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This gluten free blackberry cobbler has a rich, jammy filling packed with bold, sweet-tart blackberry flavor, and a soft, golden pastry topping.
The berries bake into a thick, glossy syrup, and the topping stays fluffy and tender with lightly crisp edges. It’s a simple recipe that works every time, even when your berries aren't perfect.
Why this recipe works
The filling in this cobbler highlights what makes blackberries special while never ignoring their complexity, and the topping is the perfect complement.
To balance the variable tartness of these berries, we add just enough sugar, salt, and cinnamon, plus some sweet raspberries. We also coat the berries in tapioca starch to create a thick, glossy syrup that doesn't turn cloudy or leave the dish runny.
The topping is a soft gluten free drop biscuit with just a bit of extra moisture so it spreads into “cobblestones.” The cold butter, layered in thin pieces then folded gently into a soft dough, bakes up fluffy and tender, with crisp, buttery edges.
Recipe ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make the pastry topping and filling for this recipe, plus an explanation about the role each ingredient plays in a successful cobbler:
- Gluten free flour blend: The pastry topping calls for a well-balanced all purpose gluten free flour blend, including xanthan gum, that will provide enough structure without drying out the topping. I recommend Better Batter's original blend, Nicole's Best multipurpose with added xanthan gum as directed in the recipe, or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour with an additional scant 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum since that blend has some, but not enough.
- Granulated sugar: The mere 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar in the topping helps lock in moisture and adds a bit of sweetness. The 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar in the berry filling draws out the berries' moisture during baking to create a syrup and rebalances some of their natural tartness.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Baking powder in the pastry helps the topping rise. Baking soda helps the biscuits brown during baking.
- Salt: Enhances other flavors in the topping and filling, and helps reduce the tart flavor of the blackberries.
- Butter: Thin slices of cold butter in the pastry topping are easily spaced throughout the relatively loose gluten free drop biscuit-style topping to help make it soft and pillowy, add buttery flavor and help the edges get brown and crispy.
- Buttermilk: Adds a light tangy flavor to the topping, and enough extra moisture so the mounds of pastry spread a bit in the oven and stay extra fluffy inside.
- Blackberries: Choose berries that are large and plump, with no wrinkles. Shake the container gently to rotate the fruit inside and see if any are wrinkled or have burst, since that moisture will lead to mold. Do not wash any berries until you're ready to eat them, then pat them dry well before using.
- Raspberries: Add some extra sweetness and aromatic flavor to balance the sour blackberries without adding more sugar. You can replace them with more blackberries if you'd prefer.
- Tapioca starch: Thickens the rendered moisture from the berries into a clear liquid that takes on all the rich color of the berries without becoming cloudy. Also called tapioca flour interchangeably.
- Ground cinnamon: Softens some of the tartness of the blackberries and enhances the earthy flavor of the blackberries.
How to make gluten free blackberry cobbler (step by step photos)
This is a visual overview of how to make cobbler in your own kitchen. For full ingredient amounts, please see the recipe card below.
Combine dry filling ingredients
Whisk all the dry ingredients for the filling (1/2 cup granulated sugar, tapioca starch, salt, and ground cinnamon) in a large mixing bowl until well-combined. Once you add the berries, you'll want to mix carefully to keep them intact.
Set some aside
Transfer a few tablespoons of this dry mixture to a small bowl. We'll use that to coat the raspberries separately so we can place them on top of the blackberries.
Combine the blackberries and dry mixture
To the large bowl with most of the dry topping ingredients, add the blackberries and toss them to coat well. Toss carefully so you don't break the berries.
Transfer to the baking dish
Transfer the coated blackberries to a greased 9-inch square stoneware baking dish in an even layer.
Repeat with the raspberries
Toss the raspberries with the reserved dry ingredients in the small bowl, and scatter them evenly on top of the blackberries already in the baking dish. Scatter any remaining dry ingredients from either bowl of berries evenly on top of the berries to absorb liquid as it's released from the berries.
Combine dry topping ingredients
To make the topping, whisk the all purpose gluten free flour with xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Avoid any pockets of leavening which can create a bitter taste.
Add cold butter
Slice very cold butter into thin slices and toss with a mixing spoon to coat them in the dry ingredients. These slices will scatter throughout the topping easily and expand to create a fluffy biscuit topping in the oven. If there are any thicker pieces of butter, press them with floured fingers to flatten them into shards and avoid any pooling, leaking butter.
Add cold buttermilk
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in cold buttermilk. This will make it easier to mix without handling the dough too much.
Finish the topping mixture
Use a silicone spatula to fold the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and butter pieces. You'll have a wet, sticky but cohesive dough.
Scoop on the topping
Use a large spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two large spoons to scoop 7 to 8 mounds of topping, about 3 tablespoons each. Place each of the mounts across the top of the berries in the baking dish.
The mounds should be right next to one another but not overlapping, and toward the center of the baking dish, so they can spread toward the edges during baking.
Bake until done
Bake for 20 minutes at 375°F/190°C to get the topping to rise and start to brown and the berries to start to release their moisture quickly. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/176°C and continue to bake for about another 20 minutes until the topping is baked all the way to the center, the berries are softened, and the tapioca starch has thickened the filling liquid into a syrup.
Expert tips
Expect the topping to spread
The pastry topping has some extra buttermilk beyond what I would use for drop biscuits so they flatten a bit during baking, creating the classic cobblestone appearance of a cobbler. For slightly drier biscuits that hold their shape better in the oven, you can reduce the buttermilk by 1 fluid ounce to 1 cup, or 8 fluid ounces.
Don't replace the blackberries
This filling is designed to let blackberries shine while adjusting for some of their limitations, and I don't recommend any other berries or fruit in their place. If you don't like blackberries, try my gluten free blueberry cobbler recipe or gluten free peach cobbler recipe.
Ingredient substitutions
Diary free
In place of dairy butter, try block-style vegan butter like Miyoko's or Melt brands, or butter-flavored Spectrum shortening. In place of buttermilk, use half nondairy unsweetened milk with a similar consistency to cow's milk (like coconut milk in the carton or soy milk) and half nondairy sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt, both by volume. Vegan butter will melt more quickly, so I'd recommend reducing your buttermilk sub by about 2 tablespoons for a firmer topping that can absorb more liquid.
Raspberries
You can replace all of the raspberries with more blackberries, by weight, if you don't have or don't want to use raspberries.
Tapioca starch
If you don't have tapioca starch, I recommend superfine white rice flour (nothing gritty), or cornstarch. Cornstarch creates a cloudier, not clear, gel and has a greater tendency to weep or release liquid as it cools, but it can withstand high heat (unlike arrowroot or potato starch).
No buttermilk on hand
If you can have dairy but just don't have buttermilk on hand, you can use half sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt, half cow's milk (not fat free), by volume. You can also replace the buttermilk with as much plain lowfat or whole milk kefir without any other changes.
Storage instructions
I don't recommend assembling this dish before baking and serving it. It's best freshly prepared and baked.
Since the pastry topping is more fluffy than it is crispy, you can store completely cooled leftovers in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can transfer it to a small, microwave-safe bowl and warm briefly in the microwave to loosen the filling a bit before serving, but it isn't essential. You can store it for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, but it will dry out a bit.
For longer storage, freeze individual portions in tightly sealed, freezer-safe containers and defrost at room temperature.
Gluten Free Blackberry Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (27 g) tapioca starch, or superfine white rice flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 24 ounces fresh blackberries, about 5 1/2 cups, rinsed and patted dry
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries, about 1 1/4 cups, rinsed and patted dry
For the pastry topping
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, See Recipe Notes
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, thinly sliced and chilled
- 1 ⅛ cups (9 fluid ounces) buttermilk, chilled
Instructions
- Grease a 9-inch square stoneware baking dish, preferably in a light color, lightly with butter or neutral oil. Set it aside.
Prepare the filling
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, tapioca starch, salt and ground cinnamon.
- Transfer about 3 tablespoons of this dry mixture to a small mixing bowl. Add the fresh raspberries to the dry ingredients and toss to coat them in it, then set the bowl aside.
- Add the fresh blackberries to the large mixing bowl with the remaining dry ingredients, and toss them gently to coat all the berries well in the dry mixture.
- Transfer the blackberry mixture to the prepared baking dish, and spread them gently into an even layer. Add any dry mixture that remains on the bottom of the bowl.
- Scatter the raspberries on top in an even layer, scattering any leftover dry ingredients on top. Set the baking dish aside.
Prepare the topping
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
- Add the slices of cold butter, and toss to coat in the dry ingredients. If any slices of butter weren’t thinly sliced, flatten them with floured fingers.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the buttermilk to the center.
- Mix gently with a silicone spatula until you've created a soft, relatively wet biscuit dough.
- If the topping seems like it isn’t very cold or the butter has melted at all, place the topping mixture in the refrigerator to chill briefly.
Add the topping
- Use a large ice cream scoop or two large spoons to top the berry mixture in the baking dish with 6 relatively equal scoops of the pastry topping. Concentrate them mostly toward the center as the biscuits will spread in the oven toward the edges.
Bake
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F for another 20 minutes or until the filling is bubbling, the topping feels firm when pressed gently, and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the biscuits (without entering the filling) comes out clean.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes in the pan before serving warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
