Simple swaps for gluten free staples from Kirsty, our content manager who last year was diagnosed with coeliac disease. If you’ve been missing some of your old store cupboard essentials, try this handy list of swaps to help you mix up your menu without breaking the bank.
Tortilla wraps – taco shells
Tortilla wraps are a great cupboard staple for fajitas, enchiladas or a sandwich wrap… unless you can’t eat gluten! There are gluten free alternatives, but these tend to be more expensive, smaller, and don’t always hit the spot. An alternative which is not more expensive and still tastes great, although the texture is of course very different, is Corn Tacos! Taco shells can be used to hold your usual fajita filling or be baked in the oven like enchiladas. They also are great for a picnic snack with hummus, coleslaw, cold meat, cheese, sandwich filling etc. Just remember to bring a spoon and make them up on the spot so they don’t become soggy.
‘Free From’ brand – shops own
It is easy to rely on the free from aisle to find things such as jars of sauce, cakes, soups, pasta, rice etc. And while all these things are suitable, they also tend to be more expensive.
For instance, Asda’s ‘Free From White Lasagne Sauce’ is free from gluten, egg and milk and costs £1.35. However, the own brand ‘ASDA White Lasagne Sauce’ is also gluten free but only costs 64p- that’s less than half the price! Of course, if you need to avoid both gluten and milk, this example doesn’t apply to you, but there may be others which do, such as a tomato sauce, pesto, or soup!
Worcestershire sauce – Henderson’s relish
Worcestershire sauce is one of those ingredients where you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone. Often supermarkets will stock a free from version but it can be a small bottle and not quite as strong a flavour, so I have burned through these bottles fairly quickly. Until, that is, I discovered Henderson’s relish, a Sheffield staple with many celebrity fans. It is not only tasty, but gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, and contains none of the 14 major allergens!
Egg noodles – rice noodles
Again, a simple swap with a slightly different texture, but which works perfectly across almost all recipes. Stir frys, chow mein, side dishes, all work well with rice noodles instead of egg noodles. They can be bought dried, simply steeped in hot water to cook, or fresh in the stirfry section of the supermarket. Simple, and no more expensive than the eggy original. Check out our recipe for super duper noodles to find out how to use them.
Wheat flour – cornflour
While you can buy a gluten free plain flour easily in most supermarkets, usually a blend of rice, maize, and other GF flours, it is good to have a box of cornflour in reserves. Some recipes work better with the lighter corn flour, such as pancakes and Yorkshire puddings, or sauce thickening.
Do you have any super swaps for a gluten free diet? Leave them in the comments below
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