6 Great Gluten-Free Gift Ideas for the Holidays

If someone on your Christmas or Hanukkah gift list can't have gluten, you may think food-related gifts are off-limits. But the truth is, many of us are foodies anyway, so getting a cool new kitchen gadget really wouldn't go amiss, regardless of whether there's gluten in our kitchens or not.

There are plenty of presents you can buy for someone with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity that they might really like. I provide some ideas below—enjoy, and happy giving!

Gluten-Free Cookbooks

cookbook with oil and spices — Elly Schuurman / Getty Images

There's no getting around the fact that living gluten-free means cooking more frequently. Luckily, there are plenty of great gluten-free cookbooks available to help with the task. My personal favorite is the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam of Elana's Pantry. There's also Deliciously G-Free by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, which was one of the first mainstream gluten-free cookbooks. There are many more you can choose, including cookbooks for gluten-free vegetarians.

Stainless Steel Cookware

One of the first things I recommend for people who are newly diagnosed is to get rid of their non-stick cookware — the non-stick surfaces can harbor gluten. If you have celiac or gluten sensitivity and you're sharing a kitchen and cookware with someone who eats gluten, stainless steel cookware can help keep you safe — and, it makes a wonderful Hanukkah or Christmas gift, even for someone whose kitchen is entirely gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Bread Maker

Few things occupy gluten-free folks more than the pursuit of decent gluten-free bread. Although commercial gluten-free bakeries have made great strides in recent years, there's still nothing like your own gluten-free bread, fresh from the oven. A bread maker and some well-tested gluten-free bread recipes make the task so much easier. Some bread makers, including models from Breadman and Zojirushi, even include a pre-programmed gluten-free setting.

Brand New Pizza Stone

When you go gluten-free, you have to give up many of your old favorite cooking utensils, as there's no way to get the gluten cross-contamination out of them. I really mourned for my pizza stone, even though it went to a good home. It's hard to cook a pizza — especially a pizza with a gluten-free crust — without a proper pizza stone. So I was overjoyed to receive a replacement as a gift. It's entirely possible someone on your list would like one, too.

High-End Blender or Food Processor

Blender and fruits — Daniel Grizelj/Stone/Getty Images

There's really no way around it — when you're gluten-free, you have to cook a lot more. A lot more, especially if you need to stick to any kind of a budget. To help in your cooking prep, there's really no substitute for a really good blender or food processor (or one of each, if you have room for them). I don't know many people who would turn one of these down, gluten-free or not.

Gluten-Free Gift Baskets

holiday gift basket — Peter Anderson / Getty Images

A few years ago, if you wanted to give a gluten-free gift basket for Christmas, Hanukkah or another occasion, you had to make your own. Not so anymore—now multiple specialty and mainstream merchants such as gourmet food company Harry & David offer pre-made gluten-free gift baskets. You can choose from Kosher gift baskets for Hanukkah, gift baskets intended for children, fruit gift baskets, gluten-free/casein-free gift baskets, and vegan gift baskets.