It’s Burns Night on January the 25th – the night when Scottish people celebrate the birthday of Rabbie Burns, the country’s national bard. Traditionally, people celebrate by reciting Burn’s poetry, eating haggis and probably having a wee dram or two.
And this is where my problem arises. The wee dram is completely off-limits because of my medication and since haggis isn’t gluten-free, it’s been off the menu since my coeliac disease diagnosis.
I don’t mind not being able to have that wee dram (I’d rather have water than whisky anyway). But I love haggis so really felt like I was missing out. However, I recently got excited when I discovered that some companies make gluten-free haggis.
Who is Rabbie Burns and What is Haggis?
Rabbie Burns was a poet and songwriter who was born in Ayrshire in Scotland on the 25th of January in 1759. Not only is he Scotland’s national bard, he’s also our national treasure.
People outside Scotland might not be familiar with his name, but most would likely know of some of his songs and poems, especially the song Auld Lang Syne.
A haggis is a wee elusive creature that lives in the mountains of Scotland.
Okay…it’s not. But we do like to pretend that it is. It’s actually a delicious Scottish meaty treat with onions, oatmeal and spices.
Some companies also make a vegetarian version nowadays, so you needn’t miss out if you don’t eat meat.
Gluten Free Haggis
Haggis has gluten in it because it’s made with oatmeal. Oatmeal itself is gluten-free, so technically fine for most coeliacs. But the majority of oats are grown and processed beside other grains, therefore, they will be contaminated.
Oats labelled as gluten-free will have been grown and processed away from any other grains ensuring that they are 100% safe.
One company which makes haggis using gluten-free oats is MacSween and they very kindly gifted me with some gluten free haggis so that I could write this blog post.
MacSween’s haggis is delicious and tastes just as good as normal gluten-containing haggis. The only difference between them is that one has been made using gluten-free oatmeal, the other hasn’t. They taste the same – this was verified by my non-coeliac, haggis loving husband.
Where and When Can You Buy Gluten Free Haggis?
Gluten-free haggis is more expensive to produce because of cross-contamination issues and obviously, is less in demand, therefore supermarkets and butchers only tend to stock it around Burns night on the 25th of January.
MacSween has a page here showing where their gluten-free haggis is available.
Haggis freezes well, therefore if you enjoy it, buy it when it’s ‘in season’, then portion and freeze it. That way, you can eat haggis at any time, not just on Burns night.
Gluten Free Haggis Recipes
Traditionally, haggis is served with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes) at Burns suppers. But haggis is actually really versatile and can be eaten in a variety of ways.
Lately, I’ve not been able to do much at all, therefore, it’s just as well I have a husband who loves to cook. Here are a few delicious haggis dishes he’s made recently.
Chicken Thighs Stuffed with Haggis
Haggis makes an excellent stuffing for chicken.
For this recipe, we used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but chicken breasts could be used instead.
Squeeze a small amount of haggis into a sausage shape and roll up inside the chicken thighs. Wrap them with streaky bacon. Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes at 180℃
Slice them and serve with vegetables and gravy.
Cheese, Leek and Haggis Potato Cakes
This is tasty and makes a lovely lunch. Mix some grated cheddar cheese, cooked chopped leeks, crumbled haggis with leftover mashed potatoes. Then add a couple of tablespoonfuls of gluten-free flour. Mix until it is smooth enough to roll into balls without sticking to your hands.
Flatten the balls into rounds, then fry, turning once until golden on both sides
Crunchy Cheese and Haggis Meatballs
This is another delicious snack or lunch.
Press some haggis flat into the palm of your hand. (It’s very crumbly initially, so you need to work it in your hands for a minute.) Put a small square of mozzarella cheese in the middle then wrap the haggis around it. Roll tightly into a ball.
Dip the haggis ball into gluten-free flour then into a whisked up egg. Now coat it in breadcrumbs.
Place the meatballs in a baking tray, give a quick spray with oil, then oven bake for 20 minutes at 180℃.
More Recipes Using Haggis
For some more tasty haggis recipes, please take a look at this Scottish food blogger, Foodie Quine.
MacSween’s website also has a page with some recipes.
Address to a Haggis, by Rabbie Burns
I hope you enjoyed this post and might try haggis if you haven’t already. If you’re eating it on Burns night, don’t forget to recite a wee bit of Burns poetry.
Address to a Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the puddin’-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye worthy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm.
When we were on a Turkey and Tinsel last December, on our pretend New Years Eve, they served us Haggis, I had never tried it before, it surprised me,It was very good. It was served in individual round (looking like a beef burger) but it had little square cut carrot, turnip and swede on top. No Whiskey though! I have been told M & S make a good haggis, I don’t know about GF though.
Thank you for a good article.
Marjorie Lacy.
I’m glad you enjoyed your haggis.
I’m not sure if M&S do a GF haggis. They might because they do have quite a good range for gluten free food.
scrummy recipies have to try some .
I love roasted veggies .
happy Burns night ….it is also Maisy’s
birthday West Highland …born in Billericky.
Yes, you should try some. Belated happy birthday to Maisy ?
OMG I absolutely love haggis!!! I’ve been wanting some different recipes to try so thank you for sharing these. I love it on its own too covered in gravy – it’s so moorish and tasty. I also need to get one of those veg dicers – some I’ve seen have had bad reviews so I will look at those your recommend ? xx
I’m glad you also love haggis. I was so pleased to find a gluten free version.
Some of the reviews on veg dicers aren’t great, but I wonder if some people are using them wrongly. We’ve never had a problem with ours. I think people sometimes put in a whole potato then complain because it won’t cut through. We slice them first, then stack 2 or 3 slices, then push down to dice. Works perfectly.
As someone who lives with food allergies, I can relate to how profoundly you can miss something you used to be able to eat (I miss nuts so much). Really glad to hear that you found your haggis!
Yes, it becomes quite exciting when you find something you thought was off the menu forever.
Wow! Ahh, I see now that’s where the song Auld Lang Syne comes from. Great post, as I’ve never known about Scotland’s national treasure,Robbie Burns (of course I’ve heard his song) and haggis – and making it gluten free. I love learning new things and this was a delightful post to read.
Thanks, Sarah. I am glad you enjoyed it.
I remember having haggis many years ago at a family picnic! It was something new and interesting to try. It’s great that now there is a gluten free version! I love these recipes….the Haggis meatballs made me so hungry!!
I was so happy to find the gf version. The meatballs were so delicious.
I’m not sure I could do Haggis straight up but I think as a stuffing in Chicken it would work for me. It’s good to know there are Gluten free versions available as well for those who cant tolerate gluten.
A lot of people don’t like haggis, but yes, in the chicken like this, it’s more just like a tasty stuffing, therefore not so overpowering.
I’ve never tried haggis and I’m not sure if I would eat it but it’s great to know that even haggis is available in gluten free. Life is so much easier for people with celiac and gluten intolerance now.
Yes, thankfully, it is getting better for coeliacs.
My wife is Scottish so i tease her about Haggis all the time. I love the scottish food, the culture and the whole clan thing and try to make to all the highland dances and festivals. Gluten free food is in right now and this is such a perfect recipe to those who have gluten allergies. Thanks liz for this amazing piece.
Jerry Godinho
Thank you for your lovely comment, Jerry. It’s nice to know that Scottish traditions carry on elsewhere.
Didn’t realize there were so many ways to eat Haggis! I’ve always been fascinated by the dish even though I’m a vegetarian – I just enjoy watching it being cooked.
I got a good chuckle from: ‘A haggis is a wee elusive creature which lives in the mountains of Scotland’, so funny!
I’m glad that part gave you a laugh. We tell everyone that haggis is a real animal. Some do believe us ? (you can also get vegetarian haggis)
Haggis is so delicious! Each way of making it is special to me! i would try your version too
I’m glad you enjoy haggis, Lyosha
I remember eating Haggis a while back at a Scottish pub on Canada Day in Ottawa. The flavors were incredible!
Yes, flavour is incredible, isn’t it? Glad you enjoyed it when you tried it.
Gluten Free Haggis? I tell you what, these gluten free stuff is planning to take over the world. We have a gluten Free Haggis! I just wonder how that would taste!! I wonder is there a gluten free chips?
As I said in the post, the gluten free haggis tastes exactly the same as normal haggis.
I’m not sure what you mean about gluten free stuff taking over the world. There is a tiny section in the supermarket with gluten free food and it’s all extremely expensive. Yes, you can get gluten free chips, because unfortunately some chips do contain gluten.
I have never heard of haggis but it sounds like a interesting food. If it is a meal that has delicious Scottish meat with onions, oatmeal and spices, I know I would like it. I will check out the local supermarket for a recipe. Great post.
It was good to know about Rabbie Burns and also about Gluten free haggis both I was not aware of. So happy for you that you could enjoy the gift given to you,
Thank you. It was a lovely gift.
I love that dietary concerns like this are being talked about more openly in society today. It has done wonders to encourage the development of a wider variety of products for those who likely felt severely limited before.
With how many people have gluten allergies it is nice there are gluten free options out there of a lot of dishes people love! Thanks for sharing this, there are a lot of great ideas here.
This post was very interesting, though also confusing since I live in the United States. I have come to the conclusion that “dram” is liquor, but I still don’t know what a bard is. Is it a poet? You wrote it is national bard day but I have never heard that word before.
I was also looking for the vegetarian version in one of your examples on how to serve it but that one wasn’t there. However, it wouldn’t matter since this type of food is not available in the United States anyway.
However, this past was very enjoyable and I learned a lot!
Hi Alexandra, yes, a dram is liquor. We normally talk about a dram of whisky. A bard is a poet. Rabbie Burns was a very famous poet, so he became Scotland national bard.
I’m sorry, I didn’t include any recipes using vegetarian haggis. The gluten free version is traditional using meat. I think the vegetarian ones contain gluten so I wouldn’t be able to eat that.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
I’ve never tried haggis, nor did I know how it was made before reading this. I’ve been to Scotland many years ago and never tried it. Although I may not have liked it back then either, as I was very picky in my younger years. I think it is wonderful how it is becoming easier to find things that are gluten free these days. My husband has a friend and her daughter is so allergic to gluten that they have a service dog that has to sniff everything the kid eats first to check. I had no clue that was a thing until we were chatting about this post earlier, or that an allergy could be that bad.
I had no idea that service dogs could sniff for gluten. You have taught me something!