I'm having a little obsession with cashews lately; hence, this new recipe for Gluten Free Hamburger Buns. I had used cashews previously for sauces like my zucchini pasta with creamy pesto or Mexican avocado crema, but had yet to experiment with the butter or flour until recently with my sandwich bread. I think the biggest problem most Paleo and SCD people face is boredom, and I was getting bored with the flavor and texture of almond flour. That's why you have seen a lot of recipes using both coconut and almond flours, or some without almond flour at all.
I set out to make this gluten free hamburger bun recipe free of almond flour, but lo and behold, it needed the little brown nuts after all. Almond are so good for you, so I shouldn't complain I guess. I wasn't planning on making this a 3-nut recipe, but it actually gives it a great texture and a very even taste. All of the different flours have their own properties that work cohesively; coconut – helps to prevent soggy bread and makes them sturdy, almond- lends some healthy fat, and cashews– makes them a little lighter and fluffier.
Personally, I think this recipe beats out our old rolls that we used to use as hamburger buns. They were good, but they crumbled when you ate a big juicy burger on them. These are strong and hold up to the biggest, messy burger you can concoct. They are still a little dense and not as fluffy as a standard gluten bun, but I'm pretty positive that there's no way to achieve that with grain-free flours and without the use of yeast.
My husband seems to think otherwise. I told him he's crazy and he doesn't know a thing about baking. 🙂 Seriously though, while eating these burgers we had this whole conversation about how he has faith in me that I can create an In-N-Out type burger bun that is Paleo friendly and we can get rich by selling the recipe. I love him, but that's a little too much faith in me! He actually did really love these, especially as a way better alternative to a lettuce bun, but still can't get it through his head that grain-free buns will never be flaky, light, and fluffy!
Shared this week with Allergy Free Wednesdays
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Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
Yum!! Perfect timing for Memorial Day Cook Out! Thank you so much for this helpful recipe! I love your blog!
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
Hey Danielle! I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for an award! https://foodstoriesblog.com/food-stories-award/. As a fellow Ulcerative Colitis-er, your blog is so inspiring to me!
genevieve amato
You do deserve an award. I am definetly a food snob and I think your recipes are outstanding!!! My son has Crohn’s and we are on SCD. Your approach to a grain free diet is fantastic!!!
Against All Grain
Thank you!
amber
Hi Danielle,
“Mmmmm….burger” (channeling my Homer Simpson).
These look great! I love your ingredients. Can’t wait to try these, perhaps after I return from my trip.
I love your husband’s positive attitude – so sweet. It’s funny, those on the outside don’t understand the complexities to this sort of baking. But listen, if anyone COULD do it, I know it would be you! Because you’re a grain-free baking rock star.
You are filling me with so much confidence to start the SCD full time here this summer. It’s going to be great! Thank you, thank you!
You have a fantastic weekend friend.
Hugs,
–Amber
Elena
Thank you dear Danielle for another great recipe !
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom
The hard thing is…my oldest is deathly allergic to eggs. I guess I could try, but going grain free and vegan is a toughy. Sigh
Against All Grain
Grain-free and egg free is hard. I was off of eggs for about 3 months and tried endless times to bake things subbing flax and failed every time. There’s a couple of great sites out there though that do it!
Lisa
My son is lso allergic to eggs big time. I have been successful using Chia seed or flax to replace egg in some bread liek recipes but sadlt you are right grain free and egg free dont go together=( He also has a nut allergy so we are coconut people=)
Eva
Hi-my son has a peanut,walnut ,wheat ,soy and egg white allergies..any cooking websites you could recommend? Thanks!!
Katy
This is a REALLY late response, but you can replace eggs in most recipes by grinding up flax or chia seeds in a coffee grinder till it is a powder, and for each egg replace with 1 Tb ground flax or chia and 3 Tb warm water. Stir it together til it is mixed well then let it sit for 5-10 minutes. When you mix it up again it should be gelatinous, similar to an egg. I have used this a multitude of times in many recipes and it has always worked for me. Hope this helps you! It is healthier than other egg replacers too. 🙂
Katy
Oops, I am silly. I just now noticed other people have already mentioned this. Well, I hope you found a solution!!! 🙂
Ali Seiter
Hello, Danielle!
These hambuger buns look delicious and wonderfully soft. Any chance you could sub flax “eggs” for chicken eggs in this recipe?
Thanks!
-Ali.
Jackie
This is genius! Thank you for sharing!
Theresa
This looks great and we have a bbq tomorrow. My girls are allergic to egg wites though….so could I just use more yolks in their place? Any ideas?
Against All Grain
You can try that but they may get a little too dense without the whites. They help it rise quite a bit.
Amber
Oh my gosh. I just pulled these out of the oven. I was really worried they wouldn’t come out because I wasn’t able to pulse in the egg whites, I had to process for a while to get everything mixed well, so my buns didn’t rise quite as much as I think they should have. On first look, I was worried they would be dense, but no. They are so tender and delicious and there’s no eggy taste, you are a genius!
Against All Grain
Thank you Amber!
Gia
Could you process in a vitamix instead of a food processor? Or would the batter get too thin? My food processor isn’t very powerful, so I don’t think it would get the cashews very smooth! Did you have to soak them at all? These look amazing!! As always! 🙂
Against All Grain
I think you could do it in a vitamix. It’s just a really sticky dough so it would be hard to get it all out. Maybe process the cashews and wet ingredients in the vitamix then transfer to the food processor for the remaining steps!
Laura
My mouth is watery:))) Cant wait to try this. You said they are best eaten within a day or stored in freezer. We are going camping next week and I was thinking to make about a dozen ahead of time to take along. But keeping them forzen while camping wont be an option. Is there any reason why they would not keep for a few days in an air tight container or ziploc bag? Or why should they be consumed within a day?
Against All Grain
They’ll keep just fine in an airtight bag for about a week, I just think they taste better fresh or toasted! I usually like to keep anything with coconut flour stored in the fridge, but they should be fine at room temperature too.
Alima
Can’t wait to make these this week! Ive followed the paleo diet for 3 years now and I miss a bun with my hamburger so much!
One of my clients turned me on to your website. She just brought me a slice of your sandwhich bread this morning and it was to die for! By far, best paleo bread Ive ever put in my mouth!
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Against All Grain
Thank you Alima! You just made my day!
Dana Zia
You had me at hello on this one!! Going to making this on Sunday. Thank you!
mom2one
I may give these a try with macademia nuts! Sadly, we are allergic to cashews. 🙁 They look way too good not to give it a try! I’ll let you know how they come out. 🙂
MomLadyOR
Hi Mom2One, did the macademia nuts work? I can’t have cashews either and would love to try this!
Lynn
I am allergic to almond flour so I need a substitute. Not coconut or cassava flour.
Lynn
Sorry I am okay with coconut flour it is just so many eggs you have to use.
Victoria
Planning to make these now and top them with some turkey burgers. Looks like a great recipe!
Victoria
They turned out really nicely with a golden brown bottom and a cracked top. The smell was incredible. I couldn’t wait long for them to cool and I think that may have contributed to them crumbling a bit. I will definitely toast or grill them as you suggested before trying to pile it so high with a juicy, cheesy burger next time. I also think this would make a great English muffin or sandwich roll substitute. I think I’ll toast one tomorrow and top it with nut butter and blueberries.
Kelly
These are absolutely amazing. I have made them twice and have made a couple of changes. First of all I double the recipe because food disappears very quickly in my house. Doubling it causes it to be too hard for my food processor to handle, so I add water to thin it a bit. This works great because I don’t need to shape the buns, I just spread circles of batter onto my baking stone. They don’t get as tall as your hamburger buns, but the texture is just like bread and everyone in the family loves them. Also by adding the water until it’s a thick batter, it makes a lot more. I think I’m going to get about 25 from this batch using a 1/4 cup scoop. Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe!
MomofThree
Thank you for this post as I too have a family who eats a lot. My oldest son is 15 and 6ft tall.
I doubled the recipe and added water. I tried one and they are very tasty.
Just tonight my son had to eat a bun-less burger when we ate out. I am going to
surprise him with these tomorrow night. Thanks Danielle!!!
Anna
I made these tonight for the 1st time. The flavor was amazing but they fell apart as we tried eating our burgers. I didn’t care and got into it with both hands, super messy style! The kids, however, were not excited that their buns were falling apart. Anyone else have this problem? Or have a recommendation to fix it for my next batch? Thanks you so much!!
Jacque
I have the same issue with the ones I make falling apart and making it very tough to eat the burger…definitely a two-hand meal! Did you ever find a solution? I was hoping someone here would have an answer!
Kim
I was wondering the same thing. They tasted good, but basically crumbled. I would really love to know what I can do to fix that.
Against All Grain
What type of almond flour did you use? That usually is the culprit.
Thea
I used blanched almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill), but I don’t have a food processor, so I had to crush the cashews by hand. The finished product was delicious, but not as light in color as yours, and crumbled when stuffed with the burger and fixings. I’m thinking the cashews are the culprit here, right? Am I using the right almond flour? I’m hoping I can get them to the point where there is minimal crumble. Thanks!!
Against All Grain
Yes, I think that would be the culprit right there! I don’t suggest using bob’s Red Mill in any of my recipes. I would suggest using one of these (see number 3): https://againstallgrain.com/f-a-q/
Sadie
Now that Bob’s has super fine blanched almond flour, think that would work? Noticed previous comment was in 2013.
Danielle
Hi! Any brand of blanched almond flour will work in this recipe. Enjoy!
Laurie
What should I do differently? I have only a very small food processor, so I ground the cashews with the eggs, milk and butter in that. I then moved it to my kitchenaid mixer to add the rest of the ingredients in the order suggested in the recipe. My only disappointment was that they didn’t puff up. I am looking forward to trying these cut in half and toasted…I haven’t had toast in years. Thanks for the recipe.
Against All Grain
Your process should work ok just make sure to get the cashew mixture really smooth. Otherwise I would try doing as much as you can in a blender. As with all grain-free baked goods, they’re pretty dense and don’t rise too much, but they should have risen just a little on the top.
Laura
I use a food processor (though a bigger one- everything fits in there). I don’t see why you can’t do it t with a mixer once you have the nuts grounded and mixed with the gg milk and butter. It might actually work better when you incorporate the egg whites because i had to mix quite a bit to get all the egg white mixed in. . Maybe that’s why mine don’t puff up either but I like baking them longer than the recipe says (about extra 10 min) and next time I will try baking them at 350 instad of 325. They are still good though, especially toasted.
Tina
Your blog and recipes are great! I’ve noticed you are using a lot of raw cashews in many recipes. I don’t eat raw nuts – only ones that have been soaked and dried/dehydrated to get rid of the bad antinutrients. In addition, raw nuts can cause gastric issues. So many leave grain due to gastric issues, raw nuts may be a bit rough for them. Do your recipes work equally well with soaked and dried cashews?
Laura
that is a great question. I would love to find out too.
Against All Grain
Hi Tina- Thanks for your question. I’ve done soaked and dehydrated cashews in my waffles and they turned out great. I have yet to try them in my other recipes but I think they will work just fine as long as they are really well dehydrated and don’t have any added oils
Trista
Danielle- Could you use cashew butter in place of cashews? If so how much? Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes!
AshleyL
I was wondering this too!
Amy
I want to know also about cashew butter!
Amy
Never mind, I found the answer below!
Monique
I actually made these and used them as toast bread (because I made mine much wider and flatter). They were SO AMAZING toasted with a little bit of butter and 100% fruit jam. It almost tasted like a PB&J because of the nuttiness of the cashew bread. Just lovely. Thank you for this!
Kim Kauffman
I made these last night and they were SO delicious. I can’t wait to try your sandwich bread. Even my very wheat loving husband (he still eats it) loved it and said it was even better than regular bread. THAT is a high compliment coming from him 🙂
Melissa Thomson
I made these the other night – excellent!!! Since my grass-fed burgers shrunk so much and ended up looking more like meatballs than burgers, the buns did break apart a bit. The flavor and texture of the buns was great! I think I will make 6 smaller buns though out of the recipe, instead of the 4 larger buns to help alleviate this. The leftover buns will be made into “garlic bread” tonight to go with our spaghetti (squash) dinner tonight. Thanks so much for your recipes! Love them.
Andrew Cordova
I’ve made a paleo herb buns that looks similar the these but the recipe didn’t call for cashews or almond milk and they turned out ok. I look forward to trying out this recipe very soon. Bun-less burgers can get a little old at times, it would be nice to have a good tasting bun every once in a while. Crossing my fingers.
Kevin B. Hamilton
Great Idea! I have faith in you too.
Chrissy
I feel like this is going to be the theme of all my posts buuuuttttt- these are amazing! I’ve tried so many different paleo friendly hamburger bun recipes and never have I tasted ones as good as these! Thank you for creating this!
Jimena
I made these with almonds instead of cashews (because I did not have any cashews) and they were AMAZING! They are def becoming a staple at our home. Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes!!
Kim
Great, just made them. I accidently put the egg whites into the mix without fluffing them first. It still worked! Next time I will play around with add some coconut sugar or other sweetning agents and make shortbread (for strawberry shortcakes)!!
Tasha Nichols
Hi,
I was just wondering if you’ve released a book. All your recipes are fantastic and I’d love to buy it! 🙂
Tasha
Against All Grain
Thank you Tasha, I am currently working on a book which you can read more about here. Thank you for all the encouragement!
Auli'i
I only have ROASTED unsalted cashews…will that work or do they have to raw?
Against All Grain
Raw is best. Roasted cashews have extra oils that come out during the heating.
Amber Link
I LOVE these buns! They are my favorite coconut flour creation of yours because they manage to be soft yet sturdy enough to hold up to a burger and they don’t taste eggy at all like so many other coconut flour baked goods do. Genius!
Tina
I tried these tonight, not sure what I did wrong but they were dense. It seems that everytime I have cooked with coconut flour it turns out dense. Kinda like when you eat pancakes and they get stuck in your throat feeling. Any suggestions?
Against All Grain
Hmm that’s strange these shouldn’t be dry. The only thing I can suggest is to measure your coconut flour very precisely. Even an extra tsp will make a big difference.
Kapu Hoopii
Could you swap out the cashew butter for almond butter or other butters?
JZ
Found this recipe as I Googled “Paleo Bun”
I made a couple of changes to the recipe. For one, I follow more of the Dr. Jorgensen Primal Mind Primal Body guideline in which Cashews are shunned so I substituted some Hazelnuts instead and grinded them in the food processor.
2nd thing I did was use plain water instead of Almond Milk.
Third thing I did WHICH made a huge difference in how ‘Fluffy’ my bread came out was: Pastured Pork Leaf Lard. I threw in about 3 tablespoons of it (melted in cast iron plate and then cooled just a sliver).
Yeah the caloric and fat intake is probably nightmarish BUT I follow a caloric restrictive diet to begin with at all other times, AND place Fats at the top of my food pyramid. Besides, I only used one bun and stuffed it to the brim with ground beef LOL. Best Burger I’ve EVER had haha. I froze the other 3 buns and will be pulling one every couple of weeks when my ‘Bread’ craving starts kicking in again.
BTW Thanks a Million for the Recipe! THE ‘Buns’ were absolutely heavenly.
Dawn @cuter than gluten
We just had these tonight. I made six smaller ones instead of four and used hemp milk. They were delicious. Great job on this recipe.
Susan
Thank you so much, Danielle, for sharing your wonderful recipes! My son was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s and we’ve been on an emotional roller coaster. Thanks to your SCD legal choc chip cookies, things aren’t looking so gloomy anymore!
Against All Grain
Love those types of stories. Thanks for sharing Susan!
Hannah
Hi Danielle! I posted a review of this recipe on my blog. I just wanted to let you know. I did not reproduce your recipe, I just linked over here to it. https://scdyums.blogspot.com/2013/03/recipe-review-against-all-grain-grain.html
Against All Grain
Great, thank you!
Amy Simoneaux
Yummy recipe!! Instead of making hamburger patties I used my new “Whoppie Pie” pan to make them look like english muffins. Instead of buns I was making them to make mini pizzas….turned out great and very filling. It made about 2 dozen so I have plenty to stick in the freezer. Thanks for another great recipe!
Vanessa
I have tried and tried to like almonds and the various breads made out of almond flour or almond butter, but the nuttiness comes through too strongly and it always tastes like burnt nuts to me–eww! So, I was interested when I saw these were made out of ground cashews. I made these today using Planter’s cashews (I know, I know–but that was the only cashews the grocery store had). I left out the salt since I was using pre-salted cashews, used coconut milk, and added about a tablespoon of tapioca starch since I’ve found tapioca helps lighten coconut flour baked goods. This probably sounds weird, but the ground cashew mixture has a sort of yeast-y flavor to it which isn’t lost in the final product. Definitely the best bread-type product I’ve made taste-wise to date. As for texture–I, as you, have given up hope of light and flaky when it comes to grain-free breads. Thanks for a great tasting recipe!
Brady Cottle
Any chance these would work without the cashews and using almonds instead?
Amy Gorton
Hi I was wondering if you could use all almond flour. I live out of country and don’t have access to coconut flour.
Roxann Reid-Rojas
You can make your own coconut flour – really easy! Just get shredded coconut and put it in hot water for a few minutes and then strain it – that is to make coconut milk, with the leftovers I put it on a cookie sheet in the oven at 175 degrees for 45 minutes until it is dry and then grind it. Voila! Coconut flour!!
Danielle B.
So….these were pretty much amazing. I halved the recipe and made 3 buns….I’m always wary of eating too much and overdosing on nuts when I use them in recipes!! I will definitely be making these again and can’t wait to try my 2 leftovers tomorrow; one with my eggs and breakfast and one with my turkey for lunch!
Jlukito
Can I make this with cashew butter instead? and what’s the measurement change if I do?
Thank you!
Against All Grain
The cashew butter would make these hard to form with your hands but you could probably drop them like biscuits. I am not sure of the measurement change though.
Chelsea
Just made these tonight. They were absolutely delicious! I have been grain free for awhile now and the taste of these buns were out of this world! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂
Penny Lane
Found this through Deliciously Organic. Can’t wait to try it. We’ve been on a hunt for good hamburger buns with no luck so far. Thanks for sharing!!
Nicole
We can’t survive without these delicious buns. my daughter is so addicted to it that every 2 days i have to make a new batch. i was wondering if i can substitute the egg white with something else because she has egg white intolerance and she is on SCD.
Alexis Stevenson
Maybe a flax egg. I have had success, with other recipes, using the flax egg…maybe worth a try?
Bianca
Can Flax Egg be used in SCD?
Danielle
No Flax seeds are illegal on SCD.
Mallory
I made these tonight. We had our first intentionally grain-free meal with a grain-free bread replacement. Holy crap, they are amazing. These buns singlehandedly convinced my husband and I to try Paleo. We are so excited to be able to eat foods we normally eat -like chicken sandwiches- while still maintaining a Paleo lifestyle. Wow!!! 5 stars and 4 thumbs up!
Lisa O
I made this recipe exactly as is and it came out great. Thanks for the great and easy recipe! 🙂
smashinbeauty
it looks amazing! Will be trying this tomorrow
Maria
How do you get the buns to look like buns? The flavor was good but they turned out pretty thin and once cut in half, didn’t hold a burger very well. I made 4 buns out of the mix, like the recipe said. But they were too big and too thin. Any advice?
Ruth
Hi! I was wondering if anyone has tried making these in a shaped pan— I have a really nice Nordicware mini leaf pan that I was thinking of putting this dough into, to make little rolls for our Thanksgiving table. Anybody done this, or something similar, before?
Charlotte Douglas
I just made these to go along with Rachael Ray’s Cobb Salad Turkey Burgers, and these were fantastic!! They are not eggy like so many other paleo “bread” recipes, and are not almond flour overpowering. I have tried to so many “bread” recipes, and this by far is my favourite. I did use regular milk, and melted butter, as that is all I had on hand. I never quite got my egg whites to form stiff peaks, as my arms gave up on me, but they still came out looking exactly like the picture. Mmmmm so good. When they came out of the oven, my kids thought they were scones, and were eating them with butter. Now I can’t wait to try your Paleo bread recipe. Thanks!!
Lisa
I have cashew flour, can that be substituted for the raw cashews? and would I need to adjust how much I use? These sound great!
Savory Simple
Thank you for these! The only other recipe I’ve seen uses a muffin top pan and I didn’t feel like buying it.
~liz
I have cashew meal (from Trader Joes)…how much of that should i use (or, how much meal does 1 1/2 cups of raw cashews yield?) thanks! looking forward to trying these!
AB
Do you have any lower calorie bread options? In trying to lose weight I do have to be mindful of my overall calorie intake and 500 on a burger bun is a bit much for my calorie goals.
mekela
When using these flours you will not be able to get a lower calorie bun.
Andie
Can I make this using a vitamix instead of a food processor?
Linda Nicholls
There’s not enough contrast between the color of the text and the background of the page for me to read it. Please keep vision challenged folks in mind when designing a website.
Roxann Reid-Rojas
What is the difference between almond flour and blanched almond flour?
Danielle
Roxann, almond meal is different from blanched almond flour as it contains skins and in typically more coarsely ground.
Roxann Reid-Rojas
Thank you so much Danielle!
Karla
Wouldn’t your bread serve well as hamburger buns?
meowshell
I detest cashews. I’m thinking that brazil nuts might work as a substitute. What do you thing?
Sandra Milena Turner
How many calories for bun? I’m trying to lose weight and I’m looking for the calories .
Renata
I’m thinking of using this for breakfast egg sandwiches. Do you think the dough could be made the night before & kept in the fridge?
mekela
Import into my fitness pal reciepe maker and it will give you all the info for the buns.
mekela
yes
Rachael Trovillion
This is the most AMAZING RECIPE I have EVER TRIED…Good bye standard American bread!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you beyond words!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laurie
I can’t have eggs is there a substitute for both the yolk and whites
onebadscientist
I’m sorry, I followed this recipe to the T and they were awful. Tasted like sugar less cashew cookies. EXTREMELY disappointed in the texture, taste, look…I’d rather do a lettuce wrap next time.
Jane Evans
This recipe is somewhat different from the one in the Against All Grain recipe book (PPS 242-243). Anyone tried both, which is best? I don’t want to try them both to start.
Betsy
I didn’t have a mixer… i used 1/3 c. Almond butter with a little extra almond floor and used a stick of butter. ..i was looking for a bad more than a bun..It turned out amazing! I’m on SCD so I’m really limited with what i can have. … but guess who’s having grilled cheese tonight! Woohoo!! Thank you so much for this starting point! It was amazing! Also if anyone else is SCD, I used coconut vinegar, since apple cider is on the “illegal”list….
Bianca
In Breaking the Vicious Cycle it says that apple cider is legal. Am i mistaken?
Danielle
Yes it is legal, just check to make sure the one you buy doesn’t have any added sugars. I like to buy Braggs
Toni H
I am allergic to all nuts but almonds (i just get a runny nose with almonds). Any suggestions for a subsitute?
Danielle
Toni, you may enjoy this recipe https://againstallgrain.com/2012/02/23/grain-free-crusty-rolls/. It uses almond flour and coconut flour. ~Eileen
Nicole
What are the nutritional values please?
mimiliss
These are the best grain free buns we have tried yet!! Thank you!!
Danielle
Thank you!
Agnes
These look delicious but I was wondering with what I could substitute cashews (just can eat walnuts, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts) and coconut flour as can’t eat them. Thank you..:-)