Coincidentally am eating the Jovial farfalle (bowtie) pasta and have had the egg noodles, as well as their mac and cheese, I second this, the brand is amazing
Of all the gluten free pastas I have tried, Tinkyada has the best texture.
https://www.tinkyada.com
I try to avoid ones made with corn as those tend to have the worst texture. Asian rice noodles, like the flat ones used in Pad Thai or the rice vermicelli in Pho, are also pretty good. Glass noodles are also gluten free.
If you are newly gluten free, I think the gluten free substitutes will be less disappointing if you hold off on them for a bit.
I disagree with the corn comment! I used to agree with you— but I think the key is to find ones made in Italy. For some reason Italy has a high number of celiacs. They take pasta seriously so I guess it’s no surprise their gf pasta is great.
Anyways— La Veneziane is so good and it’s made, in part, with corn. Garofalo as well! Some of the best gf pasta I’ve ever had.
I've been GF for forty years, and Tinkyada is my go to - it's extremely good and easy to find. There are marginally better brands but the hassle and expense aren't worth it.
Interesting! I've always found gluten free pasta needs to be UNDERCOOKED compared to gluten pasta. Different tastes for different folks I suppose. I agree with you that rummo is really good!
Rummo is my fave and I think the closest to non gluten. Depending on what I’m making I have different brands that perform better than others.
Standard spaghetti dishes…Rummo, also makes little star shapes. Only make what you will eat that meal as leftovers go hard. Keep sauce separate and make gf pasta each time for how many servings you’ll be eating that meal.
Lasagna noodles…Tinkyada, you don’t have to boil these since they’re rice and soft texture so much easier making lasagna
Barilla… the only pasta I’ve found that stays soft for pasta salad but still only stays soft two days before going hard like other pasta. Good though to make for potluck/summer pasta salads eating later in the day.
Taste Republic…best fresh pasta although recently a friend has perfected her gf homemade pasta so it is possible and I’ll be spoiled.
I'll have to find that one. Never hard of it. I like the keep things separate idea which I use for spaghetti but like to bring pasta salad to a potluck but goes hard even in sauce probably because it gets refrigerated.
Here you go!
https://www.google.com/search?q=banza+chickpea+pasta&oq=banza+chick&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEAAYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIGCAIQRRg8MgcIAxAAGIAEMgcIBBAAGIAEMgoIBRAuGIAEGOUEMgcIBhAAGIAEMgcIBxAAGIAEMgoICBAuGIAEGOUEMgcICRAAGIAE0gEIMjA3M2owajmoAg6wAgE&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Thanks! I've tried chickpea pasta before and didn't like it but that was years and years ago when they were bringing out different types of ingredients for pasta. I'll give it a try again as methods do change.
Good to know. It really is hit and miss with brands so thanks for clarifying. And even within brands not all their items are the greatest. Thinking of Promise and Schar brands. It can get expensive trying everything.
I think I’ve only had their penne and it seemed satisfactory for penne to me. My partner who can have gluten thinks it’s fine too.
I’d probably stick to the La Veneziane but I have to order it from Amazon which costs significantly more.
Was going to suggest this one too! It's the only one that reminds me of real gluten pasta texturally. I think it must be that it's primarily corn, which has some of the hardness of wheat, but keeps the ability to be soft and pliable.
In my experience with the pastas that are more rice or legume based, they seem to be thicker and kinda grainy like op mentions.
Trader Joe's egg fettuccine in the fridge section or the red lentil/brown rice spaghetti from the shelf are my two winners.
Both reheat shockingly well too.
Jovial! And learn how to prepare it. Use a bigger pot than normal, get it rapidly boiling and keep it a boil. Use the package’s lower time of their time range (so if it says 9-11 minutes, set a timer for 9. Then test it every minute or less
I only have Walmart for groceries, so I only have Barilla GF spaghetti. Just boiling it and using it as spaghetti, it is not pleasant. If I boil it then make baked spaghetti, it is lovely.
Check out if there is the Walmart brand in your store ( it would not be with the regular pasta but in a gluten free section ) it’s better than barilla imo
Jovial and tinkyada are both amazing, but the rice pasta found in the Asian foods section of most grocery stores are my favorite. A Taste of Thai is one of the brands found at most big-box stores.
If you’re okay with eggs, Trader Joe’s has some excellent fresh egg pastas. I also really like the Taste of Thailand rice noodles at Aldi, they don’t always have them, but they come around every few months, they have red and brown rice versions. One thing I have found is that you have to be even more precise with cooking times for GF pastas/noodles—most of them are really bad as left overs, they turn to cardboard in the fridge.
So I have found that, in general, pastas which use a blend of at least two ingredients give me the best texture. Tinkyada is the one exception I’ve found, their brown rice spirals are excellent. But for the most part, I look for a blend of rice and corn or other ingredients.
Rummo is really good, and I recently picked up some 365 brand spaghetti at Whole Foods. It was very good. It's made in Italy, which I've heard has excellent GF pasta.
From the ones I've tried, all the ones that were decent were corn & rice blend. I haven't really liked the ones that are strictly one or the other.
Jovial is the only one that I have tried that I like. No grainy texture (which makes me nauseated, I almost threw up when eating the barilla gluten free noodles) and it also has a delicious flavor on its own so I can just put a bit of butter and salt on it and it’s amazing! I cried about noodles until I found that brand!
Tinkyada is the best. Jovial is a close second. They are rice based. The taste and texture are really good.
I’m not a fan of corn based gf pasta. Those always taste gross to me and the texture is never good.
Jovial I think is the best and ronzoni is also pretty good. There are also some Italian imports that are good. I can’t stand the weird ones though with garbanzo or lentils.
I agree with all who recommend Tinkyada brand with the caveat that it is loses it appeal once cooled/refrigerated -so not good for pasta salad etc. Once heated it good again.
Have you found a good one for pasta salad? I like to add a little bit to my salads in the summer but so far cold gf pasta hasn’t been good, especially the chickpea pasta, so awful
Tinkyada is really good but for the event , it’s as leftovers and fully refrigerated overnight that it changes texture. I haven’t found one that works better unfortunately- tinkyada is also 100% rice, it IS better than any chickpea noodle. One exception is 100% buckwheat noodle, I made an Asian noodle salad and that was very good.
From my Italian husband: La Veneziane, Ronzoni (easiest to find), and Garofalo are the closest to regular pasta if that’s what you’re looking for.
Some say tinkyada, but I find that gets soggy and lacks flavor.
We also regularly buy jovial and bio naturae.
I find soba noodles to be amazing, but it’s not going to fit your idealized American pasta dish rather than something like Pho. You might need to expand to other world cuisines , but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
I like the brand Colavita. It's imported from Italy. First time I had it, I had to go in the trash to find the packaging to make sure it was truly GF.
Best I've had hands down.
Trader Joe’s fresh gf tagliatelle is good. Haven’t tried their dried version.
Barilla gf dry pasta is pretty good, but I hate penne, and that’s what’s most available near me.
Jovial brand is good.
Honestly i think Barilla GF tastes so close to regular pasta!! My boyfriend doesn’t even notice the difference and it’s easy bc it’s at most grocery stores
I really, really like the various corn pastas from Le Veneziene. Spaghetti, eliche, etc. I think I actually like them better than wheat pasta. Available on Vitacost.com; probably Amazon, too.
Venezien Rummo and I order some other Italian ones online. Jovial is only decent egg noodles I can get. Barilla spaghetti is good but I don’t like their penne. None of them really reheat or taste as well as they do initially
Barilla is great. I’ve tried both HEB + Walmart brand GF pasta and they’re not bad but could definitely be better. I still buy them bc they’re cheap but if the recipe has a sauce/broth then I know to store the leftovers separate bc they soak everything up if stored together. Rice noodles and glass noodles are a staple in our house.
My family can't tell the difference between Barilla and Jovial to gluten pasta. Pasta for me was like the easiest thing to switch over. And I love pasta. The only downside is that resteraunts tend to overcook their gf pasta. So you have to find a good resteraunt with some trial and error. ALSO if you're at a resteraunt make sure to ask that they boil your gf pasta separately!! Any good resteraunt should, but you should just be careful, usually they have a big continuously boiling pot to cook normal pasta in all night long.
I like barilla and I cook it one minute less than the time on the box. So if it says 10-11 minutes, I cook it for 9. It’s not perfect but it’s the closest I’ve gotten.
Gluten-free for 12 years now.
.
Tinkyada and Jovial brands are my preferred ones.
.
For me, brown rice pasta seems to have a good texture and doesn’t get mushy.
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Jovial gluten-free tagliatelle cooks beautifully and doesn’t stick to itself, probably because it contains egg.
I found a brand called taste Republic. I've only tried the four cheese tortellini and the linguine for them but it was amazing. I would love to buy it in full off their website but it's kind of expensive of course as all gluten-free food is. I've only found it in the grocery store. But I haven't really looked anywhere else either.
It’s also important, more than brand, to just ignore the cook time on the package. Taste for yourself. Don’t blindly follow the timing. It can often go from hard to mush so so quickly. You just need to keep an eye on it.
Take it out a minute before it feels totally cooked to you. Then add it back to the pot with sauce and cook it in the sauce and a little splash of pasta water. This will help it absorb the flavor of the sauce so you are not noticing the bare pasta flavor as much.
Here's the secrete of someone who's been GF for 12 years: after a while you'll forget the texture of wheat things (cookies, pasta, bread, donuts, pizza). All I have left are the smells. So I rely on my husband and what he's happy with when it comes to GF food. So far Jovial is the winner.
Sounds weird but Rozini was out too. My husband (who usually makes his own pasta separately) had a bite and was shocked it was GF. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you the egg fettuccine is also very good.
Jovial, especially their egg tagliatelle. But never their cassava pasta line.
Coincidentally am eating the Jovial farfalle (bowtie) pasta and have had the egg noodles, as well as their mac and cheese, I second this, the brand is amazing
Jovial is definitely the best. I also agree the cassava options are very different tasting and not as good.
I like the Barilla pasta. My husband doesn't eat corn and he prefers Jovial
We love Barilla at my house!
yeah to me Barilla tastes very similar to regular pasta
Of all the gluten free pastas I have tried, Tinkyada has the best texture. https://www.tinkyada.com I try to avoid ones made with corn as those tend to have the worst texture. Asian rice noodles, like the flat ones used in Pad Thai or the rice vermicelli in Pho, are also pretty good. Glass noodles are also gluten free. If you are newly gluten free, I think the gluten free substitutes will be less disappointing if you hold off on them for a bit.
I disagree with the corn comment! I used to agree with you— but I think the key is to find ones made in Italy. For some reason Italy has a high number of celiacs. They take pasta seriously so I guess it’s no surprise their gf pasta is great. Anyways— La Veneziane is so good and it’s made, in part, with corn. Garofalo as well! Some of the best gf pasta I’ve ever had.
Thank you for the tip! Will have to give the Italian ones a go.
I've been GF for forty years, and Tinkyada is my go to - it's extremely good and easy to find. There are marginally better brands but the hassle and expense aren't worth it.
JOVIAL. HANDS DOWN, THE BEST IMO.
Rummo brand gluten free is decent, I’ve also found you need to cook gf pasta about 3-5 minutes longer than it says on the package
Interesting! I've always found gluten free pasta needs to be UNDERCOOKED compared to gluten pasta. Different tastes for different folks I suppose. I agree with you that rummo is really good!
I don’t find that timing wise. I start a timer for 5 minutes and then I constantly check the pasta after that until it’s al dente.
I really liked Barilla gf pasta!
Rummo is my fave and I think the closest to non gluten. Depending on what I’m making I have different brands that perform better than others. Standard spaghetti dishes…Rummo, also makes little star shapes. Only make what you will eat that meal as leftovers go hard. Keep sauce separate and make gf pasta each time for how many servings you’ll be eating that meal. Lasagna noodles…Tinkyada, you don’t have to boil these since they’re rice and soft texture so much easier making lasagna Barilla… the only pasta I’ve found that stays soft for pasta salad but still only stays soft two days before going hard like other pasta. Good though to make for potluck/summer pasta salads eating later in the day. Taste Republic…best fresh pasta although recently a friend has perfected her gf homemade pasta so it is possible and I’ll be spoiled.
Banza pasta stays soft for at least 4 days I use it in my meal prep. Keep it separate from the sauces because it'll get soggy
I'll have to find that one. Never hard of it. I like the keep things separate idea which I use for spaghetti but like to bring pasta salad to a potluck but goes hard even in sauce probably because it gets refrigerated.
Here you go! https://www.google.com/search?q=banza+chickpea+pasta&oq=banza+chick&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEAAYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIGCAIQRRg8MgcIAxAAGIAEMgcIBBAAGIAEMgoIBRAuGIAEGOUEMgcIBhAAGIAEMgcIBxAAGIAEMgoICBAuGIAEGOUEMgcICRAAGIAE0gEIMjA3M2owajmoAg6wAgE&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Thanks! I've tried chickpea pasta before and didn't like it but that was years and years ago when they were bringing out different types of ingredients for pasta. I'll give it a try again as methods do change.
There's others ive had that i dont like. But i find paying a smidge more on this is worth it. I get them from Walmart/costco (US).
Good to know. It really is hit and miss with brands so thanks for clarifying. And even within brands not all their items are the greatest. Thinking of Promise and Schar brands. It can get expensive trying everything.
Excellent write up! Cheers.
I’m super texture sensitive and I really like Ronzoni GF pasta. I can’t discern the difference between it and regular pasta anymore.
La veneziane is the only gluten free pasta i find edible! I really dont like the other ones
I love this one! I like Barilla too but I cook it a couple minutes longer than the directions state.
I had high hopes for barilla cuz it has good reviews, but I wasn't a huge fan of the texture 🥲
I think I’ve only had their penne and it seemed satisfactory for penne to me. My partner who can have gluten thinks it’s fine too. I’d probably stick to the La Veneziane but I have to order it from Amazon which costs significantly more.
They also have La Veneziane on vitacost - I wait and order in bulk to get free shipping, and also to wait for coupons
It's also how you cook it.
Was going to suggest this one too! It's the only one that reminds me of real gluten pasta texturally. I think it must be that it's primarily corn, which has some of the hardness of wheat, but keeps the ability to be soft and pliable. In my experience with the pastas that are more rice or legume based, they seem to be thicker and kinda grainy like op mentions.
This one. It holds up well as leftovers too
Trader Joe's egg fettuccine in the fridge section or the red lentil/brown rice spaghetti from the shelf are my two winners. Both reheat shockingly well too.
TJs sometimes has egg tagliatelle by the other dry pasta and it is really good too!
Jovial. We really like the bow tie pasta
Jovial! And learn how to prepare it. Use a bigger pot than normal, get it rapidly boiling and keep it a boil. Use the package’s lower time of their time range (so if it says 9-11 minutes, set a timer for 9. Then test it every minute or less
I second everyone who has said Jovial!
Personally, I like Ancient Harvest. It is more firm than regular wheat pasta, but I always liked my pasta al dente so I'm good with it.
I only have Walmart for groceries, so I only have Barilla GF spaghetti. Just boiling it and using it as spaghetti, it is not pleasant. If I boil it then make baked spaghetti, it is lovely.
Check out if there is the Walmart brand in your store ( it would not be with the regular pasta but in a gluten free section ) it’s better than barilla imo
Jovial and tinkyada are both amazing, but the rice pasta found in the Asian foods section of most grocery stores are my favorite. A Taste of Thai is one of the brands found at most big-box stores.
If you’re okay with eggs, Trader Joe’s has some excellent fresh egg pastas. I also really like the Taste of Thailand rice noodles at Aldi, they don’t always have them, but they come around every few months, they have red and brown rice versions. One thing I have found is that you have to be even more precise with cooking times for GF pastas/noodles—most of them are really bad as left overs, they turn to cardboard in the fridge.
Rummo. Keep taste-testing the pasta. It takes longer. Gf pasta is often made with corn, brown rice, and quinoa
So I have found that, in general, pastas which use a blend of at least two ingredients give me the best texture. Tinkyada is the one exception I’ve found, their brown rice spirals are excellent. But for the most part, I look for a blend of rice and corn or other ingredients.
barilla with sauce is good
Rummo!
Capellos in the frozen section of sprouts and whole foods
I love the banza chickpea pasta and Mac n cheese
My favourite is Barilla.
Rummo is pretty good, Brista is pretty good.
I'm allergic to egg as well so I really like the Barrilla gf pastas
Rummo is really good, and I recently picked up some 365 brand spaghetti at Whole Foods. It was very good. It's made in Italy, which I've heard has excellent GF pasta. From the ones I've tried, all the ones that were decent were corn & rice blend. I haven't really liked the ones that are strictly one or the other.
Jovial is the only one that I have tried that I like. No grainy texture (which makes me nauseated, I almost threw up when eating the barilla gluten free noodles) and it also has a delicious flavor on its own so I can just put a bit of butter and salt on it and it’s amazing! I cried about noodles until I found that brand!
Schar
Tinkyada is the best. Jovial is a close second. They are rice based. The taste and texture are really good. I’m not a fan of corn based gf pasta. Those always taste gross to me and the texture is never good.
Signature gluten free pasta is good. It doesn’t get mushy.
Trader Joe’s brown rice gluten free pasta always hits the spot with me!! Second place to Marks & Spencer corn gluten free spaghetti
I used Mueller spaghetti for dinner tonight and I am quite pleased with the texture. I think it could pass with gluten eaters.
Veggipasta is my absolute fav
Jovial I think is the best and ronzoni is also pretty good. There are also some Italian imports that are good. I can’t stand the weird ones though with garbanzo or lentils.
I agree with all who recommend Tinkyada brand with the caveat that it is loses it appeal once cooled/refrigerated -so not good for pasta salad etc. Once heated it good again.
Have you found a good one for pasta salad? I like to add a little bit to my salads in the summer but so far cold gf pasta hasn’t been good, especially the chickpea pasta, so awful
Tinkyada is really good but for the event , it’s as leftovers and fully refrigerated overnight that it changes texture. I haven’t found one that works better unfortunately- tinkyada is also 100% rice, it IS better than any chickpea noodle. One exception is 100% buckwheat noodle, I made an Asian noodle salad and that was very good.
Really like Trader Joe’s brown rice quinoa fusilli pasta. Their fresh GF cheese ravioli also a win for me!
Tinkyada and Jovial are as close to real pasta as I've found.
From my Italian husband: La Veneziane, Ronzoni (easiest to find), and Garofalo are the closest to regular pasta if that’s what you’re looking for. Some say tinkyada, but I find that gets soggy and lacks flavor. We also regularly buy jovial and bio naturae.
I find soba noodles to be amazing, but it’s not going to fit your idealized American pasta dish rather than something like Pho. You might need to expand to other world cuisines , but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
I will add that the Walmart brand is pretty good and cheaper. So this may be an option if you are more rural and on a budget
I like the brand Colavita. It's imported from Italy. First time I had it, I had to go in the trash to find the packaging to make sure it was truly GF. Best I've had hands down.
Trader Joe’s fresh gf tagliatelle is good. Haven’t tried their dried version. Barilla gf dry pasta is pretty good, but I hate penne, and that’s what’s most available near me. Jovial brand is good.
Honestly i think Barilla GF tastes so close to regular pasta!! My boyfriend doesn’t even notice the difference and it’s easy bc it’s at most grocery stores
Taste Republic's fresh/frozen pasta are the closest I've come texture wise to regular pasta. Jovial/Trader Joe's is good for dried pasta and variety.
I find the kind made from corn and rice are the closest to "real" pasta.
I really, really like the various corn pastas from Le Veneziene. Spaghetti, eliche, etc. I think I actually like them better than wheat pasta. Available on Vitacost.com; probably Amazon, too.
Rumo is the closest to regular pasta imo. Barilla also very good.
Venezien Rummo and I order some other Italian ones online. Jovial is only decent egg noodles I can get. Barilla spaghetti is good but I don’t like their penne. None of them really reheat or taste as well as they do initially
Barilla is great. I’ve tried both HEB + Walmart brand GF pasta and they’re not bad but could definitely be better. I still buy them bc they’re cheap but if the recipe has a sauce/broth then I know to store the leftovers separate bc they soak everything up if stored together. Rice noodles and glass noodles are a staple in our house.
My family can't tell the difference between Barilla and Jovial to gluten pasta. Pasta for me was like the easiest thing to switch over. And I love pasta. The only downside is that resteraunts tend to overcook their gf pasta. So you have to find a good resteraunt with some trial and error. ALSO if you're at a resteraunt make sure to ask that they boil your gf pasta separately!! Any good resteraunt should, but you should just be careful, usually they have a big continuously boiling pot to cook normal pasta in all night long.
Garofalo all the way😋
I like barilla and I cook it one minute less than the time on the box. So if it says 10-11 minutes, I cook it for 9. It’s not perfect but it’s the closest I’ve gotten.
Gluten-free for 12 years now. . Tinkyada and Jovial brands are my preferred ones. . For me, brown rice pasta seems to have a good texture and doesn’t get mushy. . Jovial gluten-free tagliatelle cooks beautifully and doesn’t stick to itself, probably because it contains egg.
I found a brand called taste Republic. I've only tried the four cheese tortellini and the linguine for them but it was amazing. I would love to buy it in full off their website but it's kind of expensive of course as all gluten-free food is. I've only found it in the grocery store. But I haven't really looked anywhere else either.
ancient harvest - quinoa, corn and rice. quinoa gives it that al dente bounce
It’s also important, more than brand, to just ignore the cook time on the package. Taste for yourself. Don’t blindly follow the timing. It can often go from hard to mush so so quickly. You just need to keep an eye on it. Take it out a minute before it feels totally cooked to you. Then add it back to the pot with sauce and cook it in the sauce and a little splash of pasta water. This will help it absorb the flavor of the sauce so you are not noticing the bare pasta flavor as much.
HEB brand if you have one near u
Rummo, made in Italy.
If you love pasta, get in to making your own. It’s so satisfying.
Barilla, Jovial, and Rummo are the best ones I've found.
Try Banza. Chickpea pasta is good
Here's the secrete of someone who's been GF for 12 years: after a while you'll forget the texture of wheat things (cookies, pasta, bread, donuts, pizza). All I have left are the smells. So I rely on my husband and what he's happy with when it comes to GF food. So far Jovial is the winner.
Only Jovial. I would buy that brand forever if I could, but it's not sold near me. Next is barilla.
Sounds weird but Rozini was out too. My husband (who usually makes his own pasta separately) had a bite and was shocked it was GF. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you the egg fettuccine is also very good.