This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.
Last Updated on December 17, 2023
These gluten-free pop tarts are a healthier version of what you grew up with! Made with tapioca flour, they are nut-free and egg-free and loved by kids, these homemade pop tarts can be made in many different flavors. .
Ok, I’ve tried to come up with a doughnut recipe and well, I am NOT having any luck. I think it’s a sign from the universe that I need to take a break from sweets and start sharing some entrees and side dishes instead.
Anyhow, back to my failed doughnut attempt that lead to my sticky rice recipe and this kick-butt amazing Gluten-free Pop Tart recipe.
One of absolute favorite things about living in Portland is the proximity to so many berries. They are also cheap which is even better. I went a little berry crazy at my local farm stand and bought two flats of raspberries to freeze and make into jam. These were a little more tart than my last flat so I did end up adding some maple syrup to the recipe to account for this.
Now if you don’t want to make your own filling, simply replace it with your favorite jam. However, I like to control how much sugar is going into our treats and you can make these a low sugar pop tart if you choose to.
I’m pretty sure that I always had a pop tart in my lunch box as a kid and when my family would make a pop tart gingerbread house for christmas and when this baby came out of the oven and I took my first bite, I knew that this would be a future treat in the Little’s lunch box.
Are these pop tart vegan?
Yes! They are and will work for those also following and AIP diet.
Paleo Raspberry Pop Tarts
Paleo Pop parts that are vegan to boot!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup ghee, or coconut oil to make vegan
- 1/4 cup Dark maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
Raspberry Filling
- 1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tablespoon Dark maple syrup
Instructions
- For the dough: In a medium sauce pan, add the water, ghee, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt and bring to a boil. Remove from the stove top.
- Add in the tapioca flour and mix with a spoon until combined.
- Then add in the mashed banana and coconut flour and mix until you have a dough.
- Set aside.
- For the raspberry filling: In a medium sauce pan add the raspberries, water, vanilla, sea salt and maple syrup and cook on medium heat for 35 - 40 minutes. It should reduce by half.
- Take the dough and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper until the dough is 1/4". Cut into rectangles and spoon 2 tbsps of raspberry filling onto one rectangle and cover with another rectangle. You should have 12 rectangles - roughly 2" - 3". You might have extra dough which works great for thumbprints.
- Bake on a piece of parchment paper in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 252Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 183mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 4gSugar: 17gProtein: 1g
Do you have any reccomendations for replacing banana? I’m really allergic and it seem’s to be a part of alot of paleo baking. I’d love to make these pop tarts and now i’m stumped.
thanks!
You could replace it with mashed sweet potato 🙂
I’d really like to make this, too, but I’m allergic to both bananas and sweet potato! 🙁 Any other suggestions for substituting bananas in this recipe??
You could always try butternut squash or pumpkin 🙂
Thanks!! I’ll give it a try!! 🙂
I’d like to try it too but I’m allergic to banana, sweet potato, buttternut squash and pumkin.
You could try carrots?
The perfect substitute for mashed banana is drained applesauce. Put a colander over a bowl and put a coffee filter inside the colander. Put unsweetened applesauce into the coffee filter and the put a plate over the colander. Leave this sit in your fridge for 1-2 days and you will have a very thick applesauce that will work one-for-one as a mashed banana substitute. I came up with this when baking for someone with a banana allergy. Hope it helps!
How much applesauce per how much bananas. Thanks for the tip. I’ve often replaced oil with applesauce in baking.
Hi Kelly I am just wondering if you had any luck with freezing them and how long they lasted. I saw someone else had that question and just curious of the result. Thanks!
I have never frozen these but honestly, I don’t see why there would be an issue since you don’t have to worry about any eggs.
Is there another way to make this? I’m allergic to banana, sweet potato, buttternut squash, pumpkin and carrots/
Hun, I am not sure. You can try apple butter? You will have to tweak the recipe though.
Oh yum – even without icing (and that says a lot for me LOL!). Can I say I’m glad you admit to having a fail with your donuts? I made something today that completely did not turn out and I was so disappointed in myself and how much I had to throw away, so it’s good to know that others have things that don’t produce the results they were hoping for too.
I did think about doing an icing but got lazy, lol. There are some recipes I have been working on for weeks that just never have come together but I have hope that someday it might finally come out as I planned. I just got very lucky with these two recipes 🙂
OH YUM! And they look super easy, too!
I do not eat pop tarts but these I would totally eat.
I need to make these for my husband! He insists on eating something like this each morning. Knowing the nasty ingredients in the pop tart brand ones, I’ve insisted that we at least buy the organic ones from Nature’s Path, but they’re still just a lesser evil. These sound like another step in the right direction. Would these work to put a batch in the freezer and pop them in the toaster in the morning?
Mary, I’ll be honest. They don’t last long enough to freeze in our house! Every batch I made disappears the same day. I’ll cook up some this weekend and share the results or, if you beat me to it, would you let me know?
Could you use arrowroot flour in place of the tapioca flour?
Hi Angela, I have hear that people have used arrowroot for a replacement for Tapioca flour however, I have never used it. I can’t guarantee it will come out the same because of this.
Ok, thanks! How about I try it and report back!? 😀 Any suggestions for ‘icing’?
Just leave a comment 🙂 Do you have palm shortening? It’s amazing for icing. I would take 1/4 cup of palm shortening, 1 tbsp of maple syrup and some of the jam (maybe 1 tbsp) and make it into a frosting.
Please let me know how it works with arrowroot flour. I need to substitute for the tapioca, as well. This would make my deprived 12-year-old son’s day if it works…..
Tapioca and arrowroot are pretty much the same thing! Our local shops actually sell tapioca flour as Arrowroot flour with tapioca flour in brackets underneath it XD
I’m making these right now… waiting for the jam to finish
Thanks Sam! I hope you enjoyed them hun!
So why exactly is the printable recipe called Fried Apple Pie?!?
Also, you don’t say how big the rectangles you cut should be. It ‘serves 6’ so should it be cut into 12 rectangles??
Thanks for catching that Shannon. I originally hoped to fry the dough but that didn’t work so I baked it with much better results. I forgot to change the dang title though in my recipe form, lol. Yes, 12 rectangles. You might have some extra dough which I just made into thumbprint cookies.
What could I substitute for the ghee? I don’t have that on hand. Would like to make gluten and dairy free if possible, if not, at least it will be gluten free. I use coconut oil alot, but will that get too greasy?
Coconut oil or olive oil would work fine 🙂
And to think I’ve been buying them year after year. I’m a cinnamon Poptart fan, but I think I’m going to convert to raspberry now. These look fantastic!
Oh, now I have to make a cinnamon one 🙂 Thanks Liz.
I would feel better about my kids eating poptarts if I made them. These look great!
are you for real?? paleo poptarts??? that is crazy!! I used to eat strawberry poptarts all the time and they were so good. i hope these measure up to the “real” ones haha i wanna make them just to see how much they taste like the original.
Lol, they are really good. I hope you try them 🙂
well, I just made these and they are fabulous! I used what I had in the house. I substituted arrowroot flour, pastured butter for the ghee, and I had a berry mix of blackberries, rasberries, and blueberries, and oh my goodness! Absolutely fabulous! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I didn’t get as many as it says though,and I rolled out the dough thinner to get more, too but it didn’t help.
I’m so glad they worked for you Lisa 🙂 Also thanks for sharing that arrowroot works as a flour replacement. Hmm. . . How many Did you get?
Hi Kelly! These look SO delicious. Do you think they would work with all coconut flour or do they need the starch balance? I can’t have the starchy flours and am terrible at the chemistry of baking…thanks for any help! Mouthwatering photos you have here 🙂
Hi Ana, you need a starch for these to work. You can use tapioca flour or arrowroot flour.
I love this! This almost convinces me to go Paleo!
I going to have to make these for my daughter with FPIES. I’ll have to substitute the ghee for coconut oil for dairy free but she would LOVE these. Thank you for sharing a great recipe!
I’d love to try these – they look and sound really good!
These sound so good! I may have to try them sometime.
These look pretty good!
I am thinking that these would be perfect lunchbox treats for the kids school lunches!
Just made these, using half molasses and half Swerve Sweetener for the crust instead of maple syrup (along with palm shortening instead of ghee), and using just the Swerve for the berry filling and they turned out great! I must’ve made them too big because I only got 4 and one small cookie out of the dough. I’m thinking of maybe doing an apple cinnamon one next time. or maybe almond butter and chocolate, to go with the banana in the crust.
I’m so glad that it worked for you Janelle 🙂 Next time you could always double the recipe. Love your idea of the almond butter and chocolate 🙂
My girls are going to love these! Great treat for Halloween breakfast!
Wow! Let me say that you are a genius! I have made this recipe several times. Right now I have cut out cokies (we just cut and peel away after they are baked) and pop tarts in the oven. I used coconut oil. The last few times we have used 1/2 cup of pumpkin in place of the banana. I probably don’t have the 1/2 amount correct and the dough is much more moist, but it bakes up fantastically! I had to cut a small piece of parchment paper and place on top on the first squeafe and gently peel away because with the changei made th dough cannot be handled by hand. I added 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice this time and used jelly for the filling. My son has many allergies, wheat, dairy and eggs and I very much wanted a cookie or some type of finger food treat he could have. He loves them and they are very easy to chew and good for him! He is 1 and I dread when he is older and notices he can’t eat what everyone else is. I am tying to convert the whole family, but it’s hard! Thanks soooo much!
You are so very welcome Jennifer! I love your changes and I worry about the same thing with my son when he’s older.
My oldest is 9 and both my kids have loads of food allergies and even though sometimes they feel a little left out they often feel very lucky too!
School keep their desserts in the freezer for Birthdays and occasions that pop and they don’t get stuck eating food that’s full of chemicals and coloring…I just tell them what’s actually in the food other kids eat and they sometimes look words up online to find out what the non food items are that their growing little bodies don’t need to worry about it!
I’ve even got high fives when they got home from parties because they didn’t have to eat the blue cupcakes!
Make it as they’re the lucky ones and they usually will feel it to be true!
Thanks so much for sharing that Shawna and you are so right about putting it all in a positive perspective!
I love the positive perspective! We have been doing similar with our children, aged 4 and 5. It’s such a good idea to make them feel the lucky ones, they often refer to SAD food as yuk food. Our school (in the UK) have had a hard time coming to terms with our way of eating and we are always correcting facts that they have been taught about food at school, I just never thought it would be so often! oh and it’s a nut-free school.
These looks fabulous! I cannot wait to try them.
Thank you Kelly!
I hope you enjoy them Lili and thanks so much for the comment hun!
Thank you so much for creating this recipe. My daughter (9) was diagnosed with multiple allergies 2 years ago (gluten, soy, egg, dairy, and quinoa to name a few). We enjoy the Paleo cooking but enjoy it even more when we find great recipes like these. We did substitute the ghee for coconut oil, which my daughter hates, but she loves these pop tarts. I also made the thumb print cookies too, which vanished first. My kids are already thinking of different flavors, like enjoy life chocolate chips. Thank you for bringing the kid and excitement of eating back for them. Planning to change the banana to squash next time as we shouldn’t eat them either. Look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thanks Linda! I’m so glad that this recipe has helped your family 🙂
These look great! Any ideas how to put eggs back in? We aren’t allergic and I like to add a little protein if/when possible. I realize you probably haven’t tested it so I’m happy to take your suggestion and report back. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Mah-rya, I would skip the banana and add one egg. The texture is like a dough so if it’s too stiff perhaps add a second. I have not tried this so I’m not sure how it will turn out for you.
I finally tried making these this morning. I subbed one egg for the banana. The dough was super hard to work with (a cross between cake batter and cookie dough and too wet for pie crust), but the flavor was good and the kids (8, 6, 4) gobbled them up. “Tasty!” “Delicious!” “I like these 105%!” I will definitely make them again, but I’ll try the recipe as is (if I have bananas), or one of the other puree suggestions. Thanks for a fun breakfast treat!
Hello – I am about to start a cleanse so I have never really done any paleo/allergy free/GF cooking before. My cleanse is dairy free (in addition to everything else) so could you tell me how much coconut oil to use to replace the Ghee? Additionally, I need to sub out the banana – how much sweet potato or pumpkin should I use in its place?
Thank you! These look great, even to a reluctant allergy free person 🙂
Hi Jane. I would use the same amount of coconut oil as a replacement for the ghee. I have not made this with sweet potato but I was start at 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potato because it’s a rough equivalent for the banana 🙂 Happy eating!
Any substitution ideas for the coconut flour? I live in Egypt and can’t get it, but I do have arrowroot 🙂 Like ground almonds/ground unsweetened coconut flakes/more arrowroot…?
I would use ground almonds. The tapioca flour will keep the recipe together so you can switch to nut-flour with very little issues. I hope you enjoy it!
Can you substitute the tapioca flour with anything? I am currently following the scd diet… Graduating to paleo soon hopefully 🙂 also can honey be used instead of maple syrup?
You can use honey instead of maple syrup but the tapioca flour can not be subbed without completely changing the recipe.
Thank you!
I attempted this recipe but the dough was to soft to work with even after refrigerating. Any advice? Thanks.
I would add more tapioca flour. Start with 1/4 cup and then increased by 1 tbsp until you have a dough. Good luck!
Made these with arrowroot powder instead tapioca starch and it worked out beautifully! Thanks so much,
I’m so glad they work out Courtney!
Do you think you could just use all coconut flour?
No, it would be completely different since coconut flour need a lot more moisture.
I just made an apple and cinnamon version of these and the whole family LOVED them! I think next time I will double the dough recipe as I only got 8 Poptarts and could only fit 2 heaped tsp of filling in each. I think if I had of tried to roll the dough any thinner it would hav been impossible to work with. My dough was about 3 to 4mm thick. I think the trick to these is making sure u have plenty of Arrowroot/Tapioca flour for dusting when rolling out.
I used Arrowroot instead of Tapioca flour and swapped the Maple syrup for honey. I used slightly less honey as I didn’t want the dough too sweet (If I Were to use the raspberry filling I would have left all the sweetener in)
These are just so amazing and I will definitely be making them again. My partner suggested apple and rhubarb next time. I will also try the raspberry and other flavours like spiced pumpkin, apple and blueberry, strawberry and chia jam, mango and Coconut butter.
Do u think an avocado and cacao filling would work? Or would the avo go yuk when heated?
Yeah Jess! I do think the avocado would melt when cooking
Hi,
I am not a follower of the paleo diet, however I would like to make these. What are substitutions I could use for the flours and ghee? Also, I’m assuming for the maple syrup you are using the real stuff not pancake? (i love the real stuff but it’s so expensive! Lasty, my husband hates bananas, do you know if you can taste them in the dough?
Thank you!!!
Hi Belinda, there is no easy way to substitute the flours in this recipe. You might be better off just trying one that has actual flour in it. I know that Smitten Kitchen has a recipe.
I’m on a sugar detox, but these are going to be one of the first treats I make!
Would this work with a meat filling? i could see this as something that could be packed for a hike, if that works.
Dena I don’t see why there would any issues with a meat filling, that sounds good!
You can use a plaintain instead of the banana, almond flour instead of tapioca flour. Hope this helps!
Hey, I’m a 17 year old teenager with a chronic gastric intestinal condition I’m trying to fix, with a ton of sensitivities to nearly every type of food on the planet it seems like. It’s been really hard tying to find good treats to eat, or just good food I can have in general. Thank you for this recipe; I wish I found this sooner! I’m using a variation of berries in this recipe. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The jam is cooking right now and it smells absolutely heavenly! I also tasted the dough and OH MY GOODNESS THAT IS SO GOOD! Now that school has started for me, its nice to know I’m not left out when other students bring treats. Even after my chronic stoumach troubles will be over, I will still be making these for all eternity. I thank you for this recipe once again, and I will definitely be looking at all your other ones and enjoying them as well!
Aw, Joelle, you are so welcome hun and it’s a blessing to create recipes that bring comfort food back into people’s lives. I wish you nothing but joy on your journey.
The best sounding recipe I have found so far. Definitely trying these!
I am just making these, had a problem with the dough. Although it tastes great, it was too soft and I couldn’t cut rectangles from it. I doubled the recipe but followed the recipe exactly (only double quantities), and then added a bit more extra coconut flour. Maybe I should have added more… What is the consistency that the dough should have?
I ended up forming round circles between my hands but it took very long to get them all done. They are now in the oven so we’ll see… The smell is gorgeous!
Minna
I hope it came out ok Minna. I would have added a touch more tapioca flour.
Tried these today! waiting to see how they turn out. I used almond flour instead of tapioca and it turned out a little dry and crumbly. 😕 any ideas to make that better??? Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Alysa, Almond flour and tapioca flour are very different flours so it wouldn’t work well in this recipe without completely changing it. it might be better to use a almond flour crust recipe to make pop tarts instead.
if you were switching coconut flour for almond would you use the same amount given in your recipe?
Phillippa, you would have to add much more and it would completely change the recipe hun.
These were great! I can’t wait to look at the rest of your recipes! I was able to sub the ghee for coconut oil and they were perfect! I might try the plantain or strained applesauce next time as I think I have a slight tolerance for banana. Thanks again and keep the recipes coming!
Yeah! I’m so happy it worked for you hun!
Thank you for the recipe!! We loved it!
I’m so glad it worked out well hun!
Could you please share the nutritional facts of this recipe?
Looks super yummy, I hope it’s low enough in sugar for me to be able to try it!
I don’t provide nutritional info hun. You can use sites like livestrong or myfitnesspal to find out the information.
I tried to make this tonight, and I followed the dough recipe to the T and it came out very wet and I was unable to make the tarts from them. I couldnt roll them, it kept sticking. I tried adding more tapioca flour but it wouldn’t get more dough to be able to manipulate. Any help?
I would continue to add tapioca flour until you get a dough hun.
Hi Kelly;
Instead of coconut flour, what about cassava flour and arrowroot or tapioca? Or just use all cassava?
I would try more tapioca. Cassava is really different and reminds me of a traditional wheat flour.
This looks so yummy! I would like to substitute the ghee, is that possible?
yes, you can use coconut oil hun.
Oh my gosh! These poptarts are amazing! I used some strawberry jam that I had on hand, but I made the pastry recipe exactly to the recipe. I love the flavor and the texture…. and I love the way the warm dough felt in my hands, too! Thank you for such a yummy breakfast this morning. 🙂
These were amazing!!!! Sooo good!!! I had to use an unsweetened carrot, peach applesauce combo for the banana because I had no banana. The dough was soft. I smushed it into mini pie tins and made them into mini raspberry pies. Yummm!!!!! Next time, I will try to make them into Pop Tarts. The wonderful raspberry taste will have me NEVER eating a Pop Tart again!!! 🙂
Yeah! I love how your made this work with the carrot and applesauce Carla 🙂
I just made these exactly as the recipe states. The dough weas way to sticky to roll out. Was my banana too large or what? If I were to add tapioca flour to dough consistency I think I would have to have used at least a cup…maybe more. I am confused beause they looked so good. ….if you used this recipe as written I am really bummed as I had a gooey mess!
Sorry you ran into issues Stevie. Tapioca flour is pretty tricky and I’ve found that different brands can cause inconsistant results. I would just add more flour until you have a dough.
I love your recipes and I have to agree that living in Oregon has its perks as far as fresh berries and fruit goes we have recently switched to the Paleolithic diet for our health benefits and because we actually like it I look forward to seeing more of your recipes
Thank you Terrell! I wish you joy on your journey hun.
Can I make these into pizza bites by omitting the maple syrup? Would I have to replace the banana with something? (Would sourcream work)?
Thank you- I am definitely going to make these for my paleo friend (and of course for myself_. May even put a strip of bacon on top 🙂
Sarah, everything is better with bacon 🙂
These are so good!!! My 6 year old daughter and I made these yesterday and we love them. Thank you for your awesome recipes!
So glad you both enjoyed it Maggie!
There are so many comments on this so I have no idea if this was already asked but what is the best method to reheat these? Would you recommend toaster, microwave, or even the oven? I always loved my poptarts warm
I would use a toaster oven Paige.
Oh my goooooosh! these are absolutely divine! Thank you so much for this recipe. I ended up subbing coconut oil for ghee and molasses for maple syrup and they turned out so well. I also did a raspberry & pomegranate filling. Ate half the batch, right after baking…oops haha I know I’ll end up using this dough in a lot of my makeshift recipes! Thanks, love!
Yeah! I’m so glad you enjoyed them Lauren <3
Wow, love these! Is it possible to make them using only tapioca flour? If yes, what amount of tapioca flour should I use?
I’ve never made them without tapioca flour hun.
Fantastic Recipe I made over the 4th of July holiday!! Turned out great!! Shared & enjoyed by close family too!! Put into toaster for the pop tart affect too!! Thanks very much for a nice treat!!
So glad you enjoyed it Sherryl!
We are in the middle of making these. After adding the tapioca flour to the hot mixture, I ended up with a rubber-cement like mixture and cannot mix the banana and coconut flour in. I have a big mess and wasted ingredients. Help!
Oh no. I would slowing add in more flour to see if I could get a dough.
If I just want to make thumbprints do you just roll a ball and then make the indent? Bake for just as long or shorter?
You can roll a ball. Make sure to adjust cook times the pastry will be thicker.
According to the recipe description the pastries are vegan, yet the recipe calls for Ghee. Ghee is an animal product.
You can sub coconut oil and I made the change in the recipe sharing this.
Altogether, there should be 12 finished bars or 12 separate rectangles prior?
I ask because I wanna know whether to double the quantity or not if it ends up being very little.
There should be 12 triangles so 6 finished tarts
Thanks for the reply!
If I would like to sub applesauce for mashed bananas, how many apples do i need to make how many cups worth?
These are so delicious! There were none left to freeze. I enjoyed the hint of banana flavor in the dough. I doubled the recipe and added an egg. I used strawberry jam & I’m excited to try blueberry next. Thank you so much for this low carb gluten free pop tart❤️
So glad that you enjoy it!
So glad to find this fun recipe! There are so many things I can think of to fill these with, one being no’mato sauce, nutritional yeast, and sausage for AIP compliant “pizza pockets”. Another would be to fill it with meat for bierocks. Thank you so much!
I was not able to get the dough to be a thick enough consistency to roll our even after adding extra tapioca and coconut flours. It was like a thick paste. Does it thicken up if you leave it to cool?
I would let it rest a minute. Sometimes it take a minute for coconut flour to thicken up.