An Easy Recipe for Gluten-free Dutch Babies

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Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

Dutch Baby, German Pancake, Puffed Pancake–Whatever you call them, one thing’s for sure…they are delicious. Dutch Babies have been a part of my family’s breakfast tradition since I was a newlywed cooking from my (still clean) Fanny Farmer Cookbook given to me by my nana. Golden brown and puffed impossibly high when you take them from the oven, they make quite an impressive presentation. But after going gluten-free, I wondered if I was ever going to be able to find an easy recipe for gluten-free dutch babies.

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This recipe was updated on 3/6/24 with additional recipe details, images, and instructions.

Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancakes
Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

How to Make Gluten-Free Dutch Babies

This beautiful breakfast has just a few ingredients and is quite impressive when you pull it out of the oven. But don’t be surprised when your high and mighty pancake deflates quickly after it’s set on the table. The edges will remain crisp, and the rest of the pancake is rich and eggy–almost like a warm custard.

Here’s what you need to make the pancake:

  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1/2 cup all purpose, gluten-free flour blend
  • pinch of sea salt

Here’s how you put it all together:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven to heat the pan and melt the butter.
    Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and the milk together. Whisk in the flour and salt until mixture is smooth and thickened slightly. It will have the consistency of a pourable pancake batter.
  2. Remove pan from the oven and swirl to evenly coat it with the melted butter. Pour batter into the pan and return to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The Dutch Baby should be very puffed and very golden brown when you remove it from the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gluten Free Dutch Babies

Why did my Dutch Baby deflate?

These pancakes emerge from the oven gloriously puffed, but deflate quite quickly. This is totally normal and to be expected. If you want to impress your brunch guests, make sure everyone is gathered to watch you remove it from the oven so they can see just how high and mighty it is!

Are Dutch Babies Dutch?

Experts believe that the name Dutch Baby came from a corruption of the word deutsch, as these baked pancakes are originally German. The name “Dutch Baby” is claimed to have been created by a Seattle cafe called Manca, and they also apparently trademarked the name.

What goes with a Dutch Baby Pancake?

We eat them simply, dusted with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. One recipe is enough for about 3 people, but I often triple it when I make it for my hungry (greedy?) crew. But you can always top it with cinnamon and sugar, or maple syrup. If you’re feeling really creative, you can top it with something savory, like ham, eggs, arugula and cheese. This gluten-free Dutch Baby is perfect for both savory and sweet toppings.

My first efforts at a gluten free version of this were disappointing at best, and a disaster at worst. But this time, I think we got it right. (And I say “we” because it was my sweet husband who made these….have I mentioned that I love it when he makes breakfast?) Leave the eggs out on the counter overnight and you’re ready to go first thing in the morning. If you forget, you can simply place them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. They need to be at room temperature for best results. Check out this recipe from Curry Girl’s Kitchen if you’re looking for a dairy free, refined sugar free version of Dutch Babies.

More Gluten Free Breakfast & Brunch Ideas

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Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes

This recipe, passed down in my family for generations, is easy and delicious. Though I prefer to use buttermilk, it works equally well with regular milk, or even almond milk or other milk substitutes. I often double or triple the recipe to feed my hungry crew.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles

These buttery Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles are so light and crisp. Though they are perfect for long, leisurely weekend mornings, they are easy enough to make before school or work. The aren’t overly sweet so they are a great match for a glug of maple syrup or a drizzle of honey, or fried chicken. Yum!

Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles
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Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake

This delicious gluten free blueberry coffee cake is light and fluff, studded throughout with plump, juicy blueberries and topped with a cinnamon-sugar crumb.

Strawberry French Toast from This Mess is Ours

There’s something undeniably charming about a plate of warm, fluffy French toast, and when you add the enticing aroma of roasted strawberries, you have a simply irresistible brunch dish. You’re going to love Strawberry French Toast made easy in the oven from my friend Meg at This Mess is Ours. She serves it up with basil-infused honey, a simple Roasted Strawberry Syrup, and Sparkling Wine from California.

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Mexican Fruit Salad from Hola Jalapeño

This colorful Mexican fruit salad recipe from my friend Kate at Hola Jalapeño features a vibrant bounty of fruit with a sweet and spicy lime and Tajín dressing. Serve in a carved out watermelon or simply in a bowl!

Tomatillo Bloody Mary Cocktail From Salt & Wind

If you are like my friend Aida from Salt & Wind and sometimes crave spiciness everywhere, this recipe is for you. It’s a fresh, spicy, sweet, and light cocktail, but be careful, because you may want to have too many.

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If you make this or any other of our recipes be sure to leave a star rating and comment below and post a picture and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes!

Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

An Easy Recipe Gluten Free Dutch Babies

Alison Needham
This puffed pancake emerges high and mighty from the oven, but deflates quickly once it’s set on the table. The edges are crisp and the interior is rich, warm and eggy. I love it dusted with confectioners sugar and a squeeze of lemon, but I’m sure it would be wonderful with maple syrup too.
4.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, German
Servings 4 people
Calories 121 kcal

Equipment

  • 9" cast iron skillet

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven to heat the pan and melt the butter.
  • Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and the milk together. Whisk in the flour and salt until mixture is smooth and thickened slightly. It will have the consistency of a pourable pancake batter.
  • Remove pan from the oven and swirl to evenly coat it with the melted butter. Pour batter into the pan and return to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The Dutch Baby should be very puffed and very golden brown when you remove it from the oven.
  • Serve immediately with lemon wedges and confectioners sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 121kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 6gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 72mgPotassium: 61mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 193IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Easy Recipe for Gluten Free Dutch Babies, Gluten Free Dutch Babies, Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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61 Comments

  1. HELP!~ I don’t have a 10″ cast iron skillet!! Any other ideas? Thanks!

    (I DO have 10″ NS everyday pans.)

    1. When I double this recipe I make it in a 9×13 inch pan. So try using a 9×9 square baking pan.

      1. When you double the batch, does the cooking time change?

        1. When I double the batch, 25 minutes is enough, but I think my oven cooks a little faster than most. Love this recipe! (I also add a dash of vanilla and cinnamon to the batter, and I use salted butter–delicious!)

      2. Alison, What pan do you use when you triple the recipe?

        1. It rises best in a smaller skillet, but when I double the recipe I use a larger skillet (like 12″) or even a 9×13″ baking dish, but if I triple it, I use two pans.

    2. We use glass pyrex pie plates with good results. We serve these with plain yogurt and strawberries. We also add some sugar (1/8 cup) to the batter.

  2. Lorene Britton says:

    This was one of my favorite splurge breakfasts before needing to go gluten free. Made it this morning and it was fabulous. After the powered suger and lemon we add halved strawberrys. I also make stawberrys sauce to drizzle on. Perfect! Thanks for recipe.

    1. So glad you liked it. And I love the idea of topping it with fresh strawberries. Yum!

      1. Hi, can I use almond milk instead of whole milk?

  3. Just tried this this morning for the first time. I twas simply awesome. My wife, kids and I really enjoyed it! Thanks!

    Note: I doubled the recipe and used a 14 inch cast iron skillet and it was just the right amount for all 5 of us.

    1. I always double the recipe too…I’ve got some hungry teenagers in my house. Glad you liked it! 🙂

  4. Just made a butch baby-with almonds,coconut and raspberries…Mmmm! So happy to find your site with gluten free receipt!! IWant to try it for my son-WHat does your initials stand for replacing the flour? Thank you

    1. Hi Joan, the letters stand for all purpose (AP) gluten-free (GF) flour blend. I make my own but there are several available that are pretty good. My two favorites are a gluten-free flour blend at Trader Joe’s and also Cup4Cup gluten-free flour blend. 🙂

  5. I made these this morning I quadrupled the recipe ( I have teenaged boys) Made it in both ovens 2 parts in pie pans and the remainder in a 9×14 inch pan one metal pie pan one glass, the glass came out the best. I topped it with a simple cherry syrup (half a bag of frozen cherries about a cup and a half of water half a cup of sugar tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg a pinch of salt 2 tsp of butter and a tbsp of lemon juice) oh and I used cup4cup (because I had it and I wasn’t awake enough to make my own blend). They were amazing! thanks so much for sharing.

  6. Yay! I just moved in with a gluten free roomie and she can’t do cross contimination so, I’m glad to know that I can still have my Dutch babies! I always simmer apples in butter, cinnamon and sugar until they are translucent and then I pour my batter over the top. It’s delicious. 🙂

  7. Thanks! I was hoping to find a g-f version for our Christmas brunch. We’ll hafto see how this works.

  8. Made these this morning with sweet white rice flour instead of AP flour. Delicious and so easy! Thank you!

  9. you don’t have to add any gum(s) to the AP GF flour?

    1. Hi Tina,

      My flour blend contains a small amount of gum. If yours does, that’s fine, but if it doesn’t, it’s not needed. All the eggs act as a binder. 🙂

  10. Shae Luna says:

    I’m 11 years old, gluten free, and love to cook. I made this earlier and have made it multiple times before. It’s decadent flavor is always complimented well by powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice! I love this for breakaway and cook it for many days to come!

  11. This turned out great. I did substitute coconut oil for the butter. The taste was fine but it was a little drier than when I’ve made it with butter (in another recipe that wasn’t gluten free). Next time I’ll just use butter.

  12. I made this four (!) times in a row this week….that’s how much we love it!

  13. What flour do you use? I am searching for the perfect gf flour substitute. Thanks!

  14. The longer the pan, and the thinner the dutch babies, the better the taste. Use a longer pan if you want your dutch babies to taste even better!

  15. I just made this! Very very good! I had a very fond memory of this many many years ago making this in middle school German club. I had no idea what it was and I had never seen a recipe before. This is it! I am so thankful that it’s gluten free. Thank You! I will make this again and again!

  16. Outstanding! This recipe work perfectly and my Baby Deutch was one of my best!
    I posted pictures in my blog!

    Thank you and great job

  17. I am just starting to incorporate GF into my.home, So we are in transition. This happens to be one of my families favorite dish. I LOVE LOVE LOVE using a large amount of cinnamon in the mixture. And adding peeled Apple slices to the butter before adding the mixture. Always a hit. Now to do this GF is exciting. Do you think we could use some almond or coconut flour instead of plain GF flour? Maybe I will have to try it out…..

    1. I subbed 1/3 of the GF flour with almond flour and it turned out great!

  18. Eric peltier says:

    We use this recipe both to make Dutch Baby and Thai Baby.
    Substitute cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coconut, and brown or coconut sugar for powdered sugar and lemon.

  19. i love this recipe! i have done a single batch in a cast iron skillet but i have also doubled and tripled the recipe and used 9×11 glass baking dish and ceramic pie plates. we have it with lemon and powdered sugar – yum! thanks for the recipe!

  20. Fantastic recipe, I’m so thankful you shared it! My husband is very picky and raved about these, saying they had just the right texture. I made a couple of modifications in order to make these dairy free: coconut milk instead of milk and palm shortening instead of butter. Worked perfectly.

  21. Amanda Wilson says:

    Made this recipe recently using the all purpose flour blend provided on this site. It was amazingly good!! My mom and I were both impressed with how much the pancake rose and the texture. It was better than the regular flour german pancake recipe I grew up on. Thank you! ????

  22. THANK YOU!!! Moved to a little altitude years ago and my flour one failed me. When I had to go gluten free after that I thought, it wouldn’t work anyway, but your recipe worked perfectly. I had some Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour to use up and it worked great. I recently got hooked on America’s Test Kitchen recipe for gluten free flour. This sure is a treat, thanks!

  23. Stephanie says:

    Anybody tried to use an alternative milk such as almond or hemp?

    1. We use almond milk successfully. Can’t tell a difference. I’m serving todays with a little drizzle of blackberry jam thinned with a Tbsp of hot water.

  24. Well where to begin, I am a widow who lives with her best friend, Mouse is beagle and who knows what else rescued at an approximately 4 week old puppy who knew how to eat but missed his momma for feedings. He was just so little so Mouse seemed like a good name, who knew he would grow into a Mighty Mouse. I became a widow shortly after he arrived so all that lost love was poured into him,which he gladly returned to me. I have a male friend who knew and respected my husband who stepped in and mowed my lawn and did other chores on my small ranch and we eat out at a place that started out as a breakfast place and turned into an all day all meals place with breakfast as their speciality. I have watched Dutch babies being served all around me and not being able to have one due to my gluten free status has been a great disappointment, so when I found your recipe I was thrilled. Tried it tonight and the TASTE WAS OUTSTANDING Mouse loved his portion I shared with him. However it did not climb up the sides of the skillet and make that interesting crust I have seen in the restaurant. What did I do wrong, I followed each step carefully, even using your flour mix. I have eaten two pieces in spite of no big crust and will probably eat another before bed. Got any ideas for me?

  25. Diann Scaffidi says:

    Delicious!! Officially my new favorite recipe!

  26. It was delicious! I might cut back just a tad on the butter though, but it was still excellent!

  27. I’ve never had or made a Dutch Baby before. These sound wonderful! I am sure this would be a hit with the whole family. I will have to put together a brunch some weekend and serve this with fruit.

  28. Really good and easy recipe! I was out of milk so I used almond milk. Probably would have been a little fluffier with whole milk. Also was a little low on gluten-free flour (I guess I didn’t think this all the way through before making it!) so I added a little gluten-free pancake mix. Family loved it!

  29. Anne Burnett says:

    Comes out differently every time but always delicious! Great breakfast option to add to your list—no sugar!!!! So hard to find high protein, low sodium, low sugar, GF options—this is GREAR! HOWEVER, whole milk is NOT GF. So I substitute almond milk. So far so good but not as high a rise as regular milk and flour—will try almond flour next.
    Anne

    1. Anne – did you mean to say that whole milk isn’t gluten-free? Because it is. Some people with gluten sensitivities might react to OAT milk, but milk from cows is a natural product and doesn’t contain gluten. (Unless it has something added, like malt). Be sure to check the label 🙂

  30. 5 stars
    A family favorite! I will have to make it again soon 🤓

  31. 5 stars
    OMG! *wipes drool from chin* I’m still craving these lil Dutch babies! This was better than my Nana’s family recipe! Completely satisfying in every way.

  32. Best breakfast! We make this every Christmas morning! Thanks for the GF option!!

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