Gluten free Christmas

[greyinganddecaying]

Where's the best place to buy food/treats for Christmas when catering for someone gluten free (coeliac)?

I now have 2 family members who are gluten free so would like to make as much gf as possible.

I guess the obvious things I'm thinking of are Christmas pudding/cake, other cakes and treats, stuffing, sausages etc - anything else?

M&S do good GF food. A lot of their Christmas range (gravy, stuffing, sausages etc) are GF. They also usually have a good range of GF treats/puddings etc, including Christmas puddings and Christmas cakes.

M&S gluten free Xmas cake is always good. Tesco and M&S do good gf Yule logs. Be careful with any sauces or gravy. I think Heroes are the only safe tin of sweets (can’t have the dinky deckers but everything else in the tin is fine).

Booths do a good range of gluten free
They have an online catalogue but not sure about delivery

It's easy to do the main Xmas dinner gluten free, if you make your own gravy using cornflour it should be fine. It would be a good idea to buy new packets of ingredients like cornflour as someone may have used a contaminated spoon in the packet. Likewise, be careful of butter with breadcrumbs stuck in!

I found a local caterer to make me GF Christmas cake and mince pies one year. Don't bother making your own GF pastry, it's really difficult.

M and s and tesco do great ranges.
Dc loves tesco pigs in blankets.
Also check out standard range as often can be naturally gf eg tesco stock cubes.
Consider buying early and freezing because there is less product and not the range - I tend to get everything I need by end of November.

I get most things from tesco eg stuffing, turkey etc but m&s often do party food type things that are gf that we will have as part of a buffet. DH makes gf Yorkshires for everyone. I think Bisto Best gravy is gf Cocktail sausages used to be hard to come by but Heck have started making some so gonna try those this year.

Sainsbury's have got a load of their Christmas food out. Got some lebkuchen and mince pies

Also Cadbury's Roses are gf

Check everything... it can be in completely random items.

Ask your family members if they have preferences for bread etc.

M&S pork pies are quite nice apparently.

M&S all the way! Bisto best is GF if you don't fancy making your own gravy. Yorkshire puds (if part of your Christmas dinner) are easy to make with cornflour.

I'm GF.

I usually find Aldi has a great range in the run up to Christmas. It's good quality too.

I have been gluten-free for about 5 years.

I have M&S Christmas cake and mince pies, though Tesco's are nice too. I think they are ridiculously expensive though.

I really miss Stollen and haven't found a replacement.

I make Leith's GF pastry for our main course.
Rose Elliot's Mushroom en croute
It's not as pretty as the GF version for my wife and our guests but tastes just as good.

Gravy is always made with GF plain flour, I don't like cornflour in gravy.

I buy frozen Yorkshire puddings.

If anyone has any suggestions for extra nice GF fir Christmas please share

Sainsburys Christmas cake bites are lovely, they do a bigger one too.

Last year lidl did dark choc coated marzipan mini bars that was amazing!

I buy Bisto best gravy, frozen Yorkshires. Usually the supermarkets finest ranges such as sausages, stuffing tend to be gluten free.

My advice is buy as soon as you see it, it sells out fast.

Sainsburys do nice gingerbread men and their chocolate chip cookies are the best! (I love a biscuit with my tea in the morning!)

Bread - my preference is Warburtons but I would ask them. They square rolls are great for leftovers sarnies. And the brioche ones are nice for a sausage or bacon sandwich!

M&S do some free from truffles that are absolutely divine, I got some as a gift but haven't had them since (going to buy some for Christmas!)

(I'm also dairy free so these suggestions would also work for that too)

Oh and genius do lovely apple pies in the freezer section, cooked then served with ice cream is lovely! And they come in packs of 2, so your GF guests could have those and do regular one for others.

I buy the jus rol pastry to make sausage rolls and pasties.

You can get some lovely crackers GF for a cheese board that are individually wrapped in portions. I like the nairns brand ones, particularly the rosemary and sea salt flatbread.

Asda have a very large and affordable free from section. I dont get there that often as I dont drive but I always stock up when I do!

GF gravy almost good as bistro and easy make. Auntie Bessie range do stuffing mixture and few other bits. Better buy stuff you have to put in 5-10min effort with than risk not having any by trying buy fresh closer to the time.

Lots of things are GF that are not marketed as GF.
I don’t eat much gluten, there’s no gluten in my Christmas diner (I don’t do bread sauce and I don’t use flower to thicken gravy), desert is usually a pavlova/roulade. Lots of supermarkets do gluten free Christmas puddings and Christmas cake.

M&S is great for gluten free, and their gluten free flour can be used just as normal flour. Tescos does a free from sage and onion stuffing packet mix, if you don't want to make your own. M&S pigs in blankets are gluten free.

I know you didn’t ask for recipes but just in case anything here takes your fancy or helps you think about what you will already be making that is gf

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/gluten-free-christmas-recipes/

Be careful with Bisto Best. The glass jar used to be fine but the beef one is a may contain now.

Coop so nice frozen cocktail sausages. Tesco, Asda, Marks and Sainsburys largely have all the trimming gf in their main ranges so no need to buy special ones. Party food can involve trips to multiple shops as each usually has one or two things only in their main ranges. A number of marks special desserts tend to be gf but aren’t marked as such in the catalogue so it’s a case of checking the ingredients.

I echo what someone said above re spreads. Please don’t give coeliacs butter from an already used tub. The chances of cross contamination are high. If you’re making your own Yorkies then look for Becky Excell’s recipe. Easy and they always rise!

Most excited to find Christmas kitkats out today. - tho normal kitkats are not gluten free the small Santa shaped kitkats are.
Costa coffee do a gluten free mince pie that’s lovely - I often bring some home for a pudding.
Gf blogger is an excellent Instagram to follow as her recipes are easy and taste great.
You can also buy frozen gf Yorkshire puddings which are fabulous

Quick to from me... if you making your own sausage rolls or anything using ready made G F pastry, freeze them uncooked and cook them as you need them, otherwise the pastry goes hard very quickly

I really like the Gary Rhodes Ultimate Roast dinner bundles, it's 3 different gf stuffing mixes and a bread sauce. Tried it for the first time last year and I'll get it again this year. Went down well with everyone.

Marks & Spencer are very good for nibbly bits and party food.

Another tip is to watch out re pickles! We love to have a variety at Christmas, red cabbage, gherkins, pickled onions etc but not all are GF. Why gluten would be needed to make pickle I have no idea, but do check labels

I really miss Stollen and haven't found a replacement.

Me too, I made the Dove farm one which was nice, but much easier to pick one up off the shelf!