Background Compared to non-allergic individuals, food allergic individuals have impaired health-related quality of life (HRQL). However, effects of gender and age are unclear. The objective of our study was to describe associations between allergies to common foods and HRQL with consideration to gender and age. Methods Adolescents and adults (N = 137; 49.6% males) with specialist-diagnosed allergy to milk, egg and/or wheat completed age-appropriate versions of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ). We pooled common questions and calculated overall- and domain-specific HRQL in association with number and severity of symptoms and time elapse since worst reaction. Results In the entire study population, HRQL was not affected by gender or age, whereas gender-specific age categories affected HRQL among males only. For example, males 18–39 years had worse overall- (β = 0.77; 95% CI 0.08–1.45) and domain-specific HRQL vs. males