I normally purchase the Quinoa Elbow Macaroni for my son who is on a gluten-free diet. But, the last time I was shopping for him the store didn't have any on the shelves, much to my dismay. Instead I picked up this Glutino Elbow Macaroni because it was my only other choice of a gluten-free pasta in the elbow noodle shape. Since my son is on the Autism spectrum and gets stuck in routines, he prefers his GFCF mac & 'cheese' to be the right shape and some fights are just not worth it. If I had to go to a different store to get the right shape, I would have. But, before I resorted to that I figured I would try the Glutino Elbows.

About Glutino Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta Macaroni

I paid around $3.50 for a 10 oz box of elbow macaroni. What we do for gluten free foods..right? I'm used to paying a bit more for gluten free, but when a regular 16 oz. box of macaroni can be picked up for under $1 it is painful to pay more than 3 the price for less product, it makes me have a lump in my throat.

A bit about this macaroni - it is made of Brown Rice instead of wheat, has no gluten, no trans-fat, no egg, and no cholesterol. They say that this 10 oz box has 5 servings, but I actually am able to make 2 macaroni and cheese dinners for my son who is 7, so I really beg to differ that you could get 5 servings out of this.

Glutino Macaroni is easy to prepare. Simply bring some water to a boil and then add the uncooked pasta. Bring it back to a boil and remove it after about 10 minutes and drain it. I don't really care for the fact that it turns the water all white, but once it is drained this pasta is the right consistency and isn't sticky or at all mushy. The taste is decent and with saucing no one would really know that it was an "alternative" or special diet pasta. The only thing that is a bit of a tip off is the fact that the pasta itself is more of a brown color than blonde. It absolutely begs to be sauced up or it visually stands out. I mix it with a cheese substitute that is orange in color that does an "OK" job but it would be disguised better in a red sauce.

FYI - for those wondering, since my son is dairy free (casein free) on just how I make macaroni and cheese I use a product called Vegan Gourmet cheese which is a non dairy cheese. Their cheeses actually melt down well and the cheddar one is the "right" orange color similar to Kraft Mac & Cheese. I simply melt some with casein free margarine over the cooked elbows and my son down's it just like he used to do with the Kraft stuff without any of the "bad stuff" in it.


Overall, Glutino Macaroni is pretty good stuff. If you can swallow the fact that it costs so much more than regular pasta and close your eyes to the brown noodles it could really be almost perfect. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars because my son took to eating it with no grief.

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