We’ve come to expect certain specific foods on the holiday dinner table: a classic turkey or ham, plus stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and pie. For people who eat a gluten free diet, the holidays can be a tricky time to navigate. Fortunately, there are gluten free options for nearly every dish on the Thanksgiving table, including gluten free stuffing and gluten free cornbread. There are even gluten free French fried onions for that staple of American holiday side dishes: green bean casserole.
Simply Nature Organic Gluten-Free French Fried Onions cost $2.99 for a 6-ounce canister at the time of publication. This is a product of Holland and was packed in the U.S. It was certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). It’s also vegan and non-GMO.
This is an Aldi Find, which means you can only find it at Aldi for a short time. Aldi won’t ship it to you after it sells out at your local store.
Ingredients are: organic onions, organic palm oil, organic buckwheat flour, and salt.
Simply Nature Organic Gluten-Free French Fried Onions nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
One can has about 24 two-tablespoon servings. One serving has 45 calories, 3.5 grams of total fat (5% DV), 0.5 grams of saturated fat (3% DV), no cholesterol, 40 mg of sodium (2% DV), 3 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), no dietary fiber, no added sugars, and 1 gram of protein.
There are no directions on the can for how to make green bean casserole, but I generally mix two cans of drained cut green beans with one can of cream of mushroom soup, a splash of milk, a sprinkling of ground pepper, and a half cup or so of the French fried onions. Then I bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Then top with the remaining onions and bake for 5 additional minutes.
Keep in mind that many commercially prepared cans of cream of mushroom soup also contain gluten, so to make truly gluten free green bean casserole, you’ll want to look for a gluten free soup option or make the soup yourself from scratch. To the best of my knowledge, Aldi does not sell gluten free cream of mushroom soup. However, you can find gluten free cream of mushroom soup at Walmart, and here’s a blog that lists several GF cream of mushroom soup brands. If you’d rather make your own gluten free cream of mushroom soup from scratch, here’s a recipe that uses rice flour.
Green bean casserole after baking in the oven.
No one in my household is on a gluten free diet, so I used regular cream of mushroom soup from Aldi (under the store’s Fit & Active private label) to make this casserole. As I expected, it baked up easily and looked just like traditional green bean casserole.
Green bean casserole with gluten free French fried onions on my dinner plate, along with mashed potatoes from Aldi, gluten free stuffing from Aldi, and grilled pasture-raised chicken from a local farm.
These gluten free French fried onions tasted just like regular ones to my family, and if I had not told them they were gluten free, my family never would have known it. The texture was spot on as well. We give these a thumbs up.
The Verdict:
Simply Nature Organic Gluten-Free French Fried Onions are practically indistinguishable from regular French fried onions. If you need a gluten free side dish for your holiday dinner table, these will help you make it. (Just remember that you’ll also need to use a gluten free cream of mushroom soup, or make your own soup, for a truly gluten free green bean casserole.)
Sounds like a great and yummy recipe and who does not like Green Bean Casserole? So far at my ALDI there’s nothing that I don’t like