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Home Β» Gluten-Free Diet Tips Β» Variety in a Gluten-Free Diet

July 16, 2018 (last updated November 29, 2021)

Variety in a Gluten-Free Diet

Before I was gluten-free, going out to eat meant a chance to try out new and interesting cuisines. But let’s face it, eating out when you’re on a strict gluten-free diet can be complicated and sometimes pretty boring. I find myself ordering everything plain, for fear that the sauce or flavoring is not gluten-free. Cooking more at home was my solution for eating more interesting food. So here are some easy tips for bringing variety in a gluten-free diet.

5 glass jars with rice, quinoa, millet grain and teff flour on white kitchen counter with white tile backsplash. Plant in white pot on right.

It can be difficult cooking for yourself on a gluten free diet – a lot of my clients say they get stuck in a rut, making the same things every week. In addition, nutritionally, many gluten-free foods are rice-based so it’s important to branch out to use other grains. Here are some tips for bringing more variety in a gluten-free diet. I believe in simple, easy ways to get flavor into my food so these tips will not complicate your life, I promise!

Easy Gluten-Free Sauces

overhead view of glass bowl with yogurt sauce and glass bowl with pesto. fresh mint sprig below on dark wood background
Photo by Viktor Budnik

Use mayonnaise, plain yogurt, coconut milk or a combination of them as a base for a creamy sauce. Then add ingredients like fresh ginger, garlic, citrus zest and fresh chopped herbs. This is a fast easy way to turn plain steamed veggies, rice or quinoa into something more interesting.

Traditional basil pesto is easy to find ready-made. But pesto can be made with any herbs or nuts. A few options:

  • fresh cilantro with garlic, pumpkin seeds, lime, cumin and oil
  • mint, garlic, lemon and sunflower seeds and oil
  • parsley, garlic, pistachios, orange zest and oil

Grind the garlic and nuts seeds first in the blender or food processor, then add everything else. Balance with some salt and a hint of sweet. This gives you a versatile pesto that goes well with chicken, fish, veggies, beef, rice or quinoa. Mix it with yogurt, mayo, hummus or mashed avocado to make a dip or sandwich spread.

Here is my recipe for cilantro-lemon pesto and my full list of easy gluten-free sauces

Experiment with different types of gluten-free flour

overhead view of square white bowls with teff flour, sorghum flour, mesquite flour, millet flour. Weathered blue painted wood background.

Rice flour is generally the standard for gluten-free flour blends. Mixing up your own blend with other flours like sorghum, millet, teff or oat can yield delicious cakes and breads and is much less expensive than buying a store-bought. Check out my blog post on how to make your own gluten-free flour mix and my blog post Gluten-Free Diet: Beyond Rice.

Look for store-bought products that are not rice-based

There are several gluten-free pastas that are made with quinoa and corn. A favorite of my clients’ is La Veneziane pasta from Italy.

My favorite tortillas are from BFree Foods. Their sweet potato wrap is yummy, pliable (most gluten-free tortillas crack when you fold them) and has several different types of flour in the ingredients.

Siete Foods makes gluten-free tortillas and several other products that are not just gluten-free but grain-free, so no rice. They use almond, cassava, cashew and chickpea flours.

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