The best and worst gluten-free pastas

 

Like I’ve said before, I’m not anti-gluten.  I eat what I like to call a reduced-gluten diet.  I avoid wheat when I can but mainly in favor of a variety of grains, not because I think gluten is bad.  I do try to eat only whole grains, which most pastas are not.  I’ve tried many whole wheat pastas and they taste okay but honestly, I prefer the taste of the gluten-free pastas made with whole grains.  They are usually made with brown rice or a combination of brown rice and other grains or sometimes beans.  Some are made with white rice and corn, so stay away from those.

It is amazing how so many pastas made with the same ingredients can taste so completely different from one another!  I’ve had brown rice pasta’s that I love and ones that were so bad that they were completely inedible. I’m talking so inedible that I just threw them right in the trash…and I am not a person who wastes food!

So to help you avoid throwing away expensive pasta and getting frustrated with dinners-gone-wrong, I’ve compiled a list of my favorites…and least favorites.

 

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS.  I MAY RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF YOU CLICK ON THESE LINKS AND PURCHASE THE PRODUCTS THAT I RECOMMEND BUT I ONLY RECOMMEND THEM BECAUSE I USE THEM MYSELF AND TRULY THINK THEY ARE GREAT PRODUCTS.

 

THE BEST:

Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Fusilli Pasta:  My absolute favorite!  It gets 4 stars for its flavor 5 stars for its nutritional value.  I found this one at my local Costco but unfortunately, they stopped carrying it.  Now I order it from vitacost.com where it costs a little more, but it’s totally worth it.  It’s made with a blend of chickpeas and brown rice resulting in the perfect flavor and texture that tastes so amazing, most people can’t even tell its not regular pasta.  Plus it has 11g of protein per serving.  It fills my family up way faster than regular brown rice pasta and we stay full longer – a huge plus since my husband and children have the metabolism of rabbits.

 

Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta:  This pasta tastes the closest to regular pasta than any other I’ve had.  If you have a picky family, you have to try it.  It doesn’t have as much protein as the chickpea pasta but the taste is amazing.  No gritty or grainy texture, it even looks the exact same color as wheat pasta.  When I’m making something to share with friends that may not eat as healthy as I do, I always use this pasta and they never know the difference.  Obviously, you can find it at Trader Joe’s (and it’s much cheaper there) but if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can also find it on Amazon using the link above.

 

Jovial Organic Traditional Egg Pasta:  This is my favorite gluten free egg noodle.  The taste and texture is so similar to traditional pasta that even the biggest pasta-lovers out there will not be able to tell the difference.  It does fall apart a little faster than traditional pasta but even once it falls apart it is still soooo delicious.  One of my favorite things about these noodles is that they come in a box with bunches of noodles dried into 10 little balls.  It makes it very easy to add them to soups without having to break them apart just to fit in the pot.

 

 

GOOD, but not amazing:

POW! By Ancient Harvest:  If you’re looking for a pasta that is packed with protein, these are great options.  They are made with a blend of lentils and quinoa and boast 14g of protein per serving.  If your family is used to gluten free pasta and healthy eating, they will love this.  The taste is not as good as the ones listed above, but if nutritional value is your main focus, I’d definitely give these a try.

 

Tolerant Food Organic Red Lentil Rotini:  This pasta is made of 100% red lentils making this the most protein packed (21 g per serving) of the pastas that I like.  It definitely doesn’t taste like traditional pasta but it does taste good, especially with a red sauce.  This pasta can taste dry if you just put olive oil or butter on it.  It also doesn’t taste as good when it is cold so I don’t recommend it for pasta salads or in kids lunches.

 

Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Pasta Elbows:  If you are looking for good gluten free elbow macaroni, this is a decent one to try.  I haven’t found elbow macaroni that is worth raving about yet but this one is okay.  Tinkyada pastas have a nice neutral flavor that will please most palettes and the texture is good, a little chewy but no unpleasant graininess.  Just don’t overcook it.  It is made with 100% organic brown rice, so no variety of grains but at least it is whole grain.

 

 

THE WORST:

Simple Truth Organic Gluten Free Elbow Macaroni:  I love so many of Simple Truth’s products (sold at Kroger and Smith’s grocery stores) but NOT this one.  It is hands-down the worst pasta I have ever tried.  It was so terrible that I threw it away.  I assume the combination of brown rice, amaranth, and quinoa is what ruins it.  Amaranth has a very distinct flavor that is nothing like wheat.  But the texture is where this pasta really fails.  It is gummy on the outside but still chewy on the inside and grainy…it’s just awful in every way. I haven’t tried every iteration of Simple Truth’s gluten free pasta so the penne or fusilli may be okay, but since they are all made with the same combination of grains, I have to assume the taste is very similar across the entire line and I will not be purchasing them again.

 

Explore Asian Organic Edamame Spaghetti:   This spaghetti has a very distinct flavor that is VERY different from traditional pasta.  It is earthy tasting and has a chewy texture that made it my family’s least favorite pasta ever!  It is made of 100% soybeans making it packed with protein (24 g per serving) but sacrificing taste and texture.

 

 

 

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta:  The taste of this pasta is very bland with a subtle unpleasant quinoa aftertaste.  They are made with a combination of corn and quinoa.  Corn is listed first in the ingredients list despite quinoa being printed prominently on the box, making the nutritional value less than ideal.  These aren’t high in protein or low in carbs.  So they really have no redeeming qualities other than the fact that they are easy to find in most grocery stores.

 

There are a lot of gluten free pastas out there, a lot more than the nine I’ve chosen to feature in this post.  And with their popularity on the rise, companies are constantly coming up with ways to make them taste better and behave the same way wheat pasta does.  If you haven’t had any yet, I highly recommend you try some of the ones recommended in this post.  If you have a favorite brand, please share it so I can give it a try.