Nutritious by Gabby

Cooking or baking gluten free doesn’t have to be as challenging as you may think! Whether you need to make something gluten free for a friend or family member, or, are just finding out you, yourself cannot handle gluten – don’t panic! There are plenty of easy swaps out there. Cooking or baking gluten free can be just as satisfying as non-gluten free.

Cooking

Luckily, we now live in a day and age where there are many gluten free offerings! This wasn’t always the case. Check out some of the ideas below on the easy cooking swaps you can make and my suggestions for some of my favorite brands.

• Soy Sauce – Such a random item, but I figured out the hard way that soy sauce is not gluten free when I first found out I had celiac. Luckily, there are many options out there now. You can swap soy sauce out for specifically labeled gluten free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos. All of these will give you that soy sauce flavor.
• Dressings, Sauces, & Marinades – Many of these contain sneaky hints of gluten, so just be mindful to check the label of any that you’re buying from the store. My favorite brand that carries SO MANY gluten free dressings, sauces, condiments, and marinades is Primal Kitchen. You can check out their website or they are sold in grocery stores! I also like them because they use real, high-quality ingredients.
• Gluten Free Pasta – There are several kinds of gluten free pastas out there now! My absolute favorite brand is Jovial because you can’t taste the difference between their pasta and regular pasta. If you’re looking for extra protein, Banza has pasta that is made from chickpeas and is also gluten free. If you’re looking for good gluten free pad thai noodles or ramen, my favorite is Lotus Foods.
• Bread – Gluten free bread can be a CHALLENGE. There are some really great ones out there and….some not so great ones. One of my favorite brands if I’m looking for a baguette or hearty loaf of bread is Green Lite Foods. Another favorite brand of mine is Schär. They have several different types of gluten free bread including, sourdough, ciabatta, and multigrain bread. If you’re looking for bagels, the Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice bagels are AMAZING. Their other bagels are great as well, but they aren’t vegan if that’s a concern for you. Against the Grain has great baguettes as well, but again, not vegan if you’re focused on that too. As far as hamburger or hot dog buns go, Udi’s has some good ones that are dairy free, but they do contain eggs if that’s a concern for you. Schär has ones that are both gluten free and vegan.
• Pizza Dough – My favorite pizza dough that I’ve found is the frozen Banza pizza crusts because they are vegan, gluten free, and provide extra protein. If dairy isn’t a concern, Against the Grain also has great gluten free crusts. Trader Joe’s also has a pretty good gluten free pizza dough but it does contain milk.
• Breadcrumbs – There are a few gluten free breadcrumbs you can buy from the store. Schär has breadcrumbs that are both gluten and dairy free. Aleia’s also sells gluten free breadcrumbs but they do contain eggs. When I’m making a recipe that calls for breadcrumbs, I typically just make my own if I have the time! I’ll just take gluten free crackers along with some spices like italian seasoning, oregano, or nutritional yeast, add them to a blender, and blend them until they are breadcrumbs! I’ve also used ground cashews as breadcrumbs in a pinch.
• Grains – When we think of grains, you can think of rice, quinoa, and oats. This one is easier, just look for the ones that are labeled gluten free as many of these can deal with cross contamination. As far as gluten free oats go, my favorite are from Bob’s Red Mill.
• Meat Substitutes – If you are both gluten free and vegetarian, you want to be mindful of meat substitutes. Many of them contain gluten including veggie burgers, vegan sausages, and vegan chicken products. As far as veggie burgers go, I like to make my own (you can find my recipes for these on our blog here), but I do know that Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers do offer gluten free vegan burgers, sausages, and ground meats.
• Spices – Just be mindful that you’re checking the ingredients list or that the spices you’re buying are labeled as gluten free.

Baking

I find baking gluten free to be more of a challenge than cooking gluten free. It can be hard to get that same texture when you are using gluten free items. However, it’s not impossible and sometimes just takes some trial and error. I have many recipes on my site that are gluten free baked goods that you can always pull from, but if you’re trying to make your own, check out the swaps below.

• Gluten Free Flours
  • 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour – You can use this in a one to one ratio to regular flour. However, if you have the time, sometimes I find mixing a combination of flours to make a better texture than just using one to one, but it can definitely work when needed! Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur both offer good gluten free all purpose baking flours.
  • Almond Flour – This is probably one of my favorites to use because of the protein and health it offers. In a baked good, almond flour doesn’t soak up liquid as well as other flours, so it can be helpful to combine it with another type of flour as well. In my carrot cake muffin recipe, I combine almond flour with gluten free oat flour.
  • Gluten Free Oat Flour – I usually just make my own by grinding up gluten free rolled oats in a blender as finely as I can. This flour will soak up a great deal of liquid so it can work best with another flour like almond to lighten up the baked good a bit.
  • Brown Rice Flour – Gluten free brown rice flour is one that I have found pairs well with tapioca flour or starch as you can see in my gluten free banana bread recipe.
  • Coconut Flour – I’m less familiar with coconut flour as it’s not one I use often, but this is another that’s best to pair with a different gluten free flour. This may go well with brown rice flour or oat flour.
• Starches & Powders – Always look for those that are specifically labeled as gluten free. For example, corn starch is naturally gluten free but can be contaminated by gluten depending on the facility it is made in. The same goes for cocoa powder.

One tip I have when it comes to gluten free baking is once you’ve made the dough or mixture, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before baking. This gives the mixture or dough more time to rise.

So there you have our general guide for all things gluten free! If you have more specific questions, feel free to drop a comment below or message me on instagram @nutritiousbygabby.