Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Mixes, Ranked

In case you missed it, I've been doing a little Bob's Red Mill baking mix review series. I've already ranked the brand's pancake mixes and dessert baking mixes, which were all pretty impressive. Now, it's time to try out Bob's gluten-free baking mixes. I was gluten-free for a while, a little over a decade ago, and the GF market has vastly improved since then. So I was excited to see what Bob's had to offer. 

Before I dive into this piece, I have to give the brand a general compliment: I forgot this was specifically a gluten-free ranking multiple times while trying these mixes. Fortunately, gone are the days when gluten-free products were bland at best, unpalatable at worst. I'd also say I learned quite a bit over the course of this piece. As a sourdough baker, I'm intimately familiar with gluten development, but I didn't know what to expect when gluten was removed from the occasion. So thank you, Bob's, for educating me, and I'll also issue a thank you on behalf of all strictly gluten-free individuals vying for identical replacements for their favorite wheat-y foods. 

I ranked the following mixes based on how faithful they were to their gluten-containing counterparts, and in some cases, the ease (or difficulty) of making the mix was also taken into account. Here's how all the gluten-free mixes from Bob's Red Mill stacked up.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The gluten-free pancake mix from Bob's Red Mill was my least favorite mix in that ranking, and it ended up being my least favorite mix in this piece, as well. I'll reiterate some of what I said in that ranking — if you've been gluten-free for a while, you might not be averse to the flavor of these pancakes. But I could definitely tell they were made with brown rice flour, a flour I've never grown fond of. 

I also didn't love the texture of these pancakes. They were a little gummy and sticky rather than light and fluffy, and given that some of Bob's other pancake mixes were spot-on in texture, the flaws here were more noticeable. I do think it's saying something that this product, which I'd have again if it were presented to me, ranks at the bottom of this taste test — it should at least make you excited for what's to come. 

To test Bob's gluten-free pie crust, I made a simple custard pie with it, and the resulting treat was definitely decent but nothing mind-blowing. I had some issues working with the dough, and I think that hampered my opinion of this mix a little. To get it to come together, I had to mix it with my hands, which kind of defeats the purpose of cutting cold butter into the crust. 

However, the mix earned a few points for being easy to roll out (after the mandatory hour-long rest in the fridge, of course). And, I thought the resulting flavor was pretty good. I definitely wouldn't have been able to tell it was a gluten-free crust if I hadn't already known. The crust didn't cook through all the way, which I'll take part of the blame for, as I think I rolled it out too thick. However, depending on what you're making with it, I would recommend par-baking the crust for at least 10 minutes before putting your filling in. Because I found this mix a little difficult to work with, I ranked it a few points lower than I may have otherwise. 

I feel the need to give a disclaimer before diving into this review: I am already a staunch loyalist to Trader Joe's cornbread mix, and I don't think I'll ever be persuaded to stray far from my tried-and-true mix. So, I couldn't help but compare this gluten-free cornbread mix to my favorite, which automatically made it a little underwhelming. 

The pros? This cornbread got absolutely massive in the oven — I mean, just look at the height on that piece in the above picture! I thought the flavor of the cornbread was quite good, but its texture was drier than I'm accustomed to — nothing a hefty pat of soft butter wouldn't fix. I don't think this would disappoint gluten-free cornbread fans, and again, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was gluten-free if I didn't already know. But because it wasn't very moist, I had to give it a lower spot on this list. 

I've been snacking on these biscuits for breakfast since I made them a couple of days ago, and though they don't quite reach the bar of homemade biscuits, they're quite good for being a gluten-free counterpart. I appreciated the ease of making the mix — you'll cut the butter into the dry mix, knead the dough a little bit, then roll it out and give it a couple of folds before cutting the biscuits. I ended up rolling my final dough a little too thin, but I won't hold that against the mix. 

The biscuits got a delightful golden-brown hue on top, and biting into them revealed an amply flaky interior (though perhaps not as flaky as I'd expect from a homemade biscuit). I enjoyed the flavor here a lot — it was buttery and slightly salty, and nothing about it would have suggested it's a gluten-free mix. Even though I enjoyed these biscuits, I couldn't give them a higher spot on this list, purely because some of the following mixes are really spectacular. 

If you're a brownie fanatic and also happen to be gluten-free, look no further than Bob's Red Mill. This may be the only gluten-free brownie mix I've ever tried, but I'm convinced it has to be among the best. With an enviably crackling top and a thick, moist interior, these are guaranteed crowd-pleasers, and the only reason I couldn't give this mix a higher ranking is that those that follow are more impressive.

Now, while I wouldn't call these brownies fudgy, they were definitely dense and rich. Their texture was an interesting brownie-cake hybrid, and while I prefer my brownies more on the near-liquid end of the spectrum, I think these make a nice middle-of-the-road option if you're feeding a crowd with varying brownie preferences. In terms of flavor, the mix excelled, producing dark chocolate brownies that I could be convinced were homemade. Though I'll stick to my own homemade brownie recipe when baking for myself, I'd grab this mix in a heartbeat if I needed to whip something up for gluten-free friends. 

I remember the struggle of finding a decent bread replacement when I first went gluten-free. At that time, brown rice flour was the primary wheat flour substitute used in gluten-free bread, and I never got accustomed to the taste. Fortunately, there are many more options available now, including this gluten-free bread mix from Bob's. If you want to indulge in the smell of fresh-baked bread without risking an upset stomach, grab this mix, stat. 

It was deceptively easy to put together, and I had my doubts when I was scooping the loose dough into the bread pan — it didn't resemble any bread dough I'd ever worked with before, and acted more like a quick bread. I was very impressed with the structure after cutting into it. My dough was definitely a little underproofed (as I was working in a cold house), but I was still wowed by the crumb. The bread was thick and held its structure well, even if it was a little dry, and it had a neutral, wheat-y flavor. The only giveaway that this is a gluten-free bread is its mild dryness. The mix makes for a worthy pantry staple for any gluten-free home baker. 

Listen, I love a good muffin, and I'll be buying this muffin mix again even though I don't practice a gluten-free diet. Look at that crackly, golden-brown top and moist interior crumb — how could I not? Not only was Bob's gluten-free muffin mix effortless to whip up, but it also tasted great, even without taking into consideration the strawberries I stirred into the mix. 

I was actually pretty surprised at how flavorful this mix was for being a plain muffin mix. I didn't add too many strawberry pieces to the mix, so as not to alter the results too much. The mix is a very solid base mix for you to make whatever muffins you'd like, and I found the fruit inclusion to work particularly well. The texture of the muffins was spot-on — they were moist with a little density to them, and boasted a really lovely flavor. Yet again, I couldn't tell these were gluten-free. They earned a solid fifth-place spot, though, because I thought the following were more impressive recreations of their gluten-filled counterparts. 

I had my doubts about this pizza crust at first. The dough came together easily but was deceptively loose, and it was hard to tell if it had risen after sitting in the bowl for a while. Structurally, it obviously didn't behave as a regular pizza dough would, and wasn't very amenable to stretching without tearing. I ultimately had to piece the dough together in the pan, but fortunately, the resulting product was pretty stellar.

The biggest thing to highlight about Bob's gluten-free pizza crust mix is that it faithfully replicates the classic flavor of a pizza crust. I made mine into a cheesy garlic flatbread so as not to mask the taste of the crust too much, and it did as much heavy lifting as you'd expect the crust on a pizza to do. Its color and texture were also impressive and, quite frankly, gorgeous to look at. The crust's chew was delightful, too. I'll probably have this again, even though I'm not gluten-free, and if it had been a little easier to work with, I could have given it a higher ranking. 

I've done my fair share of cake mix reviews in recent months, which likely plays into why Bob's gluten-free cake mixes earned such high rankings on this list (yes, the following is another cake mix from the brand). Because, quite frankly, these aren't just impressive for gluten-free cake mixes — they're impressive for cake mixes as a whole. 

This mix had me wondering why more brands don't add vanilla to their yellow cake mixes. The ingredient really amped up the flavor here, which is definitely part of the reason I was so impressed by the mix. Its structure also deserves ample praise — the edges of the cupcake got a very light crisp, and the interior was soft, spongy, moist, and buttery. The crumb held together very well, and the cupcake had some density to it without being stodgy. And before you ask, no, there's no way anyone will be able to tell this mix is gluten-free. 

Coming in just ahead of Bob's gluten-free vanilla yellow cake mix is the brand's gluten-free chocolate cake mix, which was, in a word, spectacular. I will say, this mix isn't for the milk chocolate fans — it's as dark as the flavor can get, which is how I prefer my chocolate confections. Similar to my previous choice, this mix is impressive even if you completely ignore the fact that it's gluten-free. So for a gluten-free mix, it really can't be passed up. 

Again, I loved the gentle crisp around the edges of these cupcakes, and their interior texture should be envied by other chocolate cupcake mixes — it was moist, rich, and light, yet would hold up to the weight of frosting effortlessly. Not only does nothing about this mix taste gluten-free, but you could easily fool your friends into thinking it was homemade. Show up with this cake to a party and you'll be the talk of the town; whether you let your friends in on the fact that it was made from a mix is totally up to you. 

Despite my rave reviews of the last few mixes, there was one clear winner of this gluten-free mix ranking, and it's been taking every ounce of strength not to absolutely chow down on these tasty treats. Bob's Red Mill's Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix is a new favorite, and I'll be hard-pressed to try any other chocolate chip cookie mixes. I really don't see how this one could have much competition. 

I'll blow right past the fact that you can't tell these are gluten-free. Sure, it's worth mentioning, but the cookies are more impressive in and of themselves. They bake up thick and irresistibly chewy, which is exactly how I like my chocolate chip cookies, and the ratio of chocolate chips to cookie is impeccable. The cookies aren't too sweet, and they almost have a rich brown butter flavor. Yes, they are absolutely as good as they look, and I'd suggest you hunt down this mix ASAP — gluten-free diet not required. 

To be honest, ranking these mixes wasn't a particularly easy task, partially because of the wide range of products represented in the above list. How does one compare a pie crust to chocolate chip cookies? When deciding on a place for each, I took into account how well it replicated glutinous counterparts; naturally, my top picks are the mixes that could even compete with non-GF options.

When it made sense to, I also took into account how easy the mix was to prepare. Because I hit a few snags with the pie and pizza crusts, these got lower rankings than they may have otherwise. In general, though, I'd call Bob's Red Mill a really solid option for those sticking to gluten-free diets — personally, I wouldn't feel like I was deprived if I were limited to the above, and I'll probably even buy some of these mixes again.