Gluten Free Cream Puffs

These bakery style gluten-free cream puffs are made with an easy gluten-free choux pastry then filled with vanilla custard cream. An impressive, but surprisingly simple dessert for entertaining or any time that calls for a special dessert! Use the choux pastry to also make gluten-free cream puffs, eclairs, or profiteroles!

Gluten Free Cream Puffs

With this gluten-free cream puff recipe, you can now enjoy this classic bakery treat without the gluten!

This recipe is an exact replica of my grandmother's recipe she always made for special occasions when I was little. I swapped out the flour for our favorite gluten-free all purpose flour blend and it turned out perfectly! 

Cream puffs begin with a choux pastry dough that is started by cooking on the stove then bakes in the oven where the pastry will puff up and turn golden.

Here's What You'll Need to Get Started!

For the puff pastry dough:

• Water
• Butter
• Eggs
• Gluten Free Flour Blend. Not all gluten-free flour blends are created equal and work differently when baking. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure to make this recipe. If you try it using a different brand, please comment below and let me know how it turned out!

For the Vanilla Custard Filling:

• Milk
• Heavy Cream
• Vanilla Instant Pudding

Jello Brand(Kraft) Instant Pudding is used for this original recipe. It is not stated "gluten-free" on the box, however it does not contain any gluten or dairy conatining ingredients. I will link to their gluten-free labeling statement here. I have not tried this recipe with any alternative instant pudding mixes.

How to Make the Gluten-Free Choux Pastry

• Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.
• Add the flour quickly all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the pan.
• Remove pan from the burner and add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each egg.
• Drop dough by the teaspoon(or use a piping bag) onto your cookie sheet. Make dough drops whatever size you wish, but keep in mind they do rise in size a lot while baking so start small.
• Bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
• Let puffs cool completely, then slit the top of each shell with a sharp knife to make a hinge for filling.

Next, Make the Vanilla Custard Filling

• In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix, milk and heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer for around 8 minutes until you have a custard consistency. Store in the refrigerator until ready to fill the cream puffs.
• Once the choux pastry is cooled, fill with your desired amount of custard then dust with powdered sugar.

Have you tried this recipe? Be sure to tag me on instagram @thrivingglutenfree so I can see how it turned out!

Let's Bake!

Looking for more gluten free dessert recipes? Check out these recipes!

• Gluten-Free Chocolate Lava Cake
• The Best Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe
• Gluten-Free Buttery Spritz Cookies