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This Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll is a dreamy, lightly spiced Swiss roll with a vanilla cream cheese filling. It’s the perfect homage to Pumpkin Spice Season, and my favourite autumnal upgrade for a Swiss roll. A pumpkin spice roll everyone will love – and completely gluten free (with an easy dairy free option too).

I do love Pumpkin Spice Latte season. The leaves start to turn brown, the nights get a little chillier and suddenly I’m baking pumpkin spice everything.
This Pumpkin Spice Roll is probably one of my favourite pumpkin bakes. It’s a light and fluffy gluten free sponge, rolled around a cream cheese filling.
The result is a cake that is so delightfully fluffy and moist, with a happy orange colour and the warming spices of cinnamon, ginger and allspice.
And there’s plenty you can make with the leftover canned pumpkin puree, including soft pumpkin cookies, gluten free pumpkin bread and pumpkin banana muffins.
And if you want a gluten free Halloween recipe idea, scroll down as I’ve got the perfect way to add a spooky spiderweb to your gluten free Pumpkin Roll too.
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card for this Pumpkin Roll below. But for the shopping list you will need the following ingredients for the gluten free pumpkin sponge…
- Eggs: I use large UK eggs so in the US you’ll need to use XL eggs.
- Caster Sugar: In the US you’ll find this listed as Baker’s Sugar or Superfine Sugar. You can use granulated sugar but I find you get a better texture with caster sugar.
- Pumpkin Puree: Find canned pumpkin puree in the World Food aisles in UK supermarkets. Ensure you get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling! Or make your own homemade pumpkin puree instead.
- Plain Gluten Free Flour: I use the FREEE by Dove’s Farm flour for this recipe, but any plain gluten free flour blend or gluten free all purpose flour should work.
- Xanthan Gum: I use a bit extra than in my normal cake recipes to ensure this sponge is super flexible and doesn’t crack when rolled.
- Baking Powder: Make sure to pick a gluten free baking powder as some contain wheat.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Allspice
For the cream cheese frosting you will also need:
- Cream Cheese: Make sure you use full-fat cream cheese, otherwise the filling will come out far too runny. I always use Philadelphia as it’s nice and thick!
- Butter: It’s *super* important your butter is at room temperature when making any form of buttercream. Get it out the night before to be sure.
- Icing Sugar: Or confectioner’s sugar in the US. Keep a little extra out for dusting the finished Pumpkin Roll too.
- Vanilla Extract
How to make Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll is to make:
To make the Pumpkin Roll sponge:
Preheat the oven to 180’C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line a 38cm x 25cm Swiss roll tin with parchment paper.
Add the eggs and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric whisk for around 10 minutes until it is light, airy, pale in colour and has more than doubled in volume.
Add the pumpkin puree and whisking in until it is combined. Do not over whisk – just enough so it is mixed through.
Mix the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and spices together in a separate bowl and then sift into the mixture. Beat again briefly with the electric whisk until combined and there are no pockets of flour.
Spread the mixture evenly into the lined Swiss roll pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. It should be a golden colour and the middle should spring back when pressed gently.
Remove from the oven and tightly wrap in foil. Leave for hour to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack – the foil will help to trap the moisture in the sponge.
Make the filling by beating the cream cheese, butter (this must be at room temperature), icing sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric whisk until smooth.
To construct the Pumpkin Roll:
Unwrap the sponge from the foil. Remove the sponge from the tin but keep it on the sheet of baking paper lining the tin.
Smooth the cream cheese filling evenly over the top of the Pumpkin sponge. Starting at the (narrow) end closest to you, tightly roll the sponge away from you and over itself, removing the baking paper as you do – but use the paper to help guide you.
Once the sponge is fully rolled, place it on a board or plate (with the end of the swirl at the bottom so it doesn’t unravel) in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.
How to make a spiderweb Swiss Roll
When I originally published this recipe back in 2017, I also included a fun way to turn this Pumpkin Roll into a spooky Halloween dessert, by adding a spiderweb!
For the spiderweb you will need:
- 40 g plain gluten free flour
- 20 g caster sugar (or baker’s sugar / superfine sugar)
- 1 egg white
- Black food colouring (make sure it’s gluten free)
In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the spiderweb part of the pumpkin cake until combined. Add enough food colouring until the mixture is completely black.
Pour into a piping bag, with a 2mm nozzle, and set aside while you make the Pumpkin Roll sponge mix, as per the recipe card below or instructions above.
Using the spiderweb mixture you had set aside, pipe your spiderweb pattern onto the swiss roll tin. Bake in the oven for 1-2 minutes until set.
Remove the tray from the oven and cool for a minute. Then pour the Pumpkin Roll mixture over the top.
Spread evenly (being careful not to knock the spiderweb) and place back in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes.
Continue with the recipe instructions for the filling and rolling – just be careful when peeling the sponge from the baking paper not to damage the spiderweb!
Storing and Freezing
I tend to keep this Pumpkin Roll in the fridge once cooked. Usually I wouldn’t advise this for gluten free cake but it helps keep the roll intact, and keep the cream cheese fresh.
This gluten free Pumpkin roll will usually last in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also slice it up and freeze the slices between sheets of baking paper.
That way you can defrost a piece of gluten free pumpkin spice roll whenever you fancy a slice – just leave it at room temperature for an hour then eat!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy Pumpkin Roll recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
With a few little tweaks you can easily make this gluten free Pumpkin Roll a dairy free recipe. The gluten free pumpkin cake itself is already dairy free. To make a dairy free cream cheese frosting simple swap the butter for a vegan margarine and use a vegan cream cheese instead.
Why not use it in some of my other gluten free pumpkin recipes? Try my Pumpkin Donuts (which are also vegan!), my Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake or my Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie for starters! You can also freeze any excess pumpkin puree to use in future recipes if you don’t want to use it all at once.
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 Pumpkin Roll
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 3 large eggs
- 175 g caster sugar
- 170 g pumpkin puree
- 125 g plain gluten free flour
- 0.75 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon allspice
For the cream cheese filling
- 250 g cream cheese
- 100 g unsalted butter, (at room temperature)
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the Pumpkin Roll sponge:
- Preheat the oven to 180'C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line a 38cm x 25cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper.
- Add the eggs and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric whisk for around 10 minutes until it is light, airy, pale in colour and has more than doubled in volume.
- Add the pumpkin puree and whisking in until it is combined. Do not over whisk – just enough so it is mixed through.
- Mix the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and spices together in a separate bowl and then sift into the mixture. Beat again briefly with the electric whisk until combined and there are no pockets of flour.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the lined baking tin and bake for 12-15 minutes. You want it to be a golden colour (not too browned) and for the middle to spring back when you press it lightly.
- Remove from the oven and tightly wrap in foil. Leave for hour to cool to room temperature – the foil will help to trap the moisture in the sponge.
To construct the Pumpkin Roll:
- Make the filling by beating the cream cheese, butter (this must be at room temperature), icing sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric whisk until smooth.
- Unwrap the sponge from the foil. Remove the sponge from the tin but keep it on the sheet of baking paper lining the tin.
- Smooth the cream cheese filling evenly over the top of the Pumpkin sponge. Starting at the (narrow) end closest to you, tightly roll the sponge away from you and over itself, removing the baking paper as you do – but use the paper to help guide you.
- Once the sponge is fully rolled, place it on a board or plate (with the end of the swirl at the bottom so it doesn't unravel) in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Want a Spooky Version? Check out the post above showing you how to add a spooky spiderweb to the outside of this Pumpkin Roll. This was included in the original recipe in 2017, in case you’re looking for it and wondering where it has gone! I wanted to still include it as it looks so spooktacular!
- 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!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this Pumpkin Roll recipe should look at each stage.
- Storing: Check out the post above this recipe card for more information on storing and freezing this Pumpkin Roll.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Gluten Free Pumpkin Roll!
Nutrition
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AB-SO-LUT-ELY fabulous! What a brilliant idea for a spooky Halloween bake. I reckon my daughter could do this given her artistic skills and she’s made swiss roll before.
This is awesome!! Love the spider web effect on it…that’s very clever.
Lovely instructions to go with the yummy ingredients. 🙂
The spider web effect on the outside looks amazing, perfect for Halloween, especially with the pumpkin coloured sponge.
I love this! Its soooo cute! So clever! Definitely going to give a Peachick safe version a go!
soon pretty hun. The centre looks so inviting. yum. Jo x