This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for details at the bottom of this page. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on this gluten-free gochujang brands article. I hope you enjoy learning about different gluten-free gochujang options!
Published 10/22/2020 Updated 01/25/2024
When traveling to another country or learning to cook their ethnic foods, it can become extremely difficult if you have food allergies and/or dietary restrictions. I completely understand the unwanted stress as I am someone with celiac disease. When living in South Korea, I constantly worried about the ingredients in the food I consumed and wondered if I read the Korean language labels properly when shopping.
Thankfully, as interest in Korean food and culture started to expand overseas, the variety of foods available for individuals with allergies and dietary restrictions became more abundant as well. Even now, more items are entering the market each year, making it easier to cook and eat gluten-free Korean food!
Gochujang, a red chili paste made through fermentation, is a traditional Korean condiment used as a starter in stews, as a base in stir-fried dishes, as an ingredient in dips/sauces, and more. This Korean staple is almost completely unavoidable when learning how to cook and eat Korean food. While, unfortunately, most mass-produced gochujang brands found on the market contain major allergens such as gluten, more and more gluten-free gochujang brands are becoming available! Below I list all my favorite gluten-free gochujang brands currently on the market. For each brand, I will discuss the flavor, ingredients, and pros/cons of buying it! If you have another favorite gluten-free gochujang brand let me know in the comments are email me at [email protected].
Further Notes About Gochujang:
- It is important to note that foods flavored with gochujang range dramatically even within South Korea. These differences can be the result of buying local, regional gochujang rather than mass-produced options, the heat of the peppers used to make the gochujang, the amount of fermented pepper paste used in a dish, and more. If you don’t like the flavor of a certain gochujang because it is too mild, spicy, sweet, or earthy, try different brands until it matches your palette.
- Also, besides gochujang, people in South Korea use gochugaru (pepper flakes) to make a dish spicier. Gochugaru adds to the spice without adding further sodium or earthy fermented flavor. I recommend using both products to make an extremely spicy dish to help keep the flavor fully balanced. To learn more about gochugaru, you can check out my ingredient article on the subject!
- Finally, if you are interested in learning more about this ingredient, check out my ingredient article for gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)!
Gluten-Free Gochujang Brands
Below, I list all of my favorite gluten-free gochujang brands. If you have any questions about this list or have recommendations for other brands not mentioned, feel free to leave a comment in the section below or email me at [email protected].
Koko Gochujang
Koko Gochujang is a brand imported from South Korea. This particular brand prides itself on being:
- All-Natural
- GMO-Free
- Kosher
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
Ingredients: Red Pepper Powder, Dried Fermented Soybean Powder, Rice Syrup, Refined Salt, Water
Koko Gochujang has a very mild and sweet flavor. It does not give a powerful punch of spice. For those new to cooking with Korean ingredients and who cannot handle overly spicy flavors, this brand is a great option for you. I first started cooking Korean food with this brand!
Though Koko Gochujang is “all-natural,” many people are thrown off and surprised by the container. Yes, the container is hard plastic. Hard plastic containers are typical in Korea for gochujang. Rather, it is rare for you to find gochujang in glass.
Also, this brand is rather pricey. Unfortunately, gluten-free products will be more expensive than the gluten-filled alternatives.
O’Food Gochujang
O’Food is a global company focused on making Korean flavors. Excitingly, the company has many different types of gochujang!!! When buying this ingredient, pay attention to which version you buy as the containers look the same. Some of these versions are super sweet and made to use as a dipping sauce while others taste more like ‘typical’ gochujang you use to cook with. This particular brand prides itself on having items that are:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
- Corn-Syrup Free
Note that they also carry non-gluten-free options so check the label to make sure you are buying the correct ingredient!
Classic Gochujang Sauce
Ingredients: Water, Tapioca Syrup, Brown rice, Red Pepper Powder, Salt, Alcohol (to preserve freshness), Garlic, Onion
Use this when cooking traditional Korean food. I love the size and shape of this bottle as it helps you spoon out the amount you need easily (rather than using a squeeze bottle that doesn’t contain much gochujang).
Gochujang: Korean Chili Sauce
Ingredients: Water, Brown Rice, Sugar, Red Pepper Powder, Salt, Garlic, Rice Wine, Tapioca Syrup, Rice Syrup, Vinegar, Onion, Mustard Powder, Cane Sugar
Once again, I recommend using this version when making more traditional Korean food!
Gochujang: Spicy Miso Sauce
Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tapioca Syrup, Rice Syrup, Salt, Brown Rice, Soybean, Rice Wine, Rice, Apple Extract, Garlic, Hot Pepper Powder, Vinegar, Mustard Powder, Onion, Sesame Oil, Cane Sugar
This miso version has a similar flavor to ssamjang. Miso is a traditional Japanese fermented soybean paste. Though many compare it to Korean doenjang (soybean) paste, the flavor of Miso is milder. The miso has a layer of earthiness to this version.
Gochujang: Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Rice Syrup, Gochujang( Water, Tapioca Syrup, Brown Rice, Red Pepper Powder, Salt, Garlic, Onion), Red Pepper, Tomato Paste, Onion, Garlic, Vinegar, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Paprika for Color, Xanthan Gum, Cinnamon Powder, Black Pepper Powder.
This version tastes intensely sweet and is delicious as a dipping sauce for fried chicken and fries. I wouldn’t use this as an ingredient when making traditional Korean dishes such as soups and stews.
My big con for the last three flavors is the container used to hold them. The container is a smaller, squeezable bottle. While I enjoy box-style containers more, others may enjoy the squeezable bottle instead.
Wegmans Gochujang
Wegmans Gochujang is one of my current favorite brands! Made for the American chain grocery store Wegmans, this gochujang has a kick. While many gluten-free gochujang brands tend to have very sweet flavor notes, this brand has a stronger spice note. I use this the most often when making ssamjang for Korean barbecue. You can learn more about ssamjang via our Korean dipping sauces blog post.
The Wegmans brand is only available at their store locations. You will not be able to buy online via Amazon.
This brand is:
- Lactose-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
Ingredients: Corn Syrup, Water, Red Pepper Seasoning (Red Pepper Powder, Water, Salt, Garlic, Onion), Rice, Rice Powder, Sea Salt, Ethyl Alcohol, Red Pepper Powder, Fermented Soybean Powder, Soybean Powder, Glutinous Rice Flour, Garlic, Koji (Aspergillus Oryzae)
While I love the brand, I (once again) dislike the container it comes in. Wegman’s gochujang comes in a small squeeze bottle. In Korea, gochujang is stored in a large, box-shaped, and lidded container. This way, you can easily spoon out the amount you need. Sometimes, I use half a bottle of the Wegmans bottle when making a single recipe! I always buy more than one at a time for this reason.
Sempio Gochujang
Sempio is a Korean brand that was established in 1946–This company and its name stands as the oldest registered brand in Korea. Since its inception, Sempio has dedicated itself to manufacturing fermented food products which are essential to Korean food culture.
Note that they also carry non-gluten-free options so check the label to make sure you are buying the correct ingredient!
Gluten-free Gochujang
Ingredients: Fermented Rice Paste (Rice, Water, Salt, Koji-Starter), Fermented Rice Syrup, Water, Hot Pepper Powder, Alcohol, Salt, Yeast Extract, Soybean Essence, Rice Powder, Onion Powder, Carrot Powder, Concentrated Garlic Juice
Gluten-Free Gochujang With Lemon
Ingredients: Gluten-Free Gochujang [Rice Paste(Rice, Koji-Starter), Red Pepper Powder, Alcohol, Rice Powder, Yeast Extract, Garlic Concentrate], Rice Syrup, Sugar, Water, Vinegar, Apple Concentrate, Minced Garlic, Lemon Concentrate, Salt, Roasted Sesame, Onion Concentrate, Citric Acid
I recommend using the regular gochujang when cooking traditional Korean food. Then, use the one with lemon for a dipping sauce!
I love the containers for this brand–because the lid is wide, you can easily fit measuring spoons in. I only wish this brand sells larger containers.
Q-Rapha Gochujang
This particular brand prides itself on being:
- All-Natural
- GMO-Free
- Gluten-Free
Gluten-Free Premium Gochujang
Ingredients: Water, Soybean Powder, Cane Sugar, Chili Powder, Tomato, Brown Rice Syrup, Sea Salt, Spirits
Gluten-Free Classic Gochujang
Ingredients: Water, Soybean Powder, Cane Sugar, Chili Powder, Tomato, Rice Powder, Brown Rice Syrup, Sea Salt, Spirits
Gluten-Free Bibim Gochujang
Ingredients: Korean Gochujang (Water, Soybean Powder, Cane Sugar, Chili Powder, Tomato, Brown Rice Syrup, Sea Salt, Spirits), Vinegar, Garlic, Onion, Ginger, Water, Sugar, Brown Rice Syrup, Chili Powder, Sea Salt, Spirits
I recommend using the premium or classic gochujang when making traditional Korean foods. Then, use the bibim gochujang in bibimbap. It is also perfect as a dipping sauce and marinade.
The containers for this brand hold more gochujang than other brands. Further, the premium gochujang is a wide-lid container making it easy to spoon out the gochujang while cooking. The classic and bibim gochujangs are in squeezable bottles.
Jinmi Gochujang
This Korean brand makes gluten-free gochujang, doenjang, ssamjang, and chunjang products that they sell in Korea as well as internationally.
Ingredients: Oligodang Syrup, Water, Glutinous Rice, Gochugaru, Sea Salt, Soybean, *Ethyl Alcohol, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Yeast Extract, and Koji Seed.
I truly like this brand as their containers also have a wide lid, making it easier to spoon out when cooking with this ingredient.
I Hope You Enjoyed Learning About These Different Gluten-Free Gochujang Brands!!
In the end, I hope you enjoyed learning about these different gluten-free gochujang brands! If so, let me know in the comment section! Also, if you have a favorite gluten-free gochujang, let me know about that in the comment section as well!
If you would like to read more about cooking, you can find further recipes on this blog. I listed some of my favorite Carving A Journey recipes below! For reference, many recipes are influenced by my family’s blended Korean and Southern heritage.
Further Carving A Journey Recipes:
If you have any questions or comments, you can also email me at [email protected]. And, finally, I would love to hear from you through our social media as well! You can follow me at @carvingajourney on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I also started a vlog YouTube channel with my husband! Or, if you would like more articles like these, you can subscribe to the blog by joining the mailing list. Let me know if you try cooking with any of these gluten-free gochujang brands! Thank you so much for stopping by!
