Pizza Party: Does Gluten-Free Pizza Make the Grade for the Non-GF Diner?

By Ellen Wilcox

When people with Celiac Disease first hear their diagnosis from their doctors, we typically have a lot of questions.  And there’s one question we all seem to ask nearly right away:  “No pizza?”

That’s not surprising when you consider that more than three billion pizzas are sold each year in the U.S., according to the National Association of Pizza Operators.

It’s the go-to food when you don’t know what to have for dinner.  It can be delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes.  It’s the favorite food of kids between 3 and 11 years old. 

And it’s off limits.  Or it was.  

Today, there is a growing array of gluten-free pizzas.  From national chains like Uno’s and zPizza, to local chains like Romeo’s in Washington State, to mom and pop restaurants in communities throughout the country, more and more people following a gluten-free diet are able to enjoy restaurant pizza. 

Even my local pizza place, Broadway Pizza in Potomac, Maryland -- which I had on speed dial before I was diagnosed with celiac disease -- just started carrying Still Riding Pizza crusts and gluten-free beer!  I high-tailed it over there as soon as I heard about it, and guess what?  They had such a great response that very first week, they had sold out!  While I left a bit disappointed, I was thrilled that the restaurant had such a great turn out.  They advised me they would be getting a new shipment in a few days, and the following week I stopped in on my way home from work for take-out. Just like old times!

It’s easier than ever before to stock your freezer with frozen pizzas and your cabinets with pizza crust mixes, ready for a casual dinner with family or friends.  In fact, I recently invited a group of family and friends over to my home for a taste test of make-at-home gluten-free pizzas.  And since pizza is best when shared, I wanted to discover if my non-GF friends would find any of them enjoyable.

Since there are more pizza products available than can possibly fit in my freezer and pantry, we limited ourselves to what we could cook and taste in one evening.  We tried eight different ones, including frozen pizzas, frozen crusts, and mixes.

We compared taste and texture for all the pizzas. For my gluten-free guests, the overall top rating was “as good as I remember!”  For my non-GF guests, the top rating was “how can this is gluten free?”

Overall, the gluten-free guests enjoyed all the pizzas more than those who were not following a gluten-free diet (no surprise there!). 

Some of the favorites were frozen pizzas from Bella Monica, Glutino,  the Grainless Baker, and Gluten Free & Fabulous.  We sampled Gillian’s Foods’ Pizza Crust (the kind you buy as frozen dough) and Chebe’s frozen crust. We also tried Pamela’s pizza recipe listed on the bag of Pamela’s Gluten Free Bread Mix.  Pamela’s recipe gives instructions for a crispy crust (using a baking stone) and a chewy crust (using a regular baking sheet).  The group much preferred the taste and texture of the crispy crust.

My guests awarded the Pizza Party Prize to Bella Monica for best flavor and Glutino for best crust. The Gluten Free & Fabulous pizza also scored well and was the only frozen pizza that came in a family size.  All the guests also really liked the frozen pizza from the Grainless Baker, but wished it had more sauce.

I asked my non-gluten-free guests the tough question:  If you came to my house for dinner, would you enjoy eating this?  Or should I definitely supply a regular pizza for you?

Their answers surprised me.  While my guests agreed that none of the GF pizzas they tasted that evening could really take the place of a real pizza for them, they had an interesting suggestion for me.  They said they would most enjoy the gluten-free pizzas cut into small pieces, as part of a series of appetizers.  Good to know!