These gluten free Chinese food recipes (I know that if you’re not from the U.S., maybe some of this food seems crazy, but this is pretty standard American Chinese restaurant fare) bring it all back—better than ever!
What Chinese dishes are gluten free?
Many recipes for Chinese food, at least those made in the American take-out style, seem like they should be safe to eat on a gluten free diet. But most of the breading on the chicken recipes and the dough used to wrap your favorite dishes are wheat-based.
We’re lucky enough to have a Chinese restaurant about 20 minutes from where we live that offers reliably gluten free dishes. But the options that are on the gluten free menu are more limited, and everything is super expensive.
This restaurant, like most Chinese restaurants that offer gluten free food, is able to offer us rice-based options, sauces being made with cornstarch, and dishes with rice noodles. But anything breaded and fried is off-limits.
And, of course, there’s no gluten free won ton soup. And no gluten free egg rolls offered. But that’s okay!
We can make everything ourselves at home. Here’s how.
We begin with an easy, no-fail recipe for gluten free won ton wrappers. We make them with just a few gluten free flours, a couple eggs, and water.
The wrappers actually freeze quite well, so you can make them ahead of time. They’re simple, but still a labor of love. Make them into won ton soup, pictured above.
I like to shape, fill, and then freeze won tons. Boil the won tons right from the freezer, and voilà. Instant dinner.
Try some gluten free scallion pancakes , to go with your won ton soup. Crispy and chewy, all at the same time, these scallion pancakes have layers and layers of flavor, just like you remember.
If you’re ever looking for a quick, healthy and easy dinner, try this baked version of gluten free sesame chicken. I like to serve the sauce on the side, since some members of my loving, kind family like lots of sauce. Others, just some for dipping.
Bright, lemony and delicious gluten free lemon chicken is made without a super crusty bread, and mostly just dipping and then lightly fried. A classic.
If you’ve ever wished that Panda Express would make their orange chicken gluten free, this super easy Chinese-style gluten free orange chicken recipe is for you.
Light and crispy gluten free egg rolls are one of the things that I missed the most when we first started eating gluten free. Roll the wrappers as thin as you can, but without rolling them so thin that they crack when you fold them.
These fried wontons are made with very little oil in the Air Fryer, but are still super crispy and crunchy. They’ll be the first thing to go at a party! If you don’t have an Air Fryer, you can always fry them the traditional way.
Finally, steamed gluten free Chinese meat buns, made with the same incredibly light and fluffy dough used to make bao buns, are filled with a simple savory meat mixture. Now this you won’t find anywhere else!
Lynne says
Will definitely be trying the sesame chicken, egg rolls, and wontons soon. My little guy will love me :). On a side note… any chance you have a recipe for orange chicken in the working?? I’ve tried 2 recipes that were GF off the internet. My little boy was so happy to have SOMETHING that he devoured them. Hubs and I were both saying YUCK!! though. Was definitely not what you would find at a restaurant. Thanks for all the recipes. So far everything I have tried has been a hit for all!
Mare Masterson says
Oven heating element replaced successfully. Check out the rise I got in the off oven with bowl of hot water on the shelf. Thank you so much for your suggestion!
Jennifer S. says
Love, love, love the sesame chicken and so does my whole family. I’ve made the original wonton wrappers with great success! can’t wait to try the rest of these – I miss Chinese so much. And OH! the fried recipe in book 2 (I believe) is sooooo wonderful too. Thanks Nicole!
Anneke says
Thanks for putting these all in one place! I see a couple showing up on my dinner plan for next week, for sure! (Notice I said “plan” Jennifer S., I am trying to be just like you!)
Jennifer S. says
Holy cow Anneke!! Great job! :)
Nicole Hunn says
Plan, huh, Anneke? Let me know how that goes. I could stand to plan a bit more. Except I know I won’t. And then I’ll scramble most days, as per usual. ;)
Anneke says
Two more days left in the plan, this is the second week I have done it. Going pretty well so far, we’ll see what next week brings. Plan runs Mon-Sun, since I generally grocery shop on Mondays. It is really helping me with knowing when to get my bread rising! Need to mix up baguettes tonight for Linnea’s birthday dinner on Sunday.
I read the “scramble” in your post as “scramble eggs,” which if you did that most days would be a lot of scrambled eggs!