Gluten-Free Pop-Tarts – Homemade

My gluten-free pop tarts have a flaky outer crust and a sweet cherry filling, and they’re covered in a delicious gooey glaze. They taste just like the toaster pastries you remember as a kid. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. It contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

Mother’s Day is this weekend, and in honor of the special day, Bob’s Red Mill asked me to make a special breakfast treat.

When I started to think about what breakfast foods I ate in my pre-celiac years, one thing that came to mind was Pop-Tarts. I used to love eating a warm, toasted Pop-Tart every morning before school. I know it wasn’t the healthiest food, but I was a child of the 80s, and Pop-Tarts were all the rage.

Instead of missing this classic treat or settling for store-bought creations that fell flat, I created a beautiful copycat gluten-free Pop-Tart using clean, gluten-free ingredients.

Look how beautiful my copycat gluten-free Pop-Tarts turned out. I’m pinching myself because they’re so cute! And they taste out-of-this-world amazing too.

Editor’s Note: If you don’t feel like baking copycat gluten-free Pop-Tarts from scratch, you have a few store-bought options:

• Bobo’s gluten-free toaster pastry (it’s fair, not my favorite)
• Katz gluten-free toaster pastries (haven’t tried)
• Nature’s Path toaster pastries (haven’t tried)

Let’s Talk Ingredients

Before we get into the step-by-step process of making gluten-free pop tarts from scratch, let’s first talk about the ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

For the Pastry:

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and very cold
• 6-7 tbsp ice-cold water
• 1 egg, beaten

Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour is a measure-for-measure flour in most regular recipes. Be sure to look for this flour in the blue bag. It is different than Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose flour (which is in a red bag). Please don’t confuse the two flours.

For the Jam Filling:

• 3/4 cup cherry jam
• 2 tsp cornstarch

I used cherry jam in my gluten-free pop-tart creation, but you could use any flavor of jam.

For the Icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp cherry jam
• 2 tsp red sugary sprinkles

As you can see, this recipe is indulgent and sugary, and I love it. It’s meant to be enjoyed as an occasional treat.

How to Make Gluten-Free Pop-Tarts

Let’s have some fun making gluten-free pop-tarts from scratch. It’s easier than you think, and playing with the dough is fun too. Gather the kids and have fun making these nostalgic treats.

Step #1: Make Your Dough

To make the pastry dough, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine all the ingredients.

Add the cold butter pieces to the food processor and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. It’s okay to have some larger pieces too.

Remove the dough from the food processor and place the flour mixture into a bowl. Add in water. one tablespoon at a time, until you can pinch the dough together. You may not use all of the water. Work the dough into a ball until it holds together well and is not crumbly or sticky.

Don’t allow your dough to get too wet. Depending on the weight of your flour and environmental conditions, you may need more or less water.

Pat the dough into a flat circle, cover it with parchment paper or plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or longer.

Step #2: Make the Filling

While the dough is chilling, go ahead and make the cherry filling. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and cherry jam and stir until no clumps remain.

Step #3: Assemble and Bake Pop Tarts

Preheat your oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then you’re ready to assemble your pop tarts.

Divide the chilled dough in half. Roll out each half into two equal rectangles about 8×9 inches, about 1/4 inch thick.

Cut six rectangles in each of the rolled-out dough pieces. They should be about 3×4 inches in size.

Place six rectangles on the parchment-lined baking sheet and spoon about 2 tablespoons of cherry filling onto each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge.

Place the remaining rectangles over the top of the jam, and then gently press the edges closed with your fingers. Crimp all the edges with a fork so you get nice ridges. Crimping the edges with a fork will help prevent the filling from oozing out the sides (although it’s okay if some jam oozes during baking).

Generously poke holes into the top of the pastry to allow it to breathe when it bakes. This will prevent the filling from leaking out the edges.

Brush the top of each pastry with a beaten egg until lightly coated. The egg will give the pop-tarts a beautiful sheen once baked.

Your pop-tarts are now ready to be baked! Place them in the hot oven and bake for 23-25 minutes or until the crust edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let the pastries cool completely before glazing.

Step #4: Adding the Glaze

No pop-tart is complete without a sweet, decorative glaze.

Make the glaze while your pop-tarts are cooling. They must be completely cooled before glazing. Do not glaze a hot or warm pop tart.

To make the glaze, combine jam and milk in a small bowl until smooth, then add powdered sugar. Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined and no clumps remain. You want the glaze to be thick, so it doesn’t run off the pop tart but is still spreadable. Add more powdered sugar or milk to reach the desired thick-but-spreadable consistency.

Place the pop-tarts on parchment paper and lightly drizzle the glaze on top with a spoon, as pictured below. It’s okay if the glaze runs off the pop tart.

Now sprinkle the top of each pastry with red sanding sugar (aka, red sugar sprinkles). It will stick to the wet glaze as the glaze dries.

Allow the pastries to dry completely before serving. Once the glaze has hardened, you’re ready to enjoy these delicious pastries for Mother’s Day and year-round!

Isn’t She Pretty?

The hardest part is waiting for these beauties to cool. Once cooled, you’re ready to dig in.

These gluten-free pop tarts have a flaky outer crust, a sweet gooey filling, and that delicious glaze on top, just like the toaster pastries you remember enjoying as a kid.

Unleash your inner child by enjoying this kid-friendly treat, gluten-free style! And thanks to Bob’s Red Mill, you can conquer any gluten-free baking goal!

A Few Notes

Here are a few tips, swaps, and substitutions:

Leftovers: Store any leftover gluten-free pop tarts in an airtight container or bag for 1-2 days. Heat them in the toaster oven (or for a few seconds in the microwave) to make them warm and gooey inside.

Dairy-Free Option: To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter with vegan butter and the milk with unsweetened dairy-free milk, such as almond milk.

Vegan Option: To make this recipe vegan, use the dairy-free swaps noted above and brush the tops with almond milk instead of the egg before baking. The almond milk will also give a nice sheen once baked.

Jam Options: You can substitute the cherry jam with your favorite flavor. You can’t go wrong! I’m thinking of making apricot pop-tarts next. Or chocolate ones filled with Nutella?

Cold Butter is Essential! The butter (or vegan butter) must be very cold. This is required if you want a flaky crust.

Flour: This recipe has been developed and tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Results cannot be guaranteed with other gluten-free flour blends.

Love this Recipe?

I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend all the time. I have an article listing 17 classic recipes made with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour; it’s an extremely popular article on my site.

You can purchase this flour at most grocery stores nationwide, on Amazon, or the Bob’s Red Mill website.

For more breakfast inspiration, please read 42+ Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes and Ideas.