Learn how to make gluten-free hot pockets from scratch with this easy recipe using either homemade or store-bought puff pastry. This favorite childhood treat is back on the table… even if you can’t eat gluten. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
I love a good hot pocket, but if you’re following a gluten-free diet, you may have all but given up on having this classic childhood treat again.
Hot Pockets® is a brand of microwavable sandwiches that contain a filling of cheeses, meats, and/or vegetables that are wrapped in a savory pastry shell. Many of us grew up with Hot Pockets® (or Pizza Pockets) and enjoyed them as a quick lunch option or after-school snack. All you had to do was pop one in the microwave and in about a minute, a warm snack was ready for you.
Hot Pockets® does not make a gluten-free pocket, but there is one specialty brand that does, and that is Mikey’s.
Mikey’s makes a variety of hot pockets-like sandwiches that are free from dairy and gluten, and they come in a variety of flavors, including Meaty Marinara, Pepperoni Pizza, Cheese Pizza, and Spicy Southwest pockets.
You can find Mikey’s pockets at many grocery stores nationwide, including Sprouts, or you can order them online. If you’re looking for them at the grocery store, use Mikey’s store locator to find a location near you.
If you can’t find Mikey’s pockets, or if you’re up for the challenge, I’ll show you how to make your own “hot pockets” from scratch, all without the gluten protein.
What You’ll Need
To make your own gluten-free hot pockets, you’ll first need some gluten-free puff pastry.
You can use store-bought frozen puff pastry sheets from either Schar or GeeFree Foods. Read my guide to gluten-free puff pastry to learn about each brand and where you can find them.
If you can’t find puff pastry at your local grocery store, you can order it online at The Gluten-Free Mall, or make gluten-free puff pastry from scratch with a few simple ingredients.
Please see my gluten-free puff pastry article for both my recipe and instructions on how to make your own puff pastry sheets. Making puff pastry is quite easy, but it may take you a couple of tries to get it right.
Once you have your puff pastry in order, you’ll need to gather the ingredients you’d like to use for the filling.
I used the following ingredients in my homemade pizza pockets:
- Shredded mozzarella cheese (or dairy-free cheese)
- Jarred spicy pizza sauce (or any jarred red sauce)
- Beyond Beef Crumbles (or any meat such as sausage, ground beef, bacon, or pepperoni slices).
How to Make Gluten-Free Hot Pockets
The first step is to prepare your gluten-free puff pastry into evenly-sized rectangles. The size will depend on how thin or thick you roll out the puff pastry dough. I try to roll the dough out a bit more thinly while still keeping the dough intact.
Using a butter knife or pizza cutter, cut off any fray edges and then cut the puff pastry dough into eight evenly-sized rectangles.
Tip! I find it easier to work with half of my homemade puff pastry dough recipe at a time, hence why you see only four rectangles below. This is from a half batch.
Add the pizza pocket fillings to the bottom half of each rectangle. Do not overfill or overstuff the hot pockets.
Brush the edges with the egg wash. This will help the pastry edges stick together when baked.
Fold over one edge of the puff pastry onto itself, so the filling is covered inside the “pocket.”
Use a fork to gently press and seal the two edges together. This is essential as you don’t want the filling to come out of the center of the pizza pocket.
Brush the tops of the hot pockets with an egg wash and sprinkle with a savory pizza seasoning blend. I used a pizza seasoning blend, but you could add a combination of crushed red pepper flakes, dried Italian seasonings, Kosher salt, and pepper.
This is what my gluten-free hot pocket looks like before baking. So beautiful!
Preheat your oven to 400º F, then place the gluten-free hot pockets on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 18 minutes until the top is lightly golden brown. They sometimes poof up as these did.
Allow the pizza pockets to cool slightly before handling or eating. The contents in the center may be hot.
As you can see, these delicious gluten-free hot pockets look incredible! But what you may not know is they taste incredible too. The filling is warm, and the cheese is gooey and satisfies that pizza craving we all hold so dear.
Just remember, the filling is hot. Allow it a few minutes to cool before digging in.
Please make special notice of how flaky the crust looks. See those layers? This is a result of you folding the dough on top of itself and then rolling it out several times. Doing so creates these wonderful flaky layers signature to puff pastry.
While these are not exactly like the Hot Pockets you grew up with, they do come in a close second. Plus, they’re gluten-free so you can actually eat them if you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
FAQs
Here are answers to some of your most pressing questions:
How Do You Store Leftover Hot Pockets? Store them in a sealed container in your fridge. They’ll last several days, and you can reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Can You Freeze Them? Yes, store them individually wrapped in plastic or freezer bags (which you can reuse). When you’re ready to eat one, take it out to mostly defrost before zapping it in your microwave for a few seconds before enjoying it.
Where Can I Find Gluten-Free Puff Pastry? Look for Schar or GeeFree Foods brands of gluten-free puff pastry in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store. Check each brand’s store locator before you make the trek. For more information on finding or making gluten-free puff pastry, read my Guide to Gluten-Free Puff Pastry.
Help! The Filling Oozed Out of the Center When Baked: It’s important to seal the puff pastry as firmly yet gently as possible before baking. Use a fork to put pressure around the edges to set the pastry in place. If it leaks, don’t sweat it. Just eat it as is. No one will care because it still tastes great!
Related Recipes
Enjoy these recipes too:
- Gluten-Free Pop Tarts – Homemade
- Caputo Gluten-Free Flour: Pizza Recipe
- Gluten-Free Pigs in a Blanket
- Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe – Soft and Doughy
Gluten-Free Hot Pockets
Ingredients
- 1 large sheet gluten-free puff pastry see notes
- 16 tbsp jarred pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 tbsp Beyond Beef crumbles or meat of choice (sausage, pepperoni, ground beef)
- 1 large egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 8 even rectangles. If using store-bought puff pastry, you may want to roll out the dough a bit to make it thinner. Try to make the rectangles as evenly shaped as possible. I find it easier to work with a half batch of my homemade puff pastry dough at a time. (Pictured, half of my homemade puff pastry cut into 4 rectangles.)
- Add 1 tbsp of sauce, 2-3 tbsp of shredded cheese, and 1 tbsp of beefy crumbles to the bottom half of each rectangle. Do not overfill.
- Brush the edges with the egg wash to help the pastry ends stick together when baked, and then fold over one end of the puff pastry onto itself so the filling is covered inside the "pocket.
- Use a fork to gently press and seal the two edges together all along the seam of the dough. This is essential as you don't want the filling to come out of the the pocket when baking.
- Brush to tops of the hot pockets with egg wash and sprinkle with a savory seasoning blend (I used a pizza seasoning blend, but you could add a combination crushed red pepper flakes, dried Italian seasonings, Kosher salt, and pepper.)
- Place the gluten-free hot pockets on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 17-18 minutes or until the top becomes lightly golden brown. Allow the pastry to cool slightly before handling or eating. The contents in the center may be hot.
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