Buttery almond flour biscuits meet billows of whipped cream and ripe berries in this easy gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe.
With dairy-free, vegan, naturally sweetened options!
When berries are in season, it's hard to go wrong with GF shortcake. Tender biscuits sop up rich berry juices all wrapped up in a blanket of velvety whipped cream. I have a favorite recipe for GF strawberry shortcake in my book made with ricotta biscuits, honey, and tarragon. But I'm excited to share this more classic version today!
This gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe is based on my gluten-free almond flour scones. The same buttery dough gets formed into round biscuits, baked until golden and craggy, and smothered with berries and whipped cream. Or try whipped mascarpone for a cheesecake vibe.
Play around with different fruit, different types of dairy (non-dairy options below!), or add your favorite scone mix-ins such as chopped candied ginger or citrus zest. More flavor suggestions below!
Ingredients and Substitution Suggestions
- Butter makes these biscuits rich and tender. Use plant butter for dairy-free.
- Sugar adds subtle sweetness. For refined sugar-free, sub maple sugar, coconut sugar, or another granulated sweetener of your choice.
- Egg adds additional structure. Wheat biscuit recipes typically don't contain egg, but here it enhances the texture and makes up for the lack of gluten. For egg-free, make a flax egg (see recipe notes, below!)
- Cream brings the dough together and adds richness. Chilled full-fat coconut milk will work for a dairy-free option.
- Baking powder lightens the dough.
- Salt and vanilla sharpen the flavors.
- Strawberries combined with the sweetener of your choice (sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.) form a juicy melange. Use any ripe fruit you like: other berries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, or plums are all lovely choices. Or try my strawberry rhubarb chia jam for a twist.
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream contrasts beautifully with ripe berries and buttery biscuits. For dairy-free, use rich coconut yogurt such as Culina or Cocojune, or make whipped coconut cream.
Flours for GF Shortcake
A trio of flours, plus some tapioca starch, creates a dreamy texture that's crisp on top and tender in the middle. I've given lots of substitution suggestions, so feel free to experiment with what you have on hand. You can also use a good GF all-purpose blend in place of any or all of the flours listed here. I'd recommend Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF all-purpose flour.
- Blanched almond flour provides protein, structure, and richness. Sub almond meal or another nut or seed meal. For nut-free, sub tiger nut flour or millet flour.
- GF oat flour makes the dough tender and delicate. Sub sorghum, chestnut, teff, or buckwheat flour.
- Sweet rice flour helps stick the dough together. Sub cassava flour or GF AP flour.
- Tapioca starch makes these biscuits light and pillowy. Sub arrowroot starch.
How to Make GF Shortcake
Dietary Preferences
Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Shortcake
Use a good vegan butter such as Miyoko's in place of the butter and use chilled full-fat coconut milk in place of the cream in the biscuits. Use coconut yogurt or coconut whipped cream in place of the whipped cream.
Egg-Free Gluten-Free Shortcake
Use a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons hot water, left to thicken and cool 20 minutes) in place of the egg.
Vegan Gluten-Free Shortcake
Combine the dairy-free and egg-free variations above!
Any-Fruit GF Shortcakes
Use blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, or strawberry rhubarb compote instead of (or in addition to) strawberries.
GF Strawberry Shortcake for Everyone
However you made this gluten-free shortcake recipe, I hope you love it as much as I've loved sharing it!
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcake
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Gluten-Free Biscuits
- ⅔ cup (110 g) sweet white rice flour*
- ⅔ cup (75 g) blanched almond flour**
- ⅔ cup (69 g) GF oat flour***
- 3 tablespoons (22 g) tapioca flour****
- ¼ cup (50 g) organic granulated sugar*****
- 2 ½ teaspoons (7 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) cold unsalted butter, sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) heavy cream, more as needed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
GF Shortcakes
- 1 pound ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons sugar or other sweetener (to your taste)
- 1 cup (235 ml) cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons sugar or other sweetener (more to your taste)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Gluten-Free Biscuits
- In a large bowl, combine the sweet rice, almond, oat, and tapioca flours with the ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the butter slices. Blend with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the butter is broken down into the size of small peas. Chill until needed.
- Whisk together the 6 tablespoons cream, egg, and vanilla (if using) in a measuring pitcher. Chill until needed.
- Remove the flour mixture from the refrigerator. Gradually add the cream mixture, working with a flexible silicone spatula until the dough holds together when you give it a squeeze. If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of cold cream directly to the floury bits.
- Gently but firmly press the dough together with your hands and shape it into a rough ball. Place on a piece of beeswax wrap or plastic wrap and form it into a disk that measures 6 ½ inches across and ⅞ inch high. Don't worry about overworking the dough since there isn't any gluten to toughen here!
- Wrap and chill the dough disk until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, position a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 425ºF. Stack a rimmed baking sheet atop a second rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper. This will all keep the bottoms from over-browning.
- Remove the dough round from the refrigerator, unwrap and place on a cutting board dusted lightly with oat flour. Use a 2½-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into 4 biscuits. Press the scraps together, form into ⅞-inch high oval, and cut out two more biscuits (or more if you have more dough leftover).
- Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little cream and sprinkle with a little sugar.
- Bake the biscuits until golden on top and cooked through, 20–25 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes to brown them evenly.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the scones to a wire rack. Let cool until warm, 10-20 minutes.
Shortcakes
- Meanwhile, toss the berries with the sugar and let sit until juicy, tossing occasionally, 15-30 minutes.
- Place the cream in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you're using a whisk or electric beater). Add the sugar and whip on high until the cream holds soft peaks. Beat in the vanilla. (If you accidentally overwhip the cream and it starts to look curdled, don't fret. Gently fold in a big splash of unwhipped cream and it should smooth back out again.)
- Carefully cut the biscuits in half crosswise (I like using a small serrated knife.) Place the bottom half of a biscuit on a plate and top with a big dollop of cream. Spoon the berries and their juices over the cream and top with the biscuit top. Serve right away.
Diane says
I’m excited to try this! When you sub 6 TB of full fat coconut milk into the batter for the cream, do I use only the cream part or shake the can and use the coconut milk? Thanks!
Diane
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
That's a great question! I would shake up the can really well, open the can to make sure it's well-combined and smooth, and then chill it until cold. Then use the well-combined, chilled coconut milk. I think the liquid will help hold the scones hold together, where just the creamy part might be too dry and make the scones more crumbly. Please let me know if you try it! I haven't tested it this way myself yet. :)
Ashley says
I wasn’t sure when the initial flour mixture is supposed to go in the fridge and for how long because it only says remove from fridge but not when to put it in.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Thanks for catching that - updated!
Alexander says
Should these be cut and baked while the dough is still cold from being refrigerated? Although scrumptious, mine all cracked and fell apart.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that! Did they crack and fall apart before baking or after? Happy to help troubleshoot!
If the dough was dry when you were working with it, you may need to add more cream to help it stick together. When baked, they're delicate when warm but they should firm up after cooling.
I'm glad you loved them regardless!
Alexander says
I reduced a bit of the sugar in the recipe and perhaps that contributed to it…? They cracked while baking and then did turn out a bit dry and crumbly once fully cooled, although beautiful and enjoyed thoroughly. Thank you for any suggestions! King Arthur baking hotline shared that I could reduce the sugar by half for any scone recipe but perhaps not here…?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Alexander, ah that makes sense! The sugar melts in the oven and acts like a liquid ingredient. Next time, try adding extra cream to make up for lowering the sugar. You could also try adding a little ground flax seed to help the biscuits hold together betteer. I'm not sure whether the sugar adds stickiness or not. They are a bit on the delicate side!
Solange says
Could I use this recipe for dairy-free ‘buttermilk’ biscuits as well? I loved how this turned out for shortcakes and am wondering if plant milk/cream plus apple cider vinegar would make for a component to have it happen. Any suggestions? Also, I would love to do a spinach galette using your gluten-free galette dough and am wondering if you have a spinach filling for referencing or any ideas for creating the perfect one. Your gluten-free spinach quiche was so, so delicious and the crust was so incredible- I made it three times in a row and devoured it completely. Simply divine!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Solange!
Yes I love the idea of making this into a buttermilk biscuit recipe! I've had good luck in other recipes using plant milk to thin plant yogurt to a heavy cream-like consistency (rich coconut yogurt such as Culina or Cocojune would be my pick here). Please let me know if you experiment!
Aw I'm glad you enjoyed the quiche recipe! Love the idea of a spinach galette with that pie crust recipe. I made these spinach calzones a long time ago. You could use leek in place of the spring onion and green garlic that I called for, and use any herbs you like in place of marjoram which is a little obscure. If you don't do goat dairy, you could try using Kite Hill ricotta in the filling instead of goat cheese and some kind of melty plant-based cheese in place of the goat gouda/mozz. I wonder if adding a beaten egg would be nice too? I'm totally craving that now. Please let me know if you experiment!
Bella says
Would I omit both the sugar and vanilla if using this recipe to try buttermilk biscuits?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh great question, I'd like to try that myself! I would reduce the sugar to maybe 1 tablespoon – it will add flavor! And yes you can omit the vanilla. Please let me know how it goes!