Who doesn’t like a hearty pasta dish: lasagna, mac & cheese, tortellini, spaghetti and more.  Pasta fills the spot doesn’t it?  You find it at pot-lucks and weddings, catered meals and family homes.  A versatile easy to use meal that so many people now-a-days have to pass up on as more and more people discover that gluten is not their friend.  Rizopia pasta comes to the rescue with their gluten free rice and quinoa pastas!  YAY!!!!

I received a box filled to the brim with two bags each of 16 oz bag of Rizopia Rice Pasta in the fusilli, shells, macaroni varieties, 16 oz bag of Rizopia Organic Brown Rice Pasta (fantasia) – this is a mixed fun shape bag, 12 oz bag of Rizopia Quinoa Organic Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli and 12 oz box of Rizopia Brown Rice Pasta, Gluten-free, Oven Ready Lassgne.   Along with each of these dry pasta packages came a plastic sleeve containing directions on how to cook this pasta and four recipes: Vegan Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad, One-Pot Mac and Cheese, Quick & Easy no-Boil Lasagna, and vegetarian sun-dried tomato pasta.

I found the pasta to be feel and look very similar to other dry pastas except for the macaroni.  This came with ridges on it on the characteristic curved shape. I am not sure why it doesn’t have a smooth edge like most macaroni but it doesn’t affect it’s cooking or feel in the mouth after cooking.

Having ready made recipes to use was much appreciated. I have discovered, through cooking with corn and bean pastas, that they don’t all cook the same.  If you visit their website you will discover a recipe section. The pasta and sausage intrigues.

I have to admit being a bit nervous about trying this pasta.  I’ve tried a variety of gluten-free pastas in the past and had found them to be disappointing.  Some were barely edible the first time served and all were inedible the second time around.  I was concerned this would proved to be case with Rizopia pasta as well.

I was surprised at the unique way to cook the one-pot mac and cheese. It truly was one pot meal without a need to drain the pasta. Such an easy way to cook this pasta and a quick meal to make for the family. It was a good introductory recipe for me to try with this new pasta. I have to say that we enjoyed it the first time through. The leftovers, which normally we enjoy, didn’t work for us. The pasta became soggy and though I tried it fried or heated in the oven, it simply remained a soggy mess. 

A friend of mine was excited to give this pasta a try as she thought it might be a good option for one of her children. She noted that the pasta dish she made was enjoyed by the whole family and she liked that she didn’t need to let it boil as long as her other pasta. She loved that it is gluten-free and is considers buying this pasta more frequently for her family.

My next dish was the lasagna, a very simple dish to make, much less complicated than some that I have tried. The meal cooked up well and even my picky pasta husband said I could make this one again.  WOOHOO!  Leftovers worked well for the lasagna.

For my third dish I made a cold tuna mac salad. I wanted to see if I could use this pasta the same way I do other pasta. Other than cooking it for slightly less time and the water getting cloudy, it worked just fine. Leftovers worked well for this meal as well.

Hubby used the 1/2 the quinoa pasta to make a cheese-based salad for work.  He said “it was good” and then used the other half of the package to make another salad. He thinks we could add the quinoa pasta to grocery rotation.

Rizopia Pasta is an excellent alternative to regular wheat-based pasta. I was SO pleased that, other than the one meal, this pasta worked just fine for leftovers. In a family of three, I find it easiest to cook planning for leftovers. Having leftovers makes it easy for hubby to take along a quick meal to work, and for an easy meal for my son and I later in the week. For those needing a good gluten-free pasta this dry pasta will fit your grocery needs just fine. I know from my work at the food bank that having a gluten-free option is becoming a real need for some people.  I encourage people to buy gluten-free for the foodbank whenever they can to help out those need. 🙂

-Product review by Annette Vellenga, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September, 2018