GF Products Worth Trying

Not all GF products are created equal. Some are excellent; some are barely edible. After years of trial and error, here are my recommendations.

Caveat: Taste is personal, products change, and what’s available varies by region. These are my opinions, not universal truths. Try things yourself.

Bread

GF bread is one of the hardest categories. My current favorites:

Best Overall

Canyon Bakehouse: Consistently good texture and taste. The 7-Grain and Country White are reliable. Available frozen and fresh in many stores.

Best for Toast

Schar Artisan Baker: Toasts better than most. Good texture for morning toast with butter.

Best Fresh-Baked Style

Little Northern Bakehouse: If you want something that feels more like artisan bread. The Seeds & Grains variety is good.

Honorable Mention

Udi’s: The original. Not the best, but widely available when other options aren’t.

My Honest Take

GF bread is never quite as good as regular bread. Manage expectations. Toast improves most GF bread significantly.

Pasta

Best Overall

Barilla GF: Made from corn and rice. Texture closest to regular pasta. Available everywhere. Doesn’t get mushy if you time it right.

Best Flavor

Jovial Brown Rice Pasta: Excellent flavor and texture. Made from one ingredient. More expensive but worth it.

Best Budget

Tinkyada: Reliable, affordable, decent texture. Been around forever.

Honorable Mention

Banza (chickpea pasta): Different category, higher protein, different texture. Not for traditional pasta dishes, but great in its own right.

Pasta Tips

• Don’t overcook (GF pasta goes mushy faster)
• Salt the water
• Toss with sauce immediately
• Leftovers don’t reheat as well

Crackers

Best Overall

Mary’s Gone Crackers: The Original flavor is excellent. Real food taste, good crunch.

Best for Cheese

Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers: Substantial enough for cheese, good flavor.

Best Thin/Crispy

Schar Table Crackers: Like a GF version of water crackers. Good with spreads.

Best for Kids

Glutino Crackers: Classic “goldfish”-style crackers that kids recognize.

Snacks

Chips/Crisps

Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips: Excellent flavor, reliable. Siete grain-free chips: More expensive but delicious. Late July: Good variety, widely available.

Bars

RXBARs: Clean ingredients, good protein. Check each flavor for GF status. Larabars: Simple ingredients, many flavors. KIND bars: Many are GF (check labels).

Sweet Snacks

Enjoy Life cookies: Allergy-friendly, tastes good. Simple Mills cookies: Better than most GF cookies. Schar chocolate cookies: Excellent chocolate cookie option.

Baking

All-Purpose Flour

King Arthur Measure for Measure: My go-to. Works 1:1 in most recipes. Consistent results.

Alternative

Bob’s Red Mill 1:1: Also reliable, widely available.

Specialty

Cup4Cup: Premium option, excellent for pastry. More expensive.

Don’t Forget Xanthan Gum

If your blend doesn’t include it, buy Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum separately.

Pizza

Frozen Pizza

Against the Grain: Cheese pizza that’s actually good. Unusual cheese crust. Schar pizza crust: Reliable base to top yourself.

Pizza Crust

Schar par-baked crusts: Top with your own toppings. Capello’s: Grain-free option, different texture.

Reality Check

GF frozen pizza is improved but still not like delivery. Set expectations accordingly.

Cereal

Best Overall

Nature’s Path various: Multiple GF cereals that taste like normal cereal. Barbara’s Puffins: Good option for kids and adults.

Hot Cereal

Bob’s Red Mill GF oatmeal: Make sure it’s certified GF. Gluten-free cream of rice: Simple, reliable.

Sauces and Condiments

Soy Sauce Replacement

San-J Tamari: The gold standard. Real fermented soy taste, GF. Coconut Aminos: Different flavor, but works.

Pasta Sauce

Most jarred pasta sauces are GF, but check. Rao’s is reliably GF and excellent.

Salad Dressing

Many are GF, always check labels. Primal Kitchen brand is reliable.

Beer and Beverages

GF Beer

Glutenberg: Wide variety, actually tastes like beer. Omission: Brewed from barley but processed to remove gluten. Controversial, some celiacs react, some don’t. Ground Breaker: Dedicated GF brewery, good options.

Safe Alcohol

Most wine, cider, and distilled spirits are GF. Be careful with:

• Beer (unless specifically GF)
• Flavored spirits (check for additives)
• Malt beverages

International Foods

Mexican

Mission corn tortillas: Widely available, reliable. Siete products: Grain-free tortillas and chips.

Asian

Thai Kitchen rice noodles: Good for pad thai, etc. San-J for soy sauce (as above)

Where to Buy

Best Grocery Selection

• Whole Foods
• Natural food stores
• Major grocery chains with “natural” sections

Best Online

• Thrive Market (membership, good prices)
• Amazon (good selection, variable pricing)
• Walmart online (improving selection)

Don’t Forget

• Costco has increasing GF options
• Trader Joe’s has good GF products (check labels, not everything is GF)
• Aldi has excellent GF line at low prices

The Philosophy

Quality Over Substitutes

Sometimes it’s better to eat naturally GF food than mediocre GF substitutes. A good meal built around rice beats bad GF bread.

Treat GF Treats as Treats

GF cookies are still cookies. GF crackers are still processed food. Don’t eat more junk just because it’s GF.

Keep Trying

Products improve. New ones launch. What was terrible two years ago might be good now. Stay open.

Final Thoughts

GF products have improved dramatically. The best ones are genuinely good. The worst ones aren’t worth eating.

Find what you like, keep exploring, and remember that the best GF meal is often naturally GF whole food, well prepared.