How to make easy gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy chickpea filling (2024)

Easy gluten-free samosas are filled with a sweet and spicy chickpea filling that makes you feel like you're travelling through the markets of New Delhi - from the comfort of your own couch.

My gluten-free samosas are made only with whole and natural ingredients. The best part is that they come together in a fraction of the time thanks to a ready-made, frozen sweet and spicy chickpea filling that is vegan, gluten-free and paleo.

This post is a partnership with Wholly Veggie! Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible; I am proud to only work with companies that I truly believe in.

University snacks

When I started university, I divided all my classes into three days. From 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I'd spend the day on campus, alternating between studiously sitting through classes to wanting to claw out my eyes with boredom.

The hardest part of that schedule was my constant and recurring desire to sleep through my study periods, those gaps I left in my day assuming I'd be doing all the readings for the next few classes. The second hardest part was packing enough nourishing food to last me through the long days.

That's when I discovered samosas.

Sold by students trying to raise money for their associations, Indian samosas were a cheap, filling vegetarian snack. What they lacked in health they more than made up for in flavour. And if I could get a little package of tamarind dipping sauce with them, my meal was complete. I also loved pairing them with a tamarind co*cktail, which my friends dubbed "the Samosa co*cktail" for its sweet and tangy flavor..

Adapting samosas to be gluten-free

After going gluten-free, samosas were one of the foods I missed the most. But the process of making them always seemed so tedious. First, you had to cook the filling. Then, develop the dough. Third came the folding. And then the frying. Only later did you also need to think of a dipping sauce (because what's a samosa without dipping sauce?!)

In total, too much work.

That is, until I discovered the Wholly Veggie! ready-made veggie-full meals - and that's when I knew my filling was taken care of.

Don't get me wrong, making gluten-free samosas at home is still going to be a labour of love. But for many of us with celiac or gluten intolerances, these easy gluten-free samosas are going to be the only way to enjoy a take-out favorite.

The funny thing is, these gluten-free samosas are even better than take-out!

Ingredient Spotlight: Sweet & Spicy Chickpea Veggie-Full Meal

The secret ingredient to the perfect gluten-free samosas recipe is the sweet & spicy chickpea veggie-full meal.

Full of the comforting and familiar flavours of chickpeas, tomatoes, butternut squash, lentils, spinach, chickpea balls, and red bell peppers, this filling has an incredible balance of sweet and spicy flavours. Believe me that in between tastings, it was hard to leave enough of it to actually use as a filling!

All Wholly Veggie! ready-made meals are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian (depending on the product), soy-free and non GMO. They can be heated in the microwave, which turned out to be a great plus when I had a screaming toddler on my hands one afternoon.

And they're actually made by a Canadian company in a kitchen, not a factory.

So excuse me as I go and stock up my freezer full of them.

Why you should make gluten-free samosas

I truly fell head over heels with the recipe for these gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy chickpea filling. They are

• so EASY to make
• all natural
• filling
• vegan
• gluten-free
• non-GMO
• dairy-free
• soy-free
• feel like a treat
• made of clean ingredients
• delicious
• portable
• kid-friendly - my toddler LOVES them
• easily reheated
• come with a great tamarind dipping sauce
• easily customizable - you can change the filling to any other Wholly Veggie! ready-made meal, or use whatever other filling you have on hand. We loved them with the creamy coconut cauliflower filling.

Why this gluten-free dough is better than rice paper samosas

A popular approach to gluten-free samosas is to use rice paper wrappers. If you go that route, you can save yourself even more time and make these gluten-free samosas in under 30 minutes.

However, I do believe that my gluten-free samosa dough recipe is better than using rice paper.

This gluten-free dough recipe is:

• made in the food processor
• simple
• flaky
• crispy
• beautifully coloured
• just the right thickness
• more similar to original samosa dough
• vegan
• non-processed

So if you want your gluten-free samosas with sweet and spicy chickpea filling to taste as similar to original samosas as possible, you'll take the time to make my perfect gluten-free samosa dough.

Ingredients for gluten-free samosas recipe

To make these easy gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy chickpea filling you need:

• 2 bags of Wholly Veggie! Sweet & Spicy Chickpea veggie-full meal
• 2.5 cups of gluten free flour mix, or 1 cup (100g) corn flour, ¾ cup (100g) rice flour, 1 cup (100g) tapioca flour, 1 cup (80g) potato flour
• ⅛ teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (use only if your flour mix doesn’t have xanthan gum)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons (50g) coconut oil
• 1.5 cups (250ml) water OR non-dairy milk

Ingredients for tamarind dipping sauce:

• 1tablespoonconcentrated tamarind paste
• 1tablespoon hot water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chilli pepper flakes or ground chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

Step-by-step directions

This recipe is truly one of the best gluten-free samosa recipes I've ever tasted. The resulting dough is a beautiful orange color, and it flakes in your mouth as you bite into. The sweet & spicy chickpea filling is perfectly balanced, full of crunch and texture.

Prep ingredients

The only thing you'll need to do to the Wholly Veggie! ready-made sweet & spicy chickpea meal is defrost it. You can use the microwave, or good old time.

This dough comes together super easily in the food processor. If you don't have one, you can mix all the ingredients in a bowl using a spatula and your hands.

If using a food processor, you'll be working with the all-purpose blade, so set that up.

Make the flaky gluten-free samosa dough

Next, add the gluten-free flour mix or the individual flours to the food processor bowl. Pulse briefly to combine if using individual flours. Add salt and baking powder. Cover and process 3 seconds.

Add coconut oil and water and process until mixture forms a ball. You may have to get in there with your hands and just gently knead if your processor is too aggressive.

Prepare your working surface

Dust a large working surface with some gluten-free flour (I like to use potato flour or rice flour for this). This is where you'll be rolling out your samosas, so you want a fairly large area.

Shape and chill the dough

Take the dough out of the food proessor, and knead it until dough is soft and pliable. Lightly coat in gluten-free flour and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate gluten-free samosa dough for 30 minutes.

Form gluten-free samosa dough into balls

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions for small samosas. Each ball should be about the size of a ping pong ball.

Roll out samosa sheets

Cover your working area with a piece of parchment paper. Place a dough ball on it. Cover with another piece of parchment paper about the same size. Roll the dough into a thin round about 5 inches in diameter.

Fill gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy filling

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the dough. Do not overfill your samosas, no matter how good this filling is, as it'll spill out when you try to close them.

Shape your samosas

There are two ways to shape your samosas that I like:

The lazy way: Half moons

Wet the edges of the dough with water and overlap one side of the dough over the filling. Your dough should form a closed half-moon.

Crimp the edges to close.

This is the same folding technique as used in my vegetarian empanadas.

The traditional way: Triangle samosas

Wet the edges of the dough with water.

Working from the right side, pull one side of the dough over the filling and towards the middle. Stop just left of the middle and do not go all the way to the left.

Then pull the left side of the dough and fold it over the right.

Your dough should look like a triangle with an opening up top.

Fold the opening over the top of the two other halves, closing your triangle.

Fry the samosas

Fill a large pan with wide, tall rims with 1 inch of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Carefully test the oil temperature with a drop of water; the oil is ready when the water sizzles.

Working in batches, fry several samosas at a time. Try not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each samosa about 2-3 minutes on each side, until its colous becomes golden-brown and they crisp up. Remove samosas onto a plate lined with a paper towel.

Serve gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy filling with tamarind dipping sauce

Serve gluten-free samosas warm, with a side of our tamarind dipping sauce (see dipping sauce directions below).

Directions for tamarind dipping sauce

Mix tamarind and water until fully dissolved. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon chilli pepper flakes or ground chilli powder, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cumin and ½ teaspoon ground coriander.

Microwave mixture for 5 minutes, or bring to a boil in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes.

Scaling the recipe

This rice-flour samosa recipe makes about 20 samosas. Halve the recipe if you're looking for one meal for 2-4 people.

You can also make more of these gluten-free samosas and freeze them.

Storage

Easy gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy filling will keep in a sealed container in refrigerator for one week. They will keep much longer in the freezer, though.

Making in Advance

Gluten-free samosas can be made in advance, frozen and reheated in the oven.

The components can also be made in advance. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for one week, or longer in the freezer.

You can also shape them and freeze them prior to frying. For best results, freeze the shaped gluten-free samosas on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Then when they have sufficiently frozen, transfer them to a sealed container, separating the layers with parchment paper.

No need to make the sweet & spicy chickpea filling in advance as it's ready-made!

Heating instructions

If reheating gluten-free samosas that were made in advance, it's better to use the oven at 400F for 5 minutes.

It's best to let these samosas naturally thaw out and not cook directly from frozen.

Dominant flavors and ingredients

The dominant flavors in these easy gluten-free samosas are sweet and spicy.

Chickpeas, tomatoes, vinegar and cayenne peppers are the notes that come through the most.

If you're not a fan of spicy samosas, use the Wholly Veggie! coconut cauliflower filling. Our toddler loved these!

Top Tips for making gluten-free samosas

Adaptations

Grain-free

This recipe is for gluten-free samosas, and my preference is for using a mix of rice, corn, tapioca and potato flours.

I haven't tried making these grain-free, though I imagine you can use a mix of almond flours and arrowroot powder.

Even easier rice paper samosas

In place of making your own dough, use rice paper wrappers to make a rice paper samosa recipe. The small ones would make the perfect size.

Paleo

To make paleo samosas, you'd have to use a mix of almond flours and arrowroot powder. I haven't tried this so I cannot advise on the ratio, but this recipe could be a good guide.

Nut-free

This recipe is naturally nut and soy-free!

Vegan

These are gluten-free & vegan samosas with sweet & spicy filling! Just like the real deal.

Gluten-free Samosa Variations

• Coconut cauliflower gluten-free samosas: this was our second-favourite filling. Use two bags of the Wholly Veggie! Coconut Cauliflower ready-made meal.
• Gluten-free samosas rice paper: Use rice paper wrappers in place of the dough in this recipe. This shortens the time it takes to make these considerably!
• Mexican gluten-free samosas: You can even try to use corn tortillas in place of the wrap, but I haven't tried this.
• Gluten-free samosas with sweet & spicy tofu: add ½ cup of cubed firm tofu to the filling.
• Sweet & spicy gluten-free samosas with peas: add ½ cup of peas to the filling. This way, it'll taste even more like regular samosas.

Equipment

This recipe uses a food processor. If you don't own a food processor, feel free to use a bowl, a spatula and your hands.

As these samosas are deep fried, you can use a traditional deep fryer, an air fryer or a pan, as this recipe suggests.

When to Serve

Gluten-free samosas with a sweet & spicy chickpea filling make a great lunch.

You could also serve them for a light dinner, with an accompanying side.

And of course, feel free to snack on these during study periods 😉

Accompanying Dishes

I like to serve these gluten-free samosas with a light vegetable side, as they're already quite filling! These are some salads and sides that go really well with them:

If you're looking for more International baked stuffed pockets, try these:

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