Wal Mart's gluten-free Good Value Line

[mamaw]

I'm not a  big  Wal-Mart  shopper  but  was  in the  store  &  found the  Chex  new  gluten-free  oatmeals..  I  haven't  tried them  yet.... I also  found they  have  great  value     brand  of  gluten-free  items.. I  bought the  vanilla & a  pkg  of  the  chocolate  cream  cookies  to  try... I  /we   were  very  disappointed  in  them...  They  were  very  gritty,  reminding  me  of  how  far  we  have  come  in the  gluten-free  food  arena.....Ten  years  ago  these  would  have  been  probably yummy  but  with today's  gluten-free  food  these  can  go  away ... There  are  so  many  so  much  better  with  no grit... I  have to  give  them  a  thumbs  down... 

For  a less  expensive  brand  I would  chose  Aldi's gluten-free....

[chocominties]

I bought the deluxe macaroni and cheese, and here were my thoughts:

 

The pasta is either Tinkyada or an exact replica.  The ingredients are exactly the same and the shape (the ridges in the elbows) is the same.  You have to be careful if you're like me and prefer to halve the box (half now, half later), since the pasta expands to about twice its size.

 

The cheese sauce is something similar to what you'd get in Velveeta shells and cheese.  It doesn't have the depth of Annie's or Kraft's cheddar sauce.  But it's not as watery and flavorless as Ragu's jarred sauce.  I imagine that this gluten free mac and cheese is comprised of whatever cheese sauce Great Value usually includes, and then a gluten free pasta. 

 

Since I was in the habit of using Tinkyada + Ragu (plus pepper and actual cheddar to make the sauce taste like anything) anyway, I was pretty pleased with this.  I like the sauces Annie's puts out, but their noodles leave a lot to be desired.  My ideal combo would be Annie's sauce (white cheddar was my favorite back when I could eat gluten) and Tinkyada pasta, but this is fine.

 

I didn't try any of the other Great Value products. 

[LauraTX]

I miss the annies white cheddar sauce, too!

 

I saw the products at walmart this week, I normally don't shop there.   Picked up a deluxe shells n cheese and I 100% agree with you, Chocominties.  It does make a good amount so if you have a lot of mouths to feed it may be good.

[Adalaide]

I'm a white cheddar kind of person in my boxed mac & cheese. You can get Annie's gluten-free mac & cheese in white cheddar. I pick it up at Target and Winco. Not sure where others may find it as I only get it at a local chain, but there is also a packet called Riega that is just the cheese packet, add your own noodles. I get it for something like a buck a packet which is way cheaper than boxes of mac & cheese. (I honestly can't recommend the pepperjack flavor, it was awful. Blech! But the rest are good.)

 

I haven't checked out Walmart's new stuff yet, but maybe I will the next time I go head to a Walmart just to see what they have at my local store.

[MissyBB]

I'm assuming all of the above posters are in the USA? I am in Canada and haven't seen a Great Value gluten-free line as of yet.

[mamaw]

I'm not  a  wal-mart  fan or big  shopper  there  but  I did try  the gluten-free  cream sandwich cookies.. Ten years ago  these  would have been  great  but in today's gluten-free  arena  these  are  VERY Gritty....I  give  them  a  1  out of 10.. very  disappointing. Aldi's  line  has  wal -marts line  beat  by  100!!!! Haven't  tried  anything  else...

[Adalaide]

They just got a bunch of stuff at my husband's store and at the store I shop at. He brought home the pretzel sticks for me last week. The price was about the same as Snyder's on sale and while they aren't bad, they also aren't good. Maybe I'm also spoiled from eating Snyders.

 

We went shopping today and I picked up a few things just to give them a try myself. I got a box of the deluxe shells and cheese, the regular boxed macaroni and cheese and my husband wanted to try the cheeseburger macaroni like Hamburger Helper. Sometimes we just want something we can throw together without the effort of cooking so if it isn't bad it'll be something to keep in the pantry for those nights. Everything was pretty cheap. The mac & cheese was just over $1 and the deluxe was just over $2. I thought that was too good to pass up giving them a try. As I try them, I'll be sure to share my opinions.

[shadowicewolf]

I'm not  a  wal-mart  fan or big  shopper  there  but  I did try  the gluten-free  cream sandwich cookies.. Ten years ago  these  would have been  great  but in today's gluten-free  arena  these  are  VERY Gritty....I  give  them  a  1  out of 10.. very  disappointing. Aldi's  line  has  wal -marts line  beat  by  100!!!! Haven't  tried  anything  else...

The vanilla cream sandwich cookies?

 

I tried them. I find them to be quite good.

[Adalaide]

I had both the deluxe and regular mac & cheese already. I wanted to try them sooner rather than later so I would know how I felt about them. My husband and I both enjoyed them. The regular one wasn't quite as good as the Annie's, I prefer the pasta from Annie's but other than that it was just fine.

 

I was tempted to try the cookies, my husband grabbed them but I told him someone said they were gritty. Since you liked them though I'll tell him that we'll give them a go. If they're okay they'll make a great cheap cookie for pie crusts or ice cream cakes.

[larry mac]

I shop at Walmart almost every day, and dislike Aldi's. Tried the great value brand mac & cheese last night. The mac does swell up like crazy like someone mentioned. The cheese powder was typical store brand mediocre, I prefer using Krafts cheese packets, and just throwing their noodles away. I had to doctor it up myself, but it was dirt cheap, compared to other gluten-free products.

 

The cookies were pretty tasty, if a little crumbly. But again, very inexpensive.

 

I'm very excited to see WM start offering these products. They are obviously procured by them from some of the same manufacturers we are buying other gluten-free products from. But, at a much lower final price. 

 

Things are looking up for us. Eight years ago I would have been shocked to see the availability of products we can now find at our local store.

 

best regards, larry mac

[Adalaide]

We tried the cheeseburger macaroni skillet meal thing. It wasn't bad. It was certainly far FAR better than that Mrs. Leeper's stuff. (It didn't taste like a box of salt.) It also certainly isn't brand name quality. With the price being so low for a gluten free food, I'd say it is definitely worth it for anyone who needs to keep something on hand for a relatively quick convenience food. It was even decent reheated.

 

I also always preferred Kraft mac & cheese in a box, but I am certainly not going to buy a box of the stuff just so I can pick out the packet, throw away the noodles and spend the entire time having kitchen anxiety about a cheese packet covered in gluten in my kitchen. Pass, thanks. I really do wish they would just sell the stupid packets!

[kareng]

We tried the cheeseburger macaroni skillet meal thing. It wasn't bad. It was certainly far FAR better than that Mrs. Leeper's stuff. (It didn't taste like a box of salt.) It also certainly isn't brand name quality. With the price being so low for a gluten free food, I'd say it is definitely worth it for anyone who needs to keep something on hand for a relatively quick convenience food. It was even decent reheated.

 

I also always preferred Kraft mac & cheese in a box, but I am certainly not going to buy a box of the stuff just so I can pick out the packet, throw away the noodles and spend the entire time having kitchen anxiety about a cheese packet covered in gluten in my kitchen. Pass, thanks. I really do wish they would just sell the stupid packets!

They used to sell the powdered cheese in a little container. I think they may have stopped.....

[larry mac]

Tried the Cheeseburger Macaroni last night. It needed doctoring up IMO, just like the mac & cheese. I added some cheddar, some Velveeta, lots more milk, some seasonings, some sour cream, and a little gluten-free Kikkomans soy sauce. It was pretty good, even reheated today (with more milk). Oh, and it required twice the cooking time as stated in the instructions.

 

Probably could have just made it from scratch. lol.

 

bests regards, larry mac