Gluten Free Diet Recipes for Exciting Dishes Ready in Half-an-Hour or Less

Makes 18

I usually don’t recommend or “push” particular brands, so I’ll just say that the cake mix in this recipe comes from Betty C. You’ll probably find it only at really big supermarkets with a lot of shelf space.

1 box (15 oz) gluten free yellow cake mix
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tssp vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp grated orange peel
1&1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
1 Tbsp sugar

Heat oven to 375°F. Place paper baking cups in each of 18 regular-size muffin cups.

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, cornmeal, water, butter, vanilla, eggs and orange peel just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently stir in blueberries. Spoon evenly into muffin cups; sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm or cool.

Whaddya mean, “free”? Gluten-free things aren’t free. No, but this crust is free - of gluten, dairy, egg, soy & yeast. I call that, “Free”.

2 cups gluten free flour
2 tsp each xanthum gum & baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp each salt & Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups seltzer water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ones and mix ‘em together.

Spread the sticky batter/dough mixture onto an oiled pizza pan or cookie sheet, using water or oil to keep your hands free – hey, there’s another "free" - of sticky batter.

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Add your favorite sauce and toppings, bake about 12 minutes or until toppings are done. Eat.

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I'll bet this is a treat you'll never find gluten-free at a store; so what do you do? You make 'em! And, guess what - they're as yummy as the "glutinous" ones.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 pinch salt
3 Tbsp cream
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, combine everything except the cream, and mix well. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be kinda crumbly.Add the cream and beat until smooth.

Add cheese and mix until dough is pretty much uniform in color.Roll out or pat the dough to 1/4" thickness on an un-floured surface. If the dough is too sticky to work with, refrigerate it for a few minutes.

Cut into thin strips, place on a greased baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes. Done.

I know, if you had time to make gluten-free pasta you probably wouldn’t be here at QuickEatsPlus. Well, here are two reasons to do it: it’s a whole lot cheaper than store-bought, and some of you will really have fun doing it. And in case the sales person chuckles when you ask for "xanthan gum" it's pronounced, "zanthan" with a "Z", not "exanthan" - but you knew that.

1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp potato starch
3/4 tsp salt
4 & 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 large eggs (or 4 or 5 egg whites)
1 & 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine flours, salt, and xanthan gum.

Beat the eggs lightly and add the oil.

Pour the egg-oil liquid into the flour mixture and stir. Work the dough into a firm ball and knead for 1 or two minutes.

Place the ball of dough on a potato starch-floured (not rice flour) breadboard and roll as thin as possible.

Place the ball of dough on a surface floured with potato starch (not rice flour) and roll as thin as possible. Don’t worry, this dough is tough, and even when it’s almost transparent, it'll still handle well.

Cut into one of the following shapes:For fettuccine and spaghetti, very thin strips.For a noodle casserole, slightly wider noodles.For lasagna, 1 & 1/2-by-4 to 8-inch rectangles.

Cook pasta for 10-12 minutes in salted boiling water, to which you’ve added a tablespoon of oil.

Drain, rinse well and finish your dish or freeze for “instant” fresh pasta in the future.

Who says you need at least 6 special ingredients in every GF recipe? This has just one!

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 & 1/2 cups rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Thoroughly beat egg and milk together.

In another bowl, mix all dry ingredients and cheese together and blend them with the egg/milk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Done.

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Since baked goodies are where celiacs feel most cheated you'll find a lot of those recipes here. There'll be plenty more like this one as the page grows, but if you like them too much you might "grow", too; know what I mean?

1 cup each white & brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup GF peanut butter
2 & 3/4 cups brown rice flour or rice flour
1/4 cup garbanzo flour
2 Tbsp potato starch
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together the first 6 ingredients.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients and stir them in. If you find the batter a bit dry, mix in a Tbsp or so of water.

Form into 1 inch balls, place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake until golden. Cool on a rack and eat 'em up.

Can you imagine what a great hit this would make for a kids’ birthday party? Adults would enjoy it, too, if you keep the ingredients a secret until they take a bite.

3 & 1/2 qts popped popcorn
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanuts
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 cups miniature marshmallows

Line a 10 inch tube pan or other 12 cup pan with foil.

In a very large bowl (or your sink!), combine popcorn, chocolate chips and peanuts and mix well.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt margarine. Stir in peanut butter, then the marshmallows and continue stirring until marshmallows melt and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and combine with the popcorn mixture until well coated.

Can you believe this? Real sticky buns and ready, magically, in under half-an-hour. Just don't eat them all yourself; non-celiacs will love'em, too.

1 & 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt and xantham gum
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 to 1 cup cinnamon/sugar mixture

Mix the dry ingredients well, then and add 4 eggs, oil and milk; stir well in a large bowl. Add more dough if it’s too sticky.

Now here’s the ingenious part: Spray a 20-inch long piece of wax paper with Pam (or similar). Place the dough on it and with floured or oiled hands spread the dough into a 10 x 14-inch rectangle. Brush on melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon/ sugar.

Lift the longer side of the wax paper just enough to get the dough to start rolling over on itself and ontinue rolling. Slice the tube of dough into 12 pieces and bake them in large size non-stick muffin tins for about 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with confectioners sugar icing.

Confectioners Sugar Icing

1/2 tsp butter
2 Tbsps hot milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add butter to hot milk; add sugar slowly to make the right consistency for spreading. Stir in vanilla extract and spread.

I like to use paper or foil cup liners for baking muffins; washing out the bottom of the muffin pan is a pain, a small one, but with the liners, no pain.

1 & 1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp orange flavor
1/2 cup each water & orange juice
1/4 cup each canola oil & rice syrup

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine all dry ingredients.

Mix all liquids in another bowl and combine with the dry ingredients to form a batter. Pour into paper-lined or non-stick muffin pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Wait a minute! How quick is “overnight”? OK, think of it as a slow-cooker recipe for cookies. Getting them into the oven won’t take longer than the time it takes for your oven to reach 350F. Of course, if you leave the oven on they’ll be done in 10 or 15 minutes and you could eat a couple before going to bed.

4 egg whites
1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a prepared cookie sheet. Place in the preheated oven, close it up and turn it off, Don’t open it again until the next morning when you’ll find them ready to go into your cookie jar – and into your mouth.

However, if you can’t wait that long don’t turn off the oven until they’ve taken on a golden glow, 10-15 minutes. Then you could let them sit and cool overnight – after eating a couple, of course.

Amaranth seed or flour is not going to be found in your supermarket, so don't waste time searching; just head to the health food store. And I promise to give you at least one more recipe soon to use more of that stuff.

1 cup amaranth seed
2 & 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch spinach
1 cup tomatoes, crushed
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 & 1/2 tsp each basil & oregano
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp onion, minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Add amaranth to boiling water, bring back to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 18-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash spinach and simmer until wilted.

Meannwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic and onion. Sauté 2 or 3 minutes, then add tomatoes, mushrooms, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and a Tbsp of water.

Drain and chop the spinach and add to the tomato mixture. Cook about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes or so.