These gluten free apple turnovers are the perfect little handheld pockets of flaky pastry filled with apples and drizzled with sweet icing.

I never thought I’d be eating an apple turnover again in my life. But stranger things have happened, like eating a gluten free croissant!! And ever since THAT dream came true, I kinda knew that all the other foodie dreams would follow.

What’s the Best Pastry for Making Gluten Free Apple Turnovers?

Believe it or not, there are actually a few gluten free options to use when making these apple turnovers. The first, my favorite, is my own glorious gluten free puff pastry. It’s the ultimate in buttery flakiness and it’s beyond easy to make.

Buuuuuuut, as I know some of you aren’t ready to take the puff pastry plunge yet, you can always use my best ever gluten free pie crust. It’s even easier to make, but still very flaky and tastes just as good!

Still, if you’re not into making the pastry on your own, the third choice is to buy pre-made gluten free puff pastry, such as this, this, or this. I think these products are subpar to the homemade stuff, mainly because not a single one of them contains actual butter. However, they will work if you’re feeling lazy or just don’t want to make your own puff pastry.

What’s the Best Apple Varieties to Use?

If you’ve made any of my other cooked apple recipes, you know the apples I always recommend are Rome. My grandma swore by Rome apples for anything baked because they soften so well. The rest of the world constantly recommends Granny Smith apples for baking. And I have to be honest, I’m forever baffled by this recommendation. And by the fact that they never once mention Rome apples.

Maybe when everyone else bites into an apple turnover, they want apples that still have the crunch factor. But not me. When I bite into a pastry pocket full of apples, the only crunch I want is from the flaky crust! Call me crazy, but I like my apples nice and soft and Rome apples deliver.

IF, however, you can’t find Rome apples, the next best ones are Jonagold, Jonathan, Ginger Gold, or even Golden Delicious. We don’t need to cook our apples to death so they turn into applesauce. But we also want the softness in the apples that are the best part (IMO) of baking them!

Making Ahead

I love a great make ahead recipe, especially around the holidays! Anything I can get done earlier when everything else is a mad dash gets a two thumbs up from me!!

I’m gonna refer back to my gluten free apple pie post for this genius trick I learned. Prepping the apple filling and putting it in the freezer is such a wonderful trick. I use it every Rome apple season to preserve the apples I love so much.

This filling can be cooked first and then refrigerated OR frozen ahead of time. This makes it easier on baking day. But you can also make the turnovers to the point right before baking and freeze those until ready to bake. Just place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then store them in a ziptop bag until ready to bake. You can bake them right from frozen, adding just a few minutes to the baking time.

Other Apple Recipes to Try

holding a piece of apple turnover that's been bitten out of

Thought you’d never see an apple turnover again? Think again! These gluten free apple turnovers are all what we remember minus the gluten.