Are you new to the gluten-free lifestyle? Are you just trying it out to see if you get relief from your troubling symptoms? I’ve been gluten-free since 2012 and I am here to tell you that transitioning to a gluten-free diet can be HARD but that is why I am here to help. There is so much that can be done to help simplify your life and make it EASIER! Having these gluten free pantry staples is a great first step! Your eating habits are tied to your emotions in more ways than you might realize. As you are learning what you can and can’t eat, it is important to keep some pantry staples around for those days when your emotions are at an all-time high and you just can’t think about what you can and can’t eat.
These pantry items allow me to whip up a meal when I don’t have anything planned without even thinking about it. These are also the items I stock up on when they go on sale because I KNOW I will use them up.
In the download at the end of this post, I include a list of my gluten free pantry staples that you can print out and add your own staples to as well! I suggest glancing through this list every time you make your grocery store list so that you never run out!
Like I said, food has a strong emotional hold on all of us. So switching your diet is emotionally draining. Getting a well-stocked pantry and fridge can make a HUGE difference in how you feel when it comes to making meals. As you learn to adapt to a gluten-free diet I highly suggest marking a time in your planner where you will plan out every single meal for that week. This will help you feel in control during a time when you can feel so lost and confused. Okay enough rambling from me… let’s get to the gluten free pantry staples!
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Pasta
Mmmm one of my favorite foods on the planet. Pasta. The one thing I was more worried about when I became gluten-free. I ALWAYS have pasta on hand. It is so easy to grab some meat out of the freezer and whip up some pasta and call it a day. This is one of my go-to meals when I just don’t feel like cooking.
Flour
Keeping a 1:1 flour on hand is super useful for transitioning any old (read non-Gluten-Free) recipes to a gluten-free version. If you don’t know, a 1:1 flour blend is a flour that is formulated so that one cup of it is equivalent to that of regular, gluten-filled flour. The top flours I like are cup4cup or Bob’s Red Mill. Bob’s Red Mill seems to be more readily available in my area, so it is typically what I pick up. I love to use it for cookies, cakes, bagels, and my recent favorite banana mug cakes!
Sparkling Water
Sparkling water is great for so many reasons. You get some flavor with some carbonation and it feels like you are treating yourself BUT with minimal calories and you are actually hydrating yourself! I am OBSESSED with the Trader Joe’s brand sparkling water. If you haven’t tried it yet, you HAVE TO. It has wayyyy more carbonation and just as much flavor as spindrift plus it’s way cheaper. My current favorite flavor is raspberry-lime.
Condiments and Sauces
It’s no secret that both my husband and I love sauces. So running out of any condiment or sauce is quite a sad time in our household. I use a lot of these condiments to make all sorts of salad dressings, marinades, and Asian-style recipes. My must-have condiments and sauces include ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, dijon mustard, hot sauce, ranch, Worcestershire, soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, enchilada sauce, and sweet chili sauce, pasta sauce, barbeque sauce.
Always check your labels to make sure your condiments are GF but DOUBLE CHECK the soy sauce, enchilada sauce, and barbeque sauce. I have found gluten in these items more often than not. This is my favorite soy sauce, but if you can’t find it in the store and can’t wait to order it, then look for coconut aminos. It tastes the same and is actually better for you, it is just a little pricer. The enchilada sauce I tend to get is this one from Target, but there are many others out there! (But none at my beloved Trader Joe’s just as a heads up). For barbeque sauce, my go-to is hands-down Sweet Baby Rays.
Bars
If you know me at all, then you know I LOVE bars. No, not like the up till 3 a.m. bars but snack bars! I live off of these things sometimes. They are great for work when I don’t have time to take a full lunch break. Bars are great on the go. They are great when friends want to eat somewhere that doesn’t have a ton of GF offerings. Bars are just great okay? Okay. My favorite bar of them all is the Blueberry Bliss Luna Bar. I also love pretty much all the Luna Bar flavors as well as Laura Bars and Rx Bars. This is by far one of my biggest gluten free pantry staples! I’m even eating a Luna Bar right now!
Meat
I always like keeping some meat in our freezer. We tend to buy meat in bulk at Costco, but now we REALLY buy in bulk because of COVID-19. I always make sure we have ground beef, ground turkey, steak, chicken tenders, and chicken breasts. When we go to Trader Joe’s I always stock up on their chicken sausages because I can keep them in the fridge for a long time and don’t have to worry about thawing them when I haven’t thought of anything for dinner!
Another go-to from TJ’s is their turkey burgers! My husband is OBSESSED with these. They are super affordable and great to have on hand. You cook them from frozen and they take 12 minutes total! Just make sure to oil the pan first or you will have a burnt mess on your hands, speaking from experience over here. We like to add seasoning salt, onion powder, and garlic powder to ours to make them super flavorful.
Gluten-Free Oats
Oats can be used in SO much more than just oatmeal. I always keep oats on hand and use them for meatloaf and meatballs (check out this post with my favorite meatloaf recipe). They can also be used to make breakfast bars, no-bake cookies, and granola! With so many options this one HAS to be on the staples list!
Avocados
Avocados are the perfect thing to have on hand when you just can’t think about what to make. Make some avocado toast, or cut some up and throw it in a bowl with the chicken sausage mentioned above and the 3 minute TJs rice mentioned below and you have yourself a quick, easy, healthy meal!
Frozen Rice
I don’t know if frozen rice didn’t exist while I was in college, or if I was just completely oblivious to it, but GUYS frozen rice is AWESOME. Don’t get me wrong, I still love white fluffy rice cooked in the microwave or instant pot, but when I need fewer steps for the nights’ meal prep this stuff is amazing! I get the frozen brown rice from Trader Joe’s and it legit takes 3 minutes in the microwave. I tend to use it either when I’m making an easy (read lazy) meal or when I have a super complicated meal and don’t want to add making rice on top of all the other steps.
Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi
I love having Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi on hand. It is perfect for when I am running low on pasta or just want something a little different. I loved making it after work because it is so fast! I just put about 1.5 teaspoons of olive or avocado oil on a skillet and cook on each side for 7 minutes. So fast and so good! If you are looking for cauliflower gnocchi anywhere besides Trader Joe’s make sure to check that it is gluten-free, not all gnocchi is! My husband learned this after buying two bags of not-so-gluten-free gnocchi…but hey it was yummy for him!
That is the list of all the gluten-free pantry staples that I always have on hand. The entire list was just too long to go on this post, but if you want my ENTIRE staples list plus some room to add in your staples click the image below to get my downloadable Gluten Free Pantry Staples Guide! Are there any staples I don’t have on this list that you can’t live without? Let me know in the comments below!
As always, if you have any questions feel free to reach out at questions@ashleybmorgan.com or on instagram @ashleybmorgann
I loved this post! Thank you for all the helpful information — and providing the links! 🙂