Gluten Free BBQ Shapes
Just like they did with the gluten free Tim Tams, gluten free BBQ Shapes hit the supermarket shelves well ahead of the schedule advised by Arnott’s. Not that any coeliac or gluten free person is complaining! Well, maybe everyone outside of Melbourne as it seems Melbourne was the first city for them to land on 18 March.
If you’re currently hunting down a box of BBQ Shapes
My recommendation if you’re currently looking is to head to the Woolworths listing for gluten free BBQ Shapes. Type in your nearest store and see if it’s in stock or available nearby. It updates fairly regularly. I checked Monday night and had nothing, but Tuesday morning there were two stores with stock close-ish to my house.
Allergens and ingredients
In case you missed my breaking news post about the release of these along with gluten free Jatz/Savoys here’s the ingredients for the BBQ Shapes.
The side of the box also says it’s plant based, however it does have may contains for egg and milk.
The taste
They taste like I remember them! Having said that, it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve eaten BBQ shapes, as I went gluten free in my early 20s.
You can see the flavour as the old TV ad goes. There is definitely that classic taste coming through from the tomato powder. I feel like maybe the originals tasted more salty? I’ll have a look at the salt levels to compare.
The flavour of the oil used in these tastes the same as well. Again, keeping in mind it’s been 15 odd years since I’ve eaten them!
The biscuit also feels maybe just the tiniest bit more delicate than what I remember the originals to be. What I mean is that when I bite in it’s softer, but they’re not soft. They are definitely crispy and crunchy. You could definitely sit on the couch and mindlessly eat a lot of these.
One thing that does seem different is that after eating 10 or so I’ve got bits of biscuit mush stuck to my teeth.
I find this occurs with gluten-free products that have quite a lot of tapioca starch in them. Looking at the ingredients on the packet the first is starch and in brackets it says tapioca and maize. So that’s going to be the culprit there. But end of the day, they still taste good!
I’ll get a side by side comparison with the originals when I can get a hold of a gluten eater to experiment with me.
The Verdict
Well done Arnott’s, let’s bring on the pizza shapes!
These aren’t the kind of things I would typically crave but as I write this I am compulsively eating them even though I had lunch a couple hours ago and dinner is an hour or two away. 😅
I should add the price as a few people have been asking. They are $5.50 for a 110g box. It’s pretty rough considering regular BBQ Shapes are $4 for a larger 175g box.
Hopefully in the future we’ll see some good sales like we have for Tim Tams and the sweet range where prices have dropped down to $3.50 during promotions.
Where to buy gluten free BBQ Shapes
GF BBQ Shapes will be available at all grocers nationally, the official word from Arnott’s was that they’d be released in Australia early April and in New Zealand in May.
Just like with the Tim Tams they are out a little bit earlier – probably to encourage a bit of free marketing from the gluten free community. Well, it’s working! 😅
PRODUCT DETAILS
Gluten free: Legit, not detected
Vegetarian / vegan: Vegan.
Allergens: Soy. May contain: Milk, egg.
Serving size: Depends who you ask, some folks are saying one sitting!
Lived in a cave for the last six months? Check out my review of Arnott’s gluten free Tim Tams.