The Best Gluten-Free Pasta Brand, According to 3 Experts

A fact I think is undeniable: There’s nothing better than a good, cheesy bowl of pasta after a long day. For those who want to avoid gluten, finding a bite of pasta that hits the spot can be nearly impossible. Or, at least, that used to be the case. These days, pasta brands everywhere are creating really great gluten-free versions of pasta.

Just like traditional noodles, though, not all boxes of gluten-free pasta are created equal. In fact, depending on what their base ingredient is, some can be chalky, gummy, or (worse) bitter-tasting. So I consulted some pasta experts to find out the absolute best brand to buy. Luckily for me, after realizing all three experts had the very same favorite brand, I now feel I can confidently whip up pasta for just about anyone, including my gluten-free friends.

The Experts I Asked

• Melissa Erdelac: Cookbook author and recipe developer at Mamagourmand
• Ivan Beacco: Italian chef and founder of Red Inside Culinary in New York City
• Leslie Benson: Owner, author, and the blogger behind My Gluten Free Cucina

The Best Gluten-Free Pasta Brand According to Food Experts

The gluten-free pasta chefs and gluten-free experts choose? Rummo. "[Rummo] behaves the closest to traditional durum wheat—firm texture and gentle starch release, and it doesn’t fall apart if you look at it the wrong way," says Beacco. It's good enough to mimic traditional pasta. “When you want to fool anyone that they are eating GF pasta, this one hits the mark every time," Erdelac adds.

What makes this particular pasta so delicious, according to our experts, is the ingredients in Rummo. Whereas many GF pastas are made from legumes, Rummo churns out noodles made from a corn and rice blend that's combined using a traditional steaming method for a firm, springy, and toothsome texture. 

“I lean toward rice-corn blends because they cook reliably and stay closer to classic Italian pasta flavor,” says Beacco. The ingredient base not only creates a nice texture, but it's also tasty to eat. “It’s the corn and brown rice blend that makes Rummo so great,” explains Benson, “other gluten-free pastas made with beans such as chickpea, lentil, or pea just do not taste great in my opinion.” 

With a nice taste and chew compared to other brands, our experts also like how Rummo offers a variety of pasta shapes, including fusilli, rigatoni, penne, elbows, and spaghetti. “I absolutely love their penne rigate. Tubular shapes are more forgiving in the GF world, and this penne keeps its integrity without the ends turning to mush,” says Beacco. 

As for what to make with Rummo’s gluten-free pastas, Erdelac likes these in baked pasta dishes like mac and cheese casserole, tetrazzini, and pastitsio. With such a superb texture and taste, the noodles can really handle any pasta recipe you throw at them.