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If you miss Froot Loops now that you're gluten free, try this recipe for gluten free fruit loops cereal. It's a labor of love, but it's surprisingly fun!
Are froot loops gluten free?
No! Fruit Loops are not gluten free. The third item on the list of ingredients that are in Kellogg's Froot Loops is wheat flour, which is one of the main gluten-containing grains.
Why make your own gluten free fruit loops?
Since Fruit Loops cereal is not gluten free and cannot be eaten if you are on a gluten free diet, the only way to enjoy this delicious fruity cereal is to make it yourself at home.
If anything is clear from this experiment, it's that I need a hobby. Normal people, even people who miss their favorite cereals that aren't gluten free, don't spend all this time making gluten free fruit loops cereal.
I never said I was normal.
Freeze-dried fruit is the star in this one. Lisa has links to reliably gluten-free freeze-dried fruit and other ingredients
Blend it 'till it looks like this.
Add it together with a bunch of stuff. I really can't answer substitution questions, I'm afraid. I made 6 different formulations of the recipe before I came up with this one, and I'm sticking with it. Feel free to experiment, though!
Here's what the dough looks like when it's strawberry.
This is banana. It's more moist.
So I added a couple tablespoons of confectioner's sugar to help dry it out a bit.
Then I used a large plain pastry tip to cut out rounds.
Then pressed them through to release them.
A #2 pastry tip was the right size for the hole in the center. I also used a toothpick sometimes, since these guys are pretty small.
The flavor possibilities are endless. I made blueberry, banana and strawberry. My favorite was the blueberry. The moisture balance in the dough was perfect, and the taste was subtle and sweet.
Gluten Free Fruit Loops Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if using Better Batter)
- 2 tablespoons (16 g) cornstarch, (replace with more Cup4Cup if that is your all purpose gluten free flour blend)
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) cultured buttermilk blend, (or dry milk powder)
- 50 g finely ground freeze-dried fruit, (ground in a blender until a fine powder results)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon lemon peel powder, (optional)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 7 tablespoons (50 g) confectioner’s sugar, (plus more for dusting, if necessary)
- 3 ⅓ tablespoons (40 g) vegetable shortening, melted (I like Spectrum brand)
- ¼ cup cream or milk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, buttermilk blend, ground fruit, salt, baking powder, baking soda, lemon powder, granulated sugar and confectioner’s sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the melted vegetable shortening (no need to let it cool after melting in the microwave) and cream or milk, and mix to combine. The dough should come together.
- Once it begins to come together, knead it with your hands until it forms a smooth but stiff dough. Some flavors will be drier than others. Blueberry is quite dry, but banana is rather wet. If the dough seems like it’s too soft dust with confectioner’s sugar by the tablespoon and knead it in to absorb some moisture.
- Place the dough between two pieces of unbleached parchment paper, and roll until the dough is no less than 1/4 inch thick. With the small end of a large, plain piping tip, cut rounds out of the dough.
- Press the round out of the tip through the top onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, and place the rounds of dough less than an inch apart on the baking sheet (they won’t spread during baking). Gather scraps and reroll as necessary.
- With either a toothpick or a plain #2 piping tip, press a small hole in the center of each round of dough. If using a toothpick, move it in a tight circular motion to widen the hole or it will seal up during baking.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. If any of the centers have closed during baking, gently prod them back open with a toothpick.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 250°F, and place the baking sheet back in the center of the oven to dry out (and become crisp) for about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. The loops will crisp further as they cool.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Naomi, that makes me sad and happy all at once. Can you believe the vivid colors you get, just with fruit? Of course, after making these loop after painstaking loop, my kids asked, “can’t you make your own freeze-dried fruit?” Then again, a few years ago my son asked, “wouldn’t it be cool if you made your own water?”
Can’t wait to hear how your loops turn out. We’re so connected, you and me. :)
xoxo xoxo Nicole
yes, I get the same treatment – mom, you parted the dead sea, now can you turn the moon into cotton candy while playing the macarena backwards in swahili?
…sigh…..
but we’re great moms. And we’ve the documentation to prove it ;-)
Exactly! *sigh*
great idea. i was diagnosed last september and still can´t stop to look food blogs in my spare time.
greetings from europe (austria)
you in america, you have the best gluten free blogs. thank good for my english
love viktoria
Hi, Viktoria,
Welcome! Glad you’re enjoying U.S. blogs. Come back any time. :)
xoxo Nicole
Seriously Nicole,
I feel obligated to again offer my services as a live-in-well-fed-very-happy babysitter. Fruit Loops? They weren’t allowed in my house (As per what Lisa mentioned, I’ll bet my parents ate them when I wasn’t home, but enough of that), but I found them when I got to college. Just like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And then I got diagnosed and all these new friends I had just made were gone in the blink of an eye.
I like that your loops will be distinctly different flavors, rather than what I think the good folks at the big cereal company do and just different colors of sugar rings. I just recently acquired a vacuum sealer for wide mouth jars. I think this weekend, if the BB comes in in time from Amazon, I am going to make these and their cousins the CTC guys and put a serving (half a cup? three quarters?) into a jar and seal it. Then breakfast on the go is a snap – grab a jar, a bottle of your favorite cereal pour over and I’ll bet even the bus driver will be jealous.
Thank you. A thousand million times, thank you. I am happily assimilated. Resistance IS futile.
So, whats next (after the cookbook, of course)? My vote is for tweaking something else we all loved when we were kids but have forgotten. Ooh, or figuring out a way to make mini-pot-pies like Marie Callendar does them, all microwaveable from the freezer and tasty. (I miss you, my gluten-rich friends).
But then, I’m ambitious.
Hi, Jenny!
I was trying to remember if the “real” version had different flavors, or just different colors. I can’t remember!
I love those CTC guys. I hope your Better Batter makes it in time. The CTC will seem like a walk in park compared to these, I’m afraid. Cutting out all the little circles gets old… But the end result is pretty worth it.
There’s a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie in my (first) cookbook, and there will be a recipe for “Quick Chicken Pot Pie” in the next one. I just made the “Quick” version a couple nights ago, and froze one of them. I defrosted it tonight, and it was perfect. Freezes beautifully.
What’s next? You’ll just have to tune in each weekday to see. :)
xoxo Nicole
Same bat time, same bat channel!
I’m here… glued to my monitor. With my Super cape and everything.
Hmm. I guess my big one was trying to figure out how to make single servings I could pop in the microwave at work. I wonder if I made pupusa style with the filling if it would work. So many things to ponder on.
Also, as a not so side note, according to the straight dope, who says that they got this straight from the toucan guys, the loops in the box are all the same flavor.
Good to know, Jenny! So basically we’ve got the Toucan right where we want him… Beat!
xoxo Nicole
My daughter wants to hug you! I am quite impressed, as always. You set the bar very high!!!
Hi, Christin,
That’s so great to hear – that your daughter is excited! My son has never tried any of the gluten-containing versions of these foods (he’s been GF since around 1 year old), but he sees the other kids in school eating them, so he’s really happy to be able to say that he’s had them, too. That’s a big deal. Thank you for telling me. :) Anything else your daughter is missing?
xoxo Nicole
You continue to amaze me, Nicole. You totally rock!
I know you don’t do this, but it would be really interesting to see a nutrition label for these little guys versus the real thing! You know, I am sure, that I don’t have the patience for GF cereal, but I am so impressed that you do! The Cinnamon Toast Crunch guys have some appeal, but only if they come out of the over with the cutie little faces on them!
Hi, Anneke,
I agree that would be interesting. I hope someone decides to do the analysis (not me!). ;)
Seriously, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch guys are so good I could eat those every single day and never get tired of them. These little loops are a close second for me. I foresee your breaking down and making those at some point. Resistance is futile!
xoxo Nicole
I think we are a little like Ethel and Lucy with those piping tip cut-outs. Your Loops look great. I think we can consider this a extra extra tested recipe. Ready for Cap’n Crunch?
Amen, Lisa! Extra-extra tested, indeed. And then some.
I don’t know if I’ve ever even had Cap’n Crunch!
xoxo Nicole
Fun! :)
Awesome! Thanks for posting :) Can’t wait to try. I went to Whole Foods yesterday and I forget to get the Saco :(
Not a fan, but this is ambitious! Great job!