Easy Gluten Free Recipe Challenge

This easy Gluten Free Recipe Challenge is for everyone who cooks gluten free.

I chose these four recipes because they're super easy, use only a handful of ingredients and cover different cooking methods. Here they are with links to each one.

• Brazilian Cheese Bread baked in the oven like muffins.
• Breakfast Fruit Smoothie Bowls with lots of garnishes.
• Socca, a cross between pancake and flatbread that starts on the stove and finishes in the oven.
• Cake cooked in a mug in the microwave known as Mug Cakes.

Whether the recipe is new to you or not, there are plenty of ways to vary each one. The challenge is simply to make any or all of the recipes and share.

Share your pictures, share what you learned and share what didn’t work. I love seeing photos of your food and hearing how it went and we all love the occasional disaster story (since we all have them).

Why A Recipe Challenge?

To get you out of your comfort zone. To try recipes you’ve never heard of or weren’t sure how to make them gluten free or dairy free.

I came up with the idea for this Recipe Challenge for Celiac Awareness Month 2022, focusing on one new recipe each week. My whole blog is about inspiring people to cook gluten free, try new things and have fun. Lots of people are doing that so you can too.

You don’t even need to be new to gluten free. Everyone needs great recipes they can make perfectly and everyone reading over here knows someone gluten free.

Recipe Challenge Format

I first held this Easy Gluten Free Recipe Challenge on a weekly Facebook Live explaining the tools you needed, tips for making the recipe and variations to try.

In this post I’m sharing the highlights from May 2022. You can find more photos and details in the recipe description of each individual post.

The Rules

Have fun!

Lessons Learned

This is what I've learned about these recipes during the month long challenge.

Brazilian Cheese Bread

• The silicone muffin liners or silicone muffin pans are PERFECT for this recipe.
• If they’re a little over cooked they aren’t as good for leftovers in my lunch.
• I had an amazing Pulled Pork on a Brazilian Cheese Bun with a day old bun reheated in the microwave.
• My version using bottled tomato pesto sauce was a hit! (I still haven’t tried basil pesto.)
• There is a Bolivian version of this recipe called cuñapé that is now on my must make list.
• People asked about a dairy free version so that is on my to try list. If you’re making one please let me know what you use.
• For the pizza lovers out there this is my variation, Pizza Cheese Buns.

Fruit Smoothie Bowls

• The white yogurt (regular or dairy free) dilutes the colour so my idea to make all the colours of the rainbow was not possible.
• Some dairy free versions I made were delicious but didn’t have enough bulk to hold up the toppings.
• Banana and avocado help bulk up the smoothie.
• My Magic Bullet couldn’t puree the smoothie when I tried all frozen ingredients. I like a combination of fresh and frozen fruit for the texture and temperature.
• With no frozen ingredients the toppings sank into the bowl.

Socca

• I swear I watched every single YouTube video on socca. In the end my method of starting in a cast iron pan on the stove and finishing in the oven works best for me.
• Letting the chickpea flour and water sit for 30 minutes or overnight made no obvious difference to me.
• Letting it sit overnight and skimming off the foam is said to decrease the negative effect some people have with gas and bloating. (Great tip for some gluten free eaters.)
• I tried many different topping adding them before it went in the oven or after it came out. They were all delicious.
• It’s best made and enjoyed all at once even though I certainly ate some day old pieces.
• I still have more ways to try socca and one of them is in my paella pan. I just need a crowd to try that.

Mug Cakes

• Every microwave is different and it takes effort to find the perfect setting and the right mug.
• These are a perfect safe, gluten free dessert to take when visiting family (if you take the time to learn how their microwave works). Measure the ingredients in a Mason jar and mix it there.
• It’s hard to garnish these for an amazing photo unless you don’t take it out of the mug.
• One person can only eat so much cake!

Be Fearless and Have Fun

Try new recipes, master the ones you love and repeat.

“Learn how to cook: try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun!"

Julia Child

I hope you'll join me on my culinary adventure trying new gluten free recipes.

I always appreciate your comments and questions so feel free to leave a comment here or under the recipe you made. If you haven’t made or eaten the recipe just think of the rating for the photo or for the ability of the post to inspire you to consider trying something.

Originally posted May 2022, updated June 2022 after the initial month long challenge.