My Favorite Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Substitutes

Even if you avoid gluten and dairy products, sometimes you still want a bagel and cream cheese. Obviously, gluten free/dairy free substitute treats are still usually sugary and high in refined carbs, but sometimes that’s exactly what you want.
Here’s my personal list of the best gluten free and dairy free stuff.
Everything on the list is BOTH gluten-free AND dairy-free.

some people wonder about eggs – eggs are not dairy, though in some contexts they are considered dairy because when grocery stores got refrigeration, it was costly, and eggs and dairy products were kept together. now many things are refrigerated at the grocery store, but sometimes people still consider eggs to be dairy. for the purposes of food sensitivities, “dairy” refers to things made from animal milk.

Bready Things

Udi’s and Canyon Bakehouse are my two favorite brands.
Both brands also make good sandwich bread (though in general, gluten-free bread is better toasted), though some varieties are better than others. Both make Udi’s makes bagels, hot dog buns, and hamburger buns as well. I particularly like Udi’s Mighty bagels (cranberry!) and the Everything bagels, which are even better than hamburger buns if you want a hamburger bun!
My very favorite is Canyon Bakehouse’s Heritage Style Whole Grain bread – it has sunflower seeds in it!
Udi’s has started to branch out into prepared products such as burritos – the ones I’ve seen have dairy in them.

If you’re interested in baking your own bread, i have some favorites here too! First, the book that i’ve been obsessing over lately is Gluten Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

But when i don’t have time to get that all set up, i love the Simple Mills artisan bread mix – pro tip: make it on a pizza stone. While we’re on the topic of pizza, the Simple Mills pizza crust mix is my current favorite as well – i like to add extra ground garlic and other spices as well (za’atar is our favorite add).

Pasta Things

Tinkyada is my favorite brand of dry pasta, and it comes in all the standard shapes.
For fresh pasta, Taste Republic (formerly RP’s) is just absolutely outstanding, in particular the spinach fettuccine. Srsly, absolutely outstanding.

Prepared Food/Quick Food Things

Sometimes you just need a frozen pizza. I get it. For real pizza, i like the Simple Mills crust mix on a pizza stone, but y’all, we do eat frozen pizza sometimes. We get the Daiya Margherita variety and then we put on our own sausage, onion, olive, mushroom, and extra basil. It’s kind of ridiculously tall when i get done with it.

Also, sometimes you need mac&cheez. Or maybe you don’t, but sometimes i do – the old skool kind with the packet. Annie’s Gluten Free Vegan Mac & Cheez is just like i remember (i just noticed that the box has changed so the next time i get the craving, i’ll make sure they didn’t change the flavor!) Not good for you, totally satisfying. Daiya makes a creamy version – i never liked those back in my dairy days so i can’t really judge how good this one is, but if you have an opinion you can let me know!

Believe it or not, there’s gluten free ramen noodles! Lotus Foods is my favorite – they have several varieties; i like the Jade Pearl rice one best.

Amy’s makes some frozen gluten free/dairy free options. I particularly like their rice-and-bean burrito.

Cakey Things

By far, Namaste brand is my absolute favorite cake, brownie, waffle, pancake, and anything else kind of mix. Reliable, delicious, and free of way more than just gluten and dairy, this is a mix that won’t let you down! But Simple Mills is also rocking my world – it’s almond meal, coconut sugar, and excellent. They’ve got all the cake flavors, as well as brownie mix, though i’m less in love with their chocolate options. But their not-chocolate options are all FANTASTIC. For brownies, i love King Arthur’s brownie mix, though of course Namaste is also excellent. Each one is a little different, so if you’re a brownie connoisseur, you’re definitely just going to have to try them all!

If you’re looking for cheesecake, you’re in luck! Daiya makes one that’s really pretty believable! In fact, I like it better than the various cashew varieties on the market. My favorite is the strawberry variety…
Though, I also have a homemade easy cheesecake using Kite Hill cream cheese that is quite good – I’ll be posting that soon!

if you’re local to Boston, FoMu makes the absolute best gluten free dairy free cakes, and ice cream cakes. They definitely have ALL the sugar, but holy-cow, they’re tasty!

Cookie Things

Siete is my new favorite prepared cookies – they’re paleo based, made with almond meal and coconut sugar.
Glutino’s Lemon Wafer Cookies are just like I remember lemon wafers when I was a kid.
Kinnikinnick Vanilla Wafers are pretty much vanilla wafers, which were my go-to college study food. Yay, nostalgia in a cookie!
Immaculate Baking Co. break and bake chocolate chip and double chocolate chunk are delicious! Definitely super high in sugar, but sometimes that’s what you’re looking for. Especially if there’s a gaggle of 13-year-olds sleeping over. (Not all of their products are gluten free, so read the labels carefully.) Sweet Loren’s is also absolutely excellent if you can handle oat flour. I can’t but it doesn’t seem to bother ryn at all – ymmv.

But Simple Mills is the winner again here – they make cookie mix too, and it’s easy to make and you can turn it into whatever you want it to be – ryn is the cookie baker around here, so it’s usually chocolate covered goji berries and walnuts!

Though really when I want cookie things, my favorites are currently Ginger Chamomile cookies and Phoenix cookies.

if you’re local, FoMu also makes the fantastic gluten free dairy free cookies!

Cracker Things

Simple Mills is one of my new favorites. Their crackers are the best I’ve had yet (though the cheese flavor one has actual cheese in it so that’s not dairy free).
Mary’s Gone Crackers is also very good; I particularly like the Everything variety. These are ryn’s favorites.
Glutino ritz-like crackers are alright, but Simple Mills has completely eclipsed them – so much better.

Cereal Things

One of the most common questions people ask going gluten free is “what will I eat for breakfast!?” When eggs and bacon, sausage and avocado, and even gluten free bagels and pancakes just aren’t what you want, cereal!
Nature’s Path Sunrise Crunchy Maple and Crunchy Vanilla are two of my favorites. If you miss Raisin Bran, try the Mesa Sunrise and add raisins.
If you’re looking for a sugary treat, Mom’s Best makes a much healthier version of Cocoa Pebbles. Definitely not health food, but way less bad for you!
You can have cereal without the carbs, too! Commercially, we like Paleonola and Back Roads Paleo Granola

Paleo-style granola is expensive, but there’s another option: make your own! You can use my recipe here! When I’m in a hurry, I just use a couple of bags of sliced and slivered almonds, and chopped pecans or walnuts, toss it in the oven with the honey, maple syrup, and some cinnamon, and stir in thick-shredded coconut and raisins when it’s done in the oven: fast, easy, and totally delicious!

Cheesey Things

I have a new favorite: Violife makes the most convincing cheese slices ever. Srsly, I can’t get enough of them. So far I’ve tried the “mature” cheddar slices, which are good enough to literally just eat by themselves, and the parmesan style, which is also amazing. This literally brings a whole new world of possibilities – not to mention, you never have to miss grilled cheese again. It’s really so. good. They have a “feta” variety as well which doesn’t have the feta texture exactly (though if you kind of rake it with a fork, you get close), but does have a very pleasing flavor on a salad. Their shreds are good too.

The Daiya Monterrey Jack block is another really convincing option. I don’t like any of their other varieties, and the pre-shredded is nowhere near as good as the block. But if you want some cheezey satisfaction, the Monterrey Jack definitely will give you that. You’ll know it’s not exactly cheeze, but it’s close enough that you don’t mind too much. It doesn’t melt like cheese does, but it does get warm and soft and that’s also sufficiently satisfying.

Kite Hill, on the other hand, is pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. They make cream cheese, ricotta, goat-style, and soft-ripened (brie!) cheeses, all from almond milk. They’re out of this world, you really must go get some now!

Creamy Things

Kite Hill takes the cake again in the yogurt competition – in fact, it’s not even a competition. Kite Hill has it hands down.

And if you’re looking for a sour cream replacement, it’s Kite Hill again! They make a chive cream cheese that I love in place of sour cream, and their plain yogurt works well also. They have a straight cream-cheeze product now too. They’ve recently released some new products, including a fantastic tatziki dip/sauce good thing.

There are some whipped cream replacements out there, but I don’t really like any of them. Instead, I put a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a couple hours, and then drain off nearly all of the coconut water, retaining the now-solid creamy part. I add in some vanilla and a bit of honey, and whip it up by hand – it makes a fantastic whipped cream! Thai Kitchen has the best consistency, and 365 brand has improved tremendously over the years – now it’s my favorite. Native Forest is generally reliable but sometimes gritty.

Ice Creams

If you’re in Boston, you’re lucky, because the absolute best dairy free ice cream comes from FoMu. If you’re not from Boston, do consider a vacation here – it’s that good.

There are a lot of dairy free ice creams on the market now. Even Ben & Jerry’s has one, though I haven’t tried them yet and I’m not impressed with the ingredient lists (and, some aren’t gluten free). Coconut Bliss is great. So Delicious also makes coconut milk ice cream, which isn’t bad, but their new cashew milk varieties are really where it’s at: the chocolate with gluten-free oreo bits in it is pretty amazing, as well as the salted carmel chocolate chip, and their cashew milk vanilla is the absolute best nondairy vanilla on the market. There are a lot of other options, but i’ve really settled my heart on these cashew milk flavors and they make me so happy!

Milky Things

Of all of the not-milks out there, Califia Farms is by far my favorite, the Toasted Coconut/Almond milk to be specific, but all of the varieties are good. In particular, they are carageenan free, and since some people are sensitive to that, bonus! I also really love the Mocha, more than is reasonable y’all.

If I can’t get that, I generally just go with Whole Foods’ 365 brand unsweetened almond milk.

I don’t really bother with other fake milks – almond really is the tastiest and it foams up nicely for hot chocolate and lattes, bonus! I can’t do soy and i have cross-reactivity with oat, so almond it is. There are some sustainability problems with almond milk and all the plant-based milks (well, and also cow milk!), but Califia has several efforts underway that are at least in the right direction.

Beer

Our very favorite gluten-free beers are from Green’s; they make Belgian-style amber, dubbel, and tripel ales, so if you’re missing Chimay or Ommegang, start with Green’s! Beer Advocate tasting notes: Amber, Endeavor (dubbel), Quest (tripel).

Celia Saison is very good, we prefer it over most of the rest of these. It’s a little citrusy, light and of course, hoppy.

Redbridge is made by Anheuser-Busch, so no hipster credits there. But it’s a good standard for a backyard barbecue or when you want something simple and direct. Flavorwise, it’s maybe somewhere between Bud and Killian’s.

Estrella Damm’s Daura is an interesting case. It’s made from barley, but claims to have less than 3 ppm (parts per million) of gluten, due to a proprietary post-brewing de-glutenification process. It’s a lager or pilsener style and quite good, definitely a different flavor than other GF beers. Ryn has tried it a couple of times and didn’t notice any bad reaction, but wouldn’t want to give it to someone very sensitive, just in case. Probably this is on the same sensitivity level as distilled spirits.

(Let me interject here that it’s kind of hilarious how every one of these beers’ websites says they’re the first of their kind in being GF. Every one!)

New Grist from Lakefront and New Planet, are everywhere, and they’re not bad, just kind of boring. They’re beer, just nothing special. Again, if you’re looking for a summer backyard party beer, this will do fine.

The number of gluten free beers is growing super fast these days, so use this as a starting guide and then have fun trying something new! And i just want to reiterate – holy cow, the field is exploding! They’re getting much better, too, and those Celia and Green’s are still our favorites, we’ve found a lot of pretty tasty ones.

Also, consider cider! Cider these days has become a really fun and varied experience with lots of micro-brew and artisanal ciders to choose from. Here are some of our favorites – though again, this is an exploding field too, and with ever more variation and novelty. Basically, go try some!
Downeast is great and local! And it’s my current favorite, in particular the Cranberry. Always get the sampler pack – you won’t be sorry!
Citizen Cider is Ryn’s current favorite, especially Wit’s Up (no sulfites, no sugar added at all! Paleo friendly!) and the Lake Hopper. I love the Dirty Mayor – lemon and ginger hard cider!
Smith and Forge promises to not be sweet or cloying, which we appreciate.
ACE makes a really good pear cider.
Crispin is a very reliable British cider, we love the Honeycrisp and Brown’s Lane.
And of course, if you’re in Boston, any pub anywhere will serve you a Magner’s – a traditional Irish cider!

I literally cannot keep up with all the amazing new ciders coming out all the time, and it’s really fun to try them all. Check your craft brew stores!

For a BBQ, of course Angry Orchard and Woodchuck won’t let you down, and they’re widely available.

What are your favorite gluten-free and dairy-free substitutes? Share them in the comments!