February 19, 2013
updated
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Finally, a gluten-free pop tart with a flaky crust, strawberry center, and iced to perfection. It’s a delicious allergy-friendly treat you can make right at home.

Storebought gluten-free pop tarts have nothing on this homemade version and they couldn’t be any easier to make!
It wasn’t until after making empanadas that I realized I could tweak the recipe into delicious homemade pop tarts. The results were an instant hit and I couldn’t keep the kids away from them.
Gluten-Free Pop Tart Ingredients
Don’t care for the ingredient list of store-bought pop tarts? Me either, so I decided to bake my own gluten-free version. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Gluten-free flour: for the dough. You can skip making homemade dough using gluten-free pie crusts.
- Salt: just a little bit!
- Xanthan gum: if it’s not included in your flour mix.
- Butter: or your favorite non-dairy substitute.
- Vanilla extract: for a dessert-like taste.
- Unsweetened applesauce: adds a lot of flavors!
- Filling of choice: fruit jam, strawberry preserves, peanut butter, Nutella, etc. I share more delicious ideas down below.
- Powdered sugar: for the glaze.
- Milk: use regular milk or a non-dairy alternative for the glaze.
These are one of those gluten-free breakfast ideas made better because let’s be honest, a hot pop tart with a cold glass of milk hits different in the morning.
If you want more kid-favorite snack recipes made into healthier, homemade versions check out my cookbook, The Best Homemade Kids’ Snacks on the Planet. There’s something for everyone in there.
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Gluten-Free Pop Tart Flavors
This recipe for gluten-free pop tarts makes the classic strawberry flavor with strawberry preserves or filling. It’s a favorite for kids, but there are so many more ways to stuff a homemade pop tart, so let’s get creative:
- S’mores Pop Tarts– Nutella and Marshmallow fluff
- Blueberry Pop Tarts- Blueberry preserves or filling
- PB & Chocolate Pop Tarts- peanut butter and Nutella or chocolate chips
- PB & J Pop Tarts- peanut butter and jelly
- Apple Pie Pop Tarts- apple pie filling and a dash of cinnamon
How to Make Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
Who’s ready to make perfectly baked pop tarts with flaky, soft crusts and warm, fruit-filled centers? I know I am and while the process might seem a bit much, you can always skip the homemade gluten-free dough for gluten-free pie crusts. Here we go:
- Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and xantham gum. Using a pastry cutter or large knife, cut the butter into the flour. Add the vanilla and applesauce to the flour and butter mixture and stir to combine. - Add Water
Add 4 to 6 tablespoons water and combine until a dough forms. Form the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. - Get the Oven Hot
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. - Roll the Dough
Roll out the pie dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut the dough into 3 x 4-inch rectangles and place one row onto the baking sheet. - Fill the Center
Spoon 1 tablespoon of preserves or filling of choice onto a rectangle. Using your finger or a kitchen brush, lightly dab the milk on the outer edges of the rectangle. - Assemble
Place the second rectangle over the top of the filling and, using a fork, press down the edges. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. - Bake
Using a knife, cut 3 to 4 slits into the top of each pop-tart. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. - The Best Part
Remove from the oven and allow to cool down before topping with the icing and sprinkles. Grab a fresh pop tart and enjoy.
Easy Treat Ideas
While we are on the topic of treats and baked goods here are more of our favorite snack foods recreated into homemade versions. Those Cinnamon Soft Pretzel bits are a total 10 on the delicious scale!
- Homemade Doritos
- Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups
- Homemade Velveeta Cheese Dip
- PB & J Uncrustables
- Cinnamon Soft Pretzel Bites
Homemade Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ⅓ cups gluten-free flour , + extra for rolling dough
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, if not included in the flour mix
- ½ cup butter or non-dairy substitute
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
pop-tart:
- 1 to 2 teaspoons milk or non-dairy alternative
- ½ cup strawberry preserves or your filling of choice
for the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or non-dairy substitute
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and xanthan gum.
- With a cheese grater, shred the butter on top of the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, combine the flour mixture and the shredded butter until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the vanilla and applesauce to the flour, stir to combine. Add 4-6 tablespoons of the water and combine by hand until a smooth dough ball can be formed. Be careful not to overmix the dough, or it will begin to crumble and break.
- Form the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ⅛- to ¼-inch thickness. Cut the dough into sixteen 3 x 4-inch rectangles. You’ll need to rework the dough and roll it out a few times, making sure to re-flour the surface.
- Place one row of rectangles on the baking sheet. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling onto the center of each rectangle, making sure the filling doesn’t get too close to the edges. Carefully, with a pastry brush or your finger, brush milk onto the edges of each rectangle.
- Top each rectangle with a second piece of the dough. Using your fingers press down the edges. Then, with a fork, lightly press down to seal all the edges of the dough. With a sharp knife, cut 3 or 4 small slits in the top of each pop tart.
- Bake the pastries for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, and allow them to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, combine the sugar and milk in a small bowl. Spread over the cooled pop tarts and enjoy.
Notes
- Butter is easiest to grate when it’s very cold or frozen.
- Nutrition information is calculated without the glaze.
M
Thank you SOOOOO much for making something yummy w/o dairy, gluten or egg!!!! When you have multiple allergies it’s so nice to find something you don’t have to gamble with making changes that may or may not give a successful outcome!
Connie Robert
Can I substitute cisco for butter?Does it need to be cold? Same amount?
MOMables - Laura
I guess you could it works the same way. I don’t typically use it but fat is fat. Same consistency as recipe.
Crystal Wilson
I usually blend my own flour/starch mix. For this recipe specifically, so you have any thoughts on what would work best to blend? I usually use Teff, Millet, and/or Sorghum flours, mixed with Tapioca and/or potato starch depending on what I’m baking. Any recommendations? My daughters have never had poptarts, and I know they will flip over these!
MOMables
I am not sure the combination that will work best for these since I am sure you create your own mixes. I would use the combination you normally make for creating pie crust.
Nick
Holy crap i have a poptart obsession. I can’t wait to try these tonight.
Cori
I wonder how to make these DF if there’s butter in the recipe? I will try smart balance and let you know, I tried going through all of the posts and recipe, perhaps I missed something! Thanks for these great recipes!
MOMables
you can use what you typically use instead of butter (such as smart balance).
MOMables
Cori, you can use what you typically use instead of butter (such as smart balance).
Adele
This is fabulous! Pop tarts are not big in Australia but I found a GF version in store just this week. However, making them is much more appealing to me! Question, what is the weight of a “stick of butter”? Thanks
MOMables
1 stick = half a cup of butter. I will revise recipe. Thanks!
Juli
One stick of butter = 125 g.
Misti
I hope you don’t think it’s awful for me to ask this, but could these be made with a chocolate filling? If so, what would you suggest?
Thanks,
Misti
MOMables
I don’t think you are horrible for asking! Glad you asked. Check out this post.
Misti
That sounds yummy! Thank you!!
Tabitha
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve made it several times. I learned that 30 minute period is the key to getting a similar texture to pop tarts. I don’t brush them with anything so that they are a little crunchy like the processed version. They are still yummy when we don’t wait the 30 minutes for the flour to hydrate, but they are more like toaster strudels in taste and texture. It’s a winner either way. Thanks so much.
I love that they are egg free because we go through so many eggs with the gluten free dough. It’s nice to not need much to make these. I’ve used Namaste all purpose flour and Better Batter AP flours with great results.
Cipriana
I’ve done something wrong.i used jelly, and it all oozed out of the sides. My dough ball was actually perfect before I added the water. I had to add extra flour because the water made it a batter instead of a dough. :(
MOMables
If your jelly is too thin or edges are not sealed properly, it will leak. Hmmm, I”m not sure what happened but the recipe has been made hundreds of times as is.Did you make any substitutions?
Kristen
What could I use instead of Earth Balance? Would coconut oil or safflower oil work? Thanks!
MOMables
Palm shortening, butter, or coconut oil will work too.
Elizabeth DiBurro
I am going to have to tweak this recipe just a little to make it soy free too! I love it! Thank you for sharing!
MOMables
let me know how they come out Elizabeth. :)
Claudia
Would coconut flour or almond flour work? Also what do you think of using honey instead of the sugar?
KeeleyMcGuire
Good questions! I would recomment a blend – not straight almond or coconut. If you used straight coconut flour, it would be way too dense, but there are great coconut ALL purpose flours so they’re already blended for you. (Check out Gluten Free Mama. She sells great flours & blends.)
I’m not sure how the honey would do in lieu of sugar – It will definitely make them “brown” more when baking. You could also try sucanat. Here’s a nice MOMables post on subbing white sugar in baking: https://www.momables.com/white-sugar-baking-substitutes-natural/
MOMables
Claudia, coconut flour and almond flour alone will not work. they will be dense and not pastry like AT ALL. Honey will also not work so well here. the dough will come out sticky and completely malfunction. if you are looking for a non gluten free recipe, hang tight. we are publishing one soon.
Shary
My daughter has been wondering why I haven’t been buying pop tarts and I told her it’s because they have milk in them. She then said “So, mom, what are you going to do about that?” Well, I guess I’ll have to make them from scratch…
Shary
I forgot to mention I’ve had to go dairy free because of her little brother’s dairy sensitivity. I’m breastfeeding and so I’ve been in the kitchen a lot more to accommodate his dietary needs. Thanks for this recipe. :)
Laura
let us know how your family enjoys them Shary!
Stacy
Oh my gosh! My son is going to flip with excitement about this! I have never bought pop tarts for them, even though I grew up eating them, because of all the ingredients put into the store bought ones. Now that my son is gluten free he had given up hope of ever having one. I am so making these for him as a surprise one evening so when he wakes up he can have one for breakfast treat! Yay!
Laura
So glad Stacy! I hope he enjoys them!
ABC Food Allergy Support Group
Thank you for this recipe. Do they freeze well?
Laura
you can freeze them before you bake them for future enjoyment! :)
Keeley McGuire
Hi ABC! Yes!
We froze ours after baking. I tested both straight from the freezer to the microwave or toaster and they were excellent. :) Thanks!!
Ashley
Made these over the weekend with my daughter and they made her approval! That is HUGE that she liked these! She didn’t want to try the strawberry jam I had so she had the ones that I only sprinkled cinnamon on. My younger daughter and husband and I loved the strawberry jam poptarts! I put the leftovers in the fridge over night and they had them for breakfast this morning. Just 45 seconds in the microwave.
Thanks so much for a great recipe :) We will be trying more over spring break next week.
KeeleyMcGuire
Thank you Ashley!! That’s so great to hear.
My daughter (and I, hehehe) gobbled ours up too! I need to make more because we’ve already ate our freezer stash. So glad your family enjoyed them as much as mine has been. :)
Julie
Love this!!! Been wanting to experiment to figure out a recipe, glad you did it!!!
Laura
Thank you! Let us know how your family enjoys it Julie!
Patsy H.
Can these be made with regular flour if gluten is not a problem for us? Do you have to make adjustments in amounts?
KeeleyMcGuire
Hi Patsy! Yes, they can be made with regular flour. I made a note in the ingredients about the water, that should be the only adjustment needed.
Cristi
Can they be frozen and reheated in the toaster too?
Keeley McGuire
Yes! They can be frozen! I unthaw mine at room temperature in an air tight container for my little miss because she doesn’t like things toasted.
However, your question prompted me to try! I took a glazed one (no sprinkles) straight from the freezer and popped it into the toaster. Taking into account all toasters are different, mine has a setting of 1-5. I toasted it on 4 and it came out perfectly!!!
Cristi
Woohoo! This is the true test of the “pop-tart”… awesome! Thank you, you rock :)
Sunny
We made these today with the kids and they enjoyed them so much! I was wondering how you store these and for how long do they stay good for? Thanks so much!
Laura
well, they are “egg free” so longer than you think. however, the “freshness” will go away after 3days-ish. really, will they last that long? lol
Kathryn @ Mamacado
These looks amazing and FUN. thank you so much for making them GF, DF and EF as it’s difficult to find recipes free of all these things! I’m guessing my son will love these.
Keeley McGuire
Thanks Kathryn!!
I had one this morning haha still soft and delicious this AM, and they were baked on Sunday!