Gluten and Dairy Free Made Easy
What follows is a list of my personal favorite gluten-free and dairy-free foods. I’ve tried many and these are the ones that I think taste great in their own right, not only as a downgraded substitute. I hope you find this helpful as a shortcut, and please do explore and let me know if you find anything great! For more information on gluten, please see our gluten-free guidelines.
Breads:
Udi’s Gluten-Free Bagels If you must have bagels these aren’t bad. They are in the freezer.
Pasta: IMHO, the best choice for gluten-free pasta is to skip the pasta altogether and use vegetables such as spaghetti squash or a spiralizer to make zucchini or carrot or daikon noodles. This often works great for soups. The reason is that many gluten-free pastas are highly processed carbs and very high glycemic, which is not optimal. That said, we all need some pasta sometimes. Below is a list of some of our favorites. Small portion sizes please. Bon appetit!
Jovial Brown Rice Pasta This texture is incredibly close to the “real thing” & has a pleasant, nutty taste.
Forbidden Pad Thai Rice Noodles A fun substitute for squid ink pasta!
Hearts of Palm Spaghetti This is a favorite because its super convenient - you just warm it up with some sauce and it’s ready. Also it’s very low carb.
Crackers:
Edward & Sons Brown Rice Snaps I like the black sesame flavor. These are very thin.
San-J Black Sesame Rice Crackers These are thicker and heartier.
Blue Diamond Nut Thins These are easy to find even in supermarkets.
Mary’s Gone Crackers These have flax and other seeds in them. A bit on the hard side. I like the Super Seed variety the best.
Wraps:
Rice Paper Wraps These are SO FUN and easy to use. You can make Vietnamese summer rolls with them!
Flour for baking:
Breading for frying chicken, fish, etc:
Trader Joe’s Almond Flour This is easy and tasty. Or, you can grind your own almonds or hazelnuts. Yum!
Milk:
Califia Farms Barista Blend Almond Milk This one is great in coffee drinks and can foam up beautifully for cappuccino. My favorite. Find in the not-refrigerated section.
Califia Farms Almond Milk This one is in the refrigerated section.
Oatly Oat Drink Lately this has become my favorite in coffee. Their US products are gluten-free.
Cream and Half & Half:
Califia Farms Coconut Cream & Almond Milk Better Half Find in the not-refrigerated section
Native Forest Coconut Milk You can use this instead of cream in many recipes. Doesn’t mix well in coffee but AMAZING in curries. I prefer the Simple style.
Butter:
Avocado!
Yogurt: For all yogurts, unsweetened is best. You can add your own nuts and berries. Please note that coconut yogurts tend to be high in fat and low in protein. Almond milk yogurts do have some protein.
Anita’s Coconut Yogurt. The Plain one is the elixir of the gods. Quite expensive though.
Coyo Coconut Yogurt. Also the elixir of the gods but a little bit harder to find.
GT’s CocoYo. This one is more tart and also much lower in fat than the ones above.
Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt. Personally, I prefer the Greek Style version of this.
Cheese: Ok, this one is harder. Personally I vote for things that taste good and are on crackers but not cheese - like whitefish salad (not while pregnant though), guacamole, hummus, etc.
Daiya This is good for burritos or cooking.
Bandit I like the one that looks like Humboldt Fog (Barn Cat). Yum!