Rice is Gluten Free!
Rice is naturally gluten free in its unprocessed form and is a staple food for people following a gluten free diet. This is such wonderful news as rice is commonly used as a flour substitute.
Rice is Versatile
Rice is so versatile and can be used in so many wonderful gluten free recipes and delicious foods. Here are some ideas and examples:
Arborio Rice
Risotto is one of our favorite recipes to make on a Sunday evening for a fancier family dinner. Arborio rice is typically used in risotto and cheese makes this a gooey and delicious accompaniment to your meal. We also add any fresh mushrooms that are in stock at our grocery store. You can also just stick with cheese or add other veggies like peas. Here is a link to our creamy risotto recipe if you need a place to start.
Basmati Rice
Typically used in East Indian cuisine. Basmati rice is the perfect pair with multiple curries. So many East Indian recipes are naturally gluten free and curry offers so many flavor profiles and meal options. Just avoid Naan bread and quickly check the ingredients of your curry and you have endless options.
Basmati rice can also be used as a side to your other meals, we find that we often substitute it for potatoes on our plate. We pair basmati rice with fresh grilled chicken, garden salad or grilled veggies. Yum!
Mexican Rice
Mexican rice recipes typically use long grain white rice, but there are many recipes out there that use basmati for a slightly different flavor profile. Mexican rice recipes are very versatile, and it is easy to toss in multiple ingredients to build a new plate each time. The core Mexican rice recipes usually have oil, garlic, onion, tomato, carrot and peas. You can also use black beans in the recipe. We often include chicken and if we don’t have black beans on hand, we will serve with a side of refried beans.
Jasmine Rice
Is a long grain rice that grows mostly in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It is often used in Asian cooking and forms an excellent side or base for stir-fry. Jasmine rice often is served with Thai Food which is usually gluten free. Many Thai curries and stir fry’s are naturally gluten free. When looking for recipes, just check that no flour is used as a thickener or use corn starch as a substitute in those recipes.
Sushi Rice
Did you know that sushi is typically made with a different type of rice? I didn’t know that until I was recently educated while out for sushi with my best friends. Sushi is typically made using a Japanese short-grain rice and is often seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, salt and sometimes kelp. The great news is that many types of traditional sushi are gluten free! Just be careful to not have any sushi with tempura batter and ensure you have gluten free soy sauce. Most of the restaurants we have gone to are very aware of which sushi’s contain gluten and which ones are safe. You can even have a fun family night and make sushi at home! Our friend had his daughter ask to make sushi for Thanksgiving dinner. Wow! Kids are so amazing these days!
Dessert Rice
No, there isn’t a rice called dessert rice, but you can take almost any leftover rice you have in your fridge and make a quick dessert out of it. Take the rice, throw it in a pot with some milk, white sugar, and vanilla. Let it slowly warm up and cook into the rice. We usually throw raisins in at the end but leave that part out for Lydia as she doesn’t seem to like cooked raisins. Doesn’t that sound super easy? Check out our simple stovetop rice pudding recipe here.
Minute Rice
While I prefer to make rice in our instant pot at home, there are times where I need rice in a hurry. I always make sure to have Minute Rice on hand for those occasions when I am short on time and need something on the table. The best part of Minute Rice is that it is gluten free. I am always so thankful when a convenience item can be in my pantry for those crazy days.
Rice Packets
Rice packets are little pouches of rice and often have other ingredients that you can grab at your grocery store. Josh often keeps a couple in his desk at work for days he has to work late, or something comes up and he needs an extra meal. He has even used them when the office ordered in lunch and there wasn’t a gluten free option for him.
With rice packets, you do need to spend some extra time at the grocery store to diligently read labels. We have found that Uncle Ben’s seems to have the most options for gluten free rice packets. Let us know in the comments below if you find any other great brands that gluten free options in these rice packets.
Beware of Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is a common condiment for rice, but most soy sauces are not gluten free. You can easily find gluten free soy sauce and restaurants often have it available upon request and for a small upcharge. You can find it at your grocery store by doing some label reading and the gluten free brands will often advertise it by putting a gluten free label on the front. You can also buy gluten free soy sauce on amazon. Be aware of the sauces you are putting on your naturally gluten free rice. In our family, we find that the source of cross contamination is usually from sauce that we either failed to read the label on or the manufacturer changed the formula, and we didn’t do a label check the last time we grabbed it.
As you can see, rice is a wonderful naturally gluten free food! Rice is used in so many cultures as a staple item to accompany or form the base of the food. Take some time and enjoy the various ideas above and let us know if you find any other fun gluten free uses for rice.
[…] starting a gluten free journey, rice often becomes a new staple of your diet, but plain steamed rice is only so exciting. This risotto […]