Last Updated on August 5, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
Grilling season is here – if you want to slather some homemade mayonnaise or ketchup on a bun, pick up your burger and maybe feel a little nostalgic, I have the perfect gluten-free hamburger bun recipe for you!
I’ve been eating bunless hamburgers for years now and I love ’em, but a few months ago I just got tired of it and really wanted a bun. And not just any bun – I wanted a bun that didn’t taste like nuts or have a heavy, dense texture. I wanted a bun that tastes like white bread. I wanted a light and airy bun that still let the flavor of the grass-fed beef and other toppings shine. It took some experimentation, but I found the grain-free hamburger bun I was craving!
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Hamburger Bun Recipe
- Tapioca flour
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Celtic sea salt
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
- Sesame seeds (optional)
How to Make Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bring the water to a simmer in a saucepan, then stir in the tapioca flour right away. It’ll turn gummy fast, but that’s exactly what you want. Add this to your food processor with the coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and butter, and process for about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and process another 20 seconds. Then add the cheese and process for at least 30 seconds, until the dough is smooth. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
Scoop the dough into 1/3 cup portions onto your baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each bun. Top with sesame seeds if you like. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until just golden. Let the buns cool completely before slicing and serving.
For a regular size bun, I used a 1/3 cup measuring scoop – the resulting bun should hold a quarter-pound burger. You can use a smaller cookie scoop to create sliders, like I shared on Instagram last week.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think these buns would make an amazing toasted bread for a sandwich (cut in half, buttered, and toasted) or even better – for a panini!
PrintGluten-Free Hamburger Bun Recipe
Before starting this recipe, have all of your ingredients sitting out and make sure to work quickly while making the dough. If you take even a few minutes to break while making the dough, the dough can become too tough.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Makes 6 buns
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon grain-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup raw cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Bring water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour the tapioca flour into the simmering water and immediately stir (the tapioca will quickly soak up the water and turn a bit gummy, but don’t worry!). Immediately, transfer the tapioca mixture to the food processor. Add the coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and butter and process for about 30 seconds until incorporated. Add eggs and process for another 20 seconds. Add the cheese and process for at least 30 seconds until dough is smooth. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes.
- Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop dough and place onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, leaving at least 2 inches inbetween each bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until just turning golden brown. Cool completely. Cut each bun in half and serve.
Would it be ok to omit the cheese? Is it necessary for the buns to bake up the way yours have?
You can omit the cheese and then add 1 tsp. of baking powder to the dough. The texture will be a bit different, but they will still taste great!
Can i use a substitute for the coconut flour? Allergies to all nuts snd coconut.
I haven’t tested this recipe with substitutions, so I’m not sure what would lend the exact same texture and flavor.
OMG thank you thank you thank you!!!! Gonna try these this weekend!
You’re welcome! Enjoy! 🙂
What could I use to sub. eggs. Thanks
1 Tblsp chia seeds or ground chia seeds
3 Tblsp water
Mix chia seeds and water and let sit for approx 5 minutes.
Doing a grain free trial right now and cannot tell you how my mouth is watering at the sound of buns that taste like white flour!!! Buns with everything, starting now – thanks so much! 😉
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! Currently we only have access to arrowroot powder, but I assume that tapioca is a must? In a few months we’ll be visiting the U.S. and can get tapioca, but was hoping to try this recipe soon, maybe for July 4th! Is it worth using arrowroot or should I just wait until I can get tapioca?
I haven’t tested it, but I think arrowroot would make for a good substitute. The texture of the dough might be just a tad bit different, but it should still taste great.
Tried it today and it was good but the center was very gooey. I look fwd to trying it again using tapioca, I’m sure it makes a big difference. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve read that if you’re going to substitute Arrowroot for Tapioca, you want to cut it in half….. I’m not a scientist!
Can almond flour replace coconut flour?
I haven’t tested this recipe with substitutions, so I can’t say for sure what a good replacement would be.
Thank you so much for this! Just when I thought going grain & yeast free meant giving up bread forever!
Unfortunately, I can’t do dairy at the moment. What do you recommend as a substitute for the cheese?
You can omit the cheese and then add 1 tsp. of baking powder to the dough. The texture will be a bit different, but they will still taste great!
Thank you!! Can’t wait to try them 🙂
These are definitely going on the to do list, Carrie. I`ve been wanting to create a grain-free bun but knew it was beyond my scope, lol. Have a great day. 🙂
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them!
Thank you! Loved these buns, the only thing is it was hard to get the center done all the way without the outside getting very brown and crunchy. Any recommendations?
I’m not sure why they weren’t done inside. Did you make any substitutions? What brand of tapioca flour did you use? I’ve heard that Asian tapioca flours can lend a very gummy bread. I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill. How large did you make them? Sorry for all of the questions, but the more I know the more it helps me to trouble shoot with you. 🙂 You could also try lowering the oven temp and baking them for longer. The center will be nice and soft, but it shouldn’t be gummy.
I follwed the recipe exactly, using Bob’s Mill tapioca flour. We had to cut them open to finish baking inside. Next time I will try turning the oven down a bit, maybe we have a hot oven. Thank you! Love your website and all your yummy and healthy recipes!
Dear Carrie. First of all, thank you for this recipe and your website in general. The recipes are fantastic. I had trouble with this one. First of, I began having an issue when I added the Bob’s red mill tapioca flour to the simmering water. Yes, it immediately began forming an extremely sticky ball, but it needed more water, so I added about 1/4-1/3 cup more water. The ball was very sticky, but I placed it in the food processor which had trouble processing it without separating it into two pieces. Wrangling it was difficult. I added everything according to directions, but eventually had to mash all the ingredients together with my hands because the food processor was not helpful that much. So, looking at the reviews, I baked it at a lower temp for a bit longer, but no matter how long I baked it (I did it in 5-10 minute increments, constantly checking the center), the center never got cooked – it was very glue like. The outside did get cooked and it tasted FANTASTIC, but dry, obviously, because I kept the rolls in too long in a failed attempt to cook the middle.
I have a couple of questions. Do you think the food processor was the issue? If so, can you recommend a food processor that’s strong enough to deal with this? What do you think was the issue in this? I would love to make this all the time, but i am concerned that it would not work 🙁
Any advice would be appreciated.
A few things – Adding more water to the mixture would have created a very sticky bun, so I think that’s why it didn’t bake all the way through. Even if the water doesn’t soak up all of the tapioca, it’s ok…just add it to the food processor (the lump of tapioca, plus any dry that the water didn’t absorb). Did you by any chance, double the recipe? When I’ve doubled it, my food processor has a difficult time, but a single recipe has always done just fine (I’ve made this recipe at least 15 times). 🙂 I’ve always used a Cuisinart food processor and it’s always done a great job. I have the 14-cup. The center should be soft, and just a bit moist, but not gummy or glue-like. Let me know if that helps!
Thank you so much, Carrie, for your reply. I think the water is where things went wrong! I used a cuisinart 4 cup food processor and it absolutely did not like the job. Maybe it can manage a smaller lump. I will dust myself off and try again absolutely.
Ahh…I’m not sure if a 4-cup processor could handle the job. I apologize. I didn’t even think about that when I was testing the recipe! 🙂
Hi, just wondering if you think you could freeze these at all?
I haven’t tried to freeze them, but I think that would freeze well.
Trying these for the second time again tonight – they weren’t bun size – well not burger bun size at all last night – will try to flatten them a bit – will let you know how we go – also any good way to tell when they are cooked – mine were still a bit ‘gummy’ last night – tasted great though. I’ve only been grain free for 18 days – but a bit of ‘bread’ was a lovely treat.
Hi Carrie,
My partner suffers from AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis). He can’t eat anything that has starch in it. Do you think this recipe would work with Almond Flour instead of the Tapioca Flour?
Isabelle
Hey! You made me so glad. Since young, I really really love burgers and I am thankful I found this. This looks so delicious and very presentable! I would love to have this for our snack tomorrow. So excited 😀
I am trying this soon. I get tired of the lettuce burgers. I miss bread at times. Thanks again!!
Made this tonight – yummy. Mine were slightly dense in the middle, but not bad. I probably will lower the temperature a little bit and cook a little longer to make them even better, and they still turned out great. Mine don’t look as pretty, but that is fine. I think I will need a better food processor to make them again, this just about did mine in:).
I just tried these and the water immediately “disappeared” as soon as I added the tapioca flour. or flour, what I can get are more like grains. Added up all ingredients in my mixer and it was very thick, and the grains never dissolved, and dough is very thick and sticky. Mine did not at all look like yours! They are very crunchy and not smooth like yours on the outside. The flavor is nice, but use them for hamburgers like this will not be possible.
What went wrong? Should I grind the tapioca in my mixer before adding it to the water? Use more water?
These are excellent! Will be making these again for sure! Thanks. I love ALL your recipes.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I was lazy and come by and everything all at one time in my food processor. First round the middle came out gooey. Second round I adjusted my temperature to 325 and baked for 25 minutes. It was perfect and delicious.
Made these tonight. Disappointed. Rock hard on the outside and gummy inside. Followed directions perfectly. Bummer to waste the ingredients I used.
I always test recipes multiple times before publishing and these turned out great each time, so I’m not sure what the issue was. Did you make any substitutions?