The Best Gluten Free Pop Tarts with Raspberry Chia Jam

Raspberry Gluten Free Pop Tarts are here to blow your mind. They are flaky, sweet, and oozing with raspberry chia jam. They are a vegan and gluten free pastry that I can totally get behind. This recipe is a little different from the original. Maybe a little healthier and maybe a little more labour will have to go into it (you can’t buy these ones at the store). But man oh man they are so worth it. This is one of my favourite recipes to date.

Why You’ll Love These Raspberry Pop Tarts

1. The fact that these raspberry pop tarts are gluten free and vegan is just so wonderful. Growing up, I used to live off pop tarts. I can’t get behind store-bought pop tarts anymore, but I can definitely get behind these raspberry pop tarts. I don’t think I would go as far as calling this vegan pop tart recipe healthy, but they are definitely healthier than the classic pop tarts. This recipe uses all-normal ingredients. They are a treat and a treat that is well worth the time to make them. I absolutely love that they are a walk down memory lane.
2. These homemade pop tarts are a gluten free pastry that doesn’t have a gross texture. These raspberry pop tarts are filled with an easy homemade chia jam, and the pastry is flaky and full of flavour. They are beautifully sweetened with a light glaze on top.
3. Another thing I love about these raspberry pop tarts is the natural food colouring used to make the glaze. Guys, I used hibiscus tea to dye the icing into a pinky colour. So simple and so fun to play around with the shade of colour you want. All you have to do is steep 3 hibiscus tea bags in a little hot water and then add 1 – 2 tablespoons to your vegan icing sugar. You can play around with thickness too. I liked a thin glaze but if you prefer a thicker icing you can go nuts! I highly suggest using hibiscus tea for food colouring.

How To Make Gluten Free Pop Tarts

To start making these homemade pop tarts start with preparing the chia jam and the hibiscus tea. Then start to work with the gluten free pastry.

1. Add all of the flours to a bowl, and add the sugar and salt. Add the room-temperature vegan butter to the flour. Use a pastry blender tool (cutter) to combine the butter with the flour. Once a crumbly texture has formed, use your hands to further knead the batter. Add 2-4 tbsp of the ice water, and thoroughly combine. The gluten free dough should easily form a smooth ball. The dough batter should make roughly 500g. Divide the dough in half (250g) each or just eyeball it, as this doesn’t need to be EXACT.
2. FYI here is a fun rolling hack. Get two pieces of parchment paper, Place one of the dough balls on one piece. Dust the dough with a little sweet rice flour, and then lay the other piece of parchment paper on top. Now use your rolling pin on top of the second piece of parchment paper to roll out the dough, this way nothing sticks to the rolling pin (use the same method when rolling out the second dough ball). Roll each ball of dough into 7.5 inches by 8 inches. About 1/3 inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces. 
3. Using a fork, poke holes into the gluten free pastries. Transfer 5 pieces onto a lined baking sheet. Add 1 tbsp of the chia jam in the middle of the bottom pastry. Then place the other 5 pastry pieces on top of the jam. Pinch the corners together with your fingers and then with a fork press down on the edges. Set in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF. After 15 minutes, brush a little almond milk over the top surface of each pop tart. Transfer to the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toasted on top.

A Gluten Free Pastry Recipe That Actually Works

Is gluten free pastry a little fincky? Yes. But DON’T be intimidated. If you follow the steps in the directions you will be ok! Promise. This vegan pop tart recipe is SO WORTH IT.

The gluten free pastry in this pop tart recipe bakes to perfection. The end result is crispy, yet flaky and soft on the inside. It’s actually quite easy to roll out and it is quite forgiving, which is rare for gluten free baking. The filling on the inside is made of three simple ingredients and complements that flaky pastry perfectly. And that hibiscus glaze on top is pure perfection. It’s basically the last part of the recipe that completes these vegan pop tarts.

Are Pop Tarts Gluten Free?

The traditional pop tarts you buy at the store are mostly not vegan or gluten free. The unfrosted ones are actually vegan (apparently) as they don’t contain milk products or gelatin. They are for sure not gluten free though. But this pop tart recipe has got you covered. These raspberry pop tarts are gluten free AND vegan so you can dive right in with no concerns. This vegan pop tart recipe checks all those boxes for gluten and dairy allergies.

Make these gluten free pop tarts any shape by using cookie cutters, like the heart-shaped ones I used for Valentine’s Day. I suggest keeping the thickness of the pastry the same no matter what. If your cookie cutter is on the smaller size you may have to adjust the baking time. So I would suggest starting at 15 minutes and then taking a peek and make sure the tops aren’t browning too quickly.

Icing Sugar Isn’t Vegan

Honestly, I was pretty horrified to find out that some sugar isn’t vegan. Geez. How is sugar not vegan? Apparently, in the processing of sugar, a lot of companies use bone char as a decolorizing filter. Bone char is cattle bones. Gross. Although I am not highly educated on this topic I do know that there are some companies that do sell completely vegan sugars. I was happy to see that my go-to brand Wholesome has all vegan sugars. Their powdered sugar is vegan so you can have your gluten free pop tarts frosted without worrying about what the heck bone char is.

For More Gluten Free Baking:

• Vegan Breakfast Cookies
• The Best Ever Gluten Free Cinnamon Buns
• Creamy Lemon Squares

These raspberry pop tarts may be a little labour of love, but the end result is absolutely mouthwatering. You’ll wish you could buy these pop tarts in a store. I’m hoping Kellogg’s reaches out with a deal for me. Fingers crossed.

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Gluten Free Pop Tarts

These gluten free pop tarts are flaky, sweet and a walk down memory lane. They are topped with a fun pink, silky smooth vegan icing.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 5 pop tarts

Ingredients

Raspberry Chia Jam

• 1 cup Frozen Raspberries
• 3-4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Pastry

• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar
• 2/3 cup vegan butter (I used/tested with Miyoko’s Kitchen)
• 2-4 tbsp ice water
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• extra rice flour for dusting the pastry
• 2 tbsp almond milk (add on top of pop tarts before they go in the oven)

Hibiscus Vegan Icing

• 1 1/2 tbsp hibiscus tea (Optional for colour/ Steeped 2 bags of hibiscus tea in 1/2 cup of water)
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

To Begin

• Add ice to a glass of water and place it in the fridge for later on.
• Boil water for the hibiscus tea (if using). Add 1/2 cup of boiled water to a cup and then add 3 hibiscus tea bags to it. Let it cool, then place in the fridge until the icing needs to be prepared.

Chia Jam

• Prepare the chia jam. Add the frozen raspberries to a small pot on medium-low heat. Add the maple syrup and let simmer until the raspberries are soft. Add to a food processor and blend until smooth. Stream in the chia seeds while the food processor is running. Pour into a jar and set in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Pastry

• Make your own oat flour by adding 3/4 cup of gluten-free oats to a food processor and process until a flour consistency has formed. Add all the flours to a bowl, and add the sugar and salt. Add the room-temperature vegan butter to the flour. Use a pastry blender tool to combine the butter with the flour. Once a crumbly texture has formed, use your hands to further knead the batter. Add 2-4 tbsp of the ice water, and thoroughly combine. Start with 2 tbsp and test the consistency of the dough you don't want it to be crumbly you don't want it to be overly wet. The dough should easily form a smooth ball. The dough batter should make roughly 500g. Divide the dough in half (250g) each or just eyeball it, as this isn't overly important.
• ROLLING HACK: Get two pieces of parchment paper, Place one of the dough balls on one piece. Dust the dough with a little sweet rice flour, and then lay the other piece of parchment paper on top. Now use your rolling pin on top of the second piece of parchment paper to roll out the dough, this way nothing sticks to the rolling pin (use the same method when rolling out the second dough ball). Roll each ball of dough into 7.5 inches by 8 inches. About 1/3 inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces. From each ball of dough, there will be excess dough to roll into one more pop tart. So each ball of dough will form 5 pieces of pastry. You will have 10 total. Option to use a cookie cutter (like a heart-shaped one for Valentine's Day).
• Using a fork, poke holes into the pastries. Transfer 5 pieces onto a lined baking sheet. Add 1 tbsp of the chia jam in the middle of the bottom pastry. Then place the other 5 pastry pieces on top of the jam. Pinch the corners together with your fingers and then with a fork press down on the edges. Set in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF. After 15 minutes, brush almond milk over the top surface of each pop tart. Transfer to the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toasted on top.
• Prepare the icing. Add 1/2-3/4 cup of icing sugar to 1 1/2 tbsp of the cooled hibiscus tea. Add 1 tsp of vanilla and mix until smooth. Set aside.
• Let the pop tarts cool completely before adding the icing on top.
• Add the icing. I added the icing and then placed the pop tarts in the freezer for 10 minutes to let the icing set (totally optional).
• Best enjoyed fresh. Last 2-3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Notes

Note: If using a soften butter like vegan Becel or Earth Balance you may need to add 1/4 cup more rice flour as this type of butter isn’t as hard as Miyoko’s. A softer, stickier dough will form and you will most likely only need 2 tbsp of ice water. So I suggest keeping an eye on the dough and you maybe have to play with adding a little more flour (2 tbsp more at a time). 

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