10 Gluten Free Staple Foods for your Pantry

When I was in college, I lived on a "college student budget" but still had to eat gluten free.  At first, I really struggled with grocery shopping because I would head straight to the natural foods section and stock up on expensive gluten free products that drained my food budget.  My roommates would buy the same types of non-gluten free food like pasta, crackers, and frozen waffles but I would end up spending twice as much money.  It was really discouraging for me at first but after time I learned which cheap foods I could get away with on a gluten free diet.  I learned to buy my gluten free staples and keep them on hand for recipes and snacks.  Today, I'm sharing my top ten list of gluten free staples to keep in your pantry.  Keeping these foods around can help to prevent spending too much on packaged gluten free products and will help to make eating gluten free a lot easier.

1.  Corn Tortillas-  Keep a bag of corn tortillas on hand for wraps or breakfast burritos.  You can even use them as a quick and cheap replacement for bread.  Try making turkey sandwiches on tortillas and wrap them up for a quick sandwich/wrap.

2.  Beans-   Keep a variety of canned beans in your pantry for soups, salads, or to eat plain as a snack.  I personally love kidney beans and black beans but you can use any kind (they're all gluten free).

3.  Rice-  Rice is my favorite staple food on a gluten free diet.  Plain white rice gets boring after a while though so I like to have a variety in my pantry.  I always keep brown, jasmine, and basmati rice on hand.

4.  Quinoa-  (Or "Quin-o" as Scott likes to call it) is a whole grain (technically a seed) that's packed with protein and calcium.  I love to make quinoa when I'm sick of rice and need something to mix it up.  You can also eat it like oatmeal for a healthy breakfast replacement or toss it in a smoothie for added nutrition.

5.  Cashews and Almonds-  I love almonds and cashews for a healthy snack but they're also a great replacement for flour in soup and sauce recipes.  Just toss some cashews with a little water into the food processor or blender and you've got an instant flour replacement with a little extra protein and healthy fats.

6.  Tamari Sauce-   I was so happy when I discovered tamari sauce because it's great gluten free substitute for soy sauce!  The flavor is similar but it's made with pure soy instead of the added wheat.  This is a staple to keep around for Chinese take-out night or to use as a replacement for recipes that call for soy sauce.

7.  Rice Pasta- Out of all the foods I gave up when I went gluten free, pasta was the one that I missed the most.  Luckily, there are a lot of gluten free rice pasta brands that taste really close to real pasta.  My favorite brands are De Boles and Tinkyada.

8.  Popcorn-  Popcorn is one of my favorite whole grain snacks to keep around.  It's much cheaper than most gluten free snacks and it feels me up without a lot of extra calories.

9.  Potatoes-  Potatoes are a perfect gluten free side dish.  I keep a variety- russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, and red potatoes- around all the time.  Our favorite easy potato dish is sliced red potatoes drizzled with a little olive oil and garlic salt, baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

10.  Gluten free cereal-  Chex has been my favorite cereal for years.  I used to only eat rice chex but now they have lots of gluten free options like cinnamon, honey nut, and chocolate.  Stock up on them when they're on sale and use them for breakfast or snacks.

Do you have any gluten free staple foods?  What do you do to save money when eating gluten free?