The best gluten free pasta is (almost) like the real thing.
Yes, gluten-free people, you can still enjoy pasta night as much as everyone else! From a professional pastry chef with a gluten allergy, here are the best brands of gluten-free pasta and why, ranked for taste, shapes, availability, and more.
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Why Finding the Best GF Pasta Is Personal to Me
I was diagnosed with an honest-to-God gluten allergy last year. This is hard it is to admit out loud. I mean, just think of it: a food writer who left a law career for pastry school and baking career (the bread! the baked goods!), and spends a good part of her working life testing recipes and eating. I also grew up in a partly Italian-American family with at least one pasta night and one pizza night per week. Italian carbs were like vitamins.
This diagnosis has been a hard reality to (forgive the pun) swallow.
I miss pasta. But now that I have this allergy and gluten-free life, I’ve decided that it’s better to have known good (read: “real”) pasta than not. One reason? I can really judge which brands of gluten-free pasta are better and more authentic-tasting, and why.
What Is Gluten?
Gluten is the umbrella term referring to the proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid. Someone can have an allergy to certain proteins and not others. Gluten does serve useful purposes. Gluten helps add structure, elasticity, and chewiness to baked goods. The Celiac Disease Foundation has a ton of good information about gluten if you want a deeper dive.
Is Gluten-Free Pasta Healthier?
If you have a gluten allergy, gluten sensitivity, a wheat allergy, or Celiac disease (an autoimmune disease), gluten-free pasta isn’t just healthier, it’s necessary.
If you are gluten sensitive, allergic, or autoimmune resistant to this protein, gluten can cause a range of symptoms, including migraines, gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, and more.
So What Makes Something Gluten Free?
A gluten-free product does not contain gluten proteins found in rye, wheat, barley, or other products derived from them. According to the FDA, to be gluten free, a product must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.
Pro Tips and Tricks for Cooking Gluten-Free Pasta
Gluten-free pasta might look like regular semolina or wheat pasta, but it does not always cook like regular pasta. Many gluten-free pastas have a different cooking time and texture due to the alternative grains. For best results:
- Cook gluten-free pasta in a large amount of well-salted water. Gluten-free pasta (especially rice-based ones) release a lot of starch, and can make the cooking water thick and cloudy.
- Al dente is trickier. Gluten-free pasta is hard to get just right. Use the box as a time gauge, but start testing a minute before the suggested doneness time, and keep testing until it is fully done.
- Stir the pasta water a lot. Gluten-free pasta, especially rice-based brands, tend to give off an excess of starch, which can gum up the pot.
- If the pasta has a film on it after draining in a colander, give it a quick rinse in cool water to clear the excess starch.
- Eat it hot. This is an important tip. Gluten-free pasta, especially rice-based brands, often becomes brittle when cold (think of cold rice vs. hot rice). In other words, this is generally not suited to pasta salad.
The Official Gluten-Free Italian Pasta Taste Test Results
Here are the brands of gluten-free pasta tested for this study:
- Trader Joe’s
- Barilla
- Garofalo
- Rummo
- Jovial
- Taste Republic
- Ancient Harvest
- Bionaturae
The criteria used to judge the gluten-free pasta winners were:
- Taste
- Texture
- Price
- Ingredients, and
- Availability
Note that I did not test the brand Banza. A recent study showed that the brand’s chickpea-based gluten free pastas contain significant levels of the herbicide glyphosate. The levels were still below the E.P.A. recommended limit, but the brand’s pasta also contains xanthan gum, which can be irritating to some people’s digestion. That said, many people love Banza’s flavor, texture, and high-fiber bonus. Choose the brand that is best for you.
The Best Gluten-Free Pasta Brands
Here are the results of the official taste test of the best gluten-free pastas.
1. The Best Value
The Winner: Trader Joe’s fusilli
It’s well known that gluten-free pasta is generally more expensive than standard semolina wheat pasta. Trader Joe’s sells several gluten-free pastas, all of which are priced well. Unlike other brands that shrunk their package weight to 12 ounces, T.J.’s still sells this full 16-ounce bag of gluten-free organic fusilli pasta. The fact that it is organic counts as an additional bonus. The texture holds up well, and the addition of quinoa gives the cooked pasta more structure than rice pasta alone.
Price: approx. $3.49 for 16 ounces ($.22 per ounce)
Ingredients: organic brown rice, organic quinoa
Shapes: fusilli (Trader Joe’s also makes other gluten-free pastas in 12-ounce packages, with other ingredients)
2. The Best Variety of Shapes
The Winner: Jovial
Jovial leaves its competitors in the gluten-free dust when it comes of its offerings of best pasta shapes, which rival even the major brands of standard pasta. On a scale of one to amazing, this gluten-free pasta brand tastes pretty good, if slightly gummy if overcooked. But the availability of so many versatile shapes more than compensates for any subtle deficiencies in flavor and texture.
Price: approx. $4.99 for 12 ounces ($.42 per ounce); some shapes are more expensive and may contain egg
Ingredients: organic brown rice flour
Shapes: stelline, mafalda, spaghetti, egg tagliatelle, fusilli, penne, capellini, farfalle, elbows, manicotti, lasagna, fettuccine, shells, caserecce (So many, right?)
3. Most Widely-Available GF Pasta
The Winner: Barilla Gluten-Free Pasta
Barilla is one of the largest pasta brands in America, so it makes sense that their selection of gluten-free pastas are broadly available in most supermarkets. With a simple ingredient list, this brand makes an easy and available choice.
Price: approx. $4.89 for 12 ounces ($.40 per ounce)
Ingredients: Corn flour, rice flour, mono- and diglycerides
Shapes: Lasagna, rotini, spaghetti, elbows, penne, fettuccine
4. Best Fresh Pasta
Winner: Taste Republic (Runner Up: Trader Joe’s)
For those who had given up on the idea of ever having fresh pasta again — let alone pasta stuffed with cheese — rejoice! Taste Republic offers a variety of fresh tortelloni, in addition to fresh fettuccine, linguine, fusilli, and lasagna sheets. The ingredient list is more extensive than some other brands, but the result tastes satisfying and manages a real al dente chewiness in a 3 minute cook time.
Trader Joe’s sells fresh gluten-free egg fettuccine in their frozen section, which I strongly suspect is a direct Taste Republic copycat due to the exact same ingredient list. The Joe’s version comes in at a much more affordable $3.99 for 9 ounces.
Price: approx. $6.99 for 9 ounces ($.78 per ounce) for unstuffed pasta; $1.11 per ounce for tortelloni
Ingredients: Brown Rice Flour, Water, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Whole Egg, Egg White, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Glucono delta-lactone
Shapes: tortelloni, fettuccine, linguine, fusilli, and lasagna
5. Best Dupe for the Real Thing
Winner: Garofalo
It is not easy to find this premium pasta brand in brick and mortar stores beyond a well-stocked Italian store or gourmet shop. But luckily, Garofalo gluten-free pasta is easily available online. In a blind taste test, this was indistinguishable from durum wheat semolina pasta. The corn, rice, and quinoa combination made this a winner for matching wheat pasta’s al dente chew, flavor, texture, and ability to absorb sauce.
Price: $4.99 for 12 ounces ($.42 per ounce)
Ingredients: corn flour, brown rice flour, rice flour, potato starch, quinoa, mono- and diglycerides
Shapes: casarecce, penne, spaghetti, linguine
Best Gluten-Free Pasta: All-Around Winners
Gluten-free pasta is becoming more and more available, so it’s important to know the best brands. Garofalo may not have the most shapes, but it wins for overall experience. Jovial makes lots of shapes, so you’ll be able to find the right GF pasta for everything from lasagna to soup to mac and cheese. There’s even good fresh gluten-free pasta from Taste Republic and Trader Joe’s, which also makes our winner for best value brand.
