey (or anyone else’s). Some of the things I’m comfortable with, you may not be, and you may have a different experience with the restaurants than I did. I hope you do because I had a great experience! But, you do you, no judgment and no pressure. I hope to shed some insight to make your planning easier.

Gluten-Free Kihei and Wailea- Makena

The resorts are 30 minutes from the airport in Kahului. Most reports are in Wailea-Makena, but Kihei is much more local. I don’t consider a cluster of resorts a city. There is some shopping Wailea-Makena near the resorts, but there weren’t restaurants we tried (or even noticed).

Grand Wailea

We stayed at the Grand Wailea on Maui using points. The hotel was incredible. The beach was beautiful, and the whole experience was so relaxing. I rarely want to return to specific hotels, but this one is on the shortlist to return to.

If you need the ultimate calming experience, consider the splurge on the Grand Wailea.

The Grand Wailea dining options were much more gluten-free friendly than I expected them to be.

There were definitely places I couldn’t eat, but several were safe. A staff member at the taco truck helped determine the best places for me to eat. It’s so refreshing when people are helpful!

I ate an acai bowl each morning for breakfast. There were other options, but the acai was so good I never waivered! The Caesar salad at the hotel was the perfect lunch on warm beach days.

Cinnamon Roll Place

2463 S Kihei Rd
Kihei, HI 96753

The Cinnamon Roll Place has gluten-free cinnamon rolls that are packaged separately from their regular cinnamon rolls. It is gluten-free Maui at its finest!

They’ll warm your cinnamon roll for you if you’d like. Take them up on it; you won’t regret it. I had one warmed and another for breakfast the following day. I

‘ve tried a lot of cinnamon rolls, and I’d never found one I was happy with until this one! Seriously gooey and cinnamon.

It’s worth a stop on your trip to Maui. We left the resort one day for a special cinnamon roll breakfast instead of my typical acai bowl.

Nutcharee’s Authentic Thai Food

1280 S Kihei Rd #124
Kihei, HI 96753

Nutcharee’s has a location in Hana (where the picture is from). But the food truck also has a sit-down restaurant in Kihei. The menu is more extensive at the restaurant, but the food is fantastic at both. There are several gluten-free dishes, and they take great care of you. The portions are massive, so plan ahead and come hungry on your road to Hana day!

Coconut’s Fish House

1279 S Kihei Rd
Kihei, HI 96753

Coconut’s Fish House has multiple locations in Kauai and Maui. The food was good, and they were open on New Year’s Day, and that’s what we needed! I had fish tacos. Be sure to tell the staff that you’re celiac when you order, and they’ll help you figure out what to order. It wasn’t one of my all-time favorite meals on the trip, but I was confident in the safety of it, and they were open when I needed them to be.

808 Deli

2511 S Kihei Rd
Kihei, HI 96753

808 Deli got great reviews online, so we decided to try it. They use foil to toast gluten-free sandwiches to prevent cross-contamination. I had a chicken pesto sandwich, and we sat at a park overlooking the ocean.

The restaurant is down on the beach in Kihei, so parking/traffic can be a problem, but the sandwich was melty, warm, delicious, and so worth it!

Next time

We should have tried Maui Ono Donuts. The donut food truck was closed on the days we could leave the resort early to go. If you get to try them, let me know how much I missed out!

Gluten-Free Lahaina

Miss Arepa

3600 Lower Honoapiilani Rd
Lahaina, HI 96761

Miss Arepa is in a strip mall (like so many of the best restaurants) in Lahaina. Even though the location is slightly away from the resorts, it is dedicated gluten-free. It’s also delicious and easily worth the drive. The pabellón arepa is always my favorite. The yuca fries were perfect too, and passion fruit juice made the meal perfect. Go up early for dinner to see Lahaina. There is a massive banyan tree in the town square.

We didn’t spend much time in Lahaina, but if you’re looking for a cheaper area away from the resort crowd, it would be an excellent place to look. Just know it’s far away from Haleakalā and the Road to Hana.

Gluten-Free Kahului and Paia

Kahului is the town that has the airport in Maui. It’s full of local residences and some restaurants. There are some hotel and vacation rental properties in the city too. You’ll also be going through Kahului on your way to the national park and the road to Hana.

Fork & Salad

120 Ho’okele St
Kahului, HI 96732

Fork & Salad has so many options to pick from! Salads are delicious, or you can have a salad made into a wrap on a gluten-free wrap.

They have a gluten-free cookie and kombucha on tap. It was my kind of place! This wasn’t a typical choice for me, but by this point in the trip, I was getting pretty fed up with restaurants and just needed fresh veggies.

Paia is a cute little town at the start of the infamous Road to Hana. You’ll stop for gas here on your way, and on the way back, stop for a meal or a treat.

There are also some cute shops in the little town. There is a public parking lot on the Kahului side of the island that you can park in.

Paia Gelato

If you plan to do the whole road to Hana and back in a day, you’ll need something sweet by the time you’re done!

Paia Gelato has gluten-free and dairy-free (vegan) options too. You can also find pints of the gelato at the Grand Wailea. Lilikoi is Hawaiian for passion fruit, and it’s the way to go!

Plan ahead more than we did and try Mama’s Fish House in Paia (make a reservation early if you’re interested in trying it).

Gluten-Free on the Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is one of the highlights of a trip to Maui. The road is full of hairpin turns, one-lane bridges, and waterfalls! The drive is through a remote part of the island, and Hana is not superpopulated. This makes Hana the least gluten-free friendly part of the island. But there are still options!

• Nutcharee’s food truck is in downtown Hana and has delicious Pad Thai. This is what I did, and I have no regrets.
• Hana Picnic Lunch Co offers a gluten-free bagel sandwich for the road. I learned about the option as we drove by it. Order online before leaving to pick up your lunch on your drive down.
• Stop at Safeway (or another grocery) for a salad or gluten-free snack.

Coconut Glens

You’ll see Coconut Glens on your right about 2/3s of the way to Hana. It was closed when we drove through because we went so early. We pulled off and had homemade coconut ice cream on our way back. Lilikoi again! It was a delicious treat after exploring in hot and humid Hana all day.

Gluten-Free Haleakalā

Haleakalā National Park is often overshadowed by Hawaii’s other national parks. If you’re visiting Maui, you should check out Haleakalā. As with most national parks, there aren’t going to restaurants inside the park.

It’s also up the top of a volcano, so it isn’t close to much. Stop at a grocery before you head out on your trip. I had great luck finding gluten-free salads and snacks at Safeway.

Gluten-Free Maui – A recap

Maui was the most relaxing island on our visit and had some of the best restaurants. You can find great food depending on where you’re going to be. I didn’t see that I needed a kitchen on the visit to Maui.

If you feel more comfortable traveling with a kitchen backup, look early to find a space that can make that happen for you! Then, think through where you want to be on the island and start picking out your restaurants!

Check out my gluten-free experience on each of the islands:
All 4 Major Islands
Kauai
Big Island
Oahu

Check out my travel experience on each of the islands:
Kauai
Maui
Big Island
Oahu