Featured Comment
From Wendy: “I’ve made this cake and my boys could not tell the difference from my non GF recipe. ★★★★★”
From Kristina: “This truly is the BEST GF red velvet cake!! The recipe is perfect … Thank you for sharing ★★★★★”
From Virgie: “Made this several times even as a two tier and cup cakes. No alterations! Love it! And so does everyone else! Thank you! ★★★★★”
Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: 55 minutes
✨ Texture: Light, fluffy, and velvety with a tender crumb and creamy frosting
🥣 Ease: Easy
🌾 Flour Used: Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour
🎂 Equipment Needed: Two 8-inch round cake pans (or one 9×13-inch pan) and a stand mixer or hand mixer
🎉 Best For: Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, holidays, and special celebrations
❤️ Why You’ll Love It: Sour cream, oil, and a thoroughly whipped batter create a fool-proof red velvet cake with bakery-style texture that turns out beautifully every time.
There’s a reason red velvet cake has endured the test of time. This classic Southern dessert is the perfect combination of tangy, buttery cream cheese frosting and sweet, fluffy cake with the perfect hint of chocolate. Plus, the red appearance makes for a true show-stopper.
Naturally, I was set on making a gluten-free red velvet cake that could truly live up to the original version’s glory. And I’m proud to say I’ve finally achieved my goal!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free red velvet cake. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: This cake turns out best when you use a high-quality measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum so that it has the structure it needs. This is my favorite brand for this recipe.
- Cocoa powder: It’s best to use natural cocoa powder like Guittard or Ghiradelli for red velvet cake. The lighter brown color results in a more vibrant red cake, and the higher acidity reacts with the baking powder to create a more tender crumb.
- Red food coloring: If you want an intensely red cake, you’ll want to use gel food coloring, rather than natural or liquid food coloring. I use Americolor “red red” or “super red”). You can also use 1 oz liquid red food coloring, but I prefer gel.
- Sour cream/oil: The best trick for soft, tender gluten-free cake is to use a combination of sour cream and oil for moisture and richness. Butterfat causes gluten-free flour to clump up and makes a denser crumb. I also use this combo in my gluten-free vanilla cake and gluten-free chocolate sheet cake.
How to Make Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
I mix all of the dry ingredients first so that they blend evenly when added to the batter later on. I prefer to use my stand mixer to whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy so plenty of air gets incorporated into the batter.
I add the oil, followed by the vanilla and food coloring, slowly so that the batter stays light. Don’t forget the food coloring! Without it, the cake will be a pale brown, instead of the classic red velvet color.
I alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients into the egg mixture. This helps the gluten-free flour absorb the moisture evenly for a softer crumb. It also helps the batter come together smoothly without overmixing.
I always use a toothpick to make sure the cake is fully baked. I usually make the frosting while the cake is baking so that I have everything I need to frost and assemble the cake once it’s completely cool.
The finished cake should be soft, fluffy, and sturdy enough to slice cleanly while maintaining its signature velvety texture. This gluten-free red velvet cake is one of my all-time favorites!
What Does Red Velvet Cake Taste Like? Can You Taste The Food Coloring?
Red velvet cake has a mild cocoa flavor with subtle tanginess from the sour cream and cream cheese frosting. It’s less chocolatey than traditional chocolate cake and has a uniquely soft, velvety crumb.
The food coloring affects the appearance of the cake, but not the flavor.
Can I Make This As Cupcakes Or As A Sheet Cake?
For cupcakes, I recommend using my Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe for best results.
This recipe can be made in a 9×13-inch pan. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: Let the cake cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw before frosting. The frosting can be made 1 up to day ahead and refrigerated. I like to let it soften at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, then rewhip it so it’s smooth and fluffy when I frost the cake.
To Store: Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. For the best texture, I let slices sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before serving.
To Freeze: Freezing unfrosted cake works best, but leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
More Gluten-Free Cake Recipes
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Gluten-Free German Chocolate Cake
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- Gluten-Free Coconut Cake
- Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake
Video
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups (300g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/3 cup (27g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Other Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (120ml) neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon red food dye (or 1 ounce red food coloring)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream
- 1 cup (240ml) 2% milk
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 16 oz (454g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (226g) butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 5-6 cups (600-720g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch round pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper rounds, then spray the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, beat together the sugar, eggs, oil, red food dye and vanilla until fully combined, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Add the sour cream and beat until well-combined.
- With the mixer running on low, add ½ of the dry ingredients, followed by ½ of the milk. Mix to combine. Add the remaining ½ dry ingredients and ½ milk, then mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in their pans for 15 minutes. Remove each cake from its pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and sour cream on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add 5 cups of powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and whip for 2 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if needed to get a thick but spreadable consistency. Frost the cake as desired.
Can I use monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar?
Unfortunately sugar is important for the structure of the cake! Sorry about that.
Do you have to use a stand mixer, is the butter salted or unsalted?
Hi Sandy, you can use a hand mixer or mix by hand, no problem! A stand mixer just makes the work easier. We typically use salted butter. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I’ve recently been dealing with a gluten allergy. I’ve been watching a lot of the tv show Nailed It and got inspired to bake. So grateful to come across your site so I can live out my baking show fantasies and enjoy my creations. Made the red velvet cake & my family agreed it was the BEST one I’ve ever made! I told them after that it was GF thanks for sharing such delicious recipes
Ha! I’m so happy this recipe has helped you live out your baking show fantasies! Great to hear it turned out well for you. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for your easy to follow, moist and delicious red velvet cake recipe. I made this cake in a 9 inch springform pan. It took longer to cook than I thought, but the result was worthwhile. I reduced the amount of powdered sugar in the butter cream icing to 500g. It was a celebration cake for my daughter’s birthday and looked great with fresh raspberries and edible gold leaf on top.
Hi Erin,
I’m Australian and have had some baking disappointments due to the difference in baking measurements between US and Australia. It was helpful to have the additional gram measurements as verification; however, I was thrown when they stopped for the tablespoon measures! The Australian tablespoon measure is 20 ml, rather than 15 ml, so the addition of that metric would be useful (my cake consequently had 33% more red color and vanilla). It would also be in keeping with the other metric measures you’ve specified.
Thank you,
Marielle
Thanks for this feedback! This is helpful to know 🙂
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. Can I easily double this recipe? Thanks.
Yes you can definitely double the recipe! However, you’ll want to use 2 additional round pans to bake the batter into 4 cakes.
Would canola oil work in place of vegetable oil?
Yes that will work great!
I’ve been trying many gluten free cake recipes over the past several years and all are dense. This cake is light, fluffy and has a great taste. I used an instant vanilla pudding, heavy cream and powered sugar frosting. Amazing!
That sounds like a delicious frosting recipe! I’m so glad the cake turned out for you!
I am not a baker, but this cake turned out perfectly! The directions were easy to follow and the cake turned out to be delicious! It was rich and the cream cheese frosting was delightfully light and smooth.
I’m so glad it turned out for you! Thanks for the comment!
I only have 9.5in pans, should I add more ingredients or will this exact recipe work just fine? Thank you!
Yes it should still work fine! You might want to reduce the baking time by 5 minutes and the cake will be thinner. No problem though!
May I use a Bundt cake pan?
I think that should work! I would grease the pan very well. I think the bake time should be about the same, but definitely test the cake with a toothpick towards the end of baking to make sure it comes out clean.
I made this today for my boyfriend and I since I was craving red velvet cake and he has celiac disease so he can’t eat gluten….he was VERY impressed and happy he was able to share it with me! Super yummy!
Hello, I made this cake for my nephew’s girlfriend. I admit that I was a skeptic about “Red Velvet Cake” (“it’s just food coloring”). I was wrong. It’s delicious and “not dry” (I don’t like the “m” word). I wanted a larger cake so I did it with 1 1/2 times the ingredients. I used 5 eggs, because how would I have 4 1/2. It worked perfectly with my 10″ cake pans. I will totally make this again. Thank you!!
I’m so glad it turned out well for you! It really does have the best texture/flavor!
I am making this cake for my daughter’s wedding cake, the top layer. I need three 6″ layers. Will this recipe work for that, amount wise? I already made this recipe into cupcakes for her shower and they were delicious. I’m just hoping I can make this same recipe and just bake it in three 6″ round pans. Thoughts?
Thanks so much!!
I’m so honored you’re making this cake for your daughter’s wedding! Yes this usually makes 2 8-inch layers so 3 6-inch layers will be slightly thinner – but will work great!
Made the recipe just as written, even used the same GF flour mentioned. Then I made them into cupcakes. Seriously dynamite recipe. Tasted just like the gluten version of red velvet. Well done on this one. I’ll be making it again and again!
I’m so glad the cupcakes turned out for you! Great to know it worked well as cupcakes. Thanks for the comment!
Hello Erin,
Your recipe looks absolutely divine!
I realized the size of the pans from your post. Can this recipe use two 10-inch cake pans? If so, how much longer could it be held in the oven and regarding the temperature is the same..Do I need to double the recipe for the 10-inch pans? Important to know about a wedding cake.
Merçi,
Linda
I would add 5-10 minutes to the bake time. You can test the center of the cake with a toothpick to make sure it’s cooked through!
Can I use fat free milk in this recipe?
I just made this yesterday for my 10 year old’s birthday (he has gluten and egg allergies that we just discovered so this was his first birthday on the new diet). I replaced the eggs with Bob’s red mill replacer…. Which means the recipe couldn’t be followed exactly. It still turned out AMAZING! A new favorite for the whole family. I’m considering attempting to make cupcakes from this recipe. Any tips or experience? Thank you for the wonderful gluten free recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake with the egg replacer! That’s very helpful to know it turned out for others who might want to make it egg-free! Here is my recipe for red velvet cupcakes. I bet they would work well with the egg replacer too! https://meaningfuleats.com/gluten-free-red-velvet-cupcakes/
Hello,
I’m once again making this Red Velvet cake! I’m not much of a baker and it turned out so well. Thanks so much for such a great recipe.
I’m so glad it turned out for you! Thanks for the comment 🙂