Fantastic Gluten Free Corn Dogs Recipe - Beyond Flour (2024)

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Corn dogs are a childhood favorite for a lot of people, a nostalgic fair food, whether from county fairs in the US, or our seasonal fairs up here.

Like many other nostalgic foods, it can sometimes be hard to find a great version, when you find yourself relegated to special diets, such as the need to stick to gluten free foods.

I found the lack of comfort foods to be the toughest part of my Dx - getting bad news means NEEDING comfort foods, IMHO!

Anyway, as with everything else, I quickly realized that the only way I was going to properly satisfy the craving was to make my own gluten free version.

I worked up a delicious cornmeal batter, which really let the natural flavors of the corn and alternate flour shine, and everything was good with the world.

Anyway, the other day I blogged a recipe for Gluten Free Hushpuppies... which was actually inspired by this recipe.

We'd fried up the leftover batter from making a batch of these corn dogs - this gluten-free batter was just too fabulous to waste!

Anyway, after a long day at a farmers market - situated right next to a corn dog cart - we decided that I should probably blog my gluten-free corn dogs!

Gluten Free Corn Dogs

This recipe has evolved over the years - The first time around, we didn’t have any regular cornmeal in the house.

We did have Red Cornmeal and Blue Cornmeal, though – red having a sweeter, delicate flavor, while blue has a more rustic, earthy, almost roasted flavor.

We went with red, and the resulting corn dogs were delicious – soft, pillowy, and full of flavor!

This homemade corn dogs recipe works equally well with blue or yellow cornmeal, though!

Beyond the actual flavor being perfect, they lacked any of the telltale “gluten-free” texture issues- they were light and airy, moist, and had no “gummy” to it at all.

You could easily serve these to people who are not living gluten-free, without anyone knowing the difference.

Consider making a batch for your next party - your guests will love them!

Ingredients

This recipe utilizes slightly different ingredients than what you’d normally find as batter ingredients, but they’re all fairly basic ingredients that you should be able to find in any larger grocery store.

A few notes for you:

Gluten Free Flour Mix

As with all of my recipes, I use individual gluten free flours, specifically chosen for the recipe I’m developing.

This control over flavour and the properties of each flour gives the best results, and is more consistent than using any of the “all purpose” blends, in my experience.

For this recipe, you will need:

Masa Harina / Yellow Corn Flour
White Rice Flour
Yellow Corn Meal
Tapioca Starch / Tapioca Flour
Xanthan Gum

Gluten Free Hot Dogs

You can use whatever type of weiner suits your needs: regular hot dogs, chicken hot dogs, turkey hot dogs... even natural casing dogs, grass-fed beef hot dogs, or gluten-free veggie dogs.

You can even use breakfast sausage or brats - just be sure they’re fully cooked, before dipping them!

Frying Oil

I recommend using vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil for deep frying these gluten free corn dogs.

Peanut oil is technically another option, but I’m not fond of the flavor it imparts on this recipe, specifically.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is best, but you can also use regular 2% milk, or any plant based milk for this recipe - with or without a tablespoon of lemon juice mixed in.

We have been making it with unsweetened almond milk lately - that’s what’s pictured in the process shots on this update.

Optional Ingredients

I like to add a little extra seasoning to my corn dog batter - not enough to pick out any one of the flavours, just a hint of *something*.

What I use is:

Cayenne Pepper
Mustard Powder
Onion Powder

Sometimes I’ll skip those seasonings and make a honey batter, swapping out the granulated sugar in favour of liquid honey.

If I’m doing cooked breakfast sausages as corn dogs, I’ll swap the sugar out for maple syrup, and add ½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract.

Yeah, vanilla flavor in corn dogs sounds a bit odd, but it’s almost like a pancake batter with sausage.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Unsalted butter
Large eggs
Granulated sugar
Baking powder / sodium bicarbonate
Salt
Baking soda

... but I really don’t have anything to add, as far as those ingredients go!

Equipment and Supplies

In addition to ingredients, there are a few pieces of equipment and supplies that will help you out with this recipe:

Skewers

While technically optional, these make the dipping easier, and really... food on a stick is just fun to eat!

There are a few different things you can use as a corn dog stick.

You can buy a product specifically sold as Corn Dog Skewers, which are a good size to use.

Candy Apple Sticks also work, if you happen to have them on hand - though, I prefer a smaller diameter for this use.

On that note though, have you tried my Candy Apples, or Maple Caramel Apples? Both are fantastic "food on a stick" dessert options!

Personally, I just use the Bamboo Skewers I keep on hand for making things like my Chicken Satay.

They’re a bit long, so I just trim them down to size with a pair of kitchen scissors.

The key to whatever you use is that they - when inserted into the hot dogs - aren’t so long that the whole thing won’t fit in whatever vessel you’re frying them in.

Deep Fryer

You need something to fry these in.

While an actual deep fryer is convenient in terms of keeping the temperature of the oil consistent, don’t worry if you don’t have one.

I just use a big, heavy bottomed pot and a deep frying thermometer.

A Tall Drinking Glass

I use a drinking glass to hold the batter for dipping the prepared hot dogs.

You’ll want one that’s at least as long as the weiner you’re dipping, plus a few inches.

You don’t want the weiner to touch the bottom of the glass, really - and there should be some head space to avoid a mess.

How to Make Gluten Free Corn Dogs

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through.

Get Everything Ready

Heat oil 375 F (190 C). You can use a deep fryer, or a heavy pan.

Note: If you’re not using a deep fryer, use a heavy, deep pot, filled with at least 3 inches of oil.

I’ll usually heat it over medium high or high heat until it’s close to the right temperature, then turn it down to medium heat, monitor, and adjust as necessary.

Dry the hot dogs off with napkins WELL. Dust with a little masa flour, knock any excess off.

You want just a dusting - if the hotdog isn’t coated, the batter won’t stick. If there is excess masa on the weiner, the batter will just pull it off and ALSO not stick!

If using skewers, stick them into hotdogs, making sure they go in to about halfway up the length of the hotdog, set aside.

In a separate, medium bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter together.

Stir wet and dry ingredients together, mixing until well combined and relatively smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Dip and Cook!

Once 10 minutes is up, give the batter a stir and check the consistency - you can whisk in a little additional milk if you want to thin it out a bit.

Pour batter into a tall glass.

You want enough batter in the glass to be able to coat the entire hot dog, but enough space at the top so the batter doesn’t spill over when you dip the weiner.

You likely won’t fit all of the batter in on one batch - top it up as you go!

Carefully transfer dipped hot dogs to hot oil as you go.

Fry a few at a time - turning every few minutes - until golden brown.

Gluten Free Corn Fritters

Once you run out of weiners, you can use 2 spoons to top rounded teaspoons of batter into the fryer, and fry til golden.

It’s a great way to use up the remaining batter - basically hush puppies!

Serving and Leftovers

Serve hot, with mustard and/or ketchup for dipping.

Leftovers can be cooled to room temperature and transferred to a freezer bag for storage in the fridge.

These are best reheated in the air fryer for a few minutes at 380-400.

More Gluten-Free Snacks and Appetizer Recipes!

Looking for even more fantastic gluten-free munchies that *everyone* will love? Look no further!

Ahi Tuna Nachos
Gluten Free Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
Gluten-Free Beaver Tail Recipe
Gluten Free Cheez-Its
Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
Gluten Free Chicken Pakora
Gluten-Free Chicken Satay
Gluten Free Doughnut Holes Recipe
Gluten-Free Fried Brie
Gluten Free Gougeres
Gluten-Free Mixed Vegetable Pakora
Gluten Free Paneer Pakora
Gluten-Free Pizza Bites
Gluten Free Samosa Recipe
Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
Gluten Free Sauerkraut Buns [Piroshki]
Gluten Free Tempura
Loaded Mini Baked Potatoes

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @BeyondFlourBlog - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

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Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and a comment!

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