Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes for 2010: My Faves

From cake to quinoa - my year's best gluten-free recipes

The annual ritual of creating top ten lists has commenced. Critics are choosing their top ten movies, editors have picked their Top Ten Books. Fashionistas have declared the year's best and worst trends of 2010 (jeggings- love 'em or hate 'em?). Do I dare leap into the scuffle and pluck ten gluten-free recipes as the year's best? And if so -- just how, exactly -- does one choose the golden top ten? The best of the best. Do I do as I did last year and let stats decide? (Might seem rather lazy, to repeat that process.) Or do I rely on my personal and often quirky preferences? (Could be controversial, especially if I was honest and chose peanut butter on ryeless rye bread toast as my number one.) Perhaps I should make a game of it and draw names from a hat. Randomness is appealing, in a way. (Though unsatisfying.)

I'll just do it.

I'll be bold. I'll be opinionated. I'll pick my g-free favorites from this year's recipes. Perhaps I need to define my criteria, though. How do you choose a favorite among the dozens you've created in a year? I'm proud of each recipe. After all, I enjoyed them enough to photograph them in all their gluten-free glory (unless, sadly, they were not photogenic, and that, Dear Reader, is a loss to the blog). And every recipe I shared passed the family taste test or they wouldn't stand a chance of appearing on Gluten-Free Goddess. You don't hear about the runner-ups, or the flat out failures that left your intrepid goddess weeping and gnashing her teeth. [Not really. I'm not the weeping kind. I swear like a character in Deadwood and take deadly aim at the trash bin.]

My criteria, then? Simple. A favorite recipe would be a recipe I'd make again. And share with company.

So with that in mind, away we go.

READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Top Ten Recipes on Gluten-Free Goddess®

Reader's faves: the top gluten-free recipes on Gluten-Free Goddess blog.

As the first decade of the new millennium chugs to a long slow finish like the spunky little engine that could, top ten lists are sprouting up everywhere. Top ten movies, top ten playlists. Which begs the burning question for celiac survivors. Hello! Where is our own gluten-free top ten list? Where is our shining and sparkly Top Ten Gluten-Free Goodness? It's a new year. A spanking new decade. Let's party.

So without further ado, here is my own humble contribution to the Best of the Best in the expanding gluten-free recipe universe.

READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Our Family's Top Ten Gluten-Free Products

Gluten-free baguettes made with Pamela's mix.

Our Family's Top Ten 

Gluten-Free Picks

*

These quickie reviews of our family's favorite gluten-free products are not sponsored by the manufacturers. I accepted no free samples, coupons, or other please-blog-about-us incentives. These picks are our personal, most often used favorites.

1. Pamela's Products Amazing Wheat Free & Gluten-free Bread Mixwith sorghum and millet flour is the best tasting gluten-free bread mix by far. Seriously. We've made it with eggs and without eggs. Both ways are delicious. We've even made killer rustic baguettes with Pamela's (pictured above). My son Alex has made it into cinnamon swirl bread, and pizza crust, with great success.

2. Next up: Gluten-Free Pasta. One of our family's favorite gluten-free pastas is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. It's far less starchy than your average rice pasta, and higher in protein. The spaghetti style has the bite of a good Italian linguine- perfect for those of you who prefer your pasta al dente.

For those unable to do corn, Tinkyada Pasta is also excellent. The Tinkyada Large Shells are perfect for stuffed shells (see my Gluten-Free Italian Baked Stuffed Shells recipe here). And the Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna makes light, delicious lasagna (I use the noodles uncooked- find my lasagna recipes here).

3. Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix in bulk is the best all-around all-purpose baking and pancake mix. Why? It features buttermilk and almond meal. Beginners can use Pamela's mix as a one-to-one sub for wheat flour in gluten-free baking.

For those who need a dairy-free gluten-free baking mix try Namaste Gluten-Free Waffle and Pancake Mix. (In our house, we add chocolate chips to our pancakes- or blueberries.)

4. Highly regarded Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free milled flours and mixes has finally added a gluten-free polenta and cornmeal to their esteemed line of products. Lucky us! For those who love polenta and care about quality- we now have Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Corn Grits + Polenta. Look for the GF symbol on the package.

5. Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes is a hot breakfast cereal rich in vegan protein and calcium. We enjoy it as a warm bowl of comfort drizzled with maple syrup. And we absolutely love using it in baking- especially in cookie, muffin, and cake recipes (especially nice when oats are called for). Browse GFG quinoa recipes here.

We also enjoy Ancient Harvest Organic Quinoa grain as pilaf, tabbouleh, and a high protein alternative to rice (I cook it in my rice cooker- here's how).

6. Gluten-free flours blends taste different. Less sweet than wheat. One trick we like to do? Use the best vanilla extract- Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract. Rich, deep vanilla flavor. No icky, flabby fillers (like corn syrup).

7. A new gluten-free flour fave is Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour. It adds moisture, flavor, and a subtle sweetness to GF flour blends. Not to mention, protein and fiber. A little is all you need- add a tablespoon or two for added moisture and texture, or sub out a half cup flour in your usual flour blend with a half cup coconut flour.

8. Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil makes gluten-free baked goods rich and buttery. It's our new favorite vegan butter and shortening replacement in baking recipes. Great for cookies, cakes, biscuits, and scones.

9. Our favorite non-dairy milk to use in gluten-free and vegan ice cream is- hands down-- Native Forest Organic Classic Coconut Milk. Creamy good. Also lovely in spicy curry sauces, as well as a staple in baking.

10. Organic Raw Blue Agave is a low glycemic natural vegan sweetener that is wonderful for subtle sweetening in sauces, beverages and baking.

Purchasing a product via our links to Amazon.com earns us a small advertising affiliate fee. 

 We appreciate and value your support. 

Thank you!