Great Substitutes for a Gluten-Free Diet

Gluten free bread with almonds.

If you’re considering going gluten-free yourself, or perhaps you’ve got gluten-free guests joining your dinner party, then you may already feel concerned about the how easy it will be to find suitable substitutes that don’t compromise a dish.

However, remember there are lots of foods that are naturally gluten-free including meat, fish, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and fruit. You’ll also be pleased to know there are plenty more options out there.

With around 1 in 100 people in the UK being affected by coeliac disease, the availability of alternatives has increased to fulfil the demand. Whilst in previous years you may have had to head to speciality health food stores or source the products online, now, gluten-free products are more readily available in your local supermarkets.

At PenniBlack we're often asked to adapt our menus for specialist diets, and these are some of our firm favourites when it comes to supplementing gluten-based products.

Grains

Grains that include gluten are typically barley, wheat, rye, couscous, and semolina, so these are to be avoided.

Gluten-free grains include rice, quinoa, teff, amaranth, polenta, buckwheat, corn, millet, and tapioca. The most readily available will of course be rice, which is extremely versatile, and you can get quite creative with it as an ingredient.

Quinoa can also be found in most supermarkets. This tiny grain is one of the most nutrient rich foods you can eat, containing almost twice as much fibre as most other grains and contains all nine essential amino acids. It is a great substitute and can be used in salads, soups, and casseroles.

A bowl of Quinoa grain.

Alcohol

Half pint glass of ale.

Luckily, most alcohol is gluten-free such as wine, cider, port, spirits, sherry, and liqueurs so there isn’t much of a restriction in this area.

However, beer, larger, stout and ales all contain some gluten, but there is hope with an emerging UK market in gluten-free alternatives to investigate for cooking, such as 'Saucery Session IPA' from Magic Rock Brewing or 'Against the Grain' by Wold Top. Steak and Ale is back on the menu!

Flour

A bowl of flour with wooden spoon.

Incredibly, baked goods are also not off the menu of a gluten-free diet! You can use a range of gluten-free flour in baking as an alternative to wheat flour. These include coconut, rice, chickpea, tapioca, cassava, buckwheat (despite the name), and sorghum.

Coconut flour is a great replacement for white flour, the only downside is you will be able to taste a slight coconut flavour, so you may want to use it in baking where this can be complimented by the other ingredients.

Bread

A loaf of gluten-free bread sliced.

Yes, the crusty bread rolls you love to have with your soup is out the window. But all is not lost and if you don’t fancy baking your own with alternative flours, most supermarkets have a wide range of gluten-free bread to choose from. You may be spoilt for choice, so experiment until you find one that works for you.

Pasta

A spoon of uncooked buckwheat penne pasta.

Much like with bread, traditional pasta is off the menu, yet this needn’t be much of an issue with so many alternatives available to purchase.

Why not make your own with your choice of gluten-free flour? See 'How to Make Gluten-Free Pasta' by the Pasta Evangelists to give it a go for yourself.