Gluten Free Food Reviews

When visiting my parents, I picked up this 6.2 ounce frozen Glutino gluten free pizza to make as hot and quick lunch. Since I love feta, I was excited. However, I am not a fan of cooked spinach, so I was interested to see how this Glutino gluten free pizza would turn out.

I popped this pizza into the oven for 16 minutes, and let it cool for five minutes before slicing. I noticed it seemed more like a personal size pizza, and sure enough, the packaging indicated this pizza is meant to be a single serving. Which means you don’t have to share, unless you really want to.

This gluten free pizza boasts a thin and tender rice crust that is light, chewy and slightly crisp on the bottom. The flavor is mild and provides a neutral palate for the toppings. The flavors of the ingredients tasted well balanced. The yummy flavor of fresh spinach, feta and riccota cheeses with a touch of safflower oil, came through loud and clear. I liked it alot, which is huge, considering I am not a huge fan of spinach!

On the down side, the crust thickness was inconsistent and somewhat lumpy, resulting in crisp overcooked spots and softer, chewy spots in the pizza. Also, there was a very generous space of crust around the edges. I prefer my topping to cover most of the pizza, and this gluten free pizza seemed to skimp on the ingredients by making such a wide crust. However, that is just my personal preference. Overall, a tasty pizza I would definitely buy again.

PROS: fresh, full flavored, smells wonderful, 10 g protein

CONS: crust is inconsistent, but easy to overlook since the toppings are so tasty, high in sodium (1000mg!), 5 g. saturated fat, skimpy spinach and feta toppings

Rating: 4 stars

You can buy this gluten free pizza from organicdirect.com

Ingredients: Water, corn starch, tapioca starch, spinach, mozzarella-brick cheese blend (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, salt, microbial enzyme, calcium chloride, cellulose), feta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, calcium chloride, microbial enzyme, lipase, salt, natamycin, lactic acid), ricotta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, lactic acid, salt), safflower oil, evaporated cane juice, glucono-delta-lactone, dried egg whites, salt, guar gum, yeast, garlic, pectin, sodium-bicarbonate, spices, sodium alginate, modified cellulose.

Check out what Racheline and Dr. Gourmet thought about this gluten free pizza product!

What a rotten week! The nasty fall viruses hit our home hard. Unfortunately, because of this I wasn’t online, and definitely was not into eating, thus no gluten free food reviews this past week. Thankfully we are finally well and getting back into our regular routine, and I will have lots of great reviews for you to check out for the rest of the month.

I had this gluten free pizza crust mix review tucked away, and I thought I’d finally share it with you to get the ball rolling.

This gluten free pizza crust mix by Kinnikinick Foods sells for $4.69, makes 2 medium sized pizza crusts, and requires you to add yeast, sugar, water, oil and eggs. To be honest, I was a little put off that I purchased the mix, and yet had to add a lot of my own ingredients. I felt like all I got for my money was a bag of rice flour and starch! When I saw the ingredients, I chuckled, because that is basically what is in the bag.

I found the pizza crust dough to be very sticky, so much so that I ended up patting out the crust in the pan with my olive oil coated fingers. Contrary to the directions, there was no possible way a rolling pin would handle the sticky mound of pizza dough. I found that my oily pizza crust circle did not rise much in the pan, and when it came time to bake the real fun started.

I was surprised to discover that this crust rose quite a bit in the oven, but baked unevenly. I had bubbles of dough rise up and bake, even though I pricked the dough with a fork before popping it in the oven; I would suggest poking lots of little holes in the crust to prevent baking bubbles. I discovered the crust also baked unevenly on the foil wrapped pan - soft in some spots and crunchy and hard in others. I ma sure baking this crust on a dedicated gluten free pizza stone would yield a better end result.

The flavor of the Kinnikinnick pizza crust is actually quite nice- very subtle and mild so it would pair with even the most flavorful sauces and toppings. The center of the pizza was soft, but not chewy, and boasted a fairly smooth texture-nothing course or gritty. The texture and flavor closely resembled a standard piece of gluten free rice bread. Overall, this gluten free pizza crust mix is just OK- it’s not bad, but definitely not great either.

PROS: mild flavor, not too crumbly

CONS: messy prep, soft in some spots, crunchy in others

Rating: 3 stars

Where Can I Buy This Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix?

Kinnikinnick Foods Inc.

Ingredients: Sweet Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt

Continuing on my quest for a simply yummy, to die for and brag to your friends gluten free pizza crust, I happened upon this innocent box on my last trip to Richmond. The box is about $5.29 and makes two decent sized pizzas. I thought I had found near perfection in the fragrant , thin, crispy and chewy Namaste mix, but this crust is a whole other ball game.

The dough mixed up easily and required the addition of yeast (included on the box) and rise time of 30 minutes. I patted the crust out with my fingers, since rolling pins just don’t seem to function in my hands. I made the crust thicker this time since I was craving something to really sink my teeth into. I knew it was a risk, because with many other gluten free pizza crust mixes you could end with a soggy and grainy rice mess. I prebaked the crust for 15 minutes before adding my simple toppings of basil, peppers, onion and garlic.

The end result was fantastic. The crust was completely baked with a very soft and smooth textured finished product. If this crust is eaten fresh from the oven, it has almost no “ricey” taste and supports the toppings with no sogginess or crusty crumbles. You can really sink your teeth into it, if you are craving more of a deep dish style pizza. However, I must share that the bottom of the crust did not brown or crisp up at all. The entire crust remained soft and chewy with a pleasant flavor that did not compete with my toppings.

When I reheated leftovers the next day,the crust was still quite soft, but the texture was courser and exhibited more of the “ricey” taste we gluten free eaters have grown to recognize. But it still wasn’t bad. I was very impressed! Overall, a great product I will buy again

Sheri, from It’s Just Not Dinner gluten free blog also has some great things to say about this crust mix! Be sure to check it out!

Pros: a soft crust perfect for thicker crusted pizzas, nice flavor and texture fresh from the oven

Cons: Doesn’t crisp or brown on the bottom of the crust, long prep time

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy This Crust Mix?

ArrowheadMills.com

Ingredients: organic white rice flour, organic potato starch flour, tapioca starch flour (contains sulfites), organic evaporated cane juice, organic soybean flour, sea salt, xanthan gum. Yeast Packet: active dry yeast.

This Namaste gluten free pizza crust mix is packaged in an unassuming brown and maroon paper bag. Each brown bag makes two 14 inch pizza crusts,and sells for $6.69 at my local health food store. A while back, Natalie, the Gluten Free Mommy, asked if I knew of a good pizza crust mix. At the time, I didn’t, but this is one of two contenders that may satisfy our gluten-free pizza cravings.

I made the two pizza crusts at the same time, and froze the second one for use later in the week. I wanted to see how the taste compared. However, the nice thing about this mix is that there are instructions on the bag if you only want to make one crust at a time.

When you open the bag, you are immediately overwhelmed by a heavenly italian aroma- yes, the italian seasoning is already premixed into the crust for extra flavor. Perfect!Preparing the mix is failry simple, just add oil, water and mix for 3 minutes with a mixer. I would suggest using a stand mixer. The dough was easy to shape and I used my fingers to pat out the 14 inch crusts. I did use a bit of oil on my fingertips to prevent sticking. With this crust, you bake it for 10 minutes, add your toppings ( For the yummy spinach feta pizza recipe pictured above, click HERE), then bake an additional 8 -12 minutes. I found with my recipe, 11 additional minutes was perfect; anything less than that produced a soggier crust.

The result was simply Wonderful. Simply heavenly. Simply flavorful. The crust was perfectly crispy on the bottom and nice and chewy in the center. It didn’t have the typical rice flour taste and graininess. In fact, my gluten-consuming husband remarked on how good it was and how good the crust turned out.

When I tried my second pizza ( the one that I froze), I found the results were just “Ok.” I didn’t get the same fresh, crispy/chewy experience. I would suggest making a fresh crust each time for best results. Overall, this was a great crust that I am happy to buy again.

Pros: Perfect thin crust experience- crispy and chewy with a wonderful aroma and flavor, food allergy friendly

Cons: Probably not the best mix for a thicker crust

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy This Pizza Crust?

Namaste - Pizza Crust
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients:Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Arrowroot Flour, Italian Seasoning, Xanthan Gum, Cream of Tartar, Baking Soda, Salt, and Ascorbic Acid.

I have used this mix to make bread with great success, so when I realized the packaging displayed a recipe for pizza crust, I knew I just had to try it.

Mixing the dough was not problematic. I easily shaped the dough on my pizza stone. To reduce stickiness I used GF canola oil spray on my fingertips. With this particular mix, I baked the crust naked first, then added toppings and baked it again until my cheese was bubbly and veggies appeared browned. For this pizza, it had a mexican flare, topped with cheddar, salsa and fresh veggies.

The bottom of the crust provided a decent crunch when consumed, with a softer, chewy center. I did not have any complaints about texture or appearance. However, my beef is with the taste. It was AWFUL. Yes, that’s right. AWFUL. This particlar mix is way too sweet for a pizza, in my opinion. I could barely choke down my first slice! Who would want a sweet flavored crust? I then remembered that the Pamela’s bread does have a mildly sweet flavor thanks to the evaporated cane sugar, honey and molasses. I was really disappointed.

Pros: nice texture

Cons:Â too sweet for a pizza with traditional toppings

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Ingredients: Sorghum flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, organic natural evaporated cane sugar, chicory root, white rice flour, millet flour, molasses and honey, rice bran, sea salt, xanthan gum, yeast packet ( active dry yeast.)

These frozen, ready made pizza crusts were a new item at my local grocery store for $5.29. The package contains four personal size pizza crusts, and I became quite excited at the prospect of a quick cooking option for when I have a pizza craving emergency.

Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. On my first pizza attempt, I prebaked/toasted the crust as recommended on the package before adding toppings and the final baking. BIG MISTAKE.  The pizza crust was so hard and crunchy I could hardly eat it. So, I tried again, this time very lightly toasting the crust, thinking that I just cooked it too long the first time. Wrong again! It was very hard and crunchy- again. Ok, so I figure third time is a charm and I don’t toast the crust at all. Viola! An edible pizza is the result.

I realized that when it says on the bag “premium bread”, that’s really all this crust is- a medium thickness piece of rice bread, and a mediocre tasting piece at that. The crust is a combination of grainy and spongey with the distinct ”rice” flavor ( which I am not really find of.) However, the crust help up well under the sauce and ingedients, and did not flake apart or become soggy.  Oh well, I guess I am too picky about my pizza; this isn’t a product I would buy again.

Pros: holds toppings and sauce well, nice personal size crust for easy prep

Cons: so-so flavor, tastes like regular rice bread

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Ingredients: Coming soon!

This ‘Cause You’re Special! gluten free pizza crust mix runs around $5.89 from my local natural foods store in my town. I was really wanting a good pizza and was hoping this would be what I was looking for. The mix made a 12 inch pizza with a medium to thin crust.

The crust itself is easy to prepare. It mixed up with no problems and patted it out into a nice crust with minimal stickiness and mess onto my pizza stone. I used gluten free cornmeal as a base under the crust, as suggested on the package. For my inaugural run, I stuck with a simple cheese pizza with homemade basil marinara sauce.

The final product provided a nice and chewy crust with hints of crispiness on the edges. The crust itself was mild in flavor and could easily handle the addition of herbs, cheese and spices to give the pizza a better flavor. The crust help up well under the sauce, with only the smallest hints of sogginess, but maybe that is because I ate it too fast! Overall, a decent product!

Pros: easy prep, nice flavor & texture

Cons: a bit pricey for one pizza crust, slight sogginess in the center of the pizza

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Where Can I Buy This Pizza Crust?

Cause You’re Special Famous Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Mix from GlutenFreeMall.com