Healthy Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls
These Healthy Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls are soft, lightly sweet and super buttery… you’d never know they’re made without butter, sugar and white flour!
They don’t taste low fat, sugar free, high protein, gluten free, or dairy free ONE BIT. These Gluten-Free Crescents are more “dessert-like” compared to regular Crescents, but they’re absolutely delicious nonetheless. They are slightly sweet on their own, so they won’t make for good chicken salad sandwiches or anything, but they will make for a mean PB&J.
Unlike typical storebought Crescents, this homemade version doesn’t contain any butter, white sugar, white flour, artificial flavorings, or nasty preservatives. Don’t worry though, they have an amazing texture and great flavor. While these Crescents are buttery and rich, they aren’t flaky. I know that’s not exactly “authentic” but I actually like it better that way. I’ve never been a fan of flaky pastries like Danishes and foods made with phyllo dough because they’re so darn messy. I try to take a bite and flakes fly everywhere.
No, I don’t eat like a rabid animal.
Okay, maybe when I’m hungry…
Ehem. AAAANNYWAYYYYSSS…
These Healthy Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls make for an incredibly delicious breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Eat them alone or stuff them with goodies before baking… either way, your taste buds are in for a real treat and they’ll never know you’re fooling them with healthy food 😉
Healthy Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 16g (2 tbs) Psyllium Husk Powder
- 8g (1 packet) Active Dry Yeast
- 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 187g (¾ cup) Unsweetened Applesauce
- 4 large Egg Whites (reserve one of the yolks!)
- 1 tbs Natural Butter Flavor
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 224g (2 cups) Organic Soy Flour (+ ¼ cup for rolling)
- 144g (¾ cup) Truvia Spoonable
- 2 tsp Double-Acting Baking Powder
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- 70g (½ cup + 2 tbs) Coconut Flour
Egg Wash:
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 1 tbs Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the psyllium and yeast.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond milk, applesauce, egg whites and extracts. Dump the psyllium/yeast mix on top and quickly whisk together.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of soy flour, the stevia, baking powder and salt. Dump the dry over the wet and fold together with a rubber spatula. Shape the sticky dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm area for 1 hour + 20 minutes (I used a warming drawer set to 90 degrees Fahrenheit).
- In a small bowl, add the coconut flour. Take about 2 tbs and dust it over the slightly risen dough. Gently fold the mixture until it absorbs the coconut flour, then dust another 2 tbs over the dough and fold again. Do this with the rest of the coconut flour, then knead the dough into a ball.
- Dust a Silpat with ~2 tbs of soy flour, place the dough on top, then dust again with ~2 tbs of soy flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle, then use a pizza cutter to slice the rectangle into 12 tall triangles.
- Create the crescents by rolling the dough triangle, starting from the widest end and rolling to the triangle point. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 1 hour (I used the warming drawer again).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and almond milk. Brush the crescents with the egg wash and bake for ~33 minutes, or until golden brown. Let crescents cool on the pan. Serve warm!
Recipe Notes
- Or another natural sweetener that is 2x as sweet as sugar (¾ cup has the sweetness of 1½ cups of sugar).
- For a Chocolate Version: Add 2 tsp of chocolate chips to each crescent as you roll them up.
- For an Apple Pie Version: Dice a Granny Smith apple and marinate in 1 tbs lemon juice, 3 tbs coconut sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. When the apples are soft, add a spoonful to each crescent as you roll them up.
That’s pretty darn good for an unhealthy-tasting crescent roll! Only 140 delicious calories, 5g of healthy fats (with zero trans fats), 6g of filling fiber and 10g of complete protein.
I’ll take two. Or three?
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Wow. These look amazing. Reminds me of my mother – she LOVES these!
Well done, its SO hard to make a gluten free flaky dough like that – the soy flour was a great option!
As always, amazingness!
xx
Michelle-
Thanks so much Michelle! I hope you like the recipe 🙂
-Jess
Is there a substitute for soy flour, I am very allergic to soy? (Everything I eat must be gluten free,casein free, soy free and shellfish free.) Otherwise this recipe looks delicious.
Thank you for any help you might be able to give me.
Kat-
I’m afraid there isn’t a substitute for the organic soy flour. It absorbs a lot of liquid, similar to coconut flour, but isn’t as crumbly as coconut flour. It also binds very well due to the fiber content, similar to oat flour, but it doesn’t bake the same as oat flour. It took a lot of trial and error to get this recipe where it is so I am hesitant to give any substitutions. HOWEVER, if you’re feeling up to experimentation you can try substituting the 2 cups of soy flour with 1/2 cup coconut flour and 1+1/4 cups oat flour. If the dough is too dry, try adding a whole egg (or as many as you need to get it into a dough). Eggs will help keep the coconut flour less crumbly.
I have no idea if this is going to work, but I am crossing my fingers it does!!
If you get to try out the recipe, I really hope it turns out and I hope you LOVE it 🙂
-Jess
Kat~
Did you ever get to try the oat flour in this recipe? I, like you, am allergic to soy…and when I saw the picture–I was ecstatic…….until I read s-o-y.
You need Rays The Valley bread they are gluten, soy, and dairy free! Plus, low-carb. Check out their website.
I love your recipes but the titles can be misleading. I don’t consider this low carb and high protein, as it has more carbs than protein!
can you make husk powder with psyllium husks?
I haven’t tried it but I’m sure you can! If it looks kind of like a fine-grain sand after blending, it should work in this recipe just fine 😀
I hope you like the crescents!
-Jess
Do you think you can make a big batch of these and put them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them?
Kaitlynn-
Hmmm, I haven’t tried that so I can’t be sure, but feel free to test it out! I would recommend thawing the crescents in the fridge overnight and then toasting them when they’re no longer frozen 🙂
I hope you like the recipe!
-Jess
I don’t consider this low carb at all, although it is healthier than most crescent rolls. Is there a substitute for the apple sauce?
If you’re on a ketogenic diet, then the applesauce is a no-no, but I’ve seen many low carb recipes use fruit. Coconut flour and soy flour are low carb products, even though they do contain some carbohydrates (for example, coconut flour has 18g per 1/4 cup… sounds like a lot, but it’s low-carb)!
You can use probably use any other puree instead of the applesauce, like pumpkin puree, steamed carrot puree, etc. 😀
-Jess