These little gluten-free vegan cream puffs you see featured here have been a pure labor of love and were not an easy recipe to create. After many, many attempts I'm finally happy to have a recipe worth sharing -- isn't it amazing that you too can now have gluten-free, dairy-free, and eggless cream puffs? :)
Before you proceed to the recipe, please take the time to read this gluten-free vegan mini-eclairs recipe first, where I share some of the basics of how to get this recipe working properly, and also all my failures so you can learn from all my mistakes! This recipe is a little delicate and requires a careful following of the directions, so don't skip on checking out the link above for best results.
There is also a video in that recipe you'll find handy for this. Even though it is for eclairs, the basic choux pastry recipe is the same, it's only the filling that is slightly different -- so definitely worth watching. Once you read that and watch the video you'll be well equipped to make your own tasty gluten-free and eggless cream puffs {or profiteroles, as some call them}!
I filled my cream puffs with a very basic non-dairy whipped cream recipe, but they can of course also be filled with savory stuffing, or a pastry cream of your choice. Or you can make mini gluten-free vegan eclairs instead too, of course :)
PrintGluten-Free Vegan Cream Puffs / Profiteroles
Fluffy, airy gluten-free cream puff / profiteroles recipe filled with vegan whipped cream. Absolutely delicious...and refined sugar-free!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 - 12 mini cream puffs
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Choux Pastry:
- ½ cup non-dairy milk {I used unsweetened almond milk}
- ¼ cup non-dairy butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
- The following gf flour mix: ¼ cup brown rice flour, ¼ cup tapioca starch, 2 tablespoon sweet sticky rice flour {also called glutinous rice flour}, 1 teaspoon guar gum {or if using a store-bought gf mix use ½ cup Pamela's Artisan Flour Mix + ½ teaspoon guar gum}
- ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
Egg Replacer:
- 3 tbsp water {warm or room temp}
- 1½ tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp guar gum
- ⅛ tsp cream of tartar
Vegan Whipped Cream:
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk {chilled overnight}
- 2-3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional:
- Some powdered coconut milk for dusting
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place milk, butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and salt in a small sauce pan. Warm on absolute minimum heat just until the butter melts. Stir to help it melt faster. Do not let the mixture boil or heat up too much. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool a few minutes.
- {Mix the flour ingredients in a small bowl first if you're making the flour mix from scratch} Add in flour and gluten-free baking powder into the butter mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is pasty. Set aside.
- Place all egg replacer ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whip with a mixer until frothy and thick. Scoop the egg replacer mixture into the choux pastry batter and mix until the two mixtures are incorporated {only takes a few seconds}. Batter should be the consistency of something like a soft frosting at this point.
- Transfer batter into a pipping bag fitted with a round tip {or use a sturdy large zip lock bag and snip off one of the corners}. Pipe the mixture onto a the prepared baking sheet, using a circular motion, into 2" round swirls {pipe upwards to give the mound a bit more height}. Space them at least 2-3” apart. {Make sure they are all the same size to avoid the smaller ones from burning!}.
- Lightly wet your finger tip with water and smooth out the spiky tip of each eclair {otherwise the tips will burn}. {Try not to wet the eclairs too much though — only use a tiny dab of water to prevent sticking as you’re smoothing them out}.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes {keep an eye out to avoid burning them}. They should be slightly browned at this point. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake a further 5-10 minutes, {keeping a very keen eye to avoid burning them}. {Note: the timing can vary based on the size of your puffs. The smaller they are the faster they will bake}.
- When done, they should look lightly brown. Test one of the eclairs by carefully taking it out of the oven and tapping it with your finger — it should sound/feel a little hollow and the shell should be a little hard. If it feels soft, bake a further 5-10 minutes {again keeping a keen eye to avoid burning them}.
- When ready, turn off the oven, open the door a bit and allow the eclairs to sit in the oven as it’s cooling for a further 20 minutes. Then remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.
- In the meantime, prepare the whipped cream by opening the coconut milk can, scooping out only the white solid part into a mixing bowl and whipping it with a mixer until stiff. Then add in the sweetener and vanilla and mix to incorporate everything.
- Cut each eclair in half. If there are any doughy parts in any of them, simply remove them and discard. Spoon whipped cream filling onto the bottom half of each puff, cover with the other half. Dust with some powdered coconut milk and enjoy!
Sarah says
Fantastic recipe!! They didn't end up hollow and I did scoop out some dough from the middle. Any tips on enhancing the hollow center?
Thanks :)
Audrey says
Hi Sarah, I'm so glad you enjoyed these! :) Any additional tips I have on these are shared on this page here: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-mini-eclairs-refined-sugar-free/
Shrinidhi says
Hey this recipe is soooo great. I've been wanting to make choux pastries for so long omg Thank you so much!!
Can I use guar gum as an egg substitute in choux pastries though?
Audrey says
Glad to help :)
I'm not sure what you mean though -- there is guar gum in the recipe already. If you mean more guar gum in place of the whole egg substitute part, I'd say I have no idea but I suspect it won't be adequate given how finicky this type of recipe is. But you can always experiment. If you give it a go, let me know how it turns out.
Leonardo says
Hi Audrey, very nice recipe, thank you for sharing it.
I would like to ask you a couple questions:
1) Can I ask you what happens if i don't use cream of tartar? or if there's any substitutes.
2) And if I use only Almond flour for the dough, if it would come out good, or maybe I should increase the Guar/Starch?
3) Instead of Tapioca, could I use Arrowroot?
Thank you for your time! :)
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Leonardo, I honestly wouldn't recommend making any substitutions here. It's such a delicate recipe and substitutions are quite risky. You can read more about the many things that can (and did, for me!) go wrong here + some tips for success: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-mini-eclairs-refined-sugar-free/
Dina says
Hi Audrey,
I am planning to bake these for my daughter's birthday in a couple of days however I don't have guar gum. Is there anything else I could replace it with? Flaxseed maybe?
Audrey says
Hi Dina, you can try it with xantham gum instead (same amount) if that's easier for you to find. I think flaxseed might be a bit too heavy and weigh the mixture down.
Dina says
Hi Audrey, many thanks for your reply. I don't have xantham gum either. I live in Ethiopia and those things are unavailable if not unknown. Should I try adding a bit more baking powder instead?
Audrey says
Hmm.. I understand. Well, to be honest, this is a very finicky recipe. I'm not sure if another substitute would work. You can maybe try it with a bit of corn starch or more tapioca starch and see how that goes. I'd recommend testing out alternatives ahead of time to make sure the recipe works ahead of the event. Hope it works out for you somehow, but if not, hopefully one of the many other dessert recipes on the site can work instead :)
Denise says
Thank you so much! I read everything before starting. I ended up making the puffs twice because I made the first ones too big (About 12) and they fell. But the second time I made them smaller (about 30) and they were perfect. Outstanding!!!!
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Denise -- that's awesome. Thank you for the lovely feedback. So glad they worked out for you. And yes, I found the mini ones to work much better.
Erika says
Hello, I try this recipe, its normal that they are to hard?
Thank you :)
Audrey says
Hi Erika, no, that shouldn't be so -- by the sounds of it, you got one of the "lumps" I described above the original recipe for mini eclairs I linked to above... They should be light and airy when they come out right.
Holly says
Hi! Can't wait to try these. Do you think this would also work for crullers and churros?
Audrey says
Hi Holly, I haven't tried either, but I think so long as you keep them small I don't see a reason why they wouldn't work. If you try it, would love to hear how it goes.
Anna Parsons says
My nephew is allergic to eggs, and my sister tends to search for vegan recipes for him. We don't need it to be dairy or gluten free, but egg free is a must. Can we simply use the egg substitutes and use normal flour and normal milk?
Audrey says
Hi Anna. Hard for me to say with certainty as I haven't tried it with those ingredients, but I suspect it should work fine. If you give it a try with regular flour and dairy, I'd love to hear how they turned out for you (as I'm sure other people are wondering the same).
Laura says
The egg replacer is a substitute for how many eggs? Will the recipe still work well if I use eggs? Please respond as soon as you can. I would like to do this for Thanksgiving. Thanks in advance.
Audrey says
Hi Laura, I developed this recipe as a vegan, so didn't have an egg number in mind. Just used a combination of something that functions like eggs in the recipe based on how much of it I felt was needed. So not sure about egg number, and also unfortunately not sure how this will work with eggs because I haven't tested that out and the recipe is very sensitive. I have seen in the past a number of gluten-free profitrole recipes on the web that use eggs, so maybe an egg-based recipe would be easier to work off of.
Anne says
Hii,
How many eggs are you replacing with the eggreplacer?
Regards,
Anne
Audrey says
Hi Anne, I actually developed the recipe based on how much of the "egg replacer" substance I thought was needed to give the cream puffs a good lift, and didn't have a specific egg number in mind. So not sure on egg number here and whether these would work with regular eggs -- I haven't tested it out personally.
Lea says
Using the glutinous rice flour voids the claim that these are gluten free, as Sticky rice flour or glutinous rice flour is not gluten free. Are you aware of this?
Audrey says
Hi Lea. Glutinous rice flour is a gluten-free flour (despite its name), and is very commonly used in gluten-free baking.
Avery Kissler says
I didn't make the puff part of this recipe but I did make the filling and found it to be quite runny, it could have been the canned coconut milk I used but I added a stiffening agent meant for whipped cream and it worked well.
★★★
Audrey says
Hi Avery. It's good that it worked out in the end with the stiffening agent.
I'm not sure what kind of canned coconut milk you used, but I found that some brands definitely work better than others. Thai kitchen is by far my favorite.
For best results, it's also important that it's full fat milk and that chilled overnight so that the cream is fully separated when you go to use it. It should be this thick coming out of the can, and none of the liquid should get mixed into the filling as otherwise it would be too runny:
Melissa says
Hey Audrey! Obsessed with your site!
Have you tried making these ahead of time and then freezing/thawing the baked puffs at all? Trying to minimize my to-do list for a dinner we are hosting and would be great if I only had to worry about filling them the day of.
Thanks!
Mel
Audrey says
Hi Mel,
Thanks so much. I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes :)
You know, of all the recipes on my site, this is the only one that's incredibly fussy and has a huge "fail" rate (as explained above the recipe). For that reason, I just want to say if it's your first time making these, I probably wouldn't reserve them for a special occassion but try them out ahead of time to make sure they come out well for you first. Would hate for the party to go dessert-less if the recipe doesn't work out the first time for any reason :S
In terms of freezing, I haven't tried freezing them, no. I wonder if they would lose their outer light "crispiness" due to the moisture from the freezing though? I have a feeling that might happen, so I'd say it would probably be best to test it out ahead of time as well. Might be possible to remedy the issue by toasting them lightly once they are defrosted.
If you give it a go, I'd love to hear how you go with them.
Mel says
Thanks! I did a test run the day I messaged you and then did another batch for Christmas eve dinner! They turned out great - made sure to tag you on insta!
Audrey says
That's wonderful, Mel -- I'm so happy they worked out :) I had a peek at your photos on instagram (though will have a closer look later when I'm on there properly) and they look lovely! As does the tiramisu. Thank you for sharing.
Lynne says
Wow, these look amazing! I don’t eat grains & wondered what other gluten free flour could be used instead of the rice flour. Thanks
Audrey says
Hi Lynne. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any substitution suggestions in this case. This recipe is incredibly “finicky” and making even a small change makes a big difference (as you can read about here: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-mini-eclairs-refined-sugar-free/). I’ve not attempted making these grain-free, so don’t have any recommendations.
Lynne says
Thank you for your feedback
Olga says
Looks fantastic!!!! I must try! ?
★★★★
Audrey says
Thanks Olga. Enjoy them!
Jen says
When those random gluten-free gums are impossible to find where I live...
Argh! Those looked beautiful, by the way!
Audrey says
Thanks Jen. Not sure if you're able to shop online, but I can recommend iherb.com for finding random little things like that.
Valerie says
Thanks Audrey for taking the time to give these recipes.
Audrey says
You're welcome :)
Jessica says
Do you happen to know your ingredient amounts by weight? I loathe volume measurements for baking since they're quite variable, so if I can avoid using them, I do. :)
Audrey says
Hi Jessica. Sorry I don't. I'm the opposite -- don't usually use weights as I find cups easier to work with for my recipes.
Victoria says
Hi! I was wondering if I could just use regular flour and if so, how much?
Audrey says
Hi Victoria,
I haven't tried these with regular flour and because this recipe is so finnicky it's hard for me to make a proper guess. I'd give it a try personally, same amount as gf flour, but I can't guarantee it would work. If you try it let me know how you go -- a number of people have been asking if it works with wheat flour so would be good to know what happens :) Sorry I couldn't offer a more concrete answer.
Clara says
THANK YOU SO MUCH !! My lil' brother is allergic to eggs & I was trying so hard to find a recipe for choux pastry (éclairs/choux/profiteroles/etc), I've made several recipes attemps that all failed & yours is the only one looking similar to actual choux pastry ! Will definitely try it, thanks again :)
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Clara, you're welcome. Enjoy them! :)
Daphne says
Could I use whole wheat pastry flour instead of GF flour?
Audrey says
Hi Daphne,
I'm not quite sure as I haven't tried it with whole wheat. I imagine all purpose white wheat flour might work better, as the gluten-free mix I used mimics that. If you try substituting with regular or whole wheat, I'd love to hear how it goes though.
mila furman says
OMG I love cream puffs and was worried I would have to give them up ever since I went vegan... But I guess according to this I don't!!!! Absolutely gorgeous! Cannot wait to try!
Audrey says
Thanks Mila -- enjoy them! :)
Ivanna says
Hi! A little confused at point 3. when you say to add in the flour AND the baking powder. Is this the baking powder from the egg replacer mix? Or is this additional baking powder?
Thanks!! Can't wait to get these right, ive been trying for a few days now...
Audrey says
Hi Ivanna -- thanks for the catch -- I left the baking powder out of the ingredients list by error. So it's the flour + 1/2 tsp baking powder in step 3 {not to be confused with the egg replacer}. Sorry for the confusion!
Ivanna says
Thank you Audrey! Also, I have an egg replacer that I was going to use that is all natural, Bob's. Do you think that this will work like yours? Or is there a reason that you don't use pre-made egg replacer? I keep baking hockey pucks!!
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Ivanna,
I haven't tried a commercial egg replacer so not sure how it would affect things -- might be worth a go. I decided to make my own because the commercial ones I've seen around here had some funny things in them and also because I wanted to be precise with a recipe like this so that others can replicate it more easily {and I know a lot of people around the world don't have access to specific brands...}.
I wonder why the hockey pucks keep occurring though -- have you substituted any of the ingredients so far? Just curious. I can totally relate to the feeling of wanting it to work -- I'm sure you've read my failed attempts story before I could get it to work, but now they come out every time. If I had to go based on my own experience, there must just be something minor that's off and hence the hockey pucks. Anything you can think of that you're trying differently?
Miranda says
Wow! What a wonderful cream puff recipe. Since many vegan in Taiwan expect Puff recipe, but they can't read English. May I translate this recipe into Chinese and share it on Facebook? Thank you.
Audrey says
Hi Miranda -- thank you so much. Yes, you're welcome to do that. I'd appreciate if you link back to the original recipe though when you share it. Thanks & I hope many people in Taiwan will get to enjoy these :)
EA-The Spicy RD says
Is this where I confess that as a kid, I used to love eating my mom's unbaked cream puff dough?!! Love this recipe, as I don't think I've had a cream puff since going gluten-free, and, it brings back lots of great childhood memories :-) Can't wait to make a batch-perhaps this weekend!
Audrey says
Oh, my goodness, The Spicy RD, you have no idea how much unbaked cream puff dough I ate in the process here ;) So good!
Brianna @Flippin' Delicious says
I'm so impressed that you made egg-free cream puffs! That is huge! I thought I had already commented, but I think my computer was having issues that day and it didn't go through.
Anyways AMAZING!
Thank you for sharing the link to my cream puffs too. :)
I'm featuring your cream puffs this week on Savoring Saturdays. Can't wait to see what you share this week!
Audrey says
Thanks so much, Brianna! I was so glad to find out that eggless doesn't have to mean cream puff-less :).
Can't wait to see what goodies are up this week at the hop :)
Kristen says
My hat it off to you for coming up with a vegan, gluten free choux. I am always in awe of folks who can create a substitute for something that usually depends on eggs and gluten. Your little profiteroles are just so dang cute, too.
Audrey says
Thanks so much, Kristen. It wasn't exactly easy {as can see from the eclairs recipe} but totally worth the effort in the end :)
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Absolutely adorable and no doubt absolutely delicious, too, Audrey! Wish I could reach through the screen and grab one to pop in my mouth right now! Bravo, dear. :-)
Shirley
Audrey says
Thanks -- I wish I could send you some, Shirley :)
Ali the Skinny GF Chef says
I can't believe you made these without eggs! Amazing job!
Audrey says
Thanks Ali! I know you've been up to making some delicious-looking cream puffs yourself ;) Indeed, the eggs have been a challenge, but one I luckily conquered in the end :)
Morri says
These look wonderfully light and fluffy! I will have to give them a try. :)
★★★★★
Audrey says
Thanks Morri -- enjoy them! :)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
These are so cute! Pin pin pin! My mom would LOVE them!
Audrey says
Thanks Rebecca! Sounds like you should make her some ;)
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets) says
Totally drooling. I can't believe these are gluten free. Fabulous!
Audrey says
Thanks, Sandy! :)
Betty says
I just found your site being new to gluten I am very happy that you tell your flour mix in the recipes so many just say go flour mix then you are wondering what do I do will be on your site a lot thank you so much
Audrey says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Betty! I'm really glad to hear what people are finding helpful. I hope you find some inspiring goodies to make here -- happy baking! :)
The Vegan 8 says
My goodness these are gorgeous!! Seriously, progressional looking and I want to shove about 5 in my mouth at once! Beautifully done!
Audrey says
Thanks so much, Brandi! It's definitely pretty easy to eat these by the bushel ;)