Gluten-Free Pastas

Posted June 10, 2013 / 1:30 p.m.


If you're considering a gluten-free diet, not all gluten-free pastas are created equal.  Here are my recommendations:

For gluten-free SPAGHETTI noodles, I recommend DeBoles CORN Spaghetti Style Pasta NOT rice spaghetti style pasta.  The corn product is most like wheat spaghetti in terms of taste and texture; the rice is not. Expect to pay anywhere between $2.75 to $3.85 per package, and you will probably need two boxes to feed a family of four to five.

For recipes that include sauces served over noodles or casserole dishes, I recommend Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta, which comes in a variety of shapes including spiral, shell, and elbow pastas.  Watch packaging -- most Tinkyada pastas come in 16-ounce packages, but a few are only 12 ounces and cost the same price (you will generally need the full 16-ounces for recipes). Tinkyada pastas have a nice texture and taste pretty good overall. Expect to pay between $3.50 to $4.25 per bag.

Another tasty and cheaper alternative to Tinkyada's Brown Rice Pasta is SamMills Pasta for Kids. These pastas, made from 100% corn, come in fun shapes like ducks and alphabet letters. (These pastas work especially well in soups.)  Besides being gluten free, they are GMO free, dairy free, cholesterol free, and egg free. Expect to pay around $2.75, but you'll get slightly less (12 ounces) than with the Tinkyada pastas.

For box macaroni and cheese, I recommend Annie's Totally Natural Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese. This product is sold at our local Target -- the cheapest retailer I've found for this item (around $2.75 per box regularly but they run occasionally sales, too). I add butter (not listed in the directions) and some extra milk to make it creamier. There are two gluten-free varieties: regular cheddar with elbow noodles and white cheddar with shell noodles.

Most all of these pastas are fully cooked within 8 to 10 minutes, but some (like the Tinkyada) take more like 14 to 16 minutes. Be sure to follow cooking instructions closely, as most gluten-free pastas tend to get mushy when overcooked and hard when undercooked.

My kids favorite: gluten-free pasta cooked in chicken broth instead of water. They love this dish, and you can use low-sodium and even organic varieties of broth for a healthier alternative.

Enjoy!