Dreamy easy Gluten-Free Berry Cobbler made with fresh mixed berries and cake as the topping! You’ll love this unique twist on classic cobbler.
My husband and I recently visited friends in Montana, and our friend, Katie made the most amazing cobbler using local cherries, raspberries, and huckleberries. She shared her method with me, and I made a few ingredient tweaks in order to make it gluten-free and lower in sugar.
What makes this cobbler so special? The topping is out-of-this-world delicious, and it happens to be (wait for it, wait for it) vanilla cake. Derived from this recipe, we swap out the biscuit topping or the oatmeal topping that is typical in traditional cobblers for something much softer and decadent.
Now that I have made cobbler using cake for the topping, I feel I’ve reached a point of no return. While I love a classic crumble topping, the cake is just a whole different level of delicious. Just picture the most perfect vanilla cake with fresh berries soaked in and you’ll have an idea of what this love fest is like.
Let’s hop to it and discuss the simple ingredients for this easy cobbler recipe!
Gluten-Free Berry Cobbler Ingredients:
Mixed Berries: Pick your favorite combination of berries. Because this recipe makes a large batch, we need 10 cups of fruit. I like using blueberries, strawberries, and cherries (which I realize is not a berry). For a Gluten-Free Blueberry Cobbler, simply use all blueberries.
Tapioca Flour: Used to thicken the mixed berry mixture, we need some tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch), corn starch, or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: Pick your favorite gluten-free flour blend. As always, I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which I find has the best texture. If you aren’t gluten-free, use regular all-purpose flour.
Butter: Unsalted butter brings a big buttery flavor, which I find makes the cake taste so inviting!
Granulated Sugar: Pick your favorite granulated sweetener. I use a sugar-free sweetener called Allulose, which makes the cobbler lower sugar overall. Regular cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, and maple sugar all work great.
Eggs: We need a few eggs to make the cake nice and fluffy. Because we use three, the cake is super airy and has the loveliest moist texture.
Greek Yogurt: A little Greek yogurt brings a leavening quality to the recipe, adds a slight tangy flavor, and brings moisture. Swap it for sour cream if you prefer.
Pure Vanilla Extract: We need a generous amount of vanilla extract to get the right amount of vanilla flavor. Pick a quality extract that you trust and have used in the past.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: The leavening agents. We need both baking powder and baking soda in order to help the batter rise and bake evenly.
Sea Salt: Mandatory for enhancing flavors!
Dietary Customizations:
- If you need the cake to be dairy-free, make my Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake recipe.
- For a grain-free option, make my Almond Flour Vanilla Cake.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s make this delicious cobbler recipe!
How to Make Gluten-Free Berry Cobbler:
Make the Cake Batter:
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat in the eggs one at a time as well as the pure vanilla extract. Again, scrape the sides of the bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir together the gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt until the dry ingredients are combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the mixer with the wet ingredients and mix well until a thick batter forms. Mix in the Greek yogurt. Set cake batter aside until ready to use.
Make the Berry Filling:
Add all of the berries to a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven. Cover and heat over medium high heat, and bring the mixture to a full boil.
Once the fruit softens quite a bit and leaches out a lot of liquid, add the tapioca flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour) and continue cooking and stirring until the liquid around the berries has thickened, about 10-15 minutes total.
Prepare the Cobbler:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the berry mixture into a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish and spread it into an even layer.
Spread the cake batter over the berries as evenly as possible. There is no need to get this perfectly! I use a large spoon in one hand and the other hand to help guide the batter. Don’t stress if it isn’t perfect.
Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and baked through.
Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. If it reads 190 degrees or higher, the cake is fully cooked.
Allow the cobbler to cool for 10 minutes before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
As is common with many baked goods, this cobbler tastes even better the next day! For this reason, feel free to prepare it in advance.
Storage Options:
- Refrigerator: Wrap the casserole dish with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can also transfer leftovers to a smaller airtight container for storage.
- Freezer: Transfer any leftover cobbler to a large zip lock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Tips:
- Make sure all of the cold ingredients are at room temperature before starting the recipe. This includes butter, eggs, and Greek yogurt.
- Use any kind of in-season fruit to keep the magic happening year round. Apples, pears, blackberries, and peaches are all amazing options!
- You can make the recipe in parts by preparing the berry filling ahead of time and refrigerating it until you’re ready to use it.
The next time you’re serving guests, celebrating a birthday, or any special occasion, whip up this large batch of gluten-free cobbler! It is now one of my favorite summer desserts, and I love that it can be made with a variety of fruit fillings.
If you love fruit cobblers, try out some of my other favorites.
More Fruit Crisps, Crumbles, and Cobblers:
- Almond Flour Strawberry Crumble
- Gluten-Free Vegan Peach Cobbler
- Almond Flour Peach Crisp
- Gluten-Free Cherry Cobbler
- Paleo Blackberry Cobbler
Enjoy this perfect summer dessert with your favorite ice cream!
Gluten-Free Berry Cobbler Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake Topping:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar *
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
For the Berry Filling:
- 10 cups mixed berries **
- 3 to 4 Tbsp tapioca flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour for thickening
- Sweetener to taste ***
Instructions
Prepare the Cake Batter:
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat in the eggs one at a time as well as the pure vanilla extract. Again, scrape the sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt until the dry ingredients are combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the mixer with the wet ingredients and mix well until a thick batter forms. Mix in the Greek yogurt. Set cake batter aside until ready to use.
Make the Berry Filling:
- Add all of the berries to a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven. Cover and heat over medium high heat, and bring the mixture to a full boil. Once the fruit softens quite a bit and leaches out a lot of liquid, add the tapioca flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour) and continue cooking and stirring until the liquid around the berries has thickened, about 10-15 minutes total.
Prepare the Cobbler:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour the berry mixture into a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish and spread it into an even layer.
- Spread the cake batter over the berries as evenly as possible. There is no need to get this perfectly! I use a large spoon in one hand and the other hand to help guide the batter. Don’t stress if it isn’t perfect.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and baked through.
- Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. If it reads 190 degrees or higher, the cake is fully cooked.
- Allow the cobbler to cool for 10 minutes before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Wow!!
Thank you, Judy!