Gluten-Free Desserts from Around the World
A world of desserts that are naturally gluten-free: 96 authentic dishes, each from a real region with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in. Toggle gluten-free on any other recipe and it rewrites itself to match.
96 recipes · showing 1 to 48
Latchiri e KossamConakry, Guinea · medium · 1 h 15 minHand-rolled maize couscous steamed fine and served with cool, tangy curdled milk, the Fula celebration dish of Guinea.
Latchiri e Kossam ThiakryDakar, Senegal · easy · 2 h 40 minSweetened steamed millet couscous folded through vanilla yogurt and cream with raisins, a cool West African pudding.
Thiakry Nkate CakeGreater Accra, Ghana · easy · 25 minA crunchy peanut brittle bound in dark caramel, a popular Ghanaian street sweet sold in cut slabs.
Nkate Cake KashataZanzibar, Tanzania · easy · 30 minChewy-crisp coconut candy scented with cardamom, a sweet of the Swahili coast.
Kashata Bolo PolanaMaputo, Mozambique · medium · 1 h 10 minA rich, moist cake of cashews and potato scented with citrus, named for an elegant Maputo neighborhood.
Bolo Polana KabalagalaKampala, Uganda · easy · 30 minSweet little pancakes of ripe banana and cassava flour fried until golden, a favorite Ugandan snack.
Kabalagala Koba AkondroAnalamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · medium · 2 h 20 minA dense steamed cake of banana, ground peanuts, and rice flour wrapped in banana leaf, a Malagasy street sweet.
Koba Akondro Cocada AmarelaLuanda, Angola · medium · 50 minA rich golden pudding of coconut and egg yolks scented with cloves, a Portuguese-influenced Angolan sweet.
Cocada Amarela XalwoMogadishu, Somalia · advanced · 2 h 15 minA dense, glossy, cardamom-scented sweet set with cornstarch and ghee, the centerpiece of every Somali celebration.
Xalwo LaduMoroni, Comoros · easy · 35 minToasted ground rice cooked in ghee and bound with sugar, cardamom, and a note of black pepper into fragrant sweet balls, a Comorian teatime treat.
Ladu Benne CakesFreetown, Sierra Leone · easy · 25 minToasted sesame seeds set in crisp caramel, a simple, ancient West African sweet from Sierra Leone.
Benne Cakes Kgojwa ya Moretlwa (Wild Berry and Milk Pudding)Gaborone, Botswana · easy · 20 minPounded wild moretlwa berries steeped and whisked into cold sweet milk, a traditional Botswana after-meal sweet.
Kgojwa ya Moretlwa (Wild Berry and Milk Pudding) Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 30 minRipe plantains simmered gently in spiced coconut milk until soft and creamy, a sweet from the DR Congo table.
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk) Meni-Meniyong (Sesame and Honey Brittle)Bamako, Mali · easy · 25 minToasted sesame seeds set in caramelised honey and cut into crunchy fingers, a sweet found in every Malian market.
Meni-Meniyong (Sesame and Honey Brittle) Mabuyu (Sweet-Coated Baobab Seeds)Lusaka, Zambia · easy · 25 minTangy baobab seeds tumbled in a bright sugar coating, the nostalgic street candy of Zambia.
Mabuyu (Sweet-Coated Baobab Seeds) Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 3 h 10 minA silky baked milk custard under a dark caramel, one of Cabo Verde's most popular desserts.
Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan) Galidossi (Gari and Milk Dessert)Lomé, Togo · easy · 15 minCrunchy cassava gari soaked in cold sweet milk with roasted peanuts, a refreshing Togolese street dessert.
Galidossi (Gari and Milk Dessert) Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · easy · 20 minFine millet blended with tangy yogurt, baobab and ginger into a thick, cool spooning dessert, a Fulani speciality.
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert) Makemba (Sweet Fried Plantain)Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo · easy · 20 minVery ripe plantains fried until caramelised and dusted with cinnamon sugar, a simple Congolese sweet.
Makemba (Sweet Fried Plantain) Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut)Malabo, Equatorial Guinea · easy · 30 minBananas baked in butter, citrus and honey under a blanket of coconut, a simple Equatoguinean sweet.
Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut) Doce de Papaia (Papaya Sweet)Bissau, Guinea-Bissau · easy · 1 hPapaya slowly cooked with sugar, lime and cinnamon until glossy and translucent, a Bissau-Guinean preserve-sweet.
Doce de Papaia (Papaya Sweet) Kanyah (Peanut and Rice Sweet)Monrovia, Liberia · easy · 30 minGround roasted peanuts and toasted rice flour pressed with sugar into a dense, crumbly sweet, a Liberian classic.
Kanyah (Peanut and Rice Sweet) Dates Stuffed with ButterNouakchott, Mauritania · easy · 15 minPlump dates split and filled with cardamom-scented butter, a Saharan sweet of Mauritanian hospitality.
Dates Stuffed with Butter Sweet Mahangu PorridgeWindhoek, Namibia · easy · 30 minNamibian pearl millet simmered soft in sweet vanilla cream and served with stewed fruit, a homely dessert.
Sweet Mahangu Porridge Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat)Victoria, Seychelles · easy · 35 minFreshly grated coconut cooked with sugar and banana into a soft, chewy candy scented with vanilla and nutmeg.
Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) Ngalakh (Baobab & Peanut Millet Cream)Dakar, Senegal · easy · 45 minSteamed millet couscous folded into a sweet, nutty peanut cream soured with baobab-fruit pulp, chilled and scented with orange-blossom and vanilla.
Yomari (Newari Sweet Rice Dumpling)Kathmandu Valley, Nepal · medium · 1 hFig-shaped steamed rice-flour dumpling filled with chaku (jaggery molasses), toasted sesame, and coconut, made for Yomari Punhi.
Yomari (Newari Sweet Rice Dumpling) Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)Yerevan, Armenia · medium · 1 h 55 minA whole pumpkin packed with rice, dried apricots, walnuts, and honey, baked until the shell is a spoonable bowl.
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin) Mango Sticky RiceBangkok (Central), Thailand · easy · 4 h 55 minWarm coconut-sweetened glutinous rice with ripe mango and a salty-sweet coconut sauce, Thailand's favorite dessert.
Mango Sticky Rice Chè Ba MàuHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam · medium · 1 h 15 minA layered sweet of red beans, mung beans, and green pandan jelly over ice with coconut cream, Vietnam's three-color dessert.
Chè Ba Màu TangyuanShanghai, China · medium · 45 minChewy glutinous rice balls with a sweet black sesame center in warm ginger syrup, a Chinese symbol of family reunion.
Tangyuan KleponYogyakarta (Java), Indonesia · medium · 45 minPandan-green rice balls with a molten palm-sugar center, rolled in fresh coconut, a favorite Indonesian sweet snack.
Klepon Leche FlanCentral Luzon, Philippines · medium · 1 h 5 minA dense, silky egg-yolk custard under a dark caramel, steamed in a tin mold, the Philippines' richest celebration dessert.
Leche Flan KheerLahore (Punjab), Pakistan · easy · 1 h 40 minA slow-cooked rice pudding perfumed with cardamom and scattered with nuts, the comforting sweet of every occasion.
Kheer Juju DhauKathmandu Valley, Nepal · easy · 2 h 45 minA rich, sweet set yogurt scented with cardamom, the King of Yogurts from the Newar city of Bhaktapur.
WatalappanSouthern Province, Sri Lanka · easy · 3 hA steamed coconut custard set with dark palm jaggery and warm spices, the festive pudding of Sri Lanka.
Watalappan Sankhya LapovSiem Reap, Cambodia · medium · 1 h 10 minA whole kabocha pumpkin steamed with a coconut-palm-sugar custard inside, a striking Cambodian dessert.
Sankhya Lapov MahalabiaAmman, Jordan · easy · 25 minA delicate milk pudding set with cornstarch and perfumed with rose or orange blossom, a light Levantine sweet.
Mahalabia Sholeh ZardTehran, Iran · easy · 1 h 15 minA fragrant saffron and rose rice pudding decorated with cinnamon, an Iranian dessert of celebration and charity.
Sholeh Zard Kuih Seri MukaPenang, Malaysia · medium · 1 h 20 minA two-layer sweet of coconut sticky rice under a smooth pandan custard, a jewel of the Malaysian kuih table.
Kuih Seri Muka Khao TomLuang Prabang, Laos · easy · 1 h 15 minSweet coconut sticky rice wrapped around banana and steamed in banana leaf, a fragrant Lao treat.
Khao Tom FirniKabul, Afghanistan · easy · 35 minA silky ground-rice milk pudding scented with cardamom and rosewater, topped with pistachios, an Afghan celebration sweet.
Firni Pulut HitamSingapore, Singapore · easy · 1 h 10 minA warm porridge of black glutinous rice sweetened with palm sugar and finished with salty coconut cream, a Nyonya classic.
Pulut Hitam Omani HalwaMuscat, Oman · advanced · 1 h 15 minA dense, glossy, aromatic sweet of rosewater, saffron, and spices set with ghee and nuts, the pride of Omani hospitality.
Omani Halwa ZhentAlmaty, Kazakhstan · easy · 30 minA sweet, crumbly pressed mixture of toasted millet, butter, and raisins, a traditional Kazakh treat of the steppe.
Zhent PenyaramBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei · medium · 2 h 40 minA chewy fried cake of rice flour and palm sugar with lacy, crisp edges, a traditional Bruneian and Bornean sweet.
Penyaram Foni BoakibaaMalé, Maldives · easy · 1 h 10 minA dense baked pudding-cake of rice, coconut, and rosewater, a sweet Maldivian favorite for Ramadan and celebrations.
Foni Boakibaa Gangnaengi-tteokPyongyang, North Korea · easy · 50 minChewy steamed corn cakes lightly sweetened and often dotted with beans, a homely North Korean treat.
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