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32 Best Gluten Free Desserts

Eating gluten-free can be a challenge; it may seem like there are many things you can’t eat. Though, with some adjustments, there are quite a few dishes you can convert to gluten-free without feeling deprived.

Gluten Free Desserts

After a tasty meal of a salmon rice bowl, the next logical step is creating easy gluten-free desserts.

Not sure what gluten-free dessert recipes to pursue? We’ve put together a list of the 32 yummiest dessert recipes that happen to be gluten-free.

These recipes are decadent, delicious, and mouthwatering. Try one all, and you’ll be rewarded with tasty treats. Below are some of the tastiest recipes!

1. Gluten-Free Lemon Brownies

Haven’t heard of or tried lemon brownies yet? Well, you’re missing out on a delightful, melt-in-your-mouth sweet treat. This is a great dessert if you’re fond of citrus-based sweets.

Lemon juice is the star of this dessert! Though you can make it with lime juice or orange juice, depending on your preference. An orange-based dessert will be sweeter and less tangy.

If you’re choosing a different citrus fruit, make sure to use the zest of that fruit. As a note, the color of the brownies will change when using oranges.

2. Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes

Yes, you can still eat cupcakes on a gluten-free diet! This tasty recipe is ready from prep to baked in only about 30 minutes. You’ll have delicious mouthwatering cupcakes in no time.

This recipe calls for vegetable oil, though you can use butter if you want a more decadent dessert. Butter will add a lovely flavor, whereas vegetable oil has a subtler taste.

If you want to create cupcakes for a special occasion, you can change the frosting to match your theme. Pastel colors work well for Easter, red and green for Christmas, etc.

3. Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

Anytime we can create a gluten-free chocolate cake without sacrificing moistness or taste, we’re in!

This is one of the top gluten-free desserts on our list. The chocolate cake is fluffy and filled with a decadent chocolate frosting.

You’ll be creating this recipe with milk in the cake and frosting. You can swap the milk for a non-dairy alternative like coconut or almond milk if you’re also avoiding dairy. The flavor will change slightly, but it will be nearly unnoticeable once the cake is baked.

Tip: Double-check that the baking powder you’re using is gluten-free, as some options are not.

4. Gluten-Free Monster Cookie Bars

There’s no turning back once you’ve had a monster cookie bar! These delightful bars are jam-packed with peanut butter, oats, m&ms, and chocolate chips for a decadent dessert.

The monster cookie bars are ideal for an after-dinner treat, lunches, and special occasions.

As mentioned, you’ll be using peanut butter for this recipe. However, it’s not just any peanut butter but creamy peanut butter. To add some more texture, try using crunchy peanut butter.

Other nut butter will also work in this recipe, like almond butter, cashew butter, etc.

5. Gluten-Free Cheesecake

Have a craving for cheesecake? Add this recipe to your repertoire; you won’t regret it!

This cheesecake is everything you could want in a dessert – decadent, creamy, and easily customizable.

Making the crust is easy when using gluten-free graham cracker crumbs. You can use sugar and cinnamon-covered graham crackers for a sweeter crust. Honey gluten-free graham crackers will also offer a delightful spin on this recipe.

You can add whichever toppings to your cheesecake that you enjoy. Caramel or fresh fruit are excellent options to help add flavor to the cheesecake.

6. Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Having a banana bread recipe in your recipe collection is a must, right? We like to think so! This banana bread uses very ripe bananas for a deliciously sweet flavor.

How does this tasty bread get its sweet flavor? Besides the ripe bananas, you’ll use granulated sugar to sweeten up the loaf. For a denser and more caramel-like flavor, consider using brown sugar as a substitute.

Tip: If using brown sugar, replace the granulated sugar in a 1:1 ratio. You can use light/dark brown sugar as a replacement.

7. Gluten-Free Chocolate Pudding Cake

This chocolate pudding cake is somewhere between bread pudding and a decadent chocolate cake. It’s gooey, sweet, and offers the perfect amount of chocolate in each bite. Pair this cake with vanilla ice cream for a rich dessert that you’ll want to eat every night.

Adding espresso powder to the batter helps add a boost of flavor. Instant coffee will work equally well if you don’t have espresso powder on hand.

You can forego the espresso powder without affecting the consistency for those who don’t enjoy a coffee flavor.

8. Orange Cardamom Flan

Looking for a unique dessert that will impress your family and friends? This orange cardamom flan will do the trick! It’s creamy, rich, smooth, and only requires seven ingredients.

The not-so-secret ingredient is the cardamom mentioned in the title of this dessert. If you’re having trouble finding this spice at the store, a combination of cinnamon and ginger will also work. These two seasonings are quite easy to find at local grocery stores.

Flan is a dessert that is best served cold. Ensure you refrigerate the caramel-covered flan before serving and offering it to guests.

9. The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate cookies are a classic dessert that you can whip out regardless of the circumstances. Have a cookie craving? Give these treats a try!

These cookies are the best gluten-free desserts available. They’re also great for children’s lunches or adult lunches.

One of the main ingredients is the chocolate chips included in each cookie.

You can mix it up by using butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, or any chips you prefer. Of course, you can also mix the different chips for a yummy treat.

10. Classic Gluten-Free Pound Cake

Did you know that a pound cake is named so because traditionally, it was made with a pound of every ingredient?

This version does not include that much of each ingredient. Yet, you’ll still find the lovely dense pound cake you’re accustomed to, without gluten present.

Xantham gum is a typical thickener used in various gluten-free and vegan recipes, including this one.

You can instead use agar to help thicken the recipe. Or, you can skip the thickener if your flour already has a thickener in it.

11. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin bars with cream cheese are the perfect gluten-free sweets for fall time. They’re also quite easy to make, and they’re so delicious that no one will know they’re gluten-free!

These pumpkin bars topped with cream cheese frosting are great for get-togethers; your friends won’t be able to keep their hands off them!

Keeping these bars moist and delicious is as easy as including applesauce in the batter. You can also use mashed bananas for a similar effect. Avoid this swap if you don’t enjoy the flavor of bananas, as you can taste them slightly.

12. Simple Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

We promise that going gluten-free doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite desserts! Here’s a remade favorite that’s easily made with gluten-free ingredients. It’s healthy, tasty, filling, and great for year-round.

You’ll be using granny smith apples to help create this tasty dessert. If you prefer sweeter apples, try golden delicious or honey crisp apples. These still offer a yummy flavor without the tang of granny smith apples.

Tip: It’s important to toss the apples with the spices before adding them to the pan. Otherwise, you’ll have unevenly seasoned apple slices.

13. Gluten-Free Crepes

Have less than half an hour to whip up a tasty and filling breakfast?

Here’s a recipe that you can create in 16 minutes. Plus, they’re easy to pack and take on the go if you don’t have time to enjoy them at home.

Generally, when creating crepes, you’ll need vanilla extract. However, if you’re creating sweet crepes, you can use other extract flavors that complement the filling. For example, a cake batter flavoring will bode well with a whipped cream and berry filling.

14. The BEST Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Ever

Growing up, peanut butter cookies were an absolute favorite in the household. They’re so simple yet so tasty.

This version of peanut butter cookies has a decadent peanut butter taste and is great for all peanut butter lovers.

The final touch on these cookies before they go into the oven is rolling them in granulated sugar. Instead, roll them in coconut sugar for a slightly different flavor. Both options will help sweeten the cookies perfectly.

These cookies go well with a glass of milk to help even out the sweetness.

15. Gluten-Free Tart Crust

If baking is your stress reliever, you’ll want to keep this recipe on hand.

When making this gluten-free crust, you’ll have perfect tarts every time. Don’t be afraid to get creative with the filling; you can make everything from custard tarts to fruit-filled tarts in this crust.

The secret to keeping this tart crust together is the cold butter you’ll incorporate into the mixture.

For those who are also dairy-free, vegan butter will work equally well. Use a 1:1 ratio to swap vegan butter for standard butter.

16. Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie

How does a dense, sweet, uber delicious apple pie slice sound right now? It sounds like the perfect dessert to us! This is one of the yummiest gluten-free baking recipes that everyone will love, regardless of whether they’re on a gluten-free diet.

You’ll be using a pre-made gluten-free pie crust for this recipe.

It helps save time and creates a delightful pie. You can also make a pie crust from scratch using gluten-free flour, butter, sugar, and cold water.

Tip: Make sure your pie crust is chilled before baking with it.

17. Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Here’s a recipe that you can enjoy, even if you enjoy a dairy-free diet! These pumpkin pie cupcakes have a creamy, custardy center making them the ultimate sweet treat. They’re topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream that lets the pumpkin flavor shine through.

How do you make these pumpkin cupcakes taste like pumpkin pie? By incorporating pumpkin pie spice into the batter. If you want to adjust the flavor, make a homemade mixture with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.

This way, you can add as much of each spice as you’d like.

18. Classic Gluten-Free British Shortbread

These delicious buttery shortbread cookies are baked in a fancy pan that helps create pretty designs on each.

While they look (and taste) fancy, they’re easy to make. Your friends and family will love how decadent these cookies taste.

Like most baked recipes, you’ll incorporate kosher salt into the dough. Regular table salt will also work if you don’t have any on hand. Adding salt to the dough helps bring out the sweetness of the cookies.

These cookies also make a great gift during the holidays or special occasions.

19. Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies may seem like a basic dessert, but they always seem to hit the spot! We love creating simple gluten-free desserts that help satisfy a sweet tooth.

This recipe also includes a delicious cream cheese frosting to help add some spunk to the cookies.

The frosting requires vanilla extract as a flavoring agent. Try using the almond extract for a unique flavor that everyone will love. If you enjoy this flavor swap, you can also use the almond cream cheese frosting for other desserts like cupcakes.

20. Gluten-Free Sticky Date Pudding

How well does sticky date pudding sound?! It’s a deliciously warm, gooey dessert that is highly addicting. As a note, you may recognize this dish as sticky toffee pudding.

What makes this recipe so delicious is the sticky caramel sauce on top. It’s typically made with brown sugar. However, turbinado sugar works equally well and is gluten-free naturally.

Tip: This dessert is great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve the date pudding warm for the best flavor and consistency.

21. How To Make the Best Gluten-Free Crisp Topping

If you’re wondering how to make a gluten-free topping for your berry or apple crisp, this is the recipe to follow! It only requires five ingredients, leaving you with a crunchy and undeniably delicious crisp topping.

Once you’ve baked the crisp, you can keep it in your fridge for multiple recipes.

You’ll need a sweetener for this crisp. In this recipe, the sweetener is light brown sugar. You can use dark brown sugar for a richer, more molasses-heavy flavor.

22. Gluten-Free Chocolate Date Brownies

Looking for gluten-free treats that are devoid of refined sugar?

Look no further! These yummy brownies are sweetened with dates so that you can skip the addition of granulated sugar.

Part of what helps create a rich, chocolatey taste is the inclusion of semisweet chocolate chips.

These yummy chocolate bits are also delightfully melty once you pull the brownies out of the oven. For a less sweet flavor, swap them out for dark chocolate chips.

Make sure to let the brownies cool before digging in!

23. Gluten-Free Fudge

Fudge is the ultimate sweet treat, and we’re excited by how easy this recipe is.

You can go from having no dessert to a prepped fudge square in fifteen minutes (not counting chilling time). These are great for all occasions, from birthdays to potlucks, lunches, and more.

Dark chocolate chips are included in the fudge with milk chocolate chips to even out the level of sweetness. Don’t be afraid to mix and match flavors to create a yummy new fudge flavor.

Try melting in butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, or any flavor your heart desires.

24. Gluten-Free Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Chocolate-covered strawberries are the perfect dessert for a romantic evening.

Whether celebrating an anniversary or Valentine’s Day, you can’t go wrong with chocolate-covered berries. It helps that this recipe is only three ingredients!

While strawberries are the typical berries chosen to dip in chocolate, you can dip most fruit. Blueberries, bananas, and raspberries are all great options.

Feeling adventurous? Try dipping some cantaloupe into chocolate.

Tip: While making chocolate-covered strawberries is quick, make sure you account for the time they need to sit in the fridge.

25. Gluten-Free Strawberry Truffle Brownies

Here’s a super tasty recipe from Betty Crocker herself! These brownies are layered with creamy strawberry truffle filling. Then, they’re topped with a decadent chocolate ganache.

Making the strawberry truffle filling is easier than you might expect. You’ll be mixing in a strawberry jam to help add that yummy strawberry flavor. If you only have strawberry preserves on hand, you can add that instead.

The truffle section may not be as smooth with preserves since it typically contains larger chunks of berries.

26. Easy Gluten-free Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is always a crowd-pleaser, and this carrot cake does not disappoint.

This dessert option is a sheet cake, so it’s easy to transport to events or get-togethers. No one will be able to resist a slice of this springtime cake.

What’s carrot cake without real pieces of carrots? While shredding carrots only takes a few minutes, you can also purchase a pre-shredded bag of carrots from your local grocery store. Now you can whip up this tasty cake even faster.

27. Gluten-Free Trifle

Have you ever had a trifle before? If not, now’s your chance! This is one of the prettiest gluten-free dessert ideas, and it tastes just as good as it looks.

To make the layers pop, you’ll be adding macerated strawberries in between the cake. These berries can be swapped for any berry of choice, like blackberries or blueberries. Or, try a combination of the three for a berrylicious dessert.

Tip: It’s best to make this trifle if you’ll be serving it to many people as it’s only good in the fridge for a few days.

28. Simple Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies

Calling all snickerdoodle lovers! This gluten-free option is perfect for you. It’s got the typical snickerdoodle flavor using gluten-free flour for a delectable, sweet treat.

There are two not-so-hidden ingredients in this recipe – cinnamon and sugar. You’ll be rolling the cookie dough in this mixture before popping the dough balls into the oven.

You can also easily find a pre-made cinnamon sugar mixture to avoid tossing any leftover sugar mixture.

If you need to make more cookies, you can easily double or triple the recipe.

29. The Best Ever Super Moist Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Need another option for banana bread? Here’s a yummy choice that incorporates chocolate chips for the perfect flavor combo of chocolate and banana. It’s super moist, leaving your friends begging for the recipe.

Making a fluffy banana bread loaf is made easy by using baking soda to help the loaf rise. If you’ve run out of baking soda, you can use egg whites instead. You’ll need to beat the egg whites first before using them as a substitute.

Tip: When using egg whites, fold them into the batter. You don’t want to lose the air that you whipped into them.

30. 4-Ingredient Homemade Mounds Bars

Skip the grocery store run and whip up these mounds bars in only a few minutes. They’re gluten-free, vegan, and paleo, making them a great office treat. How can you beat a 4-ingredient recipe?!

Using erythritol helps sweeten these tasty morsels. However, you can use any sweetener alternative that you’d like. Stevia works excellently in this recipe.

If you want larger mounds bars, you can form the coconut mixture into a larger log. Keep in mind that you may need to wait longer for the bars to set if they’re larger.

31. Easy Gluten-Free Vanilla Mug Cake

If you live alone, you may not want to make a whole cake or dessert. You’ll want to opt for a single-serve mug cake for times like these. It’s a super easy recipe that you can throw together into a mug and cook in the microwave. Plus, you’ll avoid many leftovers from a larger dessert.

You’ll need vegetable oil for this recipe. However, you can use melted butter as well for a richer flavor. Coconut oil also works well in this cake.

32. Almond Chocolate Nut Clusters

We love making these almond chocolate nut clusters whenever especially when wondering what sweets can you eat gluten-free. They’re crunchy, chocolatey, and perfect for taking with you for picnics or hiking outings.

The secret ingredient of these nut clusters is the gluten-free rice cereal that helps form the crunchy outside. You can use any gluten-free cereal of choice as a replacement.

Keep in mind that the sweeter cereals may be too sweet for some people.

You can also crumble the clusters into smaller pieces for delicious homemade granola.

Gluten Free Desserts

32 Best Gluten Free Desserts

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup grapeseed oil
  • 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa
  • 1 1/2 cup natural cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoonbaking powder
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

  1. You’ll want to start by preheating the oven to 325F. Then, it’s time to prep a 9”x9” baking pan. Spray a little cooking oil in the pan so parchment paper sticks. Then spray the parchment paper with cooking oil.
  2. Grab a large mixing bowl and whisk together the two cocoa varieties. Heat oil to 240F over medium heat, then pour over cocoa and mix well. Allow sitting for 10 minutes.
  3. Next, add the salt, baking powder, and egg whites. You’ll want to mix with an electric mixer until there are large chunks. Finally, add the white sugar and vanilla. Keep mixing until the batter is smooth and has a shine to it.
  4. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and smooth using a spatula. Sprinkle hazelnuts on top.
  5. Cook for about 30 minutes in the oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  6. These brownies will need to cool before you can eat cut and eat them.

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