These Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines are moist, fluffy and just as delicious as the traditional version!
Madeleines aren’t something I used to eat often, but whenever I did, I’d end up eating about five at once. Because, despite being incredibly rich thanks to all the butter, I always found them strangely addictive. That is, before beginning to feel queasy shortly after…
Taste aside, there’s also something so attractive about how dainty and elegant they are, thanks to their pleasantly curved shape and golden-brown seashell exterior.
I set off on a mission to make my own version of these wonderful little treats, which would be dietary requirement-friendly, without compromising on flavour. Eating five of these at once won’t make you feel as queasy, though I can’t say I’d recommend it!
Why you’ll love these Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines:
- they’re undetectably vegan and gluten-free
- they’re moist and fluffy
- they’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside
- they’re super easy to make
- they’re made in one bowl
- they’re refined sugar free
- they’re simple and elegant
- they’re great for dessert, a snack, parties or afternoon tea!
Do you need to use a madeleine tin to make madeleines?
At first I was unsure whether the point of the tin was to merely create pretty shapes or whether it had some other culinary purpose, but I did discover that the madeleines tasted particularly special after being baked into these shapes as opposed to being baked into cupcakes.
It turns out, the shape of the tin makes the outside of the madeleines crispy and “buttery”, whilst the inside stays beautifully moist and fluffy. So do use a 
madeleine tin to make these if you can!
How to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a
glass mixing bowl.
Tip: Use a 
measuring jug to measure out the plant-based milk.
- Transfer the batter into a madeleine tin.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to leave them to cool.
Substitutions you can make to this recipe:
- you can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
- you can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc
- you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
- you can substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts
- for a nut-free version: substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds
- you can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free
- you can substitute the lemon zest/juice with orange zest/juice
- you can dip them in melted dark chocolate.
How long do these Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines keep for?
These Madeleines taste best when fresh, but keep for a couple of days.
More gluten-free and vegan baking recipes:
- Red Velvet Cake
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
- Tropical Carrot Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Cherry Bakewell Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Coffee Walnut Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines
Ingredients
- 30 g (1/8 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75 g (2/3 cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 75 g (2/3 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if not using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry
- Transfer mixture into a greased madeleine tin
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, remove from the tin and transfer onto a wire rack to cool
- Tastes best when fresh, but keeps for a couple of days
Notes
almond flourDisclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
aa
Can I use ground Flaxseed instead of sunflower seeds?
Rhian Williams
No sorry that won’t work in terms of texture unfortunately!
Leslie
Hi! I am so glad I found this recipe! I am testing recipes for gluten free, vegan Madeleines for a baby shower and this is by far the best recipe I have used. However, they definitely have a bit of a gummy texture inside (still very tasty though!) and don’t look quite as fluffy as yours in the middle. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 gf flour and almond meal instead of almond flour. Any tips on how to get closer to your texture? I didn’t rest the batter or refrigerate it prior to baking – should I have done so? Thanks so much!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for your feedback. You don’t have to leave it to rest! Using a little more baking powder than you used would help make them slightly fluffier!
Leslie
Thanks so much – will try more baking powder next time. Is the amount of mixing time important? I was worried about overmixing so didn’t get too vigorous. Would a few minutes in the stand mixture help improve the gumminess? First time doing gf baking – really appreciate your help!
Rhian Williams
You don’t need to worry about over-mixing, as there’s no gluten in this batter!