Is natto gluten free?

Nattō (納豆) is a Japanese traditional food made by fermenting whole soybeans with hay bacillus culture. It’s generally considered an acquired taste. Many people that didn’t grow up eating natto find the slimy texture and pungent flavor off-putting, similar to people that didn’t grow up eating blue cheese.

Traditionally-made natto is naturally gluten free, but many packaged versions are prepared with seasoning that includes soy sauce. If you’d like to try natto, make sure you read labels closely and avoid any options with soy sauce or other unidentifiable seasonings or extracts already mixed in. Look for options that only list soybeans, fermentation culture, and perhaps salt in the ingredients. If you find natto with the fermented beans packaged separately from the seasoning packet, you can just leave off the included sauce and add your own gluten free seasoning instead.

Legend has it that natto was accidentally created by storing boiled soybeans in a straw bag and forgetting about them for a few days. When the bags were opened, people found they enjoyed the stringy texture and fermented flavor of the beans.

Natto has been shown to be highly nutritious, providing a good source of protein, iron, manganese and vitamin K. It’s also probiotic and prebiotic, so it’s easy to digest and can even help strengthen your microbiota. It also contains nattokinase, which has been shown to improve heart health when consumed regularly. Here’s a helpful guide to eating natto, if you decide to include it in your diet.

Buy Gluten Free Natto

If you’re not a fan of the flavor or texture of natto, but want to get the touted health benefits, there are tons of other ways to consume it. Natto now comes in capsules, powders, or even freeze-dried whole soybean form for a crunchy snack. You’ll find a variety of traditional and modern natto options in the list below, all gluten free.

As mentioned earlier in the article, you can also find packaged natto with the seasoning in a separate packet. If you find this, just leave off the included sauce and add your own instead!

• Organic Natto - New York Natto

• Large Bean Natto - Rhapsody Natural Foods

• Small Bean Natto - Rhapsody Natural Foods

• Freeze-Dried Natto Beans - Yamasan Kyoto Uji

• Freeze-Dried Soybean Natto Powder Nattokinase - K-Herb

• Nattokinase Supplement Capsules - Double Wood