It’s the time of year when many people new to the gluten-free diet start trying to figure out how in the world they can survive the holidays gluten-free. Most holiday meals include gravy, dressing, pi,es and cookies. It’s a full on gluten extravaganza, no doubt. But you can convert most everything you love to be gluten-free. It takes time to get it right but here are some ideas to get your started.
The following holiday cooking tips allow my family to enjoy wonderful meals without gluten, for the most part. Three of us are gluten-free and almost everyone contributing dishes now knows how to prepare food safely for us. The only gluten present at our holiday meals these days is usually in the form of dinner rolls for the glutenoids.
One thing I didn’t want to do when I went gluten-free, gave up my favorite holiday foods. In fact, before my celiac diagnosis, I rarely cooked except during the holidays. My husband used to be a chef so I only started cooking after my celiac diagnosis. It took me two holiday seasons to get everything right, adapting dishes to be gluten-free, while offering the same great (or better!) taste as the gluten dishes.
First up was pecan pie, a staple dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas for us. Since I’ve never found a ready-made gluten-free pie crust I like, I had to learn how to make the crust for the first time ever. I’d always used the frozen Pet Ritz crusts in the past. I didn’t realize those were not really that good until I made better-tasting crusts with gluten-free mixes!
All of the below mixes make very good pie crusts –
- Pamela’s Pancake & Baking Mix (choose a recipe from their website)
- Gluten-Free Pantry (omit sugar for excellent quiche crust)
- Bread by Anna
Gravy (we don’t like gravy but have heard good things about these mixes) –
- Full Flavor Foods
- Macayamas
Cornbread for dressing –
- Gluten-Free Naturals
- Pamela’s Cornbread & Muffin Mix
- Gluten-free Pantry
Cream of Mushroom soups (for casseroles) –
- Progresso Creamy Mushroom (new label states gluten-free but all cans are gluten-free)
- Health Valley Cream of Mushroom (read the label)
- Walnut Acres Portobello Mushroom(read the label)
The above soups are not condensed so you need to thicken them for use in casseroles. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to use a little with corn starch dissolved in it. Add mixture to the heated soup and stir until it’s the consistency you desire. Because this takes about 20 minutes, I do it several days before I need it and store in the fridge until needed.
For a gluten-free version of French Fried Onions (for casseroles), some people use Funyuns. French’s Potato Sticks with added onion powder for flavor will work but adds a potato flavor. We prefer making homemade fried onions. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week. We use gluten-free Pantry or Domata flour for fried onions, using this recipe. These taste better than anything you can find in a can – with or without gluten!
For the best spice cake around, use the Namaste mix and add ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce. We add nuts and raisins as well. Frost with cream cheese frosting and have glutenoids begging for more!
Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet? You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)
