Gluten-Free Christmas Food and Dessert Guide with Recipes & Tips

Celiac.com 12/17/2020 - Celiac.com's simple five-step gluten-free food and dessert guide will have you preparing a top-notch gluten-free Christmas meal with minimum stress. For people with celiac disease or gluten-intolerance, preparing a great gluten-free Christmas dinner has never been easier! 

Our gluten-free Christmas food and dessert guide lays out an easy step-by-step process that guarantees a great result. We’ve got some classic gluten-free recipes, along with links to great gluten-free resources to help make your gluten-free Christmas and holiday celebrations the best ever.

Four Simple Steps to a Perfect Gluten-free Christmas Dinner:

• Prepare a gluten-free Christmas ham
• Make great gluten-free scalloped potatoes Au Gratin 
• Make great gluten-free side dishes
• Make great gluten-free pies and desserts
• Serve gluten-free beer, wine, and booze

Step One - Choose a Great Ham

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
One of our favorite ham purveyors is Beeler's Pure Pork, which raises all their Heritage Duroc pigs without antibiotics. Beeler's delivers naturally gluten-free pork products of exceptional taste and quality. Of course, there are a number of purveyors of quality ham, including:

• Fossil Farms Berkshire Pork Bone-In Smoked Ham
• Melissa Cookston's Memphis BBQ Double-Smoked Spiral Cut Ham
• D'Artagnan Berkshire Pork Bone-In Spiral Ham
• Diestel Farms Whole Black Forest Ham at Williams-Sonoma
• Omaha Steaks Duroc Boneless Country Ham
• Nueske’s Spiral Sliced Bone-In Ham with Honey Glaze

Step Two - Make Great Scalloped Potatoes

The perfect potatoes to serve with ham. This recipes combines thinly sliced potatoes, Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses and cream with a few herbs and spices to deliver a tasty variation on traditional scalloped potatoes. It will help to fill the house with warmth and delicious aromas on a cold day, and goes great as a side to most diner entrees.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ⅛-inch-thick slices
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 1¼ cup grated Gruyere cheese, plus more for broiling
• ½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling
• ½ tablespoon butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more to finish
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash and slice potatoes and put into a large bowl.

In a saucepan, heat the cream with the bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and some salt and pepper.

While the cream heats up, use butter to grease a casserole dish.

Use a fork or slotted spoon to remove the bay leaves and thyme.

Pour the heated cream into a large bowl with the potato slices. Mix gently to coat the potatoes.

Add Gruyere and Parmesan and mix into the potatoes. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Toss gently to mix.

Spoon a little bit of cream into the bottom of the casserole dish. Then spoon the potatoes in.

Level out the potatoes for uniform cooking time. Pour the remaining cream at the bottom of the bowl over the top.

Top with some Parmesan, a bit of Gruyere, and fresh thyme leaves.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil, but pull back one corner for the steam to escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are bubbling and tender.

Put under the broiler and broil on high until the top is browned, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Step Three - Make Great Side Dishes

Here are four of our favorite side dishes to serve with a ham dinner.

• Baked Rice With Spinach and Parmesan Cheese
• Black-eyed Peas
• Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower
• Honey Glazed Baby Carrots

Step Four - Make gluten-free Christmas pies and desserts

Scroll down and follow the Pumpkin Pie recipe below, or follow the links to some of our best loved gluten-free desserts and baked goods (Note: King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour will work well in place of regular wheat flour most of these recipes, so feel free to substitute as you like):

• Holiday Pumpkin Bread (Gluten-Free)
• Orange Walnut Bread (Gluten-Free)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Banana Nut Bread #3 (Gluten-Free)
• Gingerbread #2 (Gluten-Free)
• Decadent Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Quick Cranberry Coconut Cookies (Gluten-Free)
• Molasses Spice Cookies (Gluten-Free)
• Snickerdoodles (Gluten-Free)
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free)
• Soft Sugar Cookies (Gluten-Free)
• Frosted Pumpkin Bars (Gluten-Free)
• Sugar & Spice Madeleines (Gluten-Free)
• Lebkuchen (German Ginger Cookies - Gluten-Free)
• Three Ingredient Gluten-Free Pie Crust
• Danish (Gluten-Free)
• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Butter Pecan Crust (Gluten-Free)
• Apple Crisp #2 (Gluten-Free)
• Tasty Apple Crisp (Gluten-Free)
• Gluten-free Chocolate Cream Pie
• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Almond Meal Crust
• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Butter Pecan Crust
• Traditional Gluten-free Apple Pie
• Low-Fat Pumpkin Flan
• Gluten-free Apple Crisp
• Gluten-free Gingerbread
• Gluten-free Orange Walnut Bread
• Candied Orange Peels

Step Five - Serve Great Gluten-Free Wine, Beer and Booze

Wine is gluten-free. To serve gluten-free beer, consult our Oktoberfest Beer Guide! Gluten-free vs. Gluten-removed Beers. All distilled spirits are gluten-free, but some people prefer to buy booze made from gluten-free ingredients. Here's a list of gin, whiskey, and vodka brands that are made from gluten-free ingredients.

GLUTEN-FREE GIN

• Cold River Gin is distilled from potatoes. The company’s website says that, like their world-famous vodkas, their gluten-free gin is made with whole Maine potatoes and the pure water of Maine's Cold River.
• Cold River uses a recipe that “dates back to the early days of British gin,” and contains their own “secret blend of seven traditional botanicals that are steeped for the perfect amount of time to infuse the essential flavors.”

GLUTEN-FREE WHISKEY

• Queen Jennie Whiskey, by Old Sugar Distillery is made entirely from sorghum. The idea of a whiskey made from gluten-free grains is sure to excite anyone with celiac disease who longs for a wee dram.
• The company’s web page says that Queen Jennie is made with 100% Wisconsin Sorghum, and is “Less sour than a bourbon and less harsh than a rye.”

GLUTEN-FREE VODKA

• Corn Vodka—Deep Eddy, Nikolai, Rain, Tito’s, UV
• Potato Vodka—Boyd & Blair, Cirrus, Chase, Chopin, Cold River Vodka, Cracovia, Grand Teton, Karlsson’s, Luksusowa, Monopolowa, Schramm Organic, Zodiac
• Monopolowa is one of my favorites, and is usually available at Trader Joe’s.
• Cold River gluten-free vodka is triple-distilled in a copper pot still, from Maine potatoes and water from Maine's Cold River.
• Tito’s award winning vodka is six times distilled from corn in an old-fashioned pot still, just like fine single malt scotches and high-end French cognacs. Tito’s is certified Gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Christmas Food and Dessert Resources

• Our Guide to the Best Gluten-Free Thanksgiving and Holiday Foods, Desserts & Cocktails
• Which Turkey Brands are Gluten-Free?
• Christmas Turkey Brine Recipe (Gluten-Free)
• Gluten-Free Christmas Ham
• Celiac.com's Best Gluten-free Christmas Stuffing Recipe (Gluten Free Christmas Dressing)
• Gluten-free Apple Pie and 20 Recipes for Festive Gluten-free Christmas Treats
• Gluten-Free Christmas Pumpkin Mousse
• 10 Celiac Disease Tips for Surviving a Christmas Gathering
• List of Safe Gluten-Free Candy
• List of Gluten-Free Easter and Passover Candy
• Are M&M's Gluten-Free and Safe for Celiacs?
• Get the Gluten-Free Word on Dove, Ghirardelli and Other Chocolates
• Are Snickers Candy Bars Gluten-Free?