There is an unfortunate problem with many published GFCF Recipes – many of them taste terrible. I am sorry, but it is true. Luckily, what I have here is different. The recipes I present here are either tested by me and my kids (and are fantastic) or they are alternative ways to make your own delicious recipes with dairy and wheat substitutes. I have also included some recipes submitted by others that I have not yet tried – I will indicate these, for your information.
Where a particular brand is important, I have noted it – and you will find a list of my favorite brands in product recommendations. I have included sweet and savory recipes – I even have a wheat free Chicken Nugget recipe that my kids love. If you have a favorite GFCF Recipe and would like to add it to my list, please email me or submit it through our Facebook Page. If you want more recipes, I have a few links to other sites that we like a lot.
As I said, in addition to recipes, I want to include alternative ideas for favorite recipes:
- Mashed potatoes can be made with broth instead of milk or butter
- Rice and rice pasta make great side dishes
- With alternative flour (like rice flour) you can still make your favorite gravy – and tomato sauce has no wheat or dairy, if you hold the parmesan cheese
- Fruit spread or jelly on gluten free toast or waffles is better than butter or margarine
- Veggies taste great with lemon and salt on them instead of butter – and if you miss the slippery buttery texture, you can add a bit of olive oil, the lightest of which don’t add much flavor at all.
- If your kids only likes veggies with ranch dressing, see if you can get them to try russian dressing – made with ketchup and mayo, it has no wheat or dairy and is usually a kid pleaser. Some kids will prefer a honey mustard dressing or you can cook the veggies with a little italian salad dressing.
- Nut butters are great on apple slices or celery sticks. We can make meatloaf without the bread crumbs – or you can use crumbs made from rice toast or rice bread.
- There is so often a way to make a small change in an existing recipe (like using Palm Shortening instead of butter in a cookie recipe) that won’t be noticed by kids or spouse..
- My kids do not like to eat fruits or veggies, but I have found that they will eat dried fruits and veggies – carrot chips, seaweed chips, dried mango or strawberries. Since using Inositol powder to expand their diet, I can even get them to eat apple sauce – they like the kind with added strawberry and mango.
This kind of diet needs to be taken on with a creative spirit, rather than a feeling of punishment. With that in mind, here are my favorite recipes.
Kid Approved GFCF Recipes
In addition to the below recipes, I also want to say that many mothers I know are having a lot of luck using Coconut flour for pancakes and sweets. Alternative milks (like Rice Milk, Coconut Milk and Almond Milk) are also easy to use and substitute – I even made sweetened condensed milk with rice milk.
Alternative milks often come in regular, chocolate and vanilla flavor – the vanilla may be too sweet for most adults, but kids love it, particularly in unsweetened cereal like gluten free rice or oat cereals. A good rice flour pasta can be delicious but hard to find (here is my favorite) and there is no problem with mashed potatoes made with broth instead on milk and butter.
Snacks can be easy, too – popcorn, potato chips or real corn tortilla chips are all wheat and dairy free. My child loves dried mangos and will eat some smoothies (we use frozen pineapple, frozen mango and a small can of pineapple juice for her favorite). Smoothies can hide fiber powders and other supplements with no or mild flavor. If you want to add spinach or kale to smoothies, start with just 1 small leaf and build up. I put too much in the first time and they refuse green drinks now.
Sweet Recipes
Cheerio Bars
Made with Gluten Free Oat Cereal (Cheerios are now gluten free – yay!), bittersweet chocolate, cashews, cashew butter and honey, this protein rich snack is healthy and delicious.
Allergen Friendly Fudge
Made with Palm Oil, cocoa powder, almond milk, confectioners sugar and vanilla – I even have a video on this one
Tollhouse Cookies
The classic recipe made with GFCF ingredients and so delicious.
Sweetened Condensed Milk
I needed non dairy sweetened condensed milk for a recipe some time ago and did well with a rice milk version – but I can’t find that recipe. Here is one made with coconut milk from the Detoxinistas.
The following recipes were given to me by our Nutritionist, but I have not yet tried them.
GFCF Hot Chocolate
Made with alternative milk, cocoa powder and vanilla.
Creamy Smoothies
If you want to add greens to your smoothies, I recommend 1 leaf to start and build up gradually. I put too much spinach in our first green smoothie and they wouldn’t eat them for a long time – until I found a cup with a lid and straw, so they could not see the color!
Savory Recipes
GFCF Chicken Nuggets
A main stay in most kid’s diet – this beloved favorite doesn’t have to go away just because of GFCF.
Bacon and Eggs
You don’t need a recipe for bacon and eggs, but it’s my child’s favorite GFCF meal. Skip the toast or make it with GF bread (Udi’s makes some good ones) and some jam.
GFCF Pizza
With the advent of GFCF Cheeses (made from rice, soy or nuts) I submit this recipe for you, for GFCF Pizza – one of the hardest things kids on this diet must give up. We are not there yet, however I will say we are doing more pizza fingers (breaded mozzarella sticks). Not ideal, but they have a lot less wheat and yeast than an actual pizza does and it satisfies the craving.
Dried Fruit and veggie chips
My kids do not like to eat fruits or veggies, but I have found that they will eat dried fruits and veggies – carrot chips, seaweed chips, dried mango or strawberries.
More to come
Unfortunately, my child’s diet is very limited right now – but she has doubled her menu with the addition of Inositol to her supplements. She will now eat rotisserie chicken and meatloaf and fish sticks (sub fish in chicken nugget recipe) and most importantly, she is more willing to try new things. I highly recommend it.
Adult Tested and Loved
My kids don’t go for these recipes, but I love them and realize that my kids have a particularly limited diet – so I share them with you in the hopes that your family can benefit from them. Remember, Tuna Fish and Egg Salad have no wheat in them – it’s the bread or crackers we put them on. Instead try cucumber slices for crackers or spread the tuna on a celery stick.
Turkey Salad
Everyone loves this turkey salad – it’s so chunky you don’t mind eating it with a fork instead of on bread. You can also dice it finer for use on gluten free bread or rolls.
Broccoli Salad
With bacon, and craisins and sugar in this recipe, it is sure to please nearly everyone. It’s delicious, but my kids see green and go te other way.
Chili
We love chili and it can easily be made for a GFCF diet. Skip the cheese or use GFCF cheese. You could also use a little soy yogurt instead of sour cream. I like gluten free corn chips for dipping instead of crackers.