Food

Our Absolute Best Gluten-Free Desserts

No gluten, no problem—these gluten-free substitutes and naturally gluten-free sweets are here for everyone

By SAVEUR Editors

May 18, 2017

Whether you suffer from a gluten allergy or have given up the stuff for health reasons, rest assured that you can still enjoy delicious, show-stopping dessert recipes. And the sweets-loving world agrees: our best naturally gluten-free desserts run the gamut from a Filipino fruit salad to Iranian rice cookies and the hallmark of French desserts: the macaron. In some cases, cutting gluten makes your dessert taste even better—take, for example, our flourless peanut butter cookies, which skip flour to accentuate their pure peanut butter flavor and chewy texture. They can also be easier and more time-efficient, as is the case with many of our no-bake recipes. Happy gluten-free baking!

Honey-and-Butter Baked Pears with Cold Cream — These sticky, caramelized pears get served warm with a glug of fresh chilled cream for a richly-flavored variation on poached pears. Get the recipe for Honey-and-Butter-Baked Pears with Cold Cream »Anders Schonnemann

Brûléed Italian Plums with Armagnac Custard — Warming, caramel-scented Armagnac custard bathes fresh, barely-cooked Italian plums in this quick, simple dessert. Get the recipe for Brûléed Italian Plums with Armagnac Custard »Farideh Sadeghin

Pepita-Sage Brittle — Use this bittersweet caramel brittle as a topping to kick up store-bought pumpkin pie—substitute dried coconut flakes and chopped macadamia nuts to pair with a Key lime pie, or dried lavender and slivered almonds for a chocolate cream pie. It also makes a great gift: a fall party favor, wrapped in cellophane and handed off as your guests make their exit. Get the recipe for Pepita-Sage Brittle »Matt Taylor-Gross

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Crumb Cake — Sorghum flour and almond meal give this cake from Gluten-Free Baking (Weldon Owen 2014) a soft, fine crumb; tangy yogurt balances its subtle sweetness. A dense brown sugar and walnut crumble tops the cinnamon-and-vanilla-scented base, making for a satisfying breakfast or snack. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Cinnamon Crumb Cake »Farideh Sadeghin

Thai Black Sticky Rice Pudding with Coconut Cream — Black sticky rice, which like wild rice is unhulled, makes a rustic rice pudding loaded with far more flavor and texture than usual. This version from chef Peerasri Montreeprasat at Sugar Club, a Thai grocery and cafe in New York, adds in cubes of nutty taro and is sweetened with palm sugar. Get the recipe for Thai Black Sticky Rice Pudding with Coconut Cream »Matt Taylor-Gross

Sauternes Custard with Armagnac-Soaked Prunes — At Boulestin, Agen prunes, prized for their caramel notes and soft texture, are infused with brewed tea, cinnamon, and armagnac and then used to top this sumptuous custard. In lieu of vanilla sugar, you can substitute 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Get the recipe for Sauternes Custard with Armagnac-Soaked Prunes »Tom Parker

Korean Rice Cake (Songpyeon) — Korean rice cakes, known as songpyeon, are half moon-shaped dumplings that are stuffed with fillings like sweet potatoes, chestnuts, red beans, or nuts, and then steamed and served with honey. Get the recipe for Korean Rice Cake »Matt Taylor-Gross

Khanom Chan — Think of these silky, chewy, coconutty gummies as richer, more flavorful Jello jigglers, made with a steamed batter of coconut milk with sticky rice flour and tapioca and arrowroot starches. It's a labor of love: to form the neat layers, you have to let the previous layer steam enough until set but still a little tacky before adding the next. The cake also benefits enormously from making your own pandan extract; though you can buy pre-made extract in Thai groceries, it won't compare to the unique sweet herbal fragrance of the fresh leaves. (You can buy fresh or frozen pandan leaves online or in well-stocked Thai groceries) Get the recipe for Thai Steamed Coconut-Pandan Cake (Khanom Chan) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Concord Grape Granita — This slushy frozen treat is a throwback to days of snow cones past, in the best way possible. Super-grapey Concord grapes, plus a splash of verjus (a tart vinegar-like grape juice), lend a sweet, tart, fresh, grown-up spin on the childhood favorite. Get the recipe for Concord Grape Granita »Paul Sirisalee | Food Styling: Eugene Jho

Sugared Rosewater Marzipan Balls — A simple almond dough is scented with rose water and dyed before being braided, cut, and rolled for these whimsical treats. Get the recipe for Sugared Rosewater Marzipan Balls (Kaber Ellouz) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Grilled Strawberries — Roasting strawberries over mellow, barely glowing embers turns them from bright red bulbs to plump crimson pillows of deeply sweet juice. Get the recipe for Grilled Strawberries »Matt Taylor-Gross

Sesame Honey Roasted Apples — Sweet apples are roasted until caramelized in honey and butter, then marinated in their cooking juices along with Calvados and sesame for a simple but surprisingly complex quick weeknight dessert. Get the recipe for Honey-Roasted Apples with Sesame and Calvados »Farideh Sadeghin

Phillippine Fruit Salad — "When I introduce this dish to my friends for the first time, they are confused and a little hesitant to eat it. Once they try it, though, they fall in love." – Leah Cohen of Pig & Khao Get the recipe for Phillippine Fruit SaladMatt Taylor-Gross

Sea Salt Ice Cream — If you're tired of wintery cakes and cookies by March, it might be time to break out the ice cream. Get the recipe for Sea Salt Ice Cream »Christina Holmes

Lavender Rice Pudding with Pears — Lavender and delicately floral Bosc pears complement each other in this rich rice pudding, made fluffy and light with whipped cream. Get the recipe for Lavender Rice Pudding with Pears »Farideh Sadeghin

Baked Custard with Caramel Sauce (Leche Asada) — This classic custard is ubiquitous in Chile, where it is served in cups for a quick afternoon snack or baked in a larger pan for a family-style dessert. Get the recipe for Baked Custard with Caramel Sauce (Leche Asada) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Simnel Marzipan Bonbons — Marzipan, a sweet paste of almond meal and sugar, is laced with spices, brandy, and lemon juice for these simple treats. Get the recipe for Simnel Marzipan Bonbons »Joseph de Leo

Iranian Rice Cookies — These crumbly rice flour cookies are made using a sugar syrup infused with rose water, a classic ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets. Get the recipe for Iranian Rice Cookies »Farideg Sadeghin

Onde-Onde (Pandan, Palm Sugar, and Coconut Dumplings) — These Malay poached rice flour dumplings, coated with shredded coconut, are plump with a filling of melted palm sugar that floods the mouth when bitten into. Pandan, the aromatic leaves of a perennial grass, gives them a green color and a vanilla-like scent. Get the recipe for Onde-Onde (Pandan, Palm Sugar, and Coconut Dumplings) »James Oseland

Omani Coconut Cookies — A simple combination of sugar syrup and unsweetened coconut cools and hardens into sweet, crunchy treats that are perfect served alongside tea or coffee. Get the recipe for Omani Coconut Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin

Punjabi-Style Carrot Pudding (Gajar ka Halwa) — Studded with chopped nuts and flavored with aromatic cardamom and rose water, this sweet Indian pudding is made from a blend of nutty ghee, milk, cream, sugar, and grated carrot. It's equally good served either hot or cold. Get the recipe for Punjabi-Style Carrot Pudding (Gajar ka Halwa) »Ingalls Photography

Macarons — While cookies made from almond flour and egg whites have been around since at least the 16th century, the concept of filling them and sandwiching them together to create what we know as a macaron is a 20th century invention, popularized by the Parisian pastry shop Ladurée. Typically the shells are colored to reflect the flavor of the filling, which can be anything from buttercream to ganache to jam. You can eat the filled cookies right away, but they're best after a day or two, as the shells will soften slightly and absorb the flavor of the filling, yielding a tender, pillowy cookie. Get the recipe for Macarons »Helen Rosner

Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts with Zebra Glaze — With a dense, moist interior and slight crunch of an old-fashioned cake donut on the outside, you won't miss the flour in these rich chocolate donuts. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts with Zebra Glaze »Todd Coleman

Ricotta and Coffee Mousse — Elegant and easy to prepare, a classic mousse flavored with espresso and topped with a dusting of chocolate is a great way to end a romantic meal. Get the recipe for Ricotta and Coffee Mousse »Helen Rosner

Double Chocolate Macaroons — In these luscious cookies from cookbook author Leah Koenig, the traditional shredded coconut version gets hit with a double dose of chocolate: cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips. Get the recipe for Double Chocolate Macaroons »Zoe Schaeffer

Gluten-Free Grapefruit Cake — This moist cake soaked with citrus-infused syrup gets its nutty flavor and hearty texture from a blend of almond flour and coarsely ground yellow cornmeal. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Grapefruit Cake »Helen Rosner

Strawberry Mousse — Strawberries and cream combine in a simple, bright mousse that can be eaten chilled or made a day ahead and frozen. Get the recipe for Strawberry Mousse »Helen Rosner

Chewy Almond Macaroons — This recipe produces intensely-flavored cookies that have a crunchy caramelized exterior and a chewy, amaretto-flavored interior. Get the recipe for Chewy Almond Macaroons »Helen Rosner

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies — Our gluten-free alternative to the classic actually gives the cookies a boost: subtracting flour highlights their pure peanut butter flavor and adds a wonderfully chewy texture. Get the recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies »Matt Taylor-Gross

Gluten-Free Oat Old-Fashioned Donuts with Rum Raisin Glaze — Earthy oats pair with sweet raisins and a potent rum glaze in this gluten-free donut. Ingredients such as the tapioca starch and xantham gum can be purchased at your local Whole Foods Market or natural foods store. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Oat Old-Fashioned Donuts with Rum Raisin Glaze »Todd Coleman

Strawberry Compote — Simple and fast to make, this luscious sweet is the perfect topping for ice cream, pound cake, and cheesecake--or simply served on its own. Get the recipe for Strawberry Compote »Todd Coleman

Gluten-Free Cake Donuts with Chocolate Glaze — Creamy with a yellow hue, millet flour is the basis for this decadent, gluten-free version of a classic chocolate-glazed cake donut. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Cake Donuts with Chocolate Glaze »Todd Coleman

Alice Medrich's House Truffles — These classically simple chocolate truffles are enriched with egg yolks—Medrich's special touch. Get the recipe for Alice Medrich's House Truffles »Todd Coleman

Bananas Foster — Created in 1951 at the legendary Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans to honor Richard Foster, a friend of the restaurant and local businessman, this boozy, buttery concoction of caramelized bananas flambeed in rum sauce has since become a dining-out classic. Get the recipe for Bananas Foster »Maxime Iattoni

Blueberry Compote — Poured over ice cream, stacked between weekend flapjacks, or layered into this summery Sweet Corn Trifle, this vibrant berry compote captures the best of the season's fruit. Get the recipe for Blueberry Compote »Laura Sant

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