I’m not a real fan of fruit pies, and the main reason is that I’m just not crazy about pie crust. I definitely choose to make and eat gluten-free apple crisp over pies usually. I prefer saving time by not making crusts and I just prefer the taste of a buttery, sugary crisp topping over a flaky pie crust. How about you?

The other day I suddenly had an idea. What if I used snickerdoodle cookies to make a streusel type pie crust and topping for a gluten-free apple pie?

I was inspired by looking at Dutch Apple Pies, where you use a streusel topping instead of a pie crust for the top of the pie. The only thing I thought might be better than streusel is a snickerdoodle cookie streusel! I thought the flavors would go really well together, I just needed to see if I could make it work.

I knew this would be a yummy semi-homemade dessert that everyone would enjoy, but especially people like me that don’t love traditional pie crust.

I’m happy to report that the gluten-free snickerdoodle cookie crust apple pie was a huge success! The snickerdoodle crust is AMAZING! I could easily just eat bite after bite of this crust! But really, it goes so well with the apple pie filling. I loved that it was so easy too, much quicker than rolling out pie crust!

For the gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies. You can make homemade cookies by using my gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies recipe. One batch will give you what you need for this recipe, plus some to eat!

Or you can buy ready made gluten-free Snickerdoodle cookies, which I used this time. Here are some brands that make gluten-free snickerdoodles and sell them on Amazon: MadeGood, Wow and I even think these Sweet Loren’s Cinnamon breakfast biscuits would work amazingly too!. You’ll want two boxes of most of these. You want to get a total of about 14-16 ounces worth of cookies so you can get enough cookie crumbs. 

How to make this gluten-free Dutch Apple Pie with Snickerdoodle Crust:

To make the crust, I followed the same procedure that I used when making the chocolate chip cookie crust for my gluten-free chocolate chip peanut butter pie.

For this pie, gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies get pulsed in my food chopper until blended into course crumbs. I prefer leaving some pea-sized little chunks for texture. You can also just put all the cookies in a Ziploc bag and smash them that way.

After breaking up the cookies, I mixed in brown sugar and melted butter. These help the crumbs stick together for making a crust and also add great flavor!

Since the cookie crumb mixture is used for both the crust and as a topping, I set aside one cup of the mixture to save for the topping. The rest of the mixture gets pressed in the bottom and sides of a slightly greased glass pie plate.

After getting the gluten-free cookie crust all situated, I got to work on the filling.

Like I always do when making apple desserts, I chose to use two varieties of apples. Using two kinds of apples adds a variety of flavor and texture. I prefer to use tart or semi-tart varieties of apples in desserts like this, since the crust and streusel will be adding sweetness. This time I used Braeburn and Granny Smith. Other favorites that I use when I can find them, are MacIntosh and Pink Lady.

I pre-cooked the apple pie filling on the stove so that my pie would not have to bake as long. With this crust not being a raw pie crust, I knew it would brown in 20 minute or less, so I needed it to not have to bake for longer than that.

The other advantage to pre-cooking the apple pie filling is that you can taste it and add any additional flavoring. I cooked the apple slices in butter, a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. A bit of gluten-free flour is stirred in at the end to help absorb the liquids so that the pie won’t be soggy.

Here’s what it looked like when finished on the stove and ready to add to the pie crust:

Simply scoop from pan into your prepared pie crust and spread evenly.

Next top with the remaining streusel and sprinkle fairly evenly over the fruit.

Bake for 18 minutes in the oven, then remove to cool on a cooling rack.

Let it cool a bit before you dig in!

I never go back for seconds on fruit desserts, but I sure went back for a second slice of this one! I loved it as is, served just slightly warm. My hubby and son loved theirs with a generous scoop of ice cream! YUM!
This slice is for you…

I’m hoping you and your friends will enjoy this easy and flavorful gluten-free Snickerdoodle Apple Pie too! I’d love to hear from you if you try it!

Have more apples to use up? I recommend making my gluten-free apple muffins next! 

If you make this pie and love it, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Dutch Apple Pie with Snickerdoodle Streusel Recipe:

Yield: 10 servings

Gluten-free Dutch Apple Pie

Print

Very similar to a gluten-free Dutch Apple Pie, but even easier! The crust and streusel topping are made using a shortcut method. This gluten-free apple pie is a huge hit!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 43 minutes

Ingredients

Snickerdoodle Streusel:

• 14-16 ounces of gluten-free Snickerdoodle cookies
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (=1 stick)

Apple Pie Filling:

• 6 cups peeled, sliced tart apples
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. gluten-free flour blend (or cornstarch)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Instructions

Snickerdoodle Streusel:

1. Lightly spray inside bottom and sides of pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Using a food processor or food chopper, pulse the Snickerdoodle cookies until mixture is coarse crumbs with some larger chunks. (See photo in blog post.)
3. Transfer cookie crumbs to a medium sized bowl. Add brown sugar and whisk until blended together.
4. Melt the butter, then pour over the cookie crumb mixture. Use a fork to mix together, creating our Snickerdoodle streusel.
5. Scoop out 1 cup of streusel; set aside for use as topping later. Press remaining streusel firmly and evenly in bottom and up sides of the lightly greased pie plate.
6. Set pie aside and turn oven on to 375° to preheat while you make the apple pie filling.

Apple Pie filling:

1. Peel and thinly slice 6 cups worth of apples. I cut each apple slice in half again so pieces would be smaller for faster cooking time. Stir together apple slices and lemon juice.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add apple slices and brown sugar. Stir, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cooking time will vary greatly based on variety/firmness of your apples and how soft you like them. Your goal here is to cook them just a tad bit less than you want the finished product. The time in the oven will finish them off.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon of gluten-free flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. This will absorb the liquid and make nice saucy apples. As soon as the liquid has decreased (usually within a minute), remove from heat.
4. Scoop apple pie filling into the prepared crust.
5. Sprinkle with reserved snickerdoodle streusel.
6. Bake at 375° for 18 minutes. Topping will be nicely browned and apples should be cooked perfectly.
7. Remove from oven, let cool a bit and enjoy! This is delicious both warm or at room temperature. We enjoyed this plain or with vanilla ice cream, but homemade whipped cream is yummy on this too!

Notes

You can use salted or unsalted butter in this. The amount of salt would be so small and not have an impact on the outcome of the recipe, so use whichever you have on hand.

See blog post for links to various brands of gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies or for a recipe to make your own.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Favorite Paring Knife
• 
  Pyrex glass pie plates
• 
  1.5 Cup Food Chopper

Hope you enjoy! Let me know what pie recipe you’d like me to make next!

     

After I had to give up gluten, I tried making my own dinner rolls at home, using my old favorite recipes, just substituting gluten-free flour, and each time they failed miserably.

Thankfully, just a few months after my celiac diagnosis and transition to cooking & eating gluten-free, my local gluten-free store brought in Rachel (former owner of Gluten Free Mama) for a baking class. I sat there amazed as she whipped up super easy gluten-free dinner rolls, then when I got to sample them, I couldn’t believe it.

They actually tasted like real homemade dinner rolls! These don’t taste like cardboard, crumble like sawdust, require a knife to saw through, or need to be toasted to be palatable. What a relief, right?! I knew I had to make these!

Look at that texture:

After learning how to make these from Rachel, and buying her fabulous cookbook, In the Kitchen with Gluten Free Mama (now out of print, but sometimes used copies show up on Amazon here), I started making these at home regularly. These really are my family’s favorite gluten-free dinner rolls, and you will find them on our table at every holiday meal and at least once a month at dinner throughout the year.

While Rachel’s original recipe is no longer available online; you’ll find my adapted gluten-free roll recipe below, used with her permission.

I’ve cut the amount of time that the gluten-free rolls need to rise by about half by using instant yeast.The instant yeast I use is SAF Instant Yeast. You can buy Saf Instant Yeast from Amazon and you might even find it at your local store. I love using this product to cut the rising time down in some of my yeast bread recipes. When using instant yeast, you do not proof the yeast in water. You add the instant yeast with your dry ingredients, and the water with the liquid ingredients. My directions in the recipe card below reflect this change.

If you haven’t worked with gluten-free yeast dough much yet, it is important to note that it is very different from regular yeast doughs. When making gluten-free yeast dough, the end result is typically a very wet, sticky dough. Do not be tempted to add extra flour! You will not be kneading the dough by hand at all. Your mixer does all the work mixing the dough well.

Once it is done mixing, then you use a large cookie scoop (about 2″ diameter) to scoop the dough in mounds in your baking pan. I recommend using a #16 scoop or a #20 scoop. 

Another important thing to note is that your pans will actually help you shape your gluten-free dough. For example. if you were making regular dinner rolls, you could get by having the balls of dough spread out on a big baking sheet almost like cookies. If you did that with gluten-free dough, you would end up with very flat breads.

So here in this recipe, I definitely recommend you grab yourself a  metal 9″ round cake or metal pie pan to bake your rolls in. I’ll talk more about your pans helping shape your dough when I share my french bread and hamburger bun recipes.

Here’s a pic that shows how the gluten-free rolls look at the different stages:

While some might like to brush their unbaked rolls with an egg wash, I prefer leaving them plain for baking, then after baking I brush on melted butter. Mmmm!

Here’s a look at the ingredients I use every time I make these gluten-free rolls:

Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions for these gluten-free dinner rolls:

• While I recommend you use SAF Instant Yeast to cut the rising time, yes, you can use regular, active dry yeast in this recipe. Use the same amount of yeast called for, but go ahead and proof the yeast in the warm water with a bit of sugar. Then you are going to need to extend the rising time for the rolls by at least double what I have listed here.
• I do not recommend using any flour blend with coconut flour in it! I tried this recipe with Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Flour Blend as well, but alas I didn’t have good results. I wouldn’t recommend using any flour blend with coconut flour in it for this recipe. The problem is that coconut flour really absorbs the liquids in a recipe, and mine turned out like hockey pucks.
• Yes, you can make this egg-free if you need to. I have tried GFM’s egg free option and it worked well & tasted great! Gluten Free Mama recommends this egg free option: ¼ cup water + 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed.  Simmer water and flaxseed over medium low heat for about 5 minutes until thickened.  Stir frequently.  Allow to cool.  This is equal to one egg.
• Yes, you can make this dairy-free if you need to. Substitute the 2 Tablespoons of butter for a good dairy-free margarine or Spectrum organic shortening, melted.  You can also either not brush the finished rolls, or brush with a good tasting dairy-free margarine.

If you need to make other substitutions to make this recipe suitable for your diet, feel free to try them. I always recommend making only one new change at a time so that if things go wrong you can isolate the problem and refine from there. If you do make successful substitutions of any kind, please do come back and let us all know!

Which gluten-free flour blend should you use in these rolls?

I’ve tested many flour blends and the three that work best for these gluten-free rolls consistently are:

1. Gluten-free Mama’s Almond flour blend – used in the recipe as written. This one is harder to find lately under the new ownership (no longer in any of my local stores), and even Amazon keeps running out of it. When it is available on Amazon, you’ll find it here. This is not the same as almond flour. This is a gluten-free flour blend that includes some almond flour, which helps the rolls have a great texture.
2. Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour – It has xanthan gum already in it, but I recommend adding an additional 1/2 tsp. xanthan to the recipe. This is the flour blend that I’ve been using recently for these rolls and it works very well! I don’t notice any difference in results, and would highly recommend. I haven’t had any problems finding it in stock from Amazon here.

There are so many gluten-free flour blends out there, that I simply cannot test them all. I can’t say whether your homemade blend or your favorite store blend will work in this recipe. Using any other gluten-free flour blend means you are bringing in a different combination of flours & starches, and I can’t guarantee that will work well.

That said, please feel free to play with this and see if it works well with your favorite blend.  I would recommend you be sure to measure your flour by weight, and be sure to use the same weight I have listed in the recipe.

Read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Also, if you are using a blend that already contains xanthan gum, try adding an additional 1/2 tsp when making this. Note that some people have had great success using their favorite flour blend, and just removing 1/2 cup of the flour and replacing it with 1/2 cup of real almond flour. This makes it similar to the original Gluten Free Mama’s almond flour blend that I use.

**UPDATE 4/2015. I tested these with Pamela’s artisan flour blend and they turned out okay. Not as fluffy as with GFM, but they worked. Cup4Cup also worked okay – again, not quite as good, but an okay choice for sure! Also tested with MANINIS Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour Mix and boy oh boy did that dough rise! Super big, then collapsed after baking! But they tasted great and had great texture, so I would recommend that one too.

Update: 11/2018: My friend Chrystal uses Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and says it works well in these. She says to be sure to measure by weight, with a scale, just as I recommend! Several commenters have said that has worked well for them too.

Update 5/2019: I do not recommend Namaste Flour blend for these. I do not recommend Pillsbury for these. Flour Farm worked pretty good for these I’d give it a B+. My friend gfJules flour does not work well in my recipe as written. If you’d like to use gfJules flour, go use gfJules rolls recipe here.  I made this with Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour and it worked very well! This would be one I would recommend for sure! 

If you’re using your own flour blend, if it doesn’t have xanthan or guar gum in it, use the 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan that I call for. If your blend already has xanthan or guar gum in it, use just 1/2 tsp. additional xanthan gum. These rolls just need more xanthan than what the default amount is in most flour blends.

If you would like to use a different flour blend, please read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Make sure you measure the flour by weight!

Common mistakes that would cause your rolls not to turn out well:

• Cutting out all of the sugar. I know some of you are avoiding sugar. I would not recommend cutting the sugar in these, but if you really think you need to, don’t cut down to less than 2 teaspoons. It is needed for helping activate the yeast.
• Not checking the temperature of your hot water before adding. Use a thermometer like this one that I have to be sure it is 105-110 before adding. Too cold and it won’t activate the yeast, too hot and it can kill the yeast.
• Not measuring the flour correctly or used a blend that just doesn’t work well in this. Please try again!
• Not mixing for a full 3 minutes – don’t guess; use a timer. Also a medium speed means not slow but not so fast your mixer is shaking and scooting!
• Using too much water to shape the rolls. I just wet my finger to smooth the rolls, actually less than in the video (sorry!).
• Not letting them rise enough. I depend less on the time and more on the actual look of the rolls. If your rolls haven’t risen fully at 45 minutes make sure you have it in a somewhat warm place but not too hot. I use my oven’s proof setting which puts it at 100 degrees. Before I had an oven with a proof setting, I would turn my oven to the lowest setting, let it warm up, then turn it off and my oven thermometer showed it was 100 degrees, I would put the covered rolls in to rise. Some of you live in more humid climates, and your rolls will likely rise quicker, and even just on the counter.
• Not using an oven thermometer to ensure the correct temperature of your oven. Many ovens are off by 25 degrees or so and you need to adjust accordingly. Or like my new oven, it beeps that it’s ready at the correct temperature about 5 minutes before it actually is. My oven thermometer showed me that!
• Not testing the finished rolls with a thermometer. Check them at the 24-25 minute mark really quickly and pull out if done. If not done, continue baking and check every 2 minutes until the finished rolls measure 200 degrees in the center.

Okay, enough details, I hope! Are you ready to grab one and dig in yet?

What should you serve these gluten-free rolls with:

We honestly like these with any gluten-free meals, but I definitely like making them when we have soups, stews and casseroles like these:

crockpot gluten-free beef stew 

gluten-free cheeseburger soup recipe

baked potato soup

gluten-free chicken rice casserole

I hope you and your family enjoy these gf dinner rolls as much as my family does!

If you make these and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Dinner Rolls Recipe:

Yield: 9 rolls

Gluten-free Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

Print

Gluten-free Dinner Rolls that taste like grandma’s holiday rolls! We enjoy these gluten-free rolls at the holidays and year-round!

Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2¾ cups (11½ oz.) very good quality gluten-free flour blend
• 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 2 tsp. SAF instant yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup warm water (105-110°)
• 2 Tbsp. butter, dairy-free margarine, or Spectrum shortening
• 1 egg (preferably room temp)
• 1 tsp. cider vinegar

Instructions

1. In the mixing bowl of your electric mixer, mix together flour, xanthan gum, instant yeast, sugar, and salt.
2. With mixer running on low speed, add in the hot water (be sure to test temperature with thermometer, melted butter (or substitute), egg, and cider vinegar.
3. Mix on medium speed 3 minutes.
4. Spray 8" or 9" round cake pan or pie plate with cooking spray. Using a 2" scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop dough into 9 mounds in the pan. I place one mound in middle, then scoop 8 mounds of dough side by side all the way around the pan.
5. Dip your fingertips into warm water and use to smooth out the tops of the rolls, continuing to wet fingers as needed.
6. Cover with a dry towel and let rise in a warm place 45 minutes to 1 hour.
7. During the last few minutes that the rolls are rising, preheat the empty oven to 400°. (if you were rising your rolls in the oven, remove and place on counter during oven preheat).
8. Bake in 400° oven for 25-28 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and if you measure temperature of dough, it should measure 200°.
9. Brush rolls with additional 1/2-1 Tablespoon of melted butter.

Notes

Please see blog post for information on egg-free and dairy-free substitutions. If you would like to use a different flour blend, please read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Make sure you measure the flour by weight!

I've tested many flour blends and the two that work best for this are Gluten-free Mama's flour blend - used in the recipe above as written, or Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour works very well in this as well. It has xanthan gum already in it, but I recommend adding an additional 1/2 tsp. xanthan to it. This is what I used recently and it worked very well!

If you're using your own flour blend, if it doesn't have xanthan or guar gum in it, use the 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan that I call for. If your blend already has xanthan or guar gum in it, use just 1/2 tsp. additional xanthan gum. These rolls just need more than what the default amount is in most flour blends.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Authentic Foods Multi Blend GF Flour - 3 Pounds
• 
  3 Set - Gluten Free Mama’s: Almond Blend Flour - Gluten Free Flour - Certified Gluten Free Ingredients - All Purpose
• 
  Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum
• 
  SAF-INSTANT YEAST RED LABEL SINGLE 1 lb (16oz) PACKAGE
• 
  Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, 32 Ounce - 1 Pack
• 
  ThermoPro TP19H Digital Instant Read Thermometer
• 
  Solula 18/8 Stainless Steel Scoop, 3.4 Tablespoon #16
• 
  OXO Large Cookie Scoop #20
• 
  Basting Brush and Pastry Brush Set of 4

Old photo:

If you love these dinner rolls, make sure to try my new recipe for gluten-free garlic Parmesan rolls. They’re so good with Italian style meals. Take a look:

Make sure you check out my gluten-free pull-apart cinnamon rolls recipe! Perfect for holiday brunch!

Also, at Easter time, you can make my gluten-free hot cross buns recipe too!

Happy Baking!!

     

Whether your child has food allergies or you are thinking of their classmates, choosing Valentine’s gifts that don’t involve food are a great choice! Not only is this great for gluten free valentines, but helps be inclusive and fun for everyone!

I spent about an hour at my local store the other day, reading labels on just about every package of candy or food that was in the Valentine’s Day section. I found only a handful of items that would be safe for someone that can’t have wheat, gluten, and dairy.

Even items that don’t usually contain those ingredients are off-limits due to being manufactured on shared equipment. If you are looking for foods or candies that don’t contain or have contact with nuts or peanuts, which are to be avoided for most classrooms, your selection is even smaller.

After seeing what a slim selection was available, I thought I could help compile a list of class valentine ideas that don’t include any food or candy!

You can buy most of these items in the bulk party favors area at your local party store or from Amazon and then bag them yourself. I’ll link as many as I can to Amazon (with affiliate links) so you can buy any there that make things easier for you to get started without hunting for them!

Here are non-food Valentine’s ideas for your Valentine’s cards:

• Bouncy balls, block puzzles, bookmarks
• crayons
• erasers
• fake mustaches, finger lights, foam airplanes
• gamer keychains, glow sticks
• hand clappers, Hot Wheels
• lip whistles or mustache lip whistles
• mini books, mini mazes, magnifying glasses
• pencils, parachute guys, pop bubble fidgets, plastic animals
• rub-on tattoos, rulers
• stickers, slinkies, stamps, sticky hands
• Tech decks (or other finger skateboards), twist puzzle
• yo-yos

You can add a fun tag that you print out or just hand-write. Or you can even add a store-bought set of Valentine’s cards and just attach the toy (that’s what we do most often!).

These glow sticks are great as light sabers, attached to store bought Star Wars cards. My boys really enjoyed giving those one year.

DIY non candy valentines:

When you make your own Valentine’s cards with small toys as gifts, there are no worries about any of the kids not being able to enjoy the gifts due to food allergies!

My boys handed out these “Have a Ball on Valentine’s Day” cards one year. I bought 100 bouncy balls in bulk, so we had plenty for both of their classes! I’m pretty sure I’ll be finding bouncy balls in my house and garage for a long time too! These little clear resealable bags are perfect to hold each bouncy ball in.

I made a simple printout that I copied on red cardstock, cut out, and stapled to the little bags. For ease, you might want to have your kids sign all the little cards first.

Another fun idea I came up with one year is to give out these fun “sticky hands”. I bought the sticky hands on Amazon. Again, I made up some labels with a few sayings I came up with, printed them off on cardstock, and stapled onto the tops of the bags.

I used the clear plastic bags they came in so you could see them, but they would be so cute in these red little paper bags too!

Some other cute sayings for sticky hand valentines would be “I’m stuck on you” or “Give me 5”.

Other valentine ideas from around the web:

• Paratroopers free printable
• Valentine’s Day word scramble printable
• Lego Valentines

I’ll never forget my first Valentine’s Day as a Mom of a school-age kid. My oldest son, Jake, was in a pre-school class of 4 year-olds. I let him pick out some Valentine cards at the store. If I remember correctly, they were Thomas the Tank Engine cards, since that was his obsession at the time.

He spent an afternoon carefully printing his name on each Valentine, sealing them stuck with a sticker, then brought them to school. It was a fun experience, and brought back lots of memories of doing the same when I was a child.

When he came home from school on Valentine’s Day with his bag of cards from the other kids, I was shocked to find that he was the only kid that had brought cards only. I had no idea that just giving cards was no longer what people did. Instead, every Valentine card he received either had a whole bag of candy or a specially decorated homemade cookie. I’ll admit, I was a bit embarrassed! I felt like such a cheap-o!

On all the years since, my kids have picked out store-bought Valentines that come with tattoos or lollipops. Since I have boys, they really aren’t wanting to give gifts that are full of hearts and “girly”, nor do they want the cards to say anything about “love”. Hey, I get it, I do!

If you’d like to make a gluten-free valentine treat to enjoy at home with your family this year, I suggest you check out my gluten-free chocolate chip waffles that are heart shaped!

For edible gluten-free valentines gifts, you can make these gluten-free Valentine kabobs. They’re dairy free too!

And for Valentine’s dessert, check out my gluten-free raspberry mousse pie!

I hope these non candy valentines for school ideas help you with your class Valentine’s party ideas!

     

This is a great dessert choice for if you need to make a gluten-free dessert without having to buy special ingredients. With only 4 ingredients, all that you can grab easily at your local store, this easy flourless cake is great to whip up and enjoy!

Is it the prettiest dessert? Nope. Is it delicious? YES!

Add this to your next special evening with guests or just with family and you will not be disappointed!

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart online, you can see her version here, topped with powdered sugar. 

Let’s talk about what you need and how to make this flourless cake.

Notes on ingredients for this flourless chocolate cake:

• Chocolate: The chocolate is the star of this recipe, so I recommend using a good one! Some people like using bittersweet chocolate, but I really prefer semi-sweet chocolate. You can chop your own bars of chocolate or use semi-sweet chocolate chips like I did. I often make with Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Butter: I prefer using salted butter. It has better flavor.
• Eggs: There is no subbing the eggs in this – they’re important for giving this lift, and the incredible texture. You’ll be separating yolks and egg whites. I prefer using this egg separator to perfectly separate eggs without breaking any yolks or getting any shells in there. I’ve had this one for probably 20 years, so it’s worth investing in one!
• Sugar: Just plain white sugar is all you need for this!

See, just 4 simple ingredients for the flourless cake portion! You probably have all of these on hand already too!

How to make flourless chocolate cake:

Preheat the oven to 275°. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9″ springform pan. Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate in a large, microwaveable bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until completely melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk in egg yolks until smooth.

In medium or large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Here’s a pic:

 Then gently fold in remaining egg whites. Here’s a pic:

Pour batter into the prepared springform cake pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Here’s what it looks like in pan before baking:

Bake at 275° until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45-50 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan.

While you can buy Cool Whip topping, I highly recommend you make sweetened homemade whipped cream to top slices of this cake with. It’s quite easy too! 

For the whipping cream, you’ll want to grab a quart of heavy whipping cream, some powdered sugar and some pure vanilla extract. 

How to make homemade whipped cream:

To a mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and pure vanilla extract.

Use the whisk attachment on your mixer or hand mixer to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. I usually add the powdered sugar a bit at a time. 

If not using right away, cover and chill until serving.

Serve this flourless chocolate cake at room temperature with sweetened vanilla whipped cream.

Some people like to sprinkle a bit of cocoa powder over the top too, and you can do that if you want it more fancy.

A little story behind this flourless cake recipe:

It is quite rare that I get to enjoy a meal or dessert that someone else prepares for me in their home.  Most of my friends and family, knowing how sensitive I am to gluten, don’t even attempt to cook or bake for me, and that is totally fine.  However, it’s a real treat for me when, once in a while, someone that understands cooking and baking gluten-free (and being careful for cross-contamination) will make something to share with me!

When our family was in Montana for Thanksgiving one year, we drove out to a friend’s ranch near Red Lodge, Montana.  I wish I had snapped a pic of that beautiful area there, with the breathtaking snow-covered mountain ranges all around.  Our friends that live there are truly beautiful people as well, the most generous and kind-hearted people I know.  Their warm hospitality and seven smiling children make anyone feel at home.  We are continually inspired by their stories of adopting precious children from around the world.

Amanda’s thoughtfulness extended to surprising me with serving an amazing flourless chocolate cake that she made just for our visit.  Her oldest daughter helped her make some fresh whipping cream to serve alongside this decadent dessert.  This combo of rich, gooey gluten-free chocolate cake and fluffy vanilla whipped cream, combined with the additions of thoughtfulness, surprise and friendship, made this the best dessert I enjoyed all year long. I left Matt and Amanda’s house that night with a big smile, a full tummy, an extra piece of cake to take home, and the recipe in hand!

When desserts are made with love, they taste even better!

Looking for more flourless desserts that’ll impress? Be sure to try my flourless chocolate cookies which is one of my favorite flourless dessert recipes. My gluten-free monster cookies are also flourless and delicious!

I’ve been eyeing this flourless black forest cake from my friend Jeanine for YEARS and definitely think it would impress guests and be delicious too! 

I’m also in awe of this pavlova recipe and love all the many options for toppings!

If you make this flourless chocolate cake and love it, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe:

Yield: 8 servings

Flourless Chocolate Cake {Gluten-free}

Print

The top of the flourless cake has an almost brownie-like texture and flavor, while the inside is super moist and fudgy. This is a great dessert choice for if you need to make a gluten-free dessert without having to buy special ingredients.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

Cake:

• 6 Tbsp. salted butter, plus more for pan
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (or chocolate chips)
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup sugar

Whipped Cream

• 1 1/4 c. heavy whipped cream
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Flourless cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan. Set aside.
2. Place butter and chocolate in a large, microwaveable bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until completely melted. Let cool slightly.
3. Whisk in egg yolks.
4. In medium or large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
5. Using a spatula, gently fold in remaining egg whites.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
7. Bake at 275° until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45-50 minutes.
8. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan.

HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM:

1. To a mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and pure vanilla extract.
2. Use the whisk attachment to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
3. If not using right away, cover and chill until serving.

Slice cake and serve with the homemade whipped cream. Enjoy!

Notes

Dairy-free adjustment: Use a dairy-free, buttery flavored substitute like Earth Balance sticks in this recipe. Note that I have not tried this yet, but think it will work! Also be sure your chocolate is dairy-free if needed.

Please note that if your springform pan is narrower than the 9" one I used, your cake will be much thicker, lofty, and will take longer to bake.

This recipe originally from Martha Stewart.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Nordic Ware Leakproof Springform Pan, 10 Cup, 9 Inch
• 
  Guittard Chocolate Chip Semisweet 12oz (Pack of 2)
• 
  Cuisinox Egg Separator
• 
  Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, 4 oz.

Pin this to your gluten-free desserts board on Pinterest:

I originally shared this recipe in February 2013, in my first year of blogging! Here’s an old photo from 2013:

     

During the hot summer months, we love to turn to the grill to help prepare dinner so we don’t have to heat up the house. I make this gluten-free grilled chicken often in the summer when we have company. It’s one of our family favorite gluten-free barbecue chicken recipes.

This naturally gluten-free grilled lemon chicken is super easy to prepare with my no-mess method, cooks quickly on the grill, and yields perfectly tender, flavorful chicken for an easy dinner. You can’t ask for more than that!

While you can easily cut the recipe in half, I prefer to make this large batch of chicken, even for our family of four, so that I have leftovers to freeze. It is so nice to pull out the leftover frozen grilled chicken to add to Pasta Alfredo for an easy weeknight meal. 

Just let your leftover chicken cool to room temp, place in a freezer bag (don’t forget to label), squeeze out the air, and freeze until you need it. You could also use this marinade to make up some uncooked meals for the freezer. Just follow the steps below to get the chicken marinating in the bags, and freeze them uncooked. When you want to use, just thaw all day in the marinade in the bag, and grill.

I’ve been making this marinade for years, since discovering it on one of my favorite blogs, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Our family fell in love with it the first time, and we’ve just adapted the prep method and cooking method to suit our family.

Ingredients for gluten-free chicken marinade:

• Lemon juice: Fresh squeezed lemon juice is the best. You’ll need two lemons to get enough juice for this recipe. If you must, you can buy lemon juice in a bottle to use. We’ve done that sometimes when we forget to buy lemons. It’s a fine substitute. Alternately, you could also make this with lime juice.
• Oil: I recommend olive oil but you could use another favorite oil, as long as it can tolerate the high heat of a bbq grill.
• Garlic: I prefer the flavor of mincing fresh garlic from 3-4 garlic cloves. But if you need to, feel free to use jarred minced garlic – I’ve just that to not be as flavorful.
• Salt and Pepper are the only other seasonings added or needed for this recipe.
• Chicken: I recommend using boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken tenders for this recipe. I used breasts this time in the photos, but I usually use tenders because they absorb more of the lemon flavor and cook faster.

That’s it! Just five ingredients in this lemon garlic marinade for chicken breasts! This simple lemon chicken recipe is so easy!

This is a gluten and dairy free chicken recipe as there are no dairy ingredients in this at all. No adapting needs done!

How to make this gluten-free chicken marinade:

I have an easy, no-mess method for making this gluten-free marinade!

1. Line a small/medium sized bowl with a gallon Ziploc bag, folding the top of the bag over the sides of the bowl. (first pic)
2. Add all of the gluten-free marinade ingredients to the bag.
3. Seal the bag and gently knead the bag from the outside to mix the contents.
4. Unseal and put the bag back into the bowl, again folding the top of the bag over the sides of the bowl (middle pic)
5. As you trim your chicken tenders or breasts, drop them right into the bag in the bowl. When done, seal the bag up. (last pic)
6. Again, use your hands to gently knead the bag from the outside to mix the marinade and chicken thoroughly.
7. Put the bag in the bowl, and place the bowl in the fridge to marinate for 6-8 hours. This way, if you by chance have any leak from the bag, it will be caught in the bowl, so you don’t end up with a messy fridge!

You can absolutely do this another way, this is just my preference so that I don’t have a mess to clean up!

How long should this gluten-free chicken marinate before grilling?

The longer this marinates, the stronger the lemon and garlic flavor are. The minimum I’ve marinated it with good flavor is 3 hours, but when possible, prefer 6-8 hours.

You could even marinate the chicken overnight if you want to prep the night before!

When you’re ready to grill this, get your grill heated up.

Remove chicken breasts from bag and place on grill over direct heat.

Grill chicken over direct heat for 1 minute each side.

Then move to top rack/indirect heat and grill for 8 more minutes, flipping partway through.

 Depending on the size of the chicken breasts or chicken tenders you use, the grilling time will vary. Once the chicken reads at 165° on your instant read thermometer, you can pull it off the grill.

See, it’s not only easy to whip up this grilled lemon chicken marinade, but it’s easy to grill this gluten-free barbecue chicken too! 

Nothing beats this easy lemon chicken recipe for dinner that doesn’t heat up the kitchen or dirty a lot of dishes! 

While it’s grilling, it’s easy to whip up some easy sides for this chicken too.

We enjoy eating this with a fresh summer salad, this gluten-free coleslaw recipe and some corn on the cob! I also usually serve some lemon slices or lemon wedges so people can squeeze on additional lemon juice if they want over the meat or over their salad.

Looking for other gluten-free barbecue recipes? You can use chicken or turkey in these Hawaiian gluten-free kabobs. If you want a change from grilled chicken, try this grilled pork. 

This lemon garlic grilled chicken would also pair well with this pesto sauce recipe – I can’t wait to try it! 

For dessert without heating up the kitchen, make these berry smoothie pops! 

If you make this grilled lemon garlic chicken and love it too, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Grilled Lemon Chicken Recipe:

Yield: 8 servings

Gluten-free Chicken Marinade for Grilled Lemon Chicken

Print

I make this gluten-free grilled lemon chicken often in the summer when we have company. The 5 ingredient gluten-free chicken marinade is so easy! It’s one of my favorite gluten-free bbq meals!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh, from 2 lemons)
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. minced garlic (from 3-4 cloves)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenders or breasts trimmed into strips

Instructions

1. Line a small/medium sized bowl with a gallon Ziploc bag, folding the top of the bag over the sides of the bowl.
2. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to the bag.
3. Seal the bag and gently knead the bag from the outside to mix the contents.
4. Unseal and put the bag back into the bowl, again folding the top of the bag over the sides of the bowl.
5. As you trim your chicken tenders or breasts, drop them right into the bag in the bowl. When done, seal the bag up.
6. Again, use your hands to gently knead the bag from the outside to mix the marinade and chicken thoroughly.
7. Put the bag in the bowl, and place the bowl in the fridge to marinate for 6-8 hours. This way, if you by chance have any leak from the bag, it will be caught in the bowl, so you don't end up with a messy fridge!
8. After marinating, remove chicken from bag and place on grill over direct heat.
9. Discard bag and remaining marinade. Do not reuse.
10. Grill chicken over direct heat for 1 minute each side. Then move to top rack/indirect heat and grill for 8 minutes or until cooked through, flipping partway through.
11. Grill until chicken registers 165° in center on a digital thermometer.
12. Serve with your favorite sides and additional lemon wedges.

Notes

The longer you give for this to marinate, the more flavorful it is. But it's still good even if you don't have 8 hours! I'd recommend at least 2 hours in a pinch!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Ziploc Storage Bags, Gallon, 75 Count, Pack of 2
• 
  Westmark Germany Manual Citrus Press Juicer with Strainer and Bowl Non-Slip
• 
  Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil, 16.9 Ounce PET Bottle
• 
  Kuhn Rikon Easy-Clean Garlic Press, No Need to Peel, Red

Originally pubslished August 2013, in my first year of sharing recipes. Updated June 2022 with new photos, video, and hopefully helpful info!

Old photo from 2013:

I hope you and your family enjoy this easy lemon chicken recipe as much as mine did!

     

This gluten-free mushroom risotto can be enjoyed as a main entree by 2-3 people or a side dish for 6. Adding cooked shrimp, beef, or chicken would make this a more hearty meal. This Instant Pot risotto is easy to make too!

Is risotto gluten-free?

If risotto is made with a certified gluten-free arborio rice, and no other gluten-containing ingredients are added, then risotto is gluten-free. However, there are definitely ingredients that would not make the risotto gluten-free.

If you are ordering risotto at a restaurant or are a guest at someone’s house that is serving risotto, and you have celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance, here are some things to watch out for to make sure risotto is gluten-free:

1. Be sure the broth used is gluten-free. Some brands include barley (like this Campbell’s broth in Canada) or are labeled that they can have traces of wheat from cross-contact (common with brands that make chicken noodle soup in same factory). Stick with a broth that is clearly labeled gluten-free.
2. Be sure no other grains have been used in the risotto in addition to or instead of the rice. Some people make risotto with orzo, which is a pasta. Or with farro or couscous, both gluten-containing grains. 
3. Be sure no malt vinegar is used. Other vinegars are fine, but malt vinegar is not gluten-free. I use white wine vinegar in my recipe.
4. Be sure no bread crumbs have been added for texture. I’ve found a number of recipes and restaurant dish descriptions that included crispy bread crumbs in their risotto.

Ok, now let’s talk about making risotto gluten-free at home. For making risotto at home, stick with a certified gluten-free arborio rice, you’re on your way to risotto gf!

Notes on Ingredients and substitutions for this Gluten-free Risotto Recipe:

• Mushrooms: While I used half white mushrooms and half portabello mushrooms, you can use your favorite mushrooms. 
• Arborio Rice: Arborio rice is usually used for risotto because it is a short and starchy rice that makes a perfectly creamy risotto. I like using Lundberg Farms certified gluten-free arborio rice bought on Amazon. Carnaroli rice is commonly used in Italy for making risotto but is harder to find here in the US. I did find this gluten-free carnaroli rice on Amazon if you’d like to try it!
• Chives: Chives, scallions and green onions can all be used interchangeably in this recipe. Choose which you prefer or can find easily. If you’re not a fan of any of those, feel free to omit.
• Vegetable broth: I use and recommend Pacific Foods low sodium gluten-free vegetable broth. The two-pack I linked to would give you enough for this recipe, but if you want to save money and have enough for more recipes, you can get six cartons for a great price here. If you aren’t making this vegan/vegetarian, you could substitute the vegetable broth with chicken broth or chicken stock or beef broth that you have on hand also.
• Salt: Since I used a low-sodium broth, I could tell I needed 1/2 teaspoon salt. If you a broth that is not low sodium, I doubt you will need to add any salt at all. You can taste test and stir in any salt you prefer at the end.

This risotto recipe uses white wine vinegar. This makes it suitable for people looking for a risotto recipe without wine if they happen to prefer to avoid using any alcoholic drinks.

Optional add-ins: My recipe doesn’t call for these, but some people like to add garlic, black pepper and parmesan cheese to their risotto.

I use an Instant Pot pressure cooker to make this gluten-free mushroom risotto recipe. Instant Pot risotto is so quick and easy! By using the Instant Pot, this becomes a one-dish meal, as I can both sauté and cook the entire mushroom risotto recipe in the Instant Pot bowl. 

How to make this Instant Pot mushroom risotto:

Place Instant Pot on sauté setting. Add the oil to the Instant Pot bowl. Then add the sliced mushrooms, white wine vinegar, chives, and salt. 
Use the sauté function on the instant pot to sauté for 4-5 minutes. 

Add 2 cups of vegetable broth and all of the uncooked arborio rice. Sauté for an additional 4 minutes. Be careful to stir slightly so the rice does not stick to bottom of the Instant Pot bowl.

Cancel out the sauté mode on the Instant Pot. Add the rest of the vegetable broth. Place the lid on the Instant pot and seal the lid. 

Set on high pressure setting for 5 minutes. Once finished, use quick release (be careful as steam is HOT).

Scoop onto plates or into low bowls using a wooden spoon. Serve immediately.

You can garnish with more chives or some parsley if desired.

Made as is, this is a vegan risotto and a vegetarian risotto recipe. It can be served as a full meal for anyone you have that wants a vegan gluten-free risotto.

This gluten-free mushroom risotto would also be a delicious side dish served alongside grilled chicken using my gluten-free chicken marinade. Another recipe for the grill is these flanken ribs. By using the grill for the chicken or ribs, and the Instant Pot for this risotto, you’d have a complete meal without heating up your kitchen! 

If you like rice and mushrooms together, I think you’d like to try my gluten-free casserole recipe next. It has rice, mushrooms, chicken and broccoli and is a full-meal. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this perfect risotto in the instant pot too!

If you make this and enjoy it, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Risotto Recipe:

Yield: 6 servings

Gluten-free Risotto with Mushrooms

Print

Gluten-free Risotto with mushrooms is a delicious gluten-free entree or side dish. This Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto is easy to make too!

This can be enjoyed as a main entree by 2-3 people or a side dish for 6. Adding cooked shrimp, beef, or chicken would make this a more hearty, complete main dish.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4-1/2 cup sliced chives or scallions or green onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cups uncooked arborio rice

Instructions

1. Place Instant Pot on sauté setting and add the oil to the Instant Pot insert.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms, white wine vinegar, chives, and salt. Sauté for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups of the vegetable broth and all of the rice. Sauté for an additional 3-4 minutes. Be careful to stir slightly so rice does not stick to bottom of the Instant Pot Insert.
4. Add the rest of the vegetable broth and close the lid.
5. Cancel out the sauté mode on the Instant Pot and seal the lid. Place on high pressure for 5 minutes.
6. Once finished, use quick release (careful, steam is HOT).
7. Scoop from Instant pot to your bowl for serving or directly onto individual plates.
8. You can garnish with more chives or scallions or green onions or some parsley.

Notes

I used half white mushrooms and half portobello mushrooms.

I used low sodium broth. If you use a broth that is NOT low sodium, omit the salt called for, and then only add salt if you taste it when finished and feel like it needs some.

If you prefer, you can substitute chicken stock in place of the vegetable stock.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Instant Pot Duo Nova 6 quart 7-in-1 One-Touch Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker at Target
• 
  Pompeian Gourmet White Wine Vinegar 16 FL. OZ.
• 
  Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil 25.3 oz
• 
  Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth - 32oz
• 
  Lundberg Family Farms - White Arborio Rice, Rich Flavor, Creamy Texture, Perfect for Risotto, Rice Pudding & Soups, Pantry Staple, Sustainably Farmed, Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, Vegan, Kosher (32 oz)
• 
  RiceSelect Arborio Rice, Risotto Rice, Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, 32 oz (Pack of 1 jar)

I hope you and your dinner guests enjoy this recipe!

     

Besides tacos, I also use this gluten-free shredded chicken to make chicken quesadillas, enchiladas, taco salad, and on nachos. That’s a lot of yummy family-friendly meals you can make using this one simple gluten-free crockpot meal. I can usually get at least 3 meals for our family of 4 out of this recipe.

The shredded chicken also freezes well, so I will often make a double batch and divide into family-size servings in Ziploc freezer bags and freeze so I can pull out on a busy weeknight for an easy dinner.

One of the things that I think makes many of us moms feel great is when we serve an easy, healthy meal that our kids love! It is so rewarding when the whole family will sit up and chow down on a meal we’ve made that is also healthy. These gluten-free crockpot shredded chicken tacos are one of those well-liked meals.

I love gluten-free crockpot recipes and I know many of you do too! They make getting dinner going so easy.

I can start this chicken in the Crock-pot just after lunch and the meat is ready to shred and eat at dinnertime. The chicken shreds so easily that I just use a couple of forks to shred it right in the Crock-pot. Aren’t gluten-free crockpot meals the best?!

Notes on ingredients for these gluten-free chicken tacos:

• Chicken: I always use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken tenders. I’ve never used chicken thighs for this but I think you could use boneless chicken thighs.
• Taco seasoning: You can use any gluten-free taco seasoning. The one from McCormick is great – I can find it at some local stores, but you can also get a 12 pack of them from Amazon here. We also like Trader Joe’s taco seasoning mix. I also use a homemade taco seasoning when I make this and will post that soon.
• For the chicken broth, I recommend Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth as it is gluten-free, unlike some other brands. Definitely read the labels on any chicken broth you want to use.

Yes, only three ingredients for this shredded taco chicken!

Obviously you cook the meat for these chicken tacos in a slow cooker. I recommend this Crock-pot slow cooker. I had another Crock-pot I recommended for years, but I noticed it isn’t available for purchase any more, so I tried more recent ones and found this one is just as great as the one I used to recommend!

How to make Gluten-free Taco Chicken in slow cooker:

Pour the gluten-free chicken broth and gluten-free taco seasoning into the slow cooker.

Place the chicken breasts in the broth.

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

After the chicken has cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken into small pieces. I shred it right in the slow cooker.

Serve this gluten-free shredded chicken with your favorite corn tortillas or gluten-free flour tortillas. I really like the Mission corn tortillas and Mission gluten-free flour tortillas. Sometimes I’ll mix it up and buy some labeled gluten-free hard shell taco shells.

Serve these crockpot chicken tacos with all your favorite toppings.

I always set out sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped lettuce, and chopped onions. 

I like serving homemade gluten-free guacamole if I have avocados on hand. It’s pictured above.

If I have time, I’ll make Instant Pot refried beans or I’ll use canned to save time.

Or sometimes I’ll opt for canned black beans. I’m wanting to try making these Instant Pot Black Beans from my friend Cindy. 

Looking for more gluten-free chicken crock pot recipes? You might like my gluten-free chicken noodle soup recipe! Make sure you check out my other gluten-free slow cooker recipes on the blog too.

If you make these gluten-free tacos for your next taco night and enjoy them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Taco Recipe:

Yield: 12 servings

Gluten-free Shredded Chicken Tacos

Print

This versatile gluten-free shredded chicken can be used for gluten-free tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and nachos. We have these gluten-free chicken tacos at least once a month!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten-free chicken broth (recommend Pacific)
• 1 packet gluten-free taco seasoning mix or 2-3 Tbsp. homemade seasoning
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders (thawed)

Instructions

1. Pour the chicken broth and seasoning into the slow cooker.
2. Place the chicken breasts in the broth.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
4. After chicken has cooked, use two forks to shred it into small pieces. I shred it right in the slow cooker.
5. Use with your favorite toppings and tortillas for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, etc.

Notes

When I double this recipe, I do not double the broth. If I triple the recipe, then I do double the broth.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker with Digital Timer, Stainless Steel
• 
  Pacific Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, 32 oz 12 pack
• 
  McCormick Gluten Free Taco Mix, Pack of 12

Originally published March 2014, updated with all new photos May 2022. 
Original photo from 2014 (man what a bad photo!)

I hope you and your family enjoy these shredded chicken tacos slow cooker as much as mine did!

     

I’ve been making these gluten-free butterscotch oatmeal cookies for many years. These are my husband’s favorite cookies of all time! My oldest son would say the same and he requests them for his birthday every year!

A while back my oldest was sharing about my blog with some friends, and he tried to find this gluten-free oatmeal butterscotch cookie recipe to show his friends, and then told me he couldn’t find it on my website. I told him it’s because I still hadn’t shared it! He was shocked since I’ve made these cookies dozens of times over the years and told me I should get them up soon!

So here I am finally sharing these gluten-free oatmeal scotchies with you!

Notes on Ingredients for these Gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies:

• Oats: As always, I recommend you use only certified gluten-free oats, and further recommend they are oats grown with purity protocol standards as they are the safest for those of us with celiac. My go to is always Gluten Free Harvest rolled oats (also available as organic) but there are other brands too. You can see this list of gluten-free oats from my Gluten Free Watchdog for more info on purity protocol oats. 
• Butterscotch Chips: Many brands make butterscotch chips labeled gluten-free. Just double check ingredients for malt, as at least one brand was including malt in their butterscotch chips in the past. I always use Guittard butterscotch chips which I buy at my local Winco stores or via Amazon here.
• Butter: I don’t recommend substituting the butter. It gives the best flavor in these cookies! You will melt the butter completely for this recipe, not just soften it.

These cookies could be made dairy-free EXCEPT that I haven’t found any GOOD dairy-free butterscotch chips. There is one brand available on Amazon, but they do NOT taste like butterscotch chips so I don’t recommend them.

If you need to bake dairy-free cookies, I would instead recommend you make these gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which are dairy-free too. 

How to make oatmeal butterscotch cookies:

Start by melting the butter. I usually do this in a microwaveable bowl, microwaving in 30 second increments. Be sure to cover with a paper towel or it tends to splatter butter all over the microwave.

To your mixing bowl, pour in the melted butter, then add brown sugar, sugar, egg, and pure vanilla extract and mix. I use my stand mixer for this, on medium speed for one minute to mix well.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Mix on low just until mixed.

Stir in the oats and the butterscotch chips. You can do this by hand or with mixer on low. 

Line your cookie baking sheets with parchment paper – this helps the cookies not stick and also bake evenly. 

Decide whether you want medium or large sized cookies. For large cookies, grab a #20 cookie scoop and use it to scoop 8-9 cookies per sheet. Each cookie dough ball scooped with this size scoop will be 3 Tablespoons sized and weigh about 2 ounces if you prefer to weigh. You’ll get about 22 large cookies doing it this way.

For medium cookies, grab a medium cookie scoop (#40) to scoop your cookie dough balls. They will be 1 1/2 Tablespoon sized cookie balls that weigh about 1 ounce. You’ll get about 30 medium cookies doing it this way.

Bake in a preheated oven set to 375 degrees. Large cookies bake for about 13 minutes. Medium cookies baked for about 8-9 minutes.

These will be crunchier and drier the longer they bake, so error on the side of underdone.

When they’re done baking, remove from oven and place on cooling racks to cool completely.

If you need to use the same cookie sheets for next batch, allow the sheets to cool before using again or the cookies will spread more on the hot sheet.

I will usually reuse a parchment sheet once, but after that I toss and use a new one.

Any cookies not eaten on day one are best stored in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc bags.

You can also freeze the baked cookies to defrost and enjoy later! I used to place a few frozen cookies in my husband’s lunch in the morning and they’d be perfect by lunchtime.

I’m not sure the actual origins of oatmeal scotchies recipes as they are truly everywhere now.

I was first introduced to these cookies about 20+ years ago when I was in college. I was working at a guest ranch in Montana (yes, a la City Slickers) and we had a fabulous baker there named Pam. She baked all the best cookies, but I fell in love with these oatmeal butterscotch cookies she made. I had zero self-control when she would make these and put them out for lunch!

I was lucky enough to get her recipe at the end of the summer and enjoyed making them for many years.  Pam’s recipe was my tried and true oatmeal butterscotch cookie recipe for many years, but once I was diagnosed celiac and had to convert everything to gluten-free, I found this was one of my recipes that just didn’t convert well straight away.

Trying to make these oatmeal butterscotch cookies gluten-free proved very challenging! Many batches and tweaks later, I finally nailed it. My notes say that it was try #10 before I finally felt these were perfect! 

I hope you and your family or friends enjoy these gluten-free oatmeal butterscotch cookies as much as we do! 

If you love butterscotch flavor, then be sure to try some of the other recipes I have that use butterscotch chips. My gluten-free Scotcharoos are one of my most popular recipes and always eaten quickly wherever I bring them.

I also make these gluten-free butterscotch rice crispy treats all the time. I love no bake treats like both of these!

If you make these oatmeal butterscotch cookies and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie Recipe:

Yield: 30 cookies

Gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Print

Gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies or Oatmeal Scotchies as some call them, are the best gluten-free oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips in them. They're my husband's favorite cookie!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup salted butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks or 12 Tbsp)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cups butterscotch chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line your cookie baking sheets with parchment paper - this helps the cookies not stick and also bake evenly. 
2. Start by melting the butter. I usually do this in a microwaveable bowl, microwaving in 30 second increments. Be sure to cover with a paper towel or it tends to splatter butter all over the microwave.
3. To your mixing bowl, pour in the melted butter, then add brown sugar, sugar, egg, and pure vanilla extract and mix. I use my stand mixer for this, on medium speed for one minute to mix well.
4. Add gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, cinnamon. Mix on low just until mixed.
5. Stir in the oats and the butterscotch chips. You can do this by hand or with mixer on low. 
6. Decide whether you want medium or large sized cookies. For large cookies, grab a #20 large cookie scoop and use it to scoop 8-9 cookies per sheet. Each cookie dough ball scooped with this size scoop will be 3 Tablespoons sized and weigh about 2 ounces if you prefer to weigh. You'll get about 22 large cookies doing it this way.
7. For medium cookies, grab a medium cookie scoop (#40) to scoop your cookie dough balls. They will be 1 1/2 Tablespoon sized cookie balls that weigh about 1 ounce. You'll get about 30 medium cookies doing it this way.
8. Bake at 375°. Large cookies bake for about 13 minutes. Medium cookies baked for about 8-9 minutes. These will be crunchier and drier the longer they bake, so error on the side of underdone.
9. When they're done baking, remove from oven and place on cooling racks to cool completely. If you need to use the same cookie sheets for next batch, allow the sheets to cool before using again or the cookies will spread more on the hot sheet.

Notes

Most butterscotch chips are gluten-free - double check ingredients, and especially look for malt. I prefer Guittard butterscotch chips.

Use only certified gluten-free oats.

Tested with gfJules and with King Arthur Gluten-free flour blends.

See my blog post for specific recommendations about products I used.

Any cookies not eaten on day one are best stored in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc bags. You can also freeze the baked cookies to defrost and enjoy later! I used to place a few frozen cookies in my husband's lunch in the morning and they'd be perfect by lunchtime.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Bakery On Main Rolled Oats - Gluten Free, Purity Protocol, 24oz (Pack of 4)
• 
  Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, 4 oz.
• 
  Rumford Baking Powder, 8.1 Ounce, 2 Count
• 
  Kirkland Saigon Cinnamon 10.7 Oz Bottles( Pack of 2) - 21.4 Oz Total
• 
  Parchment Paper Sheets for Baking, Made in France, Natural Nonstick 16" x 12" Precut 100 Sheets
• 
  OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop
• 
  OXO Large Cookie Scoop #20

    

Related Posts

• Gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

 

It is no secret that I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. In fact, I already have a delicious gluten-free peanut butter brownie recipe here on my site. I probably have 20-30 recipes that use this combination of yummy ingredients. A favorite recipe that pairs chocolate and peanut butter together are these gluten-free brownies with Reese’s. Each bite of these chewy gluten-free brownies with Reese’s is full of fudgy chocolate and peanut butter flavor. 

I made these yummy Reese’s Brownies back in my gluten-eating days, and was so glad to find out I could easily adapt them to be gluten-free. Just a swap to using a good quality gluten-free flour blend and verifying all my other ingredients were gluten-free, and this gluten-free brownie recipe turned out amazing!

Are Reese’s peanut butter cups gluten-free?

According to the Hershey’s gluten-free list, all Reese’s peanut butter cups are gluten-free EXCEPT the seasonal shapes.  So don’t pick up those cute heart-shaped, egg-shaped, tree-shaped, etc. peanut butter cups.  As I clicked to view all products that are gluten-free, and selected Reese’s, it currently shows 243 Reese’s gluten free products! Even ones with holiday wrappers are. It just appears still that it is the ones that are holiday shapes that are not – apparently from cross contamination wherever those shaped ones are made.

So to clarify, are Reeses’s cups gluten-free? Yes. Are Reese’s shapes gluten-free? Apparently not.

I noticed that much of the Reese’s packaging has been updated to show that products are gluten-free. Here’s a peek at the back of the snack size peanut butter cups package I got – you can clearly see the words gluten free on the back (just above the code).

When bags of Reese’s peanut butter cups are on sale, I like to pick some up to make these gluten-free Reese’s brownies.

The Reese’s peanut butter baking chips are also gluten-free per the list and also say gluten free on the packaging! A big GF right on the front as you can see in my pic below! 

Now let’s talk about the other ingredients for these Reese’s brownies.

Notes on ingredients for these gluten-free Reese’s Brownies:

• Gluten-free flour: I have tested this recipe with several of my go-to flour blends: gfJules, King Arthur Measure for Measure, and Gluten-free Mama with great results with all. You can buy gfJules gluten-free flour blend directly or from Amazon. You can buy King Arthur Measure for Measure here on Amazon.
• Cocoa Powder: I like to use Saco cocoa powder or Hershey’s cocoa.
• Butter: The butter is melted for these. Not just softened, melt all the way. You can do this in microwave or stovetop. Be sure to cover in microwave so the butter doesn’t splatter everywhere.
• Peanut butter cups: Reese’s peanut butter cups come in various sizes. I used snack size Reese’s peanut butter cups this time, and it took about 14 of them to yield the 1 1/2 cups chopped. Depending on the size you buy, you will need more of less.
• Peanut butter baking chips: Reese’s peanut butter chips (baking chips) amp up the peanut butter flavor in these, but if you don’t have them, you could use more peanut butter cups or use some milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter chips. 

Your self-control is going to be tested when you get to this part of making these Reese’s brownies. I know I couldn’t resist a taste after I got everything stirred together too!

After these come out of the oven, place on a cooling rack to cool completely before cutting. I like to use a plastic knife for clean cutting these. This is the Bakeware Buddy plastic knife I use and have pictured here.

If you’re wanting to wow with presentation, you can sprinkle with additional peanut butter cups on top of the brownies before serving, as I did for these photos here. I put them on after cutting so I wouldn’t have smeared melted chocolate everywhere, but you can do whatever you prefer.

You can also serve additional peanut butter cups on the side. This works great too if you’re offering brownie sundaes, as these brownies plus ice cream plus additional chopped peanut butter cups would be amazing!

If you want to make ice cream sundaes, you can start with this no churn vanilla ice cream recipe. My peanut butter ice cream topping would also be amazing served over brownie sundaes made with these brownies. Or maybe some homemade hot fudge topping to really top these off! So sweet but so good! 

If you make these and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

I hope you and your family enjoy these as much as mine did!

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cup Brownies:

Yield: 18 brownies

Gluten-free Reese's Brownies

Print

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you'll love these gluten-free Reese's brownies! These gluten-free brownies with peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips are best enjoyed with a glass of cold milk or in a brownie sundae!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted (2 sticks)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (*if needed, see note)
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (=about 14 Reese's cups)
• 1/2 cup Reese's peanut butter baking chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. I prefer using a glass one.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in the mixing bowl until blended. Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups and the Reese's peanut butter chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs only, no batter.
5. Remove from oven, and cool pan on a wire rack before cutting.
6. I recommend using a plastic knife for cutting these.
7. You can sprinkle cooled brownies with additional chopped peanut butter cups if desired.

Notes

If using a gluten-free flour that has xanthan gum already in it, then omit the xanthan gum listed in this recipe.
Please see blog post for tips and ingredient info and substitutions.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, 4 oz.
• 
  SACO Pantry Premium Cocoa, Natural and Dutched Blend, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Pack of 2
• 
  REESE'S Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Size Cups Candy, Individually Wrapped, 33 oz Bag (60 Pieces)
• 
  Reese's Peanut Butter Baking Chips, 10-Ounce Bag (Pack of 3)
• 
  Bakeware Buddy Non-Stick Surface-Safe Plastic Knife

Post updated with new photos, and clarified instructions in March 2022.

Old photos from original post in Feb 2013: 

    

Related Posts

• Gluten-free Reese’s Brownies

 

What do you make when you have some frozen strawberries, a frozen banana, and some coconut milk? A strawberry banana coconut milk smoothie of course! 

Since this is made with coconut milk and doesn’t include any whey powders, it’s a gluten and dairy free smoothie! So many smoothie recipes have you add protein powders, most of which have whey, but not this smoothie doesn’t contain powders. It’s thick due to the frozen strawberries and frozen banana. Sometimes you just want something refreshing, not a meal replacement, so no need for a protein powder then.

I always have frozen fruit on hand so that I can make smoothies. Other dairy-free smoothie recipes on my site include this chocolate raspberry smoothie and this dairy-free orange creamsicle smoothie.

But actually, are smoothies gluten-free?

Smoothies are not always gluten-free. It is pretty common for smoothies to have oats added, and if certified gluten-free oats aren’t used, then the smoothie wouldn’t be gluten-free. It is also common for smoothies to have barley added (for whole grain and fiber) and of course barley is a gluten-containing grain that celiacs need to avoid. Some people also add malted milk powder to smoothies, which is another no-no as malt=barley. 

If you are offered a smoothie or are ordering a smoothie, ask lots of questions to be sure you are getting a safely gluten-free smoothie!

Notes on ingredients for this coconut milk banana strawberry smoothie:

• Frozen strawberries: these can be store-bought frozen strawberries or ones you froze yourself. You can swap in other frozen berries like raspberries or blackberries for all or part of the strawberries if you don’t have enough.
• Frozen banana: If you don’t normally keep frozen bananas in the freezer, grab one and toss it in for a couple hours before you want to make your smoothie!
• Coconut Milk: you can use coconut milk from a carton or can here. Whatever type you prefer. Also, if you would prefer to use almond milk instead of coconut milk, you can do that too.
• Shredded Coconut: I used unsweetened coconut but you could use sweetened if you prefer or have that on hand.
• Vanilla Extract: this is optional but I like to add it for flavor to my smoothies. Be sure to use a pure vanilla extract not imitation. I recommend Costco’s Kirkland Pure Vanilla Extract and Nielsen Massey’s bourbon vanilla extract.

How to make a strawberry banana smoothie:

It’s so easy to make this smoothie. Just place the frozen strawberries, frozen banana, coconut milk, shredded coconut, and vanilla extract all in the blender.

Then blend it on medium speed until smoothie consistency. My Blendtec blender has a smoothie setting so I just use that! 

Pour into a glass and enjoy this refreshing smoothie!

You can sprinkle with additional shredded coconut if you enjoy – it tastes great scooped up with a spoon with some of the smoothie.

This is a gluten-free dairy-free smoothie if made as I’ve specified. If you would rather use regular milk and not have it be dairy-free, you can definitely do that instead of the coconut milk. You can also make this strawberry banana smoothie with almond milk if you prefer almond milk over coconut milk, or just happen to have that on hand instead.

If you have other ripe bananas to use up, I highly recommend making my gluten-free banana bread recipe. It’s delicious and a slice of it would go great with this smoothie for a mid-morning snack!

If you make this gluten-free strawberry banana smoothie, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Strawberry Banana Coconut Smoothie Recipe:

Yield: 1 smoothie

Strawberry Banana Coconut Milk Smoothie (Gluten-free)

Print

This strawberry banana coconut smoothie is dairy-free and gluten-free and easy to make!

Prep Time 3 minutes

Total Time 3 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a blender.
2. Blend on medium speed (or use smoothie setting if your blender has one) and blend until reaches typical smoothie consistency.
3. Pour into a glass. Top with additional coconut if desired.

Notes

If your smoothie is too thick, add more coconut milk, a tablespoon at a time.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Blendtec Classic Blender
• 
  Anthony's Organic Shredded Coconut, 8 oz, Unsweetened, Gluten Free, Non GMO, Vegan, Keto Friendly
• 
  Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, 4 oz.

I hope you enjoy this healthy strawberry banana smoothie recipe!

    

Related Posts

• Coconut Milk Strawberry Banana Smoothie (Gluten-free)