Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Delicate and airy inside with a slightly crisp outside.
Taste: Rich and creamy flavor with just the right amount of saltiness.
Ease: Easy to make with pantry staples. No popover pan? Use a regular muffin pan!
Top Tips: Starting the oven at a higher temperature then reducing to a lower temperature is key for popovers that rise tall and cook all the way through.
Recommended GF Flour: I like to use King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour plus a little Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Oat Flour for the perfect popovers!
Would I make these again? Definitely! These gluten-free popovers seem fancy, all while being easy to make. They are total crowd-pleasers no matter the meal!
xoxo erin
Popovers are kind of like dinner rolls, but extra light and custardy on the inside in such a unique way. This gluten-free twist offers all the classic popover flavors and texture — no one will guess they’re gluten-free!
This recipe works for any meal — with a warm cup of coffee at breakfast, alongside a hearty lunch or dinner, even as a cozy snack!
Featured Comment
From Gayle: “These are absolutely delicious! Popovers are one of the things I have missed the most since going GF. I think they are just as good as a flour version. Thank you for sharing this awesome GF recipe!”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Gluten-Free Popovers
- Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
- Can these gluten-free popovers be made dairy-free?
- Why did my popovers deflate after baking?
- What should I serve with the gluten-free popovers?
- Tips for Perfect Popovers
- More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes
- Gluten-Free Popovers Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free popovers. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: I like to use King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour in a lot of my baked goods. It’s important to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum for best results.
- Gluten-free oat flour: Adding a little oat flour helps add moisture and balance the measure-for-measure flour for the perfect crumb.
- Milk: I like to use 2% milk for this recipe. Besides adding moisture, the fat content also helps the insides to stay decadently tender. Make sure the milk is at room temperature before mixing it with the butter and eggs! For dairy-free, use dairy-free milk.
- Eggs: Like the milk, it’s important to bring the eggs to room temperature before using them in this recipe! I like to set them in a bowl of hot water to bring them to room temperature quickly.
- Butter: The melted butter adds to the savory flavor profile while helping the middles to stay soft and the outsides to brown up golden and crisp. For dairy-free, use vegan butter. They won’t brown as much with vegan butter, but will still taste amazing!
How to Make Gluten-Free Popovers
Here’s an overview of how to make these popovers. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- Warm the eggs and milk: I can never remember to set eggs out so they come to room temperature ahead of time. To warm them up quickly, place them (uncracked!) in a medium bowl and cover with hot water (as hot as your tap will go). Let them sit for 10 minutes. You can also microwave the milk until it’s just warm (not hot).
- Combine the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, milk, and butter to a blender jar and pulse briefly, just a few times, until smooth. You can also whisk them together in a measuring cup if you prefer. Either way, don’t overmix the batter!
- Add the dry ingredients: Add in both types of flour and the salt. In the blender jar, pulse briefly until just combined. In the measuring cup, lightly mix in the dry ingredients. I sound like a broken record, but don’t overmix the batter!
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan (fill each cup about 2/3 full). Bake at 450°F (15 minutes), then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake until the popovers are deep brown (another 10-15 minutes). Remove from the oven and immediately poke a hole in the side of each popover with a sharp knife to let out the steam and avoid deflating. Serve immediately for the best results!
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: You can prep the batter up to 12 hours before baking, but wait to bake the popovers until you are ready to serve them! Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
To Store: The popovers are best fresh out of the oven. If storing leftovers, let them cool completely on a wire rack to prevent sogginess, then store in an airtight container. They will last up to 2 days at room temperature.
To Freeze: Freezing the popovers tends to change their texture so I don’t recommend baking ahead and freezing them.
Can these gluten-free popovers be made dairy-free?
Yes! You can easily make these popovers dairy-free. Swap out the milk with dairy-free milk and the butter with vegan butter. The popovers might not brown as much, but will still be delicious.
Why did my popovers deflate after baking?
It’s very important to poke a hole in the side of each popover right after they come out of the oven so the steam can escape. If too much steam gets trapped in the popovers they will collapse as they cool. I recommend using a sharp knife for this step.
What should I serve with the gluten-free popovers?
This recipe is very versatile and can be served with sweet or savory options. They are amazing plain or simply with a smothering of butter. If you want to offer additional toppings, they also go well with jam or cheese. These popovers can be served alongside breakfast classics, lunch and dinner entrees, or with soups and salads.
Tips for Perfect Popovers
- Don’t overmix the batter! You want the milk, butter, and eggs to be incorporated without overworking them. Then just lightly mix in the flour and salt.
- Leave the oven shut the whole time the popovers are baking. It’s hard to resist taking a peek, but leaving the door shut will help them bake up nice and fluffy. If you want to peek, just look at them with the oven light on and the door shut.
- Serve the popovers right away. These are best piping hot, straight out of the oven. I love them smothered with butter!
More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes
Gluten-Free Popovers
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) 2% milk at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 2/3 cup (100g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) gluten-free oat flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Before you begin: Make sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature. I usually set my eggs in a bowl of hot water to bring them to room temperature quickly. You can also microwave the milk until it’s warm, but not hot.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a 12-count petite popover pan with cooking spray. (Note: This recipe makes 12 petite popovers or 6 grand popovers. I like the way the petite popovers turn out best. You can use a standard 12-count muffin pan if you don’t have a popover pan.)
- Add the eggs, milk and butter to a blender jar. Pulse briefly a few times until smooth and combined. Don’t overmix! Add the gluten-free flour, oat flour, and salt. Pulse very briefly until just combined. Again, do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full.
- Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the popovers are deep brown.
- Remove the popovers from the oven and immediately poke a small hole in the side of each popover with a sharp knife. (This allows the steam to escape so the popovers don’t deflate.) Serve immediately.
I’m allergic to oats. Can I use all GF flour in this recipe?
Hi Marie, we don’t recommend omitting the oat flour since the popovers are delicate. Using all gluten-free measure-for-measure flour may result in drier, denser popovers that struggle to rise properly. We’re sorry!
I can’t have oat flour so I replaced it with almond flour and they were still delicious. My family loved them.
So happy to find a tasty GF popover recipe.
Hi Jenny, thanks for sharing, that’s great to hear!
Have you ever made your own oat flour using GF oats?
Yes! Here is a post all about how to make oat flour. We hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe. Warmed the eggs and milk. Used Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 baking flour. Used PopOver pan. The recipe made 6. Baked 16 minutes at 450. Beautiful tall browned tops! However, the popovers fell and were dense and heavy but tasted good. Trying to figure out what I did wrong!
Hi Roy, we’re glad they tasted good! A few thoughts on why they fell and were dense: After the 16 minutes at 450°F did you reduce heat to 350°F and cook for another 10-15? If the recipe only made 6, not 12, your popover pan might have been larger which would call for different bake times. Or it could just be a matter of overmixing which is easy to do with popovers. We hope these ideas help!
I make these often and love them! My only problem is that they seem to stick to the bottom of the muffin tin for me. I’ve tried using both butter and oil and have had the same result. Is there something you could suggest to remedy this. I am using a darker muffin tin for these, don’t know if that would make a difference?
I have not tried this recipe yet but with other popovers I have put one half teaspoon of oil in bottom of each popover pan well and preheated the pan in the oven before pouring in the batter. I’ll be making these later and doing that! Could be worth a try if you make them again.
We hope you enjoy the popovers, Cheryl! Happy baking!
These are absolutely delicious! Popovers are one of the things I have missed the most since going GF. I think they are just as good as a flour version. Thank you for sharing this awesome GF recipe!
Hooray! I’m happy you found them to be as delicious as the regular version. Glad you enjoyed them!
Love your recipe ❣️❣️ I made these yesterday and forgot to take a photo before we ate them. I filled the sprayed popover cups to slightly less than half full and they turned out great. I put the room temp eggs and room temp milk into my blender, blended, and added the remaining ingredients, and blended for 2-3 seconds. I let the mix rest 10 and poured into the sprayed cups. Easy.
Hooray! I’m so glad they turned out for you. Thanks for the comment 🙂
This looks amazing, I think it’ll be a great item for Mother’s Day coming up ! I’m wondering if you -or anyone else – has had success with Bob Red Mill’s GF 1:1 baking flour? Thanks in advance!
Yes! These work great with Bob Red Mill’s GF 1:1 baking flour! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Hi Erin,
I loved the popovers, however, if you fill the cups with 2/3 cup of batter, it only fills a tin of 6, not 12.
I put 1/3 cup in each using the 12 cup tin and I ended up with only 9 tiny popovers. Should your recipe be doubled?
I made these this morning using gluten free oat flour. They are so good.
I’m so glad they turned out for you! 🙂
Hi. Can you make these without egg and use egg substitute?
Thanks
Unfortunately the eggs are very important for this recipe! Sorry about that!
These are DREAMY! I love the warm and soft texture. Mhmm so good. Do yourself a favor and make these.
I made these for breakfast this morning with Arrowhead Mills GF blend. They are very similar to the popovers I remember as a kid. These will be great with Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad they turned out for you!
Have you tried making these with almond/coconut flour? Because I'm tolerant of gluten, should I just use regular white or wheat flour?
Hi, if I don’t have the oat flour, can I use all gluten free flour instead? Will it make a difference to the texture and taste? Looks great!
Hi Pat, we don’t recommend omitting the oat flour since the popovers are delicate. Using all gluten-free measure-for-measure flour may result in drier, denser popovers that struggle to rise properly. We hope this helps!