Special diets

We’ve tried to make sure as many people as possible can use our home meals service, whatever their diet. Our range includes lots of options for those with allergies or intolerances to certain ingredients – all prepared with care to give you total peace of mind.

Meal choices can be severely limited for coeliacs and people with gluten intolerance. Oakhouse Foods offers a large selection of ready meals and desserts that are free from gluten. Browse our full range of gluten-free ready meals and sides.

Recent NHS recommendations suggest diabetics should follow a diet that is low in fat, sugar, and salt. You can find many low fat and salt options in our range, as well as almost 200 products that contain less than 5g of sugar per 100g. Read more about these meals, including the dietary symbols we use, in our nutritional information section.

We have a number of products that are guaranteed nut-free, including vegetable and potato sides, handy pre-cooked jacket potatoes and frozen fruit portions. As nut allergies can be so severe, we cannot guarantee that most of our main meals and desserts are nut-free, as there may be traces in the environment they’re prepared in.

You can read more about food labelling guidelines for nut-free products, as well as tips on cooking safely and ordering food in restaurants, on Allergy UK’s website.

Allergies to milk and milk derivatives are quite rare, with many more people experiencing lactose intolerance. This means your body can’t digest lactose (the naturally occurring sugar found in milk and dairy products), with common symptoms including discomfort and bloating. You can read more about living with milk allergies and intolerances on Allergy UK's website.

Many everyday products contain milk or milk derivatives, which can be frustrating for people with lactose intolerance! To help provide more options for simpler mealtimes, we offer over 60 varied options for those following a dairy free diet – all guaranteed not to contain ingredients such as milk, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt, milk powders, caseinates, lactose and whey.

Celery is one of the vegetables that people are most likely to be allergic to, with the allergy more common in people who also experience seasonal hay fever. The majority of meals in the Oakhouse range are 'made without celery, providing plenty of choice for people who can’t eat it.

To help you avoid certain ingredients, we offer 21 'Made Without' lists covering other common food intolerances such as onion, tomato and shellfish amongst many others.

You can find more information about food allergies, including tips on preparing food safely, at Allergy UK.

People can develop swallowing difficulties for a whole host of reasons, including recovery from surgery or a stroke, or experience it as a side effect of dementia or treatment for mouth and throat cancers. Wholesome food is so important for wellbeing, particularly during an illness, and we offer a range of puréed dishes to help bring enjoyment back to mealtimes.

Alongside our main range, you’ll find a selection of over 30 texture-modified, reshaped meals and desserts suitable for anyone following a Category C diet. They include many of our best selling recipes, such as Chicken Casserole and Beef Stew & Dumplings. The range includes a choice of puréed Mini Meals, which are ideal for building up the appetite again if you find eating difficult.

All the meals in our puréed range are carefully prepared to ensure they have a smooth, consistent texture, before being reshaped to make them more appetising. This means the meals keep their shape when cooked, but can be easily broken down with a spoon, making eating simpler and more dignified.

Click to browse our: Puréed dishes. Alternatively, if you’d like more information about our selection of puréed meals, or some help with selecting appropriate meals, simply get in touch with us.

The way we’ve organised our online shop makes it easy to find the right dishes if you’re following a special diet. You can filter according to your dietary needs, by using the checkboxes under Dietary & Lifestyle in the filters on the left-hand side of the page. Select what applies to you and the results will display all the dishes that meet your criteria.

Our friendly and experienced Customer Services team will be more than happy to help you find the meals and desserts that meet your dietary needs and preferences. 

You can get in touch with your local branch, call us on 0333 370 6700 or contact us online.