Aldi is adding seasonal items to its gluten-free brand roster again this year. A recent store visit found a few “new” liveGfree products that will make gluten free holiday recipes a bit easier. We’re talking about liveGfree gluten-free stuffing mixes and a gluten-free version of French fried crispy onions, a must-have for green bean casserole-making.
Help with Gluten Free Holiday Recipes
We are pleased to report that Aldi recently has added two seasonal items to its liveGfree product portfolio. The new additions can make holiday meal preparation just that much easier for shoppers with Celiac Disease and others who are avoiding gluten.
Now in stores:
- LiveGfree Gluten Free Stuffing – Available in two varieties: Turkey and Chicken stuffing in a 6-oz. box priced at $2.89 each. Both are made with brown and white rice flour and a “special blend” of spices. I bought the Turkey variety to try, primarily because the box includes gluten-free bread cubes. I’ll more than likely use them as an ingredient in my own recipe to make gluten-free stuffing from scratch.
Note: If you haven’t already, start saving your gluten-free bread heels and other “old” pieces of gluten-free bread. I save up for months – and then usually combine with some store-bought gluten-free stuffing cubes. Whole Foods carries some from its Gluten-Free Bakehouse in the frozen section. But get there early or buy when you see them because they’re only available for a limited time and often sell out quickly.
- LiveGfree Gluten Free French Fried Onions – The gluten-free topping needed for the “quintessential casserole for the holidays,” as French’s Food Company describes it on its website. The original FRENCH’S Green Bean Casserole recipe obviously calls for FRENCH’S Crispy Fried Onions, but they are NOT gluten free. Enter Aldi with its own liveGfree store brand version for the assist.
But note that the original recipe also calls for Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup too. Again – WARNING, WARNING – NOT GLUTEN FREE, since wheat flour is listed as an ingredient. But there are plenty of “mushroom soup” recipes available for cooks to try their hand at a gluten-free version. Or pick up a can of Gluten Free Cafe’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Me, I never liked the casserole anyhow (gasp!). So I stick with plain old-fashioned green beans or another steamed vegetable, straight up.
GF Retail HQ Take
- Two big CPGs – Kraft and French Food Company – have missed a great opportunity to reformulate some signature seasonal items for gluten-free shoppers. Kraft could have and should have done it with its Stove Top Stuffing and FRENCH’s with its Crispy Fried Onions.
- Instead, let’s chalk Aldi up as yet another example of a store brand or small-batch artisan beating a big name brand to the punch in the gluten-free space.