These Are The Best (And Worst) Gluten Free Pastas You Can Buy

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Gluten-free pasta options at the store have long been lacking. Over the past few decades, gluten-free folks were limited to mushy, depressing substitutes that came nowhere close to the real thing. But as gluten intolerance has become more widely discussed, technology has adapted to the growing demand for wheat-free noodles.

Newer companies like Banza have built their entire brands on the new era of gluten-free pasta. Legacy pasta brands have expanded their portfolios to offer gluten-free products. The market has never been this exciting—so we should adjust our standards for what makes a good gluten-free pasta.

We tried pasta from a dozen different brands in virtually every shape and size. From the more traditional brown rice base to multigrain to lentil and chickpea noodles, our team identified the best and worst brands across the gluten-free pasta spectrum.

But because the range is so wide, it's worth making a disclaimer. For this taste test, we were focused on finding the brands that best replicate the eating experience of wheat pasta. Our primary considerations were flavor and, more importantly, texture. The selling point for many modern gluten-free pasta brands is protein and fiber content, but nutrition was not the priority for us here. We just wanted the best tasting pasta, period.

Want more expert-approved product rankings? Check out our favorite tortilla chips, peanut butters, and olive oils.

Jovial

Brown rice is a classic base for a gluten-free pasta, but there's a reason why so many new recipes have emerged in recent years. The rice is mild in flavor but literally no structural integrity. Even undercooking Jovial's brown rice pasta couldn't save it from falling apart. They also have a grain-free cassava pasta line, but don't waste your money on that either.

Tinkyáda

Tinkyáda has been around for over 25 years, and they boldly claim that their pasta's "good texture" is always "al dente" and "never mushy." But the results of our test couldn't be further from the truth. This pasta virtually disintegrated into the pot.

Field Day

Texture? Never heard of her. Field Day offers two different gluten-free formulas, but they both use brown rice as the main grain. That means a bag of their pasta will take you on a one-way trip to mush city.

Bentilia

Bentilia is one of many pasta brands hopping on the legume wave, but we're still not entirely convinced that it's the ideal gluten-free noodle option. The red lentil-based recipe is either painfully crunchy or total mush.

Tolerant

We have the same gripes about Tolerant's gluten-free pastas that we do with Bentilia—lentils just don't make for a good noodle. Neither their green nor red lentil pastas have a good enough texture to justify buying it. Tolerant's chickpea pasta is a slight improvement, but there are other brands on the market that do it better.

Zenb

Zenb exclusively uses yellow peas to make their gluten-free pasta. While that makes them high in protein and fiber, it also means your pasta tastes like a legume. And on top of a texture that we can only describe as meh, its flavor is not what we want out of a noodle.

Chickapea

Chickapea may be named after the humble garbanzo beans, but they bolster it with the addition of lentils. We love that they offer boxed one-pot pasta dishes, like Peppy Parm and Garlicky Goodness, but the pasta itself is not our favorite.

Its texture leaves much to be desired, and the combo of chickpeas and lentils is just a little too legume-y for our liking.

Banza

Banza is the current darling of the gluten-free pasta world, since it's often credited as a pioneer of the legume-based noodle. They offer the best variety of any other GF pasta brand on the market. They're low in carbs and high in protein. They maintain their shape when cooked.

But the chickpea flavor can be a little offensive, depending on how you serve it. If you're specifically looking for a legume-based noodle, however, Banza is your best bet.

Ancient Harvest

Ancient Harvest has been in the gluten-free pasta game for a while, and they've since expanded to include a legume-based protein pasta line and Supergrain pasta with amaranth and quinoa. We didn't exactly love those two offerings, but their classic gluten-free pasta is pretty solid.

Rummo

Rummo has the taste and texture we're looking for with a gluten-free pasta. It retains its shape and doesn't fall apart under the weight of even the heaviest of sauces. And with five different shapes available, it works for basically any recipe.

Ronzoni

Ronzoni's gluten-free pasta recipe utilizes four different grains: corn, quinoa, and both white and brown rice. Its flavor is less mild than some of our other favorites, but it's still subtle enough to not upstage your sauce. It also was one of the most sturdy noodles we tried.

Barilla

Barilla is an industry mainstay, so we had high expectations for their gluten-free offerings. And they definitely delivered. Their combo of rice and corn makes for a mild-flavored noodle that maintains its structural integrity. We'd gladly serve this to both gluten-free and pro-gluten friends.

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