18 Gluten-Free Dinner Ideas for Any Night of the Week

Whether you're new to being gluten-free, have been keeping gluten-free for a while, or just dabble in gluten-free from time to time, you might often find yourself asking that universal question: What's for dinner?

The stakes for dinner seem higher somehow — this might be your first opportunity all day to sit down to something that nourishes body and soul, so it can't just be a tired little sandwich on GF bread. If you're craving a baked treat or gluten-free food in general, we've got you covered, but here, we really wanted to focus on those dinner-geared recipes that bring everyone together in the evening. Here is our collection of some usually gluten-tastic recipes that have been reformulated to be gluten-free, as well as delicious dishes that have always just happened to be gluten-free. So look no further if you need dinner ideas — just start here.

Could mac and cheese be the icon for the gluteniest of gluten-rich dishes? Well, once you swap a naturally creamy cheese in place of a roux and choose a gluten-free pasta, you end up with a dish that, dare we say, might be better than the original. Here, the goat cheese adds rich creaminess and a tang that really emphasizes the sharp Cheddar. Some kale adds welcome texture and bitter notes.

In the early days of gluten-free adaptations, the flours were one-note and often did a poor job of replicating everything we love about a wheat flour. Now, smart gluten-free cooks know that a blend of several alternate flours brings in all the essential elements in texture and flavor. We love this preparation, also, because there's no need to do a long marination to impart seasoning and juiciness to the chicken; just dip in the batter, then in the flour mix, and fry.

We would never let anyone go without pizza! Our crust is a genius combination of potates with yeast, honey, tapioca starch and rice flavor, to get at all the flavor and textural notes of your standard thin-crust pizza. While you could go traditional with red sauce and cheese, we love this white version with ricotta, thyme and mushrooms.

You'll never need another black bean soup recipe if you're armed with a multi-cooker. Whether you set it up with a timer before you go to work or throw it in at 4pm (pressure cook time is about an hour), you'll be rewarded with silky, Southwesternly-seasoned soup that can be customized with add-ins like avocado, tortilla chips, sour cream, and more. Pop a tray of (gluten-free) cornbread in the oven and Bob's your uncle.

Once you've read the label on your can of grits to ensure that it is gluten-free, let's get down to business. Shrimp and grits can be found across the South, a satisfying meal for breakfast or lunch and yes, dinner. Grits make such an excellent flavor soaker-upper, and this sauce has it in spades.

You won't miss the breadcrumbs in this umami-bomb of a loaf. You've got minced mushrooms to bring out all the meatiness of the beef and pork, plus a layer of bacon (!) wrapped around it that bastes it while it bakes, and finishes crispy. It's a real meat-fest, which also happens to be keto-engineered.

Molly Yeh earns her name (as in, Yay!) with this dish, that's a crowd-pleaser regardless of the age of the crowd. Taco meat and fillings baked into a skillet that's topped with Fritos? Where some of the fritos soften in the sauce and others get toasty and crunchy? What else do we need in life? Be sure to check the packet of taco seasoning and opt for a brand that's gluten-free.

Yes, of course you can doctor up a New England clam chowder recipe to render it gluten-free, but this is such a natural place for us to suggest the other clam chowder that you may have forgotten about. Manhattan chowder marries the brininess of the clams with a heady, tomatoey broth and chunks of potato and celery. You won't believe how much flavor can be cooked up so fast.

We never met a Cobb we didn't like, and this one is ideal for a busy weeknight. While you have the grill going for the chicken, you'll also grill some onion, for a nice flavor boost in the salad. Add in avocado, bacon, blue cheese and hard-boiled eggs, and you'll never even notice that the meal is virtually starch-free.

We love any style of posole, the Mexican and Southwestern stew that takes its name from the inclusion of hominy (posole in Spanish). It's a big pot of drama, from the bold, rich flavors and hues of the chiles to the falling-apart meat and the addictive chew of the hominy. This is another candidate for a toppings bar, but even a plain bowl is a real treat.

We love the ease and speed of a shrimp pasta, and that's no less true here, in a dish that makes that pasta gluten-free. Some additions to the spicy tomato sauce are shallots and coconut milk, a suggestion of Southeast Asia that brings a lush richness and savory notes to the dish. The inclusion of the spinach makes it truly a square meal in a bowl — a salad on the side would be nice, but you can also just make this pasta and call it a day.

You'll find yourself coming back to this recipe again and again, and since it has a make-ahead and freeze option, you might even put it in your meal prep rotation. There's something so comforting about boneless white meat chicken pounded thin and baked with broccoli in a sauce that's suggestive of a Swiss cheese alfredo. Yes, you can find varieties of this in the frozen case at your supermarket, but you'll never find one with such a short and natural ingredient list as this one.

Sure, you can swap in gluten-free noodles for the standard, but what if you replaced lasagna noodles with something else entirely? Here, thin slices of sweet potato become the noodle. Baked with tomato sauce and cheese, they soften and meld into hearty layers in the style of a vegetable parm. Your vegetarian friends, too, will thank you.

Risotto is such a great blank canvas if you're trying to keep gluten-free, and you can almost go in any direction. Here, it goes super-hearty with the inclusion of Italian sausage that was practically born to tango with bitter broccolini. Read the label or check with your butcher to make sure the sausage is indeed gluten-free.

It's a classic comfort food for a reason. This version combines a corn and bean vegetarian chili with gluten-free pasta and cheese for a dinner you can cook now or freeze for later. If you go with the quinoa pasta as is called for, you also get a protein boost!

When autumn rolls around, or even just autumn feels, give us all the autumn salads. And what, you may ask, is an autumn salad? We know it when we see it, and it usually contains roasted squash, cheese and candied nuts. This one uses two kinds of squash, to double your pleasure, as well as steak, to give it some staying power while keeping a certain lightness. Be sure to read the label on your candied nuts to make sure that they are, indeed, gluten-free.

You won't believe this woodsy stroganoff is meat-free, since the wild mushrooms take on such a meaty property mingling with the chew of gluten-free pasta. And you'll be happy to have that pasta, because you'll want to mop up every last bit of this sauce. It gets its depth, in part, from Worcestershire, but beware, as they're not all created equal. You'll want to read the label and be sure to choose a gluten-free brand.