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An easy recipe for homemade gluten-free pop tarts. Flaky, gluten-free pastry filled with sweet strawberry jam. The recipe also includes a dairy-free option.
Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
The Pop Tart, also known as a toaster pastry, is one of the breakfast treats from my childhood. I have been gluten-free since 2010, and I have only seen one brand of gluten-free pop tarts and they were pretty expensive for the small box.
My kids have never had a pop tart, well until now. I decided I would try and make homemade gluten-free pop tarts with my Gluten-Free Pie Crust recipe. I modified my recipe a bit, and the results were amazing!
Making gluten-free pop tarts at home from scratch is not as hard as you think. Do not let the thought of making a gluten-free toaster pastry intimidate you.
If you take your time, read all of the instructions and watch the recipe video, I promise you will have no problem making these gluten-free pop tarts. It’s even better if you’ve worked with gluten-free pie dough crust before. The pop tart dough is very similar to a gluten-free pie crust.
How To Make Homemade Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
TO MAKE THE GLUTEN-FREE PASTRY DOUGH
- Chop the butter into small chunks and place in a small bowl. Put the butter, shortening, and water into the freezer for about 5 minutes or until really cold.
- Add the gluten-free flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine the ingredients.
- Add the butter and shortening to the flour mixture and mix until the butter and shortening are incorporated into the flour. I use my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can use a hand mixer or a pastry cutter.
- Add in the eggs, water and apple cider vinegar and mix until the dough starts to form and all the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky. (photo 1)
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. (photo 2)
TO ASSEMBLE THE PASTRIES
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap the dough ball, cut the dough ball in half and place the half onto parchment paper lightly floured with gluten-free flour.
- Shape the dough half into a rectangle. Lightly flour the pastry with gluten-free flour, and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into a 9-inch by 8-inch rectangle. (photo 3)
- Cut out the dough into 3-inch by 4-inch rectangles. I used a ruler as a guide. (photo 4 & 5)
- Place the dough rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the steps with the other half of the dough ball to make 8 more rectangles. These will be the tops of the pastries. You will have 16 rectangles in total (8 for the bottom and 8 for the top).
- Spread 2 teaspoons of seedless jam of the top of each dough rectangle. (photo 6)
- Place the dough rectangles on top of the filling-topped dough rectangles.
- Use a fork to crimp the sides of the dough together. (photo 7)
- Use a fork to poke the tops of the pop tarts 3 times. This allows the steam to escape. (photo 8)
EGG WASH
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Stir in the water.
- Brush egg wash on the tops of the pop tarts. If you skip this step, your pastries will not be golden.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastries are golden and browning on the edges.
- Let the baked pop tarts cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth.
- Use a spoon or small spatula to glaze each pop tart. The glaze will slightly harden.
- Store pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days.
Can I Freeze Pop Tarts?
You can freeze the pop tarts for up to 3 months. Once the pop tarts are completely cooled, place the pastries into a freezer bag. Thaw the pop tarts in the refrigerator overnight.
Can I Make the Dough Ahead Of Time?
Yes, you sure can! When you are ready to make the pop tarts, just allow the dough to warm up on the counter for 5-10 minutes before you roll it out.
What Brand Of Gluten-Free Sprinkles Do You Recommend?
One of the questions I get asked all of the time is what brand of gluten-free sprinkles I use in my gluten-free baking. I buy Walmart’s brand called Great Value or the Wilton brand sprinkles.
Please make sure to check the label of any sprinkles you buy, because companies often change ingredients.
Tips For Making Pop Tarts
- Do not substitute butter for the shortening. The shortening is key to the moisture of the dough.
- Using a ruler makes it easier to have the same sized dough pieces.
- Use seedless jam. You can use any gluten-free flavor you wish.
- Do not skip the egg wash step. This helps seal the pastries and give them their beautiful golden color.
Gluten-Free Flour
These gluten-free pop tarts were made with a rice flour cup for cup blend. A cup for cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend is one that already has the starches and xanthan gum it.
Most gluten-free all-purpose flour blends have the starches and the xanthan gum already in them. The xanthan gum is important because it helps to replace the elasticity and texture of gluten.
So make sure to check the ingredients of your gluten-free flour. If your flour already has the xanthan gum in it, you will not need to add any more. If you do, you will get gummy dough!
I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
This recipe will not work with almond or coconut flour.
Tips For Measuring Gluten-Free Flour
I have found that the best way to measure gluten-free flour is to use the “spoon & level” method. Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of the bag into a dry measuring cup (not a Pyrex measuring cup used for liquid). After spooning the flour into a measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level the flour off the measuring cup.
Please do not use a measuring cup to scoop the flour directly out of the bag. If you do, you may get more flour than the recipe calls for because the flour often gets compacted in the bags.
Dairy-Free Baking
I have also included a dairy-free option for this gluten-free pop tart recipe. My youngest son, my husband and I are all dairy-free as well. So I always try and have a dairy-free option for my recipes.
For the dairy-free option, I used Smart Balance butter. So, now you too can enjoy gluten-free and dairy-free pop tarts. I promise that these gluten-free pastries are just as delicious made with dairy-free butter.
Some of my favorite dairy-free alternatives that I like to bake with are unsweetened almond, cashew or coconut milk. I also like baking with coconut oil, Earth Balance or Smart Balance butter.
More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes To Try!
- Easy Gluten-Free Pancakes {Dairy-Free & Vegan Option}
- Gluten-Free Biscuits {Dairy-Free & Vegan Option}
- Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins {Dairy-Free and Refined Sugar Free Option}
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Gluten-Free Pop Tarts {Dairy-Free Option}
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose rice flour blend with xanthan gum. , I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter, dairy-free use Smart Balance butter
- 1/2 cup very cold shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons ice cold water
- 16 teaspoon gluten-free seedless strawberry jam
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
TO MAKE THE PASTRY DOUGH
- Chop the butter into small chunks and place in a small bowl. Put the butter, shortening, and water into the freezer for about 5 minutes or until really cold.
- Add the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt in a large bowl and stir to combine the ingredients.
- Add the butter and shortening to the flour mixture and mix until the butter and shortening are incorporated into the flour. I use my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can use a hand mixer or a pastry cutter.
- Add in the eggs, water and apple cider vinegar and mix until the dough starts to form and all the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE THE PASTRIES
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap the dough ball, cut the dough ball in half and place the half onto parchment paper lightly floured with gluten-free flour.
- Shape the dough half into a rectangle. Lightly flour the pastry with gluten-free flour, and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the 9-inch by 8-inch rectangle.
- Cut out the dough into 3-inch by 4-inch rectangles. I used a ruler as a guide.
- Place the dough rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the steps with the other half of the dough ball to make 8 more rectangles. These will be the tops of the pastries. You will have 16 rectangles in total (8 for the bottom and 8 for the tops).
- Spread 2 teaspoons of seedless jam of the top of each dough rectangle.
- Place the dough rectangles on top of the filling-topped dough rectangles.
- Use a fork to crimp the sides of the dough together.
- Use a fork to poke the tops of the pop tarts 3 times. This allows the steam to escape.
EGG WASH
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg and stir in the water.
- Brush egg wash on the tops of the pop tarts. If you skip this step your pastries will not be golden.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastries are golden and browning on the edges.
- Let the baked pop tarts cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
GLAZE
- In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth.
- Use a spoon or small spatula to glaze each pop tart. The glaze will slightly harden.
- Store pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days.
Video
Notes
- I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- For the dairy-free option, I used Smart Balance butter.
- Do not subsite butter for the shortening. The shortening is key to the moisture of the dough.
- The pop tarts can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once the pop tarts are completely cooled, place the pastries into a freezer bag. Thaw the pop tarts in the refrigerator overnight.
- Mama says, "Please check all of your labels!"
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Audrey- I LOVE your pop tart recipe it is always a big hit. I make it with so many different fillings it is so fun to experiment with.
Here is my question, I wam wanting make a chocolate dough so I can make a chocolate pop tart… how much cocoa powder would you add 1/4 cup? And then subtract that amount of flour from the over all flour amount? So 2/12 cups flour + 1/4 cocoa powder? What do you think?
Hi Kelly! So glad you love this recipe! I’d say that’s a good starting place. You may end up wanting to increase the amount of cocoa powder for a more chocolate-y flavor, but I think better to start with less.
Thank you so much! They came out great and agree a little more cocoa would be good.
I do have another question that has been driving me nuts… my dough puffs up during baking. So they end up not being completely flat(ish) like a pop tart and thus there is air in them and so it feels like there is not enough jam because the tops are not laying flat on the jam – does this make any sense? Am I doing something wrong? I have tried putting in more jam but that then tends to explode in the oven and oozes out..I have tried different sizes, I have tried gently smoothing out pushing down on the top right before I add egg wash etc. Anyway, any suggestions? In your pics they look relatively flat where the jam would be in every bite. Thank you!!!!
These were fantastic! My daughter used to LOVE pop tarts as treat and has missed them so much that she’s eaten one occasionally (and paid the price). We used Pamela’s 1:1 GF flour – small town and it’s what the store carries. It worked great. Her friend couldn’t even tell they were gluten free! 16 year olds are hard to please but this recipe won them over.
Easy to make. Tasted great. Will definitely make again. We got 10 poptarts out of the dough. Haven’t tried to heat in a toaster- does the icing burn
Hi Scarlett! Thanks so much! Glad to hear that you liked these. I wouldn’t recommend heating in the toaster.
I am going to try this recipe with the substitute options some of the comments above mention. Your subscribers are great, as some of them are very creative and experienced with dairy/gluten/egg white free cooking. So good to find a recipe for a long missed treat!
Made these today! They were amazing! My son said they are better than store bought! Love your recipes! I am planning on making these again soon and will switch it up and fill with Nutella!💙💙💙
This was so much easier than I had imagined. We loved these pop tarts. I will make them again soon. Might also use the crust for a pie!
I stumbled across the YouTube video for these very randomly and was super excited. My brother and I made these for a family gathering. Thumbs up from GF and non GF people alike. Next time, I need to remember to double the recipe. There weren’t any leftovers.
Just incredible. I’ve come to rely on your pie crust recipe as well- so consistent and delicious (not so common in the world of gf baking!). Thank you!
I made these for the first time yesterday, I ended up with 6 ( I ran out of gluten free flour when rolling the dough or I’m sure I could have gotten 8). I used Vegan Becel Baking stick for the butter (I’m also dairy free) and raspberry jam. They were DELICIOUS. My non-GF 10 year old gave them a huge thumbs up. I haven’t had pop tarts since going gluten/dairy free in 2014. All the pre-made one’s I’ve seen online or in stores contain whey or other dairy ingredients. I’m also a huge fan of your chocolate cake donuts – so easy and yummy. I look forward to trying a lot more recipes from your site.
These were amazing! I used Epic Organic Pork Fat in place of butter, aquafaba in place of the egg, and used Mom’s Place Gluten free Artisan Flour blend. The pastry was moist and rich with a nice bake. I will definitely be making these again. I had some dough left over that I froze for next time. So glad to come across this recipe! Being gluten, dairy, soy, coconut, palm, and egg free can often present challenges.
my poptarts turned out amazing however my dough was not as firm as yours. Any idea’s for next time?
I struggled a little bit with getting the dough to work right with me, so they weren’t the prettiest. But, they tasted so good! I am so happy with how they turned out!
I haven’t eaten a Pop-Tart in years but really enjoyed these! I used GFJules flour and real butter, but I substituted coconut oil for the shortening since that is all I had on hand. My only glitch was with the measurements because you can only get six 3″x4″ rectangles out of a 9″x8″ rectangle. You have to roll the dough to 12″x8″ to get eight 3″x4″ rectangles. I will know for next time! Also, I want to try moistening the edges of the dough before crimping to help them seal better. I used seedless raspberry jelly this time, but my family has already discussed our next flavor: apple jelly with a cinnamon brown sugar glaze!
This recipe was delicious! The pastry was so incredibly easy to put together, and to work with. I’ve always been timid when making pastry so imagine my surprise when a *gluten free* pastry was so easy! I will definitely be making these again, and using your recipe for pie crust!
Speaking of pie, we enjoy a two trust apple pie. Would your crust do well with that? Any modifications we would need to make in baking time, etc?
Thank you so much Stephanie for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the pop tarts and the pastry was easy to work with. This recipe will work perfectly with making a two-crust apple pie. Make sure to check out my gluten-free pie crust recipe, as it has less sugar than the pastry dough. Thank you again!
Is it just me not knowing how to count….or are the numbers in the recipe off? In the video I counted 6 cut out halves, but your recipe says I will get 8 for a total of 16 pop tarts. And when my granddaughter and I made them, we only came up with 6 cut outs in each half.
I also had to bake them 15 minutes longer to get the nice crusty edges.
I’m pretty new at GF and was so excited to try this recipe and to have them turn our so amazingly!
They are delicious…..no matter how many I come up with :)!
Thank you so much Kathy for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your granddaughter enjoyed the pop tarts. The recipe makes 8 completed pop tarts, so 16 cut out dough rectangles to ake the 8 pop tarts. I could only fix 6 pop tarts on the baking sheet I was using in the video. I have found, depending on which gluten-free flour you used, you may have to bake pie crust longer. Unfortunately, all gluten-free flours are made differently. I am so happy that the pop tarts turned out amazing and delicious, thank you again!
My husband hasn’t had pop tarts in years. Thank you! They turned out great.
Thank you so much Jaimee for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your husband enjoyed the pop tarts and they turned out great. You are so welcome, I love sharing the recipes I make for my family. Thanks again!
Hello Audrey,
I started making my own gf flour mix and I do not have xanthum gum in it. how much would you add to the receipe to make it work?
Thank you! I’ve been missing poptarts and these sound Amazing!
Hi Jennifer! You would need to add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to your flour blend. Than you so much for asking and I hope you enjoy the pop tarts!