Dive into our collection of tasty and healthy gluten-free Thanksgiving desserts that don’t compromise on flavor or texture. Made with wholesome ingredients and no added sugar, these desserts can adorn any festive table and will be loved by (almost) everyone, regardless of their dietary preferences.
Solving the Gluten Problem
We know the struggle – finding tasty, gluten-free Thanksgiving desserts that don’t compromise on flavor and health can be a challenge. You often face limited choices, not-so-healthy ingredients, and sometimes, a taste that just doesn’t hit the mark.
I’ve been there. I began my gluten-free (and sugar-free) journey over nine years ago (August 2017). With a love for exquisite cakes and desserts, I passionately started to explore gluten-free, sugar-free, and lectin-free baking and create sweet treats that were delicious and brought me joy while supporting my health journey.
After all, deciding to have a healthy lifestyle and going gluten-free shouldn’t mean settling for less.
Note: While all ingredients used are naturally gluten-free, if you are celiac, you have to make sure the ingredients you are buying are certified gluten-free or not cross-contaminated.
Our Promise: Healthy Desserts That Taste Delicious
Every recipe was crafted to support my and my family’s health journey while still enjoying the small pleasures of life (like a delicious sweet treat). They’re sugar-free, lectin-free, and free from soy, corn, oats, rice, inflammatory vegetable oils, and peanuts, but they are certainly not tasteless.
Many of them are also dairy-free, but not all. Occasionally, we do indulge in the best quality dairy products we can find and use them in some of our desserts, many in the form of butter and mascarpone cheese for a cream cheese frosting.
For sweeteners, we use small amounts of non-caloric natural sweeteners like allulose, inulin, or monk fruit, and sometimes, we use a modest amount of dates. Gluten-free flours like tigernut and chestnut have a natural sweetness.
If you are curious about the type of flour we use in our gluten-free baking, check out our Quick Guide to Lectin-Free and Gluten-Free Flours.
Is Gluten-Free Healthy?
Before diving into our collection of Thanksgiving dessert recipes, I wanted to address this question. While many brands, bakeries, and supermarkets now offer gluten-free desserts and pastries, it doesn’t mean they are healthy.
Yes, if you are celiac, they can be a lifesaver occasionally, but for long-term health, it’s important to remove highly processed foods from your diet, which many of the gluten-free labeled foods are.
Additionally, many gluten-free flour pre-mixes and gluten-free baked goods are made with corn, rice, high-glucose corn syrup, lots of sugar, inflammatory oils, and other questionable ingredients.
Enjoy Delicious Desserts that Are Good for You!
No more compromises; it’s time to enjoy desserts that everyone will love, each offering a burst of flavor, nutrition, and the joy of worry-free indulgence.
Celebrate this Thanksgiving with our carefully curated sugar-free and gluten-free delights, each recipe crafted with care, loaded with nutrients, and ready to impress every guest at your table. Welcome to your happiest, healthiest Thanksgiving yet!
15+ Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars with Mascarpone Frosting
These gluten-free pumpkin bars are soft, moist, and warmly spiced, with a rich mascarpone frosting that makes them perfect for fall gatherings and holiday tables. Naturally sweetened with just a few Medjool dates — without sugar, syrups, or excessive amounts of alternative sweeteners — they have all the pleasure of a festive pumpkin cake in a more balanced, nourishing form. Almond and tigernut flours, pumpkin, and extra virgin olive oil give them flavor, substance, and a beautifully tender texture.
Healthy Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake with Braised Pears
This sweet potato chocolate cake has become one of my favorite ways to turn simple, nourishing ingredients into something that feels truly special. It’s rich, moist, and deeply chocolatey — yet made without gluten or added sugar. The sweet potato adds natural sweetness and a perfectly tender crumb, while the hazelnut–sweet potato toffee frosting and buttery braised pears make it feel like an elegant dessert you’d serve on a cozy evening or a special occasion. Proof that healthy baking can be every bit as decadent as the classic.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (No Added Sugar)
This gluten-free pumpkin bread has a soft, fluffy crumb, warm pumpkin spice flavor, and just enough natural sweetness from dates and tigernut flour. Made with fresh roasted pumpkin, almond and tigernut flour, and extra virgin olive oil, this is grain-free and dairy-free, yet beautifully light and cozy — the perfect coffee or tea treat.
Healthy Sweet Potato Pecan Pie (Gluten-Free Crust)
This healthy sweet potato pecan pie combines a creamy sweet potato filling with rich pecan butter and toasted pecans, all baked in a buttery gluten-free crust. Naturally sweetened with sweet potato and a few Medjool dates, it has no added sugar or corn syrup and makes a beautiful fall or holiday dessert.
Easy Gluten-Free Apple Cake
This easy gluten-free apple cake is moist, tender, and generously filled with fresh apples. Almond and tigernut flours give it a subtly nutty flavor and natural sweetness while keeping the carbohydrate content low. Cinnamon and vanilla bring the warmth we associate with fall baking. Made without added sugar and baked in a small springform pan, it’s a simple, rustic cake to enjoy with coffee or tea.
Sugar-Free Apple Pie Bars (Gluten-Free)
These sugar-free apple pie bars are made with a generous layer of warmly spiced apples between two thin layers of tender, buttery gluten-free pastry. The grated apples are gently cooked with cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, nutmeg, and lemon until soft and almost jammy, while sorghum and chestnut flours give the pastry a delicate, slightly nutty flavor. Inspired by the layered apple cake I grew up eating in Romania, these bars are rustic, comforting, and especially lovely with coffee or tea on a cool fall day.
Easy Gluten-Free Sheet Cake (Perfect Base for Layered Cakes)
This soft, moist, and naturally sugar-free sheet pan cake has become a staple in my gluten-free, lectin-free kitchen. It’s incredibly versatile, easy to handle, and ready in just 30 minutes — making it a go-to for healthy quick desserts, special occasion layered cakes, and even snack-worthy treats.
Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Pie (Lectin-Free, Gluten-Free)
A sweet potato pie is grounding, warming, comforting, and so perfect for the colder season. This easy sugar-free sweet potato pie is also nourishing and healthy, has no gluten, dairy or lectins, and is made with wholesome ingredients.
Chocolate Covered Dates with Tahini and Walnuts
Whether a simple treat for yourself or a crafted gift for others, these chocolate-covered dates offer a healthier alternative to indulge your sweet tooth. Experiment, enjoy, and share the joy of the delightful combination between dates, chocolate, tahini, and walnuts.
Nut-Free Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
This nut-free carrot cake is soft, moist, and perfectly spiced, proving you don’t need almond flour and nuts to make an exceptional gluten-free carrot cake. Made with a blend of sorghum, millet, tigernut, and tapioca flour, it’s naturally gluten-free, coconut-free, and refined sugar-free, with plenty of carrots, apple, and warm spices for flavor and moisture. Bake it as a simple sheet cake for everyday baking or turn it into a beautiful layer cake for special occasions.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins (No Added Sugar)
These gluten-free pumpkin muffins are moist, tender, and warmly spiced, with the delicate flavor and natural sweetness of roasted pumpkin and a few Medjool dates. Almond, tigernut, and tapioca flour come together in a soft, satisfying crumb, while extra virgin olive oil adds richness and helps the muffins stay moist. With no sugar or syrup added, they make a lovely fall breakfast, afternoon snack, or nourishing sweet treat.
Dr. Gundry’s Olive Oil Walnut Spice Cake (Keto)
A sophisticated treat, this olive oil walnut spice cake features warming spices and lovely herbal notes from olive oil. Pair a slice of this bread-like spice cake with a good strong cup of coffee or tea. For an extra special treat, spread a little coconut whipped cream on your cake, or add some seasonal fruits to it as I did. Either way, it is positively decadent! Like anything on this website, this olive oil walnut spice cake is gluten-free, lectin-free, and sugar-free (keto). It is also dairy-free.
Gluten-Free Almond Biscotti Recipe (Low-Carb, Sugar-Free)
These sugar-free and gluten-free almond biscotti are just as good as the original Italian biscotti. Follow the basic recipe or use your creativity to create other flavors. They are easy to make and are a delightful and crunchy sweet treat for your coffee or tea; they are great for entertaining or as a travel snack and make the perfect little gift for your health-conscious friends.
Parsnip Cake with Rosemary and Olive Oil
Parsnips are sweet, earthy, and nutritious, the perfect food for the colder season. I love using vegetables in unexpected ways, like making sweet treats, so here is one of my favorite cakes ever: parsnip cake with rosemary and olive oil. This cake is sugar-free, lectin-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. It’s a treat that is not overly sweet, a beautiful and flavorful cross between savory and sweet, and so grounding during the colder and shorter days.
Chocolate-Chestnut Truffles (Sugar-Free)
These chocolate chestnut truffles are an exquisite, delicious, healthy sweet treat for the holiday season. They are made of a creamy, flavorful filling of chestnuts, spices, and nut butter, covered in dark chocolate, and sprinkled with ground pistachios. They are sugar-free, gluten-free, lectin-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins (No Added Sugar, Gluten-Free)
These healthy sweet potato muffins are fluffy and delicious, the perfect naturally sweet treat. They are gluten-free and lectin-free, and there is no sugar or sweetener added. Rich in healthy fats, high in protein, and nutrient-dense, this is a feel-good, nutrient-dense sweet treat for you and your little ones.
Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Waffles (Sugar-Free)
These absolutely delicious sweet potato waffles are gluten-free, lectin-free, sugar-free, easy to make and taste like sweet potato pie. Perfect for breakfast, as a sweet treat with coffee or tea and can even be included in a savory meal.
Cinnamon-Flavored Sorghum Crackers (Gluten-Free)
With their tender crunch and warm hint of cinnamon, these sorghum crackers are wonderfully reminiscent of classic graham crackers — or, if you’re in Europe, of lightly sweet digestive biscuits. Whatever you call them, they’re a delicious and wholesome treat you’ll want to keep on hand. Naturally gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and lectin-free, these subtly sweet crackers make a perfect snack on their own or a versatile base for countless desserts and creative toppings.
Gluten-Free Spiced Carrot Cake with Fresh Cranberries
This gluten-free spiced carrot cake is moist, fragrant, and packed with wholesome ingredients like fresh carrots, apples, tart cranberries, toasted pecans, and warm spices. Made with almond and hazelnut flour instead of wheat, it has a tender crumb and rich, nutty flavor while being naturally lower in carbohydrates than a traditional carrot cake. Serve it plain with a cup of coffee, or top it with a light mascarpone and yogurt cream for an elegant dessert that’s perfect during cranberry season.
Gluten-Free Apple Galette with Hazelnut Crumble
This gluten-free apple galette pairs thinly sliced apples with a rustic crust made from cassava, chestnut, and almond flour, finished with a buttery hazelnut crumble. The chestnut flour brings a subtle caramel-like sweetness, while lemon zest, cinnamon, and vanilla keep the flavors bright and fragrant. It is a beautiful fall dessert made without refined sugar — and much easier to shape than a traditional pie.
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