Tinkyada Rice Pasta (fettucine)
This was the first pasta that we tried. It is widely available and was purchased at Publix for around $3.50 for a 16oz bag. I would try the brand again, but it was more foreign than some of the others we have had since. The noodles were gummy and I followed the directions precisely. We had them with sauteed veggies and shrimp and topped with Bertolli Vodka Sauce. Overall, the dish was pretty yummy, but I wouldn't like this pasta with plain old spaghetti sauce - it would seem strange. I also didn't like the price tag. Maybe it's cheaper at other stores, but that's a bit much for one component of the meal. When I added in the veggies and the shrimp, it was kind of a costly meal for us. It is kosher certified and organic and there's a lot of boasting on their website, so like I said, I'd give it a second chance.
Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Pasta (spaghetti)
I have to admit, the words "New & Improved" in the upper right-hand corner of the box scared me a little. I think companies make a huge mistake in advertising this fact. To new consumers, you kind of get the impression that it used to be revolting and now it's palatable. I followed the directions exactly and timed the pasta from the moment the noodles went into the pot. Another rice pasta did not specify this, and I ended up with a gummy mess. I rinsed with cold water and what we got underneath my homemade meat sauce was something pretty identical to a traditional spaghetti. Having used whole wheat pasta a lot in the past, I found the taste and texture of this pasta to be FAR superior. Baxter couldn't believe it was gluten free. The kids loved it! The cost was not unreasonable and I found it on sale at Kroger, which means that the product is both affordable and close to home ... FIVE STARS!
DeBoles Gluten Free Rice Plus Golden Flax SpiralsThis was a product I purchased at Whole Foods. DeBoles has been making pasta since 1932 and their gluten free line is new. More power to them - they use all natural ingredients, no preservatives or chemicals are added. First, I will say that an 8 oz box of pasta doesn't go very far in my house. The box is rather large to house such a small amount of the stuff. It was barely enough for lunch with the kids but at the price I paid, it should have been sufficient. The cooking instructions were precisely followed and the noodles turned out a little underdone for my taste. I like al dente, but this was too hard. My test noodle seemed fine, but once we rinsed it with cold water and topped it with sauce, it had hardened a bit. I'm not sure an extra minute of cooking would have been good for the noodles since they were breaking down a bit. I just think they need to work on their recipe. It is a light colored pasta, made with parboiled brown rice flour, white rice flour, and golden flax and rice bran extract. Compared to the list of ingredients on the previous product we used, I think they are using too many derivatives of rice. The last one was much simpler. I also purchased their angel hair pasta* and am interested to see how it compares. One thing I liked was the recipe on the back of the box. I didn't use it, but will save it and try it in the future - new gluten free recipes (that are also quick and easy) is a great way to help them market their products. Maybe with a few tweaks, they could improve their spirals.
*I loved the De Boles Angel Hair pasta. We served it with a simple marinara sauce and it was actually better than regular angel hair pasta. I think it was a little firmer and held its own better than traditional angel hair.
Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne Pasta
First, let me praise Trader Joe's for their low cost. On previous trips, I have been there for wine, fine cheeses, bakery items and gifty kind of stuff. This time, I went to purchase staples and was absolutely shocked at the prices. I did better at TJ's than I did at Kroger, and paid about half for similar items I bought at Whole Foods! I think I am now a devotee. Plus, it's friendly, the kids love it, and a stranger in line behind us gave Baxter a beer out of his pack just so he could try it - that has never happened to us at any store before. So, on to the pasta. I prepared these according to the package directions and then put them into a chicken pasta casserole. They were soft and tender but not breaking down like the DeBoles product. I found that I prefer these noodles to traditional noodles baked into a pasta. They were full of flavor and the texture was great. Five stars!!!
Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (shells)
I bought these "by accident" at Whole Foods on my first gluten free trip. I say by accident, because I wasn't even looking for quinoa at the time but I'm glad I got them. I can't remember the cost, but I don't think they were cheap. You may need to find this one on sale. I am really liking using GF pastas inside of dishes. I find they are far superior to traditional noodles in casseroles and now in soups as well. I used these in my old fashioned chicken noodle soup and it was restaurant worthy - maybe better. They were slightly firmer in texture which worked really well with the soup and they had a beautiful golden color. The taste was delicious and we're all really excited about having quinoa on our plates later this week. I would use quinoa shells in my soups instead of regular noodles even if we weren't going gluten free! Five stars!!!
Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti
This is my last taste-test on the GF pastas. Trader Joe's really knows what they're doing. For $1.99, we got a whole pound of delicious pasta that fed my whole family, plus allowed seconds for Baxter to take to work. When compared to the price of the other pastas I've tried, it's a no-brainer. The taste and texture were just about as perfect as the price. I prepared it and served it with some gluten free meatballs and a jar of our favorite marinara sauce. The meatball recipe came from Elizabeth Hasselbeck's book The G-Free Diet and were quite tasty and easy to prepare. Our family loved this meal and we felt like we were having good ole comfort food, without the gluten. 10 stars!!!
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