This gluten free strawberry cobbler combines a sweet, juicy strawberry filling with a buttery drop biscuit topping that gets a beautifully crisp crust in the oven, while the centre remains deliciously soft. It’s the perfect cosy, no-fuss summer dessert and it’s super easy to make. And you’d never know that it’s gluten free, absolutely everyone will love it – especially if you serve it warm, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
When it comes to baking with strawberries, you’re forever battling with their tendency to release huge amounts of moisture – which can be a problem in bakes like cakes, cookies and similar. But just like with the strawberry upside down cake that I shared recently, we’re embracing their juicy nature today in this FABULOUS gluten free strawberry cobbler.
It’s not often that a dessert leaves me speechless, but this one has managed it. It’s absolutely magical in its simplicity. There are just two elements in this strawberry cobbler: a juicy, syrupy strawberry filling made with a VERY generous dash of vanilla and a buttery drop biscuit topping that bakes up deliciously soft with a crispy crust.
Andyou’d never know that it’s gluten free!! The texture of the biscuit topping is absolutely spot on and even my non-gluten-free taste testers couldn’t get enough of it.
Before we get to the bits and bobs of making this amazing strawberry cobbler – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!
PRE-ORDER MY NEW COOKBOOK!
The book that will teach you how to make ANY recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan (and still taste spectacular)
PRE-ORDER MY NEW COOKBOOK!
The book that will teach you how to make ANY recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan
Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.
How to make gluten free strawberry cobbler
This gluten free strawberry cobbler is super easy to make!! You can have everything assembled in about 20-30 minutes and then just let it do its thing in the oven while it fills your kitchen with the mouthwatering smell of strawberries, vanilla and butter.
You can prepare the strawberry filling directly in the skillet: just toss the sliced strawberries with sugar, cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) and vanilla until well combined. You could also add some lemon zest and lemon juice, but I wanted to keep things simple and really allow the strawberries to shine.
Then, dollop on the biscuit dough – it’s a fairly soft dough, so you can’t handle it with your hands. Instead, use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to arrange it on top of the strawberry filling. And it’s perfectly OK to leave it in large dollops or scoops on top of the filling, as it’ll spread during baking to nicely cover the filling, with only a bit of the strawberries and their juices peeking through here and there.
Once baked, the biscuit topping is deliciously rich, buttery and soft on the inside, with a crispy, caramelised crust – and it pairs beautifully with the sweet, juicy strawberry filling. The strawberries will release A LOT of juice in the oven, but it will thicken into a gorgeous syrupy consistency with the help of the cornstarch.
I like to serve the cobbler warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and some extra strawberry juices drizzled over the ice cream. And while you might not typically associate the words “cosy” and “comforting” with a summer dessert, this strawberry cobbler is exactly that – and I simply can’t get enough of it.
Top tips for making gluten free strawberry cobbler
- Use fresh (not frozen) strawberries. Frozen strawberries would get far too mushy in the oven and they’d also release too much moisture. Fresh strawberries work much better in this recipe.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet your strawberries are. Make sure to taste your strawberries before you use them in the cobbler: if they’re very sweet, you can reduce the amount of sugar slightly. If they’re on the tarter side, you can increase the amount of sugar.
- Adding some cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) will thicken the strawberry juices into the perfect consistency. This cobbler is definitely on the juicier side, but adding some cornstarch ensures that the juices are deliciously syrupy.
- Use cold butter and milk to make the biscuit dough. If you use them warm, the biscuit topping could spread too much in the oven and actually melt into the strawberry filling.
- Your biscuit dough will be fairly soft and sticky – that’s how it should be! This isn’t the kind of dough you can handle with your hands: instead, use an ice cream scoop (or just a large spoon) to dollop it evenly over the strawberry filling.
- Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) until the topping is golden brown and the filling reaches about 195ºF (90ºC). For cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) to reach its maximum thickening power, the liquid (in this case, the strawberry juices) must come to a boil. Just insert a food thermometer into the centre of the cobbler: if the temperature is at 195ºF (90ºC) or higher, the cobbler is done. You can also check the doneness of the biscuit topping: if you insert a toothpick into the topping, it should come out clean, with no raw or half-baked dough attached to it.
This gluten free strawberry cobbler is best served warm – just use a large spoon to scoop a generous portion into a bowl and top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There’s something truly magical about the combination of the juicy, slightly jammy strawberry filling, the buttery, crisp-yet-soft biscuit topping and the slowly melting vanilla ice cream… it’ll definitely have you coming back for seconds.
I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Happy baking!
More easy strawberry desserts
If you’re looking for even more strawberry dessert recipes that are super easy to whip up, you’re definitely in the right place!
- Gluten Free Strawberry Upside Down Cake
- Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
- Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake
- The Best Baked Strawberry Cheesecake
- Small Batch Gluten Free Strawberry Cream Cake
If you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!
PRE-ORDER MY NEW COOKBOOK!
The book that will teach you how to make ANY recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan (and still taste spectacular)
PRE-ORDER MY NEW COOKBOOK!
The book that will teach you how to make ANY recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan
Gluten Free Strawberry Cobbler
This gluten free strawberry cobbler combines a sweet, juicy strawberry filling with a buttery drop biscuit topping that gets a beautifully crisp crust in the oven, while the centre remains deliciously soft. It’s the perfect cosy, no-fuss summer dessert and it’s super easy to make. And you’d never know that it’s gluten free, absolutely everyone will love it – especially if you serve it warm, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Print Rate SAVE
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook/Bake Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Servings 8
Author Kat | The Loopy Whisk
Ingredients
Strawberry filling:
- 900 g (2lb, about 7 cups) fresh strawberries, with tops removed, halved and quartered (depending on their size)
- 100 g (½ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 15 g (2 tbsp) cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
Biscuit topping:
- 240 g (2 cups) plain gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm Freee gluten free plain white flour that doesn't have any xanthan gum added.You can also mix your own gluten free flour blend using this recipe.Note that for this homemade blend, 1 cup = 150g, so ideally use a digital food scale and the weight measurements for best results.)
- 100 g (½ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum or other binders.)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 115 g (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 100 g (⅓ cup + 1½ tbsp) whole milk, cold from the fridge
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1-2 tbsp granulated sugar, for sprinkling the biscuit topping
Instructions
Strawberry filling:
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Add the sliced strawberries, sugar, cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) and vanilla to a 10-inch (25cm) skillet or round baking pan, and toss everything together until well combined. Arrange the filling in a fairly even layer, and set aside until needed.
Biscuit topping:
In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
Add the cold cubed butter and work it into the dry ingredients until you get a texture resembling breadcrumbs, with a few pea-sized butter pieces.
Add the cold milk and vanilla, and mix with a fork, wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you get a fairly soft dough with no patches of dry, un-mixed flour. The biscuit dough will be quite soft and sticky – that's OK, you won't have to handle it with your hands.
Assembling & baking the cobbler:
Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to dollop the biscuit dough evenly over the strawberry filling (see blog post for photos).
It’s perfectly OK to leave the biscuit topping in large dollops or scoops on top of the filling, as it’ll spread during baking.
Sprinkle the biscuit topping with granulated sugar.
Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 40-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown on top and the filling reaches about 195ºF (90ºC). You can also check the doneness of the biscuit topping by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into it: it should come out clean, with no raw or half-baked dough attached to it.
Tip: For cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) to reach its maximum thickening power, the liquid (in this case, the strawberry juices) must come to a boil. Just insert a food thermometer into the centre of the cobbler: if the temperature is at 195ºF (90ºC) or higher, the cobbler is done.
Allow the cobbler to cool until warm, then use a large serving spoon to scoop individual portions into bowls, and serve with some vanilla ice cream.
Note that the strawberry juices will be fairly runny (if syrupy) while the cobbler is hot, and they'll thicken as it cools.
Storage:
The gluten free strawberry cobbler is best served warm, on the day of baking. However, it also keeps well covered in a cool, dry place for 2-3 days (you can reheat it before serving, either in a microwave or a 350ºF/180ºC oven).
Tried this recipe?Mention @theloopywhisk or tag #theloopywhisk!
