Are you looking for the best gluten free pasta brand out there? Then we have the answers you are looking for. When conducting research for this article, we dug through dozens of social media posts that solicited recommendations for the best gluten free pasta brands out there. We then collected all of the recommendations from all of these posts and summarized them in a few easy to understand plots.
So what does this all mean? It means that these recommendations for gluten free pasta brands are not just the recommendations of one person with specific tastes and preferences. Instead, they represent the opinion of the broader gluten free community.
Gluten free pasta brands we considered
What brands were considered in this analysis of the best gluten free pasta brands? Any brand that was mentioned in at least 2 or 3 different comments was considered for this analysis. More specifically, the following brands were considered.
- Aldi
- Ancient Harvest
- Banza
- Barilla
- Bionaturae
- DeLallo
- Jovial
- Le Venziane
- Ronzoni
- Takinyada
- Trader Joe’s
- Wegman’s
The most recommended gluten free pasta brand
So how did we determine which gluten free pasta brand was most recommended within the gluten free community? We combed through dozens of social media posts that solicited recommendations for the best brand of gluten free pasta. For each post, we took note of how many comments recommended each of the gluten free pasta brands we were considering. Once we were done looking through all of the posts, we tallied up how many comments recommended each brand.
After tallying up all of the comments, we found that Barilla gluten free pasta was the most frequently recommended brand. In total, 52.2% comments mentioned Barilla as being the best gluten free pasta brand. In second place was Trader Joe’s gluten free pasta, which was mentioned in 15.6% total comments. Coming in third and fourth place were Ronzoni pasta and Banza pasta.
In addition to looking at the number of comments that recommended each gluten free pasta brand, we also looked at the number of likes associated with each comment. We figured that if someone saw an existing comment that recommended their favorite gluten free pasta brand, they might be more likely to like the existing comment than create a new comment that says the same thing.
When we looked at the number of likes associated with each comment, the general order of the gluten free pasta brands remained the same. Barilla was in first, followed by Trader Joe’s, Ronzoni, and Banza. While the order of the gluten free pasta brands remained the same, the lead that Barilla had over the other pasta brands increased by a large amount. In total 72.9% of all likes were associated with comments that recommended Barilla gluten free pasta.
More on our top gluten free pasta brand
Now of course we would never recommend a gluten free pasta brand without trying it first ourselves. We tested multiple different types of gluten free pasta made by Barilla including their spaghetti, penne, elbow noodles, and lasagna noodles. We then rated Barilla gluten free pasta based on three key elements that are crucial for foodies who are looking for the best gluten free pasta band. Specifically, we rated Barilla pasta on flavor, texture, and reheating.
Ratings
Flavor
5/5
The first element that is important to consider when assessing a gluten free pasta brand is flavor. When we assess the favor of gluten free pasta brands, we are looking for brands that do not have a strong flavor that overpowers the flavor of any sauce that is put on it. We found that Barilla gluten free pasta has a neutral taste that does not overpower the flavor of sauces that are put on it. In fact, we found that Barilla’s gluten free pasta tasted very similar to their regular pasta that is made with wheat flour. For this reason, we gave Barilla 5 out of 5 stars for flavor.
Texture
4.5/5
The next element that is important to consider when evaluating gluten free pasta brands is texture. Specifically, we were looking at the texture of the pasta after it had been cooked according to the instructions on the box. We found that Barilla gluten free pasta has a nice firm texture and it did not disintegrate or become mushy after being cooked according to the instructions on the box. We did find that Barilla gluten free pasta became a little mushy if it was even slightly overcooked. For this reason we gave Barilla gluten free pasta 4.5 out of 5 stars for texture.
Reheating
3/5
The final element that is important to consider when assessing a gluten free pasta brand is reheating. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether Barilla gluten free pasta became mushy or disintegrated when it was reheated. We did find that Barilla gluten free pasta became soft and started to fall apart a little after being reheated. That being said, it did not fall apart as much as many other gluten free pasta brands we have tried. For that reason we gave Barilla gluten free pasta 3 out of 5 stars for reheating.
When to opt for other brands
While Barilla was rated as our top gluten free pasta brand, there are some cases where you might want to opt for other gluten free pasta brands. What are some cases where you might want to opt for gluten free pasta brands other than Barilla? Here are a few.
Protein pasta
One reason that you might want to opt for a gluten free pasta brand other than Barilla is if you are looking for protein pasta. One of our other top rated gluten free pasta brands specializes in protein pasta, so if you are looking for a protein pasta brand then we recommend opting for that brand. Specifically, Banza specializes in protein pastas that are made from chickpeas.
Methodology and raw data
Data for this analysis of the most recommended gluten free pasta brands was collected primarily from Reddit. In order to collect data for this article, we looked at all of the reddit posts that show up on the first 3 pages of the search results for the following google search: “best gluten free pasta site:reddit.com”. We examined each post that came up in this search to determine which posts were recommending one specific gluten free pasta brand and which posts were soliciting recommendations for gluten free pasta brands.
We selected all of the posts that were asking for recommendations for the best gluten free pasta brands. We considered all top level comments for all posts that met that criteria, excluding comments that mentioned more than two different gluten free pasta brands.
