Gluten Free Cooking

Hey friends, today I’m excited to post this article from a guest writer, my sister Emily. She has kindly shared her tips and favorites for cooking gluten-free. Feel free to pass this article along to any gluten-free friends you think might find it helpful, and to share any tips you have if you’re also in the gluten-free cooking club. Thanks so much for taking the time to share, Emily!

Tips and Ideas From My First Year

Last month was the one-year mark of my gluten-free cooking adventure! It’s not one I ever planned on, but some health challenges for one of our children led us down the gluten-free, low inflammation diet path. I am grateful for the help and ideas I’ve gleaned along the way from many different sources, and for all those that have offered helpful recommendations! I still have lots to learn, but it’s become easier as we’ve gone along, and today I’d like to share some meal ideas, products, and resources with you!

Consider your specific health needs—Is someone going to become seriously ill if they get a whiff of flour or a little cross-contaminated food? Some people need to remove all ingredients containing gluten from their homes. While that isn’t the case for us right now, it is something important to be aware of—not casually mixing ingredients or utensils! Also, just because something is gluten-free, doesn’t mean it’s super healthy—some gluten free baked goods or mixes are quite sugary or contain other processed ingredients that some people might need to avoid. So it’s good to understand what your goals are and why you need to avoid gluten and what else you need to be aware of.

Read labels—You might be surprised to find different food items that actually do contain gluten, besides the obvious ones, like traditional breads, pasta, and baked goods. Many oats and oatmeal products have at the very least come into contact with wheat, and some sauces/dressings/flavorings (like soy sauce) might have some form of wheat/gluten in them as well. It’s always good to check if you’re not sure.

Rice and potatoes are your two friends when it comes to carbs! I started using pasta much less for our meals, and rice and potatoes much more! We eat many meat and potatoes type of meals. Things like roasts, meatloaf, and stew, a whole baked chicken with veggie sides, chicken pieces in gluten-free sauces served over rice, etc. are staples at our house!

Does not everyone in the family need (or want!) to eat gluten free? Think of ways to split recipes and prepare part traditionally and part gluten free. Sometimes I’ll make a big pot of soup, and cook the noodles separately: one pot of traditional noodles and one smaller pot of gluten free noodles. That way, people can choose what they’d like to use and add the noodles to their own bowl of soup. As a busy mom with four little people, I try to prepare most meals so that everyone eats the same thing, but I may split recipes or use similar but different recipes a couple times a week. It also helps so our child doesn’t feel left out when we’re all eating as close to the same thing as possible. Even though I don’t have to eat GF myself, I tend to try the things I’m feeding my child whether they’re store-bought or especially when they’re recipes I’m making. Some GF things are just very dry and flavorless, and if I don’t enjoy it myself, he might not either. Thankfully he’s easy to please and always very grateful for GF treats especially. Although some things, like bread, just won’t be the same, I want to do what I can to ensure tasty food for everyone I’m cooking for! Making meals for your family really is a labor of love.

Corn Starch and GF flours can be used to thicken sauces/gravies—or to make your own GF cream soup for casseroles/recipes! Xanthan gum can also be used as a thickener. Many GF recipes call for it and you can buy some at Wegmans or Walmart.

The best gluten-free flour I’ve tried so far is this one from King Arthur’s (I buy it at locally at BJs.) It is a one-to-one substitute for regular all-purpose flour and I’ve found it works great in my favorite traditional recipes for things like quick breads, quick breads baked in a cake pan, pancakes/waffles, muffins, cornbread, etc. It does NOT work in pizza dough or yeast breads. Bob’s Red Mil also offers a variety of good quality GF ingredients. Personally, I prefer to use recipes that incorporate fruit or a vegetable for gluten free baking—pumpkin bars, banana or zucchini bread, something with added in apple sauce, etc. Some recipes tend to be a little drier and more crumbly than their traditional counterparts, and I feel like this helps keep them a more similar texture. This recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread was favorite last summer, and I’m looking forward to making it again!

Shop at Aldi! Try their gluten free bread—it tastes much nicer when it’s lightly toasted, even when it’s for a sandwich. I keep a loaf in the freezer and lightly toast it a slice at a time. This way it doesn’t get stale or moldy since we only have one person using it. Aldi carries some GF wraps and bagels in the bread section and corn tortillas and taco shells with the Mexican foods. Their GF rotini noodles are pretty good, along with their boxed mac and cheese in the pasta aisle. Aldi also has quite a few GF baking mixes available and they are priced reasonably. They aren’t always super healthy, but when you’re not worrying about sugar or are short on time it can definitely be helpful to have a few mixes on hand for things like pancakes, brownies, or cake. They even had a nice GF stuffing mix available around Thanksgiving. For snacks, look into tortilla chips, veggie straws, sweet potato chips, Parmesan crisps, GF pretzels, almond-flour based crackers, as well as their coconut crisps, or almond flour based keto cookies.

Cookbooks/Recipes—Most libraries have a good selection of cookbooks, so that would be a great place to look especially if you’re just getting started. If you find yourself trying multiple recipes from the same book, it just might be a good one to purchase for your own collection!

One of my sisters-in-law found a copy of 201 Gluten-Free Recipes for Kids by Carrie S Forbes at a thrift store and picked it up, and it has the best GF pizza crust recipe in it! I was thrilled with how well it turned out, and I also found you can freeze the baked crust with toppings on it, to warm up in the oven and serve later. This will be so much less expensive than buying GF pizza crust at the store, and personally, I think it tasted way better too! It also has some other recipes I’m hoping to try, including one for a yeast bread. You can find a used copy at Thriftbooks (see link above).

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free by Amy Green is one I found recently at our local library. It has some baked goods/treat recipes I’m hoping to try. I made the one for chocolate date brownies and it came out well! It’s always exciting to find a successful new recipe and hear my little guy say, “This is good! Can I have another one?” in between munches! This one is also available inexpensively on Thriftbooks. The author also has a website with helpful info and recipes that looks good as well!

Hieberts’ Gluten-Free Cooking. Available from Living Waters Bookstore.

There are a wealth of online sites or blogs dedicated to GF cooking and baking, too. Sometimes I’ll search something like “easy gluten free meals” or “gluten free crockpot meals” when I’m planning my monthly menu, and I’ll pick a few new recipes to try.

Meal Ideas—Need some ideas to get you started? Maybe you invited someone over or offered to take a meal to someone and then realized, “They’re gluten-free!”  Here are some of my go-to meals to get you started! While complete recipes aren’t included for each one, you can easily customize recipes you probably already use with the suggestions below!

Fish and Rice—Frozen, unbranded fish fillets baked in a light sauce of equal parts melted butter and lemon juice, seasoned with your favorite herbs and salt and pepper. Serve with rice and a vegetable.

Meatloaf—Most meatloaf recipes include some kind of carb to help bind things together: something like oatmeal, stuffing mix, etc. I’ve been using cornmeal or corn flour with great results! Serve with some kind of potato (we love scalloped potatoes and just use the GF all purpose flour instead of traditional to thicken the sauce) and a cooked green veggie or salad.

Roasted Sausage and Veggies—2-3 Kielbasa sausage, 1 bag baby carrots, 2-3 lbs quartered (or smaller) potatoes, and 1 onion tossed with olive oil and seasonings and roasted at 400* for about an hour. Add a bag of frozen green beans and return to the oven for about 10 more minutes. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce, mustards, salad dressing, ketchup, etc. This one is so easy and everyone in my family loves it!

Easy Crustless Quiche—This recipe was originally from one of my piano teachers, and it’s become a favorite for us. I love how versatile it is- you can use it for any meal—breakfast, lunch or supper—and you can use different meats, cheeses, or veggies to change it up a bit! We often it serve it with fried or roasted potatoes or a bag of tater tots. 

To make this recipe:

Whip Together: 10 eggs, 1 can evaporated milk and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Set aside. Grease the bottom of a 13X9” baking dish. Add two bags cooked mixed vegetables or broccoli (about 4-5 cups of veggies), 2/3 cup chopped onion, and 2 cups shredded cheese. Add on top cooked and crumbled sausage, ground beef or ham. Pour the egg mixture over all. Bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes or more until it is puffy and set in the center. Could also use two greased pie plates instead of the 9×13” baking dish.

While most Italian meals and many American-style recipes rely heavily on wheat/gluten, look to Mexican (and Asian/Indian) cuisines for inspiration! Chicken Fajitas and Tacos are favorites at our house… just make sure to use corn tortillas/tacos or GF wraps, and if you season it yourself, you can make sure there’s no sneaky gluten in the seasoning packet! Served with lots of fun toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and salsa, they are sure to please everyone. Serve it with Spanish rice to round out the meal, or try it with tortilla chips and guacamole.

Chili with GF Cornbread-If you use plain canned beans or soak and cook dried ones, most chili recipes can easily be made GF! Top each bowl with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. This recipe from one of my sisters in law is our favorite cornbread, and makes a great accompaniment to chili. Simply mix together 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 TB baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup cornmeal, and 1/2 cup GF all purpose flour. Bake at 350* till done.

Beef Stew, or a Rice or Potato based Soup—If you’re thickening it at all, use cornstarch or another GF thickener. I love making soups and stews, especially in the winter, using whatever meat and veggies I have on hand. If you can use homemade broth even better, but its not too hard to find good quality broth in cartons for when you need to save time. Naomi has a good beef stew recipe right here. Unless you are sure you have a gluten free gravy mix and bouillon cubes, you can substitute beef broth for the water, gravy mix and bouillon.

Potato Casserole—This one from The Pioneer Woman is a favorite of ours. Just sub out the flour for your GF flour, and then add diced kielbasa or cooked ground sausage or beef to make it a meal. I would tend to double it and also cube the potatoes instead of slice them.

Roasted or Grilled Chicken with Veggies/Potatoes—Pretty basic but delicious: olive oil and lemon juice with salt, pepper, and herbs makes a simple and delicious marinade!

GF Pasta—You can cook up some pasta, and either use crushed tomatoes or a gluten free jarred sauce, or make your own sauce if you have more time on your hands. Adding cooked ground beef or sausage to the sauce will add nice flavor and help it be more filling. We often serve this with a salad or cooked broccoli or green beans. If you want to branch out a little and have more pasta options that what Aldi offers, I recommend Barilla’s GF pastas. They look and taste a lot like traditional pastas and come in many different types! Look at Wegmans or Walmart to find these.

Shepherd’s Pie or Tater Tot Casserole—There are many recipes/variations out there for these hearty, traditional meals. Just make sure to use corn starch or GF flour for when a recipe calls for canned cream soup.  I have been making a cream soup recipe using GF flour in place of canned cream soups, and it turns out fine with the GF flour.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas and help take away the intimidation at the thought of cooking a gluten-free meal! With some creativity and perseverance, you’ll find that not only is it possible, but the challenge can even be enjoyable as you experiment and find new ways to create a satisfying meal or a delicious treat that everyone can enjoy!