Gluten Free Pecan Cobbler with Biscuit Topping

This homemade gluten free pecan pie cobbler is thick and gooey with lots of brown sugar and pecan flavor. It is topped with a flaky gluten free biscuit topping. It is pure comfort food and my go-to for an easy Thanksgiving dessert. If you love the flavor of pecan pie, but don’t want to deal with making pie crust, this is a great dessert alternative.

If you are a pecan pie fan, this recipe is for you. This recipe is a carefully tested blend between my popular Gluten Free Pecan Pie recipe and the cobbler topping from my Gluten Free Apple Cobbler recipe. This is for people who want pecan pie flavor with much less hassle, since you don’t have to make and roll a pie crust. The biscuit topping is flaky and absorbs some of the sauce’s gooey brown sugar flavor. Most pecan cobbler recipes pour hot water over brown sugar and skip the eggs. I wanted it to taste like actual pecan pie, so the filling is the same egg-based caramel I use in my pecan pie.

The biscuit topping is based on my gluten free biscuit recipe, which was tested with 17 or so flour blends. It is versatile enough that you can use any flour blend; just keep an eye on the moisture level of the biscuit dough. It should be a little wetter than my typical biscuits. This is important so it doesn’t absorb as much of the pecan caramel sauce.

I only needed to test the recipe twice, which was nice. In my first attempt, I used too much biscuit topping, and it absorbed a lot of the pecan pie filling. I would say it was more pecan bar-like and not really cobbler-like. Nobody in my family minded eating that, so at least there was no waste. Reducing the amount of biscuit topping really helped, so there was more gooey pecan pie filling.

If you are looking for more Thanksgiving recipes, you can find lots of great gluten free Thanksgiving recipes on the blog. You may also like this creamy Gluten Free Pumpkin Cobbler.

Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps:

For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I made this recipe using King Arthur Measure for Measure, but most blends should work based on my gluten free biscuit testing notes. As I mentioned above, watch the dough consistency. It should be a little wetter than if you were making biscuits. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more.
• Binder – Binders help to hold gluten free baked goods together. If your flour blend doesn’t have a binder, add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Learn Why Binders are Important in Gluten-Free Baking.
• Sugar – This recipe has both white and brown sugar. I used dark brown sugar, but light will also give great flavor.
• Butter – I used unsalted butter. If you use salted, you may not want to add much additional salt.
• Eggs – Use large eggs.
• Milk – Regular or non-dairy. Both work; note that using non-dairy prevents the topping from getting that golden color.
• Pecans – I use raw, unsalted pecans.

How to Make Gluten Free Pecan Pie Cobbler (Step-By-Step)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a pot, melt the sugars, butter, vanilla, and a little water. Cook over medium-low heat. Whisk every few minutes. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Boiling the sugar and butter for 5 minutes thickens it into a caramel, so the filling sets around the pecans instead of staying runny

👀 Sandi Says: If you have a bag of brown sugar that got hard, this is a great way to use those big hard clumps of brown sugar in the bag. They melt nicely and you don’t have to chop them up.

Step 2: Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Add cold butter chunks. Use a pastry blender to break the cold butter up into little bits in the flour.

Step 3: Add the liquid to the flour butter mixture and mix into dough. The dough should be a little wetter than my regular biscuit dough. This wetter dough is already hydrated, so it pulls less liquid out of the caramel underneath.

Step 4: Temper the pecan mixture. Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk them. Add 1 tablespoon of the hot caramel mixture and whisk quickly. Repeat this with another tablespoon of the hot mixture. Pour the tempered eggs back into the pot and mix quickly. Add the pecans and mix.

👀 Sandi Says: Tempering the eggs prevents them from cooking in the hot liquid. It is an important step to mix the eggs into the hot liquid.

Pour the caramel pecan mix into a greased 8×8 pan.

Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to drop the biscuit topping over the pecan mixture. Optional: Brush milk over the top of the biscuits. Only do this if you are using regular milk. Non-dairy milk will not brown the tops.

Step 6: Bake for 30 minutes until the biscuits are firm to the tough. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes. The egg-thickened filling keeps setting as it cools.

Serve warm with optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Can I make pecan pie cobbler the day before Thanksgiving?

Yes, prep the filling the day before. You can also mix up the biscuit topping dough the day before. Assemble and bake when you are ready to make the cobbler.

Can I double pecan pie cobbler in a 9×13 pan?

Yes, you can easily double this recipe for a larger Thanksgiving celebration.

Can I make pecan pie cobbler dairy-free?

Yes, use Earth Balance plant based butter and a non-dairy milk. It works great but the biscuits will not get as golden.

More Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes:

• Gluten Free Pumpkin Dump Cake
• Gluten Free Apple Dumplings
• Easy Gluten Free Pecan Pie Brownies
• Gluten Free Cranberry Bundt Cake