I have a lot of gluten-free pasta, including ones made with rice, beans (soy, I believe), potato starch, yam, and buckwheat (soba noodles). I buy these at a Japanese market, and you can look for Japanese recipes to find gluten-free dishes to make with them. Just make sure that you have gluten-free soy sauce (I believe it is called tamari, but you have to check), and you should be okay.

I like all of the gluten-free pastas that I have, and that's why I buy them - not because they are gluten free.

If you do not have a Japanese market in your neighborhood, you could try Korean, Thai, or Chinese, or else try to order online. I buy extra Japanese ingredients to take to Cathedral City because there are no Japanese markets there, although the grocery stores have small ethnic sections. There is one Filipino market that I know of, but I haven't been to it yet.

You can make Pad Thai with gluten free noodles, but you would have to omit the shrimp and use tofu instead. I use a wok or a flat bottom wok when I make it.

Kikkoman also makes a gluten free soy sauce. If you were unsure of the pasta you could spiralize zucchini into noodle form and use that instead.

I stock many and am always trying new ones. From rice noodles from an international grocery to plant based.

Use the search function for a dozen or more posts, some recent.

If your friend is celiac, i would just ask if they have found a brand they like. I also stock Siete almond flour tortillas.

A new one to me is this brand. Just tried one bag last week and made a pesto pasta salad last night for the weekend.

I use Gf pasta almost all the time by choice. My usual brands, Barilla and Ronzoni, are sold at Publix locally, and Whole Foods also sells it. Not all types of pasta are available, but usually I can always get spaghetti and fettucine.

A friend is Gluten intolerant and I was having her and another friend over for dinner one nite. She brought her own GF pasta (they knew I was making baked ziti).

It takes a lot longer to cook than regular pasta. Other than that, I can't tell you what it tastes like or anything.

I use Barilla Gluten Free Pasta made with corn and rice sold in my supermarket. The consistency is slightly different than regular pasta but not enough to notice unless you are thinking about it. The taste is very close too and good. The penne boils to al dente in 10 minutes.

Look for Passover "dairy" recipes for gluten free and no red meat or poultry. Many use eggs, but many don't. You can use starch (corn, potato, tapioca, etc.) as a substitute for flour for thickening a sauce, breading etc. For making a crust, you can also use almond flour, or other nut flour (which is just finely ground nuts).

You can make any kind of fin fish from Baja tacos (most corn tortillas are GF, but some aren't so check the label) to en papillote. Bean stew. Corn chowder. The main thing with vegetarian cooking is to make sure there's enough protein, daily. If "dairy" includes eggs, they're about 12% protein whole. Keep in mind that even high protein pasta has only about 15% protein, as do high protein beans and bean products like tofu. Cheese is mostly fat. 3-4% protein in yoghurt. There's up to 4-6% protein in many vegetables. It becomes an issue of quantity over concentration--you can eat a big plate of fresh vegetables, or a small plate of fish.. Fish has 18-30% depending on the fish, which is pretty comparable to meat. Getting enough carbs, fat and fiber in easy. Just taking meat out of the equation can leave protein deficits, but they can be filled pretty easily if you keep an eye on the protein content. You should be able to make nutritious meals without resorting to supplements, and they don't have to be perfect. You're only feeding your guests for a few days.

Ive eaten gf pasta and it tastes just fine

I buy Schar and Tinkyada brands gluten free pasta. They were among the first to offer the product. I see now that the major companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

I love grilled salmon and it's such a treat, would be great for company. I serve it with roasted vegetables or rice pilaf.

If they like Asian, that's a great way to go, curries and stir fries with rice.

Potatoes like in shepherd's pie or potato salad are another good "fancy" dish for company.

Mexican is good with corn tortillas. You can buy fake meat crumbles or just use beans for various fillings.

Pasta primavera is of course great. Another pasta dish that hubs and I like is pasta with tuna, with a tomato sauce. We use imported Italian tuna packed in oil. Here's a basic recipe, I add capers and or kalamata olives. Top with fresh grated Parmesan.

https://www.marthastewart.com/349749/tuna-tomato-pasta

We like Banza chickpea pasta the best.

My brother bought some vegan "Beyond Sausage" when I was away, and he gave me a couple of bites to try. I told him that it was way too salty, and I would never be able to eat it. He said it was recommended to him by someone at work who said that her daughter liked it better than meat. I told him that some people will love anything that is saturated with salt, if they are addicted to salt, but I cannot stand it.

If you do try to buy any imitation meat, be sure to check the sodium content. One serving (depending on the serving size) could be an entire day's allotment of sodium.

Yeah, I buy Morningstar Farms fake meat products. There are a lot of options out there. This is the one I've ended up liking. Not sure about the salt, we eat low salt and it hasn't set out any red flags for us. I'll check the labels, I have some in the freezer and I'll be making chili tomorrow with it.

We only eat gluten free pasta and we've found that the best by far is Rummo. It's texture is the most similar to pasta made with gluten. In fact, I think I may prefer it.

I only buy Barilla gf pasta. I find it tastes almost like regular pasta and unlike Jasdip’s experience, it takes pretty much the same amount of time to cook. The main difference is that it’s a little more fragile than regular pasta and can break up if you stir the sauce through too vigorously.

I am gluten intolerant and rarely eat pasta. Accidentally ingesting gluten might cause me to not feel well, whereas a person with celiac disease could become VERY seriously ill. From my experience those folks generally ” bring their own food” . It is risky to rely on someone else’s kitchen to be safe.

I agree with @grapefruit1_ar. You have to make sure if the person is Celiac, that there is NO cross contamination with food. A single bread crumb in the butter could cause issues with the persons small intestine. I worked with a woman who believes she got a crumb in her coffee at Tim Hortons. Her belly looked like she was about to give birth after drinking her coffee. My oldest son had Celiac and I had to be very careful when feeding him.

Thanks for all the info. These are long time friends of ours who have eaten in our home many times. I am careful of course, but she has said that if she accidently consumes a bit of gluten, she can definitely tell and it affects her but doesn't lay her low. I'm going to check out the Barilla and Rummo GF pastas.

Yes, I thought about that too. Someone who is a true celiac has to be much more aware of possible cross contamination, which is so easy it's ridiculous. So any type of grain product is potentially problematic. Perhaps discuss with your friend . . .

I'm gluten intolerant. As to the taste of GF pasta to wheat pasta is unknown. I haven't eaten wheat pasta in so long I don't remember the taste. Chances are your friend doesn't either and the GF taste is the norm. I prefer the rice based pasta over the corn based. Aldi's also has GF bread, cookies, tortillas shells that are good. In fact it is the only GF bread I like. Most larger grocery stores have a GF section. Just expect to pay double for it. Don't fall for buying something that is naturally GF from the GF section.

I think one of the reasons that the certified "gluten free" stuff is so expensive is it has to be processed in a separate facility to avoid cross contamination. I am not celiac but have to avoid gluten. I don't have to worry about cross contamination. But anyway, I was looking to buy some gluten free cookies to have with my coffee the other day, and the price was just outrageous. So instead, I am getting some KA gluten free baking mix and making my own. As for the pasta, that's a little better, but overall I buy the cheaper stuff with gluten and just ration it. But I'm not celiac. From a cost perspective, cheaper to serve rice or polenta than buy a rice or corn based pasta. But if you have the money and really miss pasta and want gluten free, so lucky now that there are many options!!

Chocolate is GF :)

What about just making a rice dish instead?

I just finished making some chicken and rice and I'm eating it right now, that's why I thought of it 😃

Or a meat and vegetable dish without any grain at all?

I would like to add: If you look up any Keto recipe, odds are big it'll be gluten free.

I make tumeric rice and peas a lot. It is so easy but yet looks so elegant.

Editing to add that one of the dishes I make for friends that is dead easy is "Greens and Beans." It is basically a can of whatever beans you like, my most common to use are garbanzo or canelinni beans, and then add a can or two of stewed tomatoes, chopped up and some frozen chopped spinach. Add about 1/2 slab of either cream cheese or neufchatel cheese to thicken the sauce. Season however you like, I usually do Italian and you can even buy Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes. Or just a can of tomatoes mixed with peppers and onions, which is what stewed tomatoes are commercially canned. You can saute and add any vegetables you would like, even the spinach, peppers, tomatoes and onions if you want to be extra fancy and delicious. I often will add a sauteed zucchini. Serve this over rice or polenta, topped with a healthy shake of grated Parmesan cheese. Carrot raisin salad would be a nice accompaniment. I usually do bread and salad but that won't work GF. I have used this as a topping for GF pasta though.

You might be able to thicken the sauce with something like ground flax or chia if you want to go vegan, but I wouldn't since the dish is so simple and depends on the flavors of the cheese to meld everything into something extra. If I was going the vegan route, I would grill the vegetables or carefully saute them for caramelization, and use a pesto type sauce with the spinach and beans, everything being fresh including the basil, even the beans cooked from scratch. You can't hide the tinny taste of canned beans in a vegan dish . . .