Gluten-free Dinner Rolls Recipe

These gluten-free dinner rolls are inspired by the ones from Jurassic, my favorite (but sadly, now closed) paleo-friendly restaurant in Portland, Oregon. When they closed, I had to recreate the rolls for my family to enjoy. A blend of almond flour and tapioca flour gives them a great balance of tenderness and chewiness. At the restaurant, the rolls were offered plain or with a whipped herbed goat cheese spread on top. For this recipe, I was inspired by the herby topping, so I incorporated garlic powder and Italian seasoning into the dough. Use fresh garlic and herbs if you’d like. You could also leave them out for a more basic roll. 

Two Gluten-Free Flours for the Best Texture

Almond flour is one of my favorite gluten-free flours since it lends both richness and tenderness to baked goods. Tapioca flour is what makes the rolls chewy—it’s the main ingredient in Brazilian pão de queijo and is often used in gluten-free wraps and dumpling wrappers. When tapioca and almond flours are mixed in a one-to-one ratio, you get the best properties of both.

No Yeast! Just Baking Powder! 

For the leavening in these rolls, I use baking powder rather than yeast. It gives the dough an instant rise, so you can have hot, fresh dinner rolls in less than 30 minutes. The eggs add a good amount of lift and structure, too.

A Tip for Rolling the Dough

As is often the case with gluten-free doughs, this one is quite sticky. In order to shape the dough into balls with ease, you’ll need to lightly oil your hands. I find that I can shape three or four rolls before needing to oil my hands again. 

How I Like To Serve Gluten-free Dinner Rolls

The rolls are good on their own or you can spread them with a generous slather of butter, soft goat cheese, or Boursin. If you make a batch of plain rolls, enjoy them for breakfast or dinner, with honey butter or jam. 

Since these rolls are dairy-free, you can use dairy-free butter or cheese spread too. Boursin makes a dairy-free version that’s quite good.

Gluten-Free Baking Recipes

• How to Make Gluten-Free Biscuits
• Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
• Almond Flour Waffles
• Gluten-Free Banana Bread
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Set it aside.

Combine the dry ingredients: 

In a medium bowl, combine the tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Use a wooden spoon to stir.

Add the wet ingredients: 

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, water, and oil. Mix the wet ingredients together, then stir in the dry ingredients until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.

Shape the rolls:

Lightly oil your hands, then roll about 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Place it on the prepared baking sheet. Shape the remaining dough, oiling your hands as needed so that the dough doesn't stick. You will get 12 rolls total—space them on the baking sheet at least an inch apart.

Bake the rolls: 

Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, until they are puffy, lightly browned, and cooked through. You can take the internal temperature of a roll if you’d like—they should be at least 200ºF in the middle.

Cool and serve: 

Transfer the rolls onto a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm with butter on the side. 

Like most dinner rolls, these are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, while they’re still warm. You can certainly bake and freeze them, if you’d like. To reheat, allow them to thaw on a baking sheet at room temperature for an hour or so, then place them in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes, until warmed through. 

Leftover rolls will keep at room temperature for 2 or 3 days. To bring them back to life, pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds or so, or slice them in half and toast them. 

Did you love this recipe? Give us some stars below!