I am always on the look-out for the best gluten-free products I can find. I love foods that are made from whole-food ingredients, GMO-free and organic if possible/available. Below is a list of some of my favorite grocery finds and where you can get them. I would love to hear from you about your favorites too!
Grocery Stores and Bakeries
A New Leaf Grocery – They are in Needham on Great Plain Ave. and the staff are very knowledgable. They also import products from local bakeries and GF shops as far away as NY that you cannot get anywhere else – even online – from pierogies and ravioli to pot-stickers and cannolis.
Best Bets: pie crust, anything from Twist Bakery including their chicken and veggie pot pies, Conte’s pierogies and ravioli, DePuma’s frozen pasta- fresh lasagna sheets, pumpkin and lobster ravioli and more.
Twist Bakery and Cafe
– While I have not actually made the trek out to Millis to eat there in person, I get their rolls, breads and muffins at A New Leaf and they are simply fantastic! I also use their bread to make my breadcrumbs I find it to be the best loaf on the market for this. Note that they are great for folks with a number of allergies (peanut, soy, nut, dairy) and have an extensive list of ingredients on their menu.
Best Bets: breads, bagels, burger rolls, chicken pot pie, veggie pot pie, any other pies they make!
Market Basket – Hands-down the best prices on almost everything. They do not have a dedicated GF dry-goods section but they have a lot of GF products throughout the store, including a huge cracker selection and dedicated freezer section.
Best Bets: Ugly’s sourdough vegan flatbread (in the frozen section), Against the Grain french bread, bagels, rolls, pita bread and pizza crust (all $1-$3 less than WholeFoods), Van’s GF waffles, Glutino regular and whole-grain english muffins, Bell and Evan’s Chicken Breast Tenders ($2 less than WF) and Udi’s whole Ancient Grain bread. For crackers – Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almond Rice Crackers and Crunchmaster multi-seed crackers.
Wegmans – I just LOVE Wegmans! They have a bigger GF section than any other grocery I have been to, including Whole Foods on the West Coast. They also have a lovely little orange icon that designates their products as GF. That said, you have to know what you are buying and compare prices. They make their own GF corn-based pasta for a mere $1.39 a pound and it is comparable with Italian pastas that cost four times as much. They also have a fantastic selection of local farm fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses and a huge selection of organic fruits and veggies. Their prices are in some cases higher than Market Basket but for buying in bulk nothing compares. They have stores in MA in Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Medford, Natick, Westwood and Northborough – I like the one in Burlington as it is next to Market Basket, Trader Joe’s and H-Mart.
Best Bets: Sushi (all is now GF!), Wegman’s brand GF pasta, other dry goods – they have a huge variety including Van’s Say Cheese and The Perfect Ten crackers. GeeFree puff pastry is also available only at Wegmans – I stock up and use it for al of my crust and dough recipes.
Aldi’s – A great selection of GF cereals, breads, frozen foods and pastas. They do not have brand names but if you know what you are looking for (like Crunchmaster crackers are sold under another name) you can get amazing deals. There prices are even better than Market Basket and they have a large selection of organic fruits and veggies. There GF pasta is great and very inexpensive as are their granolas, cereals, crackers and cookies.
Ocean State Job Lot
Something Sweet Without Wheat – This great bakery has locations in East Arlington and Woburn, and also sell to a number of restaurants and retailers including Legal Seafoods, Pizzeria Regina and Stone Hearth Pizza, all of which have multiple locations.
Best Bets: breadcrumbs, frozen pizza dough, apple cider donuts, croutons, brownies, fruit turnovers and tarts and all of their breads.
Lola’s Italian Groceria – Based in Natick Center at 9 Main Street, they have a wide range of GF Italian fare (much of it available dairy-free as well) and they even do catering!
Best Bets: meatballs, lasagna, cannoli’s, eggplant parmesan, chicken and broccoli ziti
Whole Foods – So I have to confess there is a Whole Foods right down the street from my house. But if it were not, I would not make a special trip there for GF food as the prices just cannot compare to other stores and over the last few years the selection in most grocery stores has gotten much bigger.
Best Bets: Mary’s Gone Crackers in any flavor, Udi’s Ancient Grains bread and crackers, any other products you like and do not have time to get somewhere cheaper like Wegmans, Aldi’s or Market Basket.
Violette Gluten-Free Bakery – This wonderful shop just reopened its doors in a new location at 407 Concord Street in Cambridge. It is really close to Fresh Pond and there is ample parking. Almost all of these baked goods are organic and dairy free and they have breads, empanadas, quiche and pizza in addition to desserts. Lovely place!
Good Health Natural Foods – They have locations in Hanover and Quincy. I have not been there yet but their website looks promising!
Online
Gluten Free Mall – this website has a huge selection of GF products and many that are on sale at any given time. There is a shipping charge but if you know what you are looking for you can still save money. This is where I buy almost all of my Italian pasta including BiAglut.
Thrive Market – This is a great source for everything from all natural grain-free pet food to paleo ingredients. Great prices and selection and lots of discounts! Definitely an awesome place to shop for all things natural and gluten-free!
Breads, Baked Goods and Crackers – Brands
Against the Grain – this is the bread I feed all of my doubtful gluten-eating friends – and they always come back for more! The french bread is to die for, a lot like a combo of classic french bread and crusty popover thanks to the egg and mozzarella cheese. I love their pita bread (great for making thin crust pizza in a pinch), their rosemary rolls, sesame and cinnamon raisin bagels, pizza crust and ready-made pizzas. I highly recommend making a trip to Market Basket and stocking up. Best prices by far.
Glutino – pretzels, pretzel chips, english muffins, whole-grain english muffins, chocolate cookies with cream filling, round crackers (plain, veggie and multi-grain) and table crackers
Van’s – Say Cheese and The Perfect Ten crackers
Mary’s Gone Crackers – their motto -” how can rice an seeds taste so good?” is so true! They are my favorite crackers hands-down.
Chebe – their cheese bread, cinnamon rolls and pizza crust mixes
Schar – graham crackers and pasta
King Arthur – all of their flours and baking ingredients plus their chocolate and vanilla cake mixes
Kinnikinnik – Animal crackers and nothing else.
Bob’s Red Mill – All of their flours and mixes are great. their one-to-one baking flour blend is a great substitute for regular flour
Really Great Food – all of their cake and muffin mixes
BiAglut and Le Veneziane – both made in Italy, all of their pastas are fantastic. You can get at a New Leaf and online at the Gluten Free Mall
Simple Mills
Ugly’s Pizza Crust –
Authentic Foods, XO Baking Company and Cup4Cup: all three have awesome gluten-free flour blends. Authentic Foods also has superfine rice flours which work much better in baked goods- much less gritty and grainy than others.