Product Review: Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini

Product: Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini – $2.39+

I know what you’re thinking…pasta is pasta…it’s all about what you add to it.  Right?  Well…perhaps…unless you’re gluten-free.

Because then…pasta becomes an adventure in tastes and textures.  For example…quinoa pasta is my new favorite thing in life.  It cooks to perfect texture, phenomenal flavor, and doesn’t get mushy if you have to refrigerate it and have leftovers.  Rice pasta can get gummy…it can get mushy…it is fantastic if you eat it all the day you cook it…but even then, it sometimes just falls apart.  Corn pasta…well…I love the texture and the fact that it reheats beautifully, but I don’t put too much corn in my diet due to Monsanto…

Be that as it may, sometimes my roommate has surprises up her sleeve.  She was out on one of my last-minute errands one evening to the grocery store (for something I’m sure I thought I had in the pantry, but really didn’t), and upon her return she came back with a box of Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini.  Hmmm…a new gluten-free pasta I hadn’t heard of before.  This wasn’t common.  There are many I haven’t tried yet…but this brand I hadn’t even heard about yet.  Interesting.

Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini is pasta made from a multigrain blend, which includes white rice, brown rice, corn and quinoa.  So, it’s like everyone into the pool…let’s see what happens.  The box advertises that it tastes just as delicious as white pasta.  It has been forever since I have actually had white pasta…not just because of Celiac.  Years before even being diagnoses with an issues, I switched to whole wheat (or the irony!) pasta.  So…I address my roomie on this one…

…and her palate is messed up at times (she just had white pasta while in Disney World!) because she just said…”It tastes like pasta.”  Thanks…for not being helpful to this blog at all…

To her defense, she did follow that up with, “I would not be able to tell that was gluten-free…”

So…um…WIN?!

Okay…inconclusive on the taste-test portion of this with someone who doesn’t have to eat gluten-free pasta.

The fact of the matter is…Ronzoni does put out a fantastic product.  I love the way the noodles cook.  It takes about 9 minutes to reach that perfect al dente.  No fooling around.  My roommate complimented me on both nights we’ve eaten this with how I cooked the pasta perfectly.  YAY!  The noodles hold up to the boiling process as well as the draining.  They don’t shred or fall apart when they are dumped into the marinara sauce.  Nor do they fall off the fork when pierced just before taking a dainty bite…or a mouthful…depending on hunger level.

What does all this say?

1.) The roomie isn’t always the best source for comparison reasons…as her palate is sometimes flighty…

2.) This is the gluten-free pasta of champions.

3.) Multigrain = gluten-free perfection for taste, texture, and flavor.

Ronzoni really turned up the competition when they got into the gluten-free market.  I like how they take a nice mix of all the gluten-free grains and incorporate them into a sturdy, satisfying noodle.  They currently offer Spaghetti, Penne Rigate, and Rotini in this line.  Oh, and the gluten-free pasta is produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility…and each ingredient is verified to be gluten-free.  Cross-contamination is not a problem because the pasta making process is strongly controlled to maintain the gluten-free status of the produt.  I love that Ronzoni took this extra step to guarantee safety for it’s gluten-free consumers.

I prepared the Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini for dinner the night I returned from Disney World.  I have pasta and marinara in my pantry.  It was a given.  I thought the noodles cooked to perfection in the boiling water.  I loved that when I drained them, I didn’t have bits of noodles…just full, and fully-cooked, pasta.  I love that the sauce didn’t distract from the flavor of the noodles.  I thought the starchiness was spot-on for a pasta.  And that everything held together with each and every bite.

Nutritionally speaking, Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini gives you the standard 2 ounce serving size (which is about 3/4 cup).  This serving gives you ample pasta which will leave you satisfied without feeling bloaty and overstuffed as so many pastas can do.  This serving will provide you with 200 calories and 2 grams of fat.  Not bad for a boxed pasta, I must say.  In addition, this pasta is cholesterol-free, sodium-free, and sugar-free.  You also get 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein, which leaves you just on the right level of full.

I really am enjoying my Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini.  So, despite not being able to compare this pasta with ‘regular’ pasta when asked, the roomie rocked and choosing a new gluten-free pasta to try out.  I think this will be added to the quinoa pasta that I keep in the pantry as well.  So good.  Loved it all the way to that last forkful.

Spaghetti and pasta were my favorite thing growing up…and even going gluten-free…that hasn’t changed.  The gluten-free market has been expanding and thankfully, getting better and better with each version out there.  Forget mushy brown rice pasta…turn up the flavor and the texture.  Give Ronzoni Gluten-Free Rotini a try.

I’m so glad I did.