Need help with quick gluten free meals

[Jollyhungry]

Since my daughter I was diagnosed with coeliac disease I really struggle with quick family meals. They can have potatoes or rice but no pasta, noodles or bread. I could cook her pasta separately but I prefer to keep everything gluten free.

I'm really stuck in a rut with only a handful of dishes. What do people cook?

Have a look at Becky Excell on instagram. All gluten free and on a budget

I was going to say Risotto but that's not quick.
I've been GF for years and am so used to cooking two different meals, drives me nuts.

In my house pasta is g/f pasta, no one seems to notice :-)

Yes it's a nightmare isn't it! I also sometimes have fussy teens wanted something different or husband getting home late from work. Don't want to cook gf stuff as well! 😩

This microwave risotto is very quick - not the real thing, but good for a quick weekday meal.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/quick-tomato-risotto/amp

Omlette or jacket potato with sausages and beans?
There are some good gluten free pot noodles for super quick meals

Ah, mine don't like the gf pasta plus I have 4 kids so it could get very expensive!

My daughters gluten free. I just substitute what gluten were having for her gluten free option. Usuals for us are salmon and veg, curry, chilli, Stir fry we do GF pizza, pasta and fajitas all are pretty quick.

Rice noodles are quick with a stir fry and make a change from rice

Polenta you can get an instant version so takes 5 mins not 30 which is great

Buckwheat savoury crepes with ham and cheese

Spanish style omelette or frittata with potato, ham/chorizo and veg

We eat a lot of rice based meals, which works as I love rice. Curries, pilaus, bibimbap, egg fried rice, chilli, sushi bowls all work really well and are too much hands on effort. Rice noodles too (I tend to prefer rice sticks than vermicelli) are great in a variety of noodle dishes, though not always a perfect substitute. Asian (I rate the Kikkoman tamari sauce) and Mexican (especially if you can get your hands on or make proper corn tortillas - most supermarket ones here also have wheat) foods are popular here, as they are often delicious and gluten free in their own right, rather than feeling second best.

How quick is quick?

Baked potatoes
Baked risotto (bbc have some good recipes online)
Gnocchi - this recipe is fab www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chorizo-mozzarella-gnocchi-bake/amp

Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good ides to try out!

I know it's a daft question but how do you cook rice noodles? Some packets say to just soak in boiling water but I never find they're cooked through.

Depends on the type of rice noodle. For rice vermicelli, soaking in water is usually enough for me but you could boil it for 30 second increments and see if that brings it to your liking. They are so thin that they will overcook very quickly though so I’d test it often. For rice sticks (the wide flat noodles like in a pad Thai) it really depends on the brand and thickness. The last ones I had took a good six minutes to cook, but my current ones are closer to three minutes. I find the rice sticks are more forgiving of cook time, and more versatile than vermicelli, as they have more texture than vermicelli.

I like to do a stir fry & then dump a pack of ready cooked rice into it. Aldi and Tesco have nice flavored ones that are cheap. Needs to be properly seasoned to prevent it being bland.

I've seen wraps come on the market (Promise brand) which would be good for snacks or meals. I've bought some but not used them yet. DONT buy the Old El Paso GF wraps, they're vile... it would be easy to make fajitas etc fillings and just sub in GF wraps for your daughter

Another vote for Becky Excell- I have her book but also online.

We’re there too! I cook

• Gluten free pasta: the Garufolo brand is the best I’ve found, especially the fusilloni.


• GF pizzas, we buy the Schar base and add our own toppings. (Most of the ready made GF pizzas taste gross.)


• Rice and potatoes with lots of salads and meat/fish


• Fajitas with corn wraps


• Most curries are GF


• most (not all!) chips are GF


• hash browns with eggs etc


• nut roasts

I don’t bother with the GF breads anymore, so expensive and they all suck (except to be fair the Warburtons tiger bread is v good).

Watch our for wheat being used as a bulking agent in foods it has no place in, eg sausages.

Also watch out for “gluten free” products that include “gluten free wheat starch / barley malt”, we react badly to that and from reviews I see do many other coeliacs. Some “GF” products are aimed at people who eat GF for lifestyle reasons, but aren’t intolerant to it, and some food manufacturers therefore include low levels of gluten which are legal but may still cause a severe reaction in coeliacs 😡

Good luck with it all

DH is GF and we do all eat GF pasta but once a week at most. Usual meals are curries, traybakes of seasoned roasted veg with chicken thighs/lamb chops, fajita filling with baked sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and sour cream, GF fish cakes (Sainsburys or Co Op ones are nice and taste no different), Aldi tempura chicken mini fillets are GF and taste no different. I always keep some individual GF pies in (DH likes the Higgidy ones), GF sausages (usually Sainsburys best chipolatas) and a bag of the Schar frozen bread rolls too so we can have burgers and I can just substitute his bread roll

We also eat a lot of rice. If we have pasta I cook GF for DH and normal for us because we prefer it.
I'm a big fan of traybakes. The Fajita chicken one with rice is a current favourite and really quick and easy.
I'm going to try this Nadiya's teriyaki chicken noodles tomorrow with rice vermicelli noodles.
Most supermarkets' sausages are GF now. If you want a quick meal Birds Eye potato waffles are GF. McCain Naked chips are the tastiest oven chips I've ever tried.
If they're on special offer I buy Pie Minister GF pies and serve just with veg. DH also likes Sainsburys and Morrisons GF fishcakes and M&S GF fish fingers.

Thanks again folks, some fab ideas 😊

try the sainsburys free from pastas. Also have 4 kids and Dh recently gluten free- I feel your pain!