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If there’s one thing that really get me in the mood for Christmas, it’s making Gluten Free Mince Pies. With buttery gluten free pastry and a spicy mincemeat filling, these are the perfect gluten free Christmas baking project. Coeliac-safe and SO delicious!
To me, nothing beats the festive activities of making homemade mince pies. And this gluten free mince pie recipe is my go-to staple at Christmas!
Whether your spending an evening with a glass of mulled wine and a Christmas movie or need a holiday baking activity for kids, these are a classic.
Mince pies are a British Christmas treat and despite the name, don’t actually contain any meat! Instead, mincemeat is made of dried fruit, peel, suet and spices.
I love to make my own homemade mincemeat but most jars of mincemeat in the shops nowadays are gluten free.
This gluten free mince pies recipe uses my gluten free shortcrust pastry, which is SUPER easy to make and only needs a few storecupboard ingredients.
They are filled with mincemeat and topped with a pastry lid or star. If you like, you could also try my Frangipane Mince Pies and Iced Mince Pies recipes next!
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card for these gluten free mince pies below. But for the shopping list you will need a few simple ingredients.
- Gluten Free Plain Flour: I always use FREEE by Doves Farm plain gluten free flour, which is a plain flour blend. Single flours like coconut or almond flour won’t work.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter. Make sure it’s super cold! If making gluten and dairy free mince pies use a hard vegan margarine.
- Xanthan Gum: This is essential for making the gluten free pastry pliable.
- Egg:
- Caster Sugar: To sweeten the pastry. This is optional – use Baker’s Sugar in the US.
- Mincemeat: Most supermarket mincemeat jars in the UK are gluten free, but always double check. Or make your own gluten free mincemeat at home!
- Milk + Sugar: I brush the tops of my mince pies with a little milk and sprinkle them with some granulated sugar or light brown sugar. You can also sprinkle the baked mince pies in icing sugar if you prefer.
How to make gluten free mince pies
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy these gluten free mince pies are to make.
To make the gluten free pastry:
Add the flour, xanthan gum and sugar (if using) to a large mixing bowl and stir together.
Cut the cold butter into cubes and then add to the bowl. Using your fingers, rub the mix together until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Crack the egg into a bowl or mug and add the cold water. Whisk together until just combined. Then add to the mix and use a fork to start to ‘mush’ the mixture together. You’ll see it start to form a sticky dough.
Once it becomes harder to use the fork to mix, use your hands to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough. You should be able to pick this up easily without it being too sticky.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This is a really important stage – you need the dough to chill a bit so it is easier to roll!
To make the mince pies:
When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180’C / Fan 160’C / Gas Mark 4.
Roll half of the chilled dough between floured clingfilm to 4mm thickness and then use a 9cm round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles.
Gently press the circles into the wells of a cupcake baking tin, before filling each one with around 1.5tsp of mincemeat, so they are around three-quarters full.
Next re-roll the pastry and cut out your tops – either stars or lids (with a 6.5cm round cutter).
If using stars, place the stars on top of the mincemeat and then brush the rims and stars with milk.
If making lids, brush the rims of the pies with milk then gently press the lid onto the top of the pie and seal the edges.
Brush the tops of the mince pies all over with a little milk and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. (Alternatively, skip the sugar here and sprinkle the baked mince pies with icing sugar)
Bake the mince pies for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from the baking tin.
Storing and Freezing
These mince pies are best served warm from the oven (bonus points for clotted cream!) but can of course be kept and eaten at room temperature too!
Keep these in an airtight container for up to 5 days – perfect for making ahead to leave out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve!
You can also freeze these mince pies and then defrost to eat at room temperature or warmed up whenever you need a festive treat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy mince pies recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Most supermarket mincemeat in the UK is gluten free. It’s always best to double check for ingredients containing gluten (which will be highlighted in bold) or may contain warnings. But so far I haven’t found a mincemeat which contains gluten.
Yes – but making them is way more fun! You can find gluten free mince pies in Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, M&S and Waitrose in their free from aisles, as well as from many independent gluten free bakeries.
Want to do something funky with your mince pies? Why not make my iced mince pies for a super sweet variety? Or Bakewell fans will LOVE these frangipane mince pies for something different. Any leftover mincemeat can also be used to make my mincemeat flapjack recipe too.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Gluten Free Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 170 g plain gluten free flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 110 g unsalted butter, COLD
- 1 tbsp caster sugar, (optional)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
For the filling:
- 411 g jar mincemeat
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- granulated sugar
Instructions
To make the gluten free pastry:
- Add the flour, xanthan gum and sugar (if using) to a large mixing bowl and stir together.
- Cut the cold butter into cubes and then add to the bowl. Using your fingers, rub the mix together until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Crack the egg into a bowl or mug and add the cold water. Whisk together until just combined. Then add to the mix and use a fork to start to ‘mush’ the mixture together. You’ll see it start to form a sticky dough.
- Once it becomes harder to use the fork to mix, use your hands to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough. You should be able to pick this up easily without it being too sticky.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This is a really important stage – you need the dough to chill a bit so it is easier to roll!
To make the mince pies:
- When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180'C / Fan 160'C / Gas Mark 4. Roll half of the chilled dough between floured clingfilm to 4mm thickness and then use a 9cm round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles.
- Gently press the circles into the wells of a cupcake baking tin, before filling each one with around 1.5tsp of mincemeat, so they are around three-quarters full.
- Next re-roll the pastry and cut out your tops – either stars or lids (with a 6.5cm round cutter). If using stars, place the stars on top of the mincemeat and then brush the rims and stars with milk. If making lids, brush the rims of the pies with milk then gently press the lid onto the top of the pie and seal the edges. Brush all over with a little milk and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
- Bake the mince pies for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from the baking tin.
Video
Notes
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
- Pastry Tips: For more detailed instructions and tips check out my Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry recipe post.
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to show how these gluten free mince pies should look at each stage.
- Storing and Freezing: Check out the post above this recipe card for more information on how to store and freeze these mince pies.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* review and tell all your gluten free friends about these Gluten Free Mince Pies!
Nutrition
More Gluten Free Christmas Recipes
Don’t forget to check out my gluten free Christmas page for all my recipes and UK supermarket guides this festive season!
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Arabic Sweets in Dubai
Hi – can I just confirm the flour you use in your mince pies recipe please. When reading your post re the cider sweet mincemeat recipe you did say you use Free From Fairy’s own blend flour for the pastry which I do have myself at home but when I checked out your pastry recipe you state Dove’s gf flour blend. I am wondering if you have another pastry recipe.
Many thanks
Sandra
Hi, do you have to line or grease the tin?
Excited to try this recipe.
Where do I find Gluten Free fruit mince (Robertson fruit mince which I use is not gluten free)