I realize that my life as a gluten-tolerant person is a privileged one, and over the course of this gluten free cake mix taste test, I learned that there’s a huge spectrum of gluten-free quality. I found that there are some really delicious options out there, and discovered there are some cakes that even I won’t eat. I made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
To conduct this taste test of gluten-free cake mixes, I followed package instructions to bake in 8×8 square pans. When given the choice between butter and oil, I used butter because, as any Southern granny would tell you, “Everything’s better with butter.” I tried each gluten free cake without any frosting or topping at first. And I had a cucumber slice between each bite of cake so nobody can tell me I didn’t have a salad.
Out of the nine gluten free cake mixes I tried, these are the best gluten free cake mix options—including gluten free yellow cake mix, gluten free chocolate cake mix, and one absolute wildcard. This here is the good gluten free cake mix you need to try.
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- King Arthur Classic Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
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I’ll be honest, I didn’t really want to like this gluten free yellow cake mix from King Arthur, purely because it was slightly more work than a lot of the other mixes. I had to add butter, oil, milk, and eggs. Four whole ingredients, as opposed to the others that required three. I was practically inconsolable, but it turns out cake really does heal all wounds. The mix smelled half like classic yellow cake and half like Cool Whip, the finished product had a wonderfully forward vanilla aroma, and this bad boy baked up big, bold, and dense. Though it’s not a delicate crumb, it’s darn tasty, which should be expected from a cake that contains a stick of butter. This is the best gluten free cake mix for those looking to have something texturally close to a pound cake.
Credit: Liv Averett / King Arthur
- Pillsbury Classic Gluten Free Yellow Premium Cake Mix
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This gluten free yellow cake mix makes a style of aggressively yellow cake that I know and love. From the initial smell of the mix to the gloopiness of the batter to the unapologetically sweet cake, there is no denying the childhood yellow cake flavor that begs for a fudge frosting. This was a divisive one among my tasting pals, though. Some folks didn’t like how unsubtle it was. It somehow tastes like cake batter even after it’s fully baked. It tastes like what you would mix into ice cream, because it has a cake batter flavor that will not be outshone by anything. You go, Pillsbury.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- King Arthur Gluten Free Confetti Cake Mix
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Even though the big sprinkles melted a little too much into the cake (I wanted some crunch), this gluten free cake mix bakes into an incredibly tasty cake. With a perfect crumb and beautiful bounce, I couldn’t tell it was a gluten-free cake, even though I searched hard for the giveaway grit. As great as the texture is, the flavor is just as wonderful. It’s sweet without being sickly, and has a lingering aftertaste of a marshmallow. It’s definitely the most colorful, best gluten free cake mix for a birthday party.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Duncan Hines Keto Friendly Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
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Like the male protagonist in a John Green novel describing his manic pixie dream girl, I knew from the very first moment that this gluten free yellow cake mix was something special. The scent of the cake is a tantalizing mix of sweetness, almond, and coconut. I was skeptical because the mix asked for coconut oil, which seemed awfully high-maintenance amidst the other plebeian mixes that requested vegetable oil. I also feared it got too brown around the edges when baking. Despite all this, my eyes bulged out of my head when I ate it, and I threw caps lock on my computer to take EMPHATIC notes about how delicious and coconutty it is. It’s not a traditional yellow cake, by any means. Instead of a fluffy cake, it’s dense and moist and melts in your mouth. It tastes like a coconut macaroon and feels a little like eating a tres leches cake. It is definitely not for anyone dead-set on a classic yellow cake and opposed to coconut, but I absolutely love it. It also happens to be keto friendly gluten free cake mix, if you’re into that.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- King Arthur Gluten Free Chocolate Mix
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I spent a lot of time going back and forth between whether to award this “best gluten free chocolate cake mix” or “best gluten free cake mix overall,” and I’m happy with my decision to give it both titles. The batter wasn’t particularly promising—not worrisome by any means, but it was thin and didn’t smell particularly strongly of chocolate. Then, a metamorphosis happened in the oven. The final cake was deeply flavorful, and the perfect balance between sweet cake and almost bitter chocolate. The texture was second only to the King Arthur confetti cake, but the flavor more than made up for the teeny tiny bit of grit in the cake. I went back for this gluten free cake multiple times, even after eating eight other cakes.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Dense
Best Nostalgic
Best for Birthdays
Best Coconut Flavor
Best of the Best
Other gluten free cake mix brands we tried: Krusteaz Chocolate, Momma’s Kitchen Red Velvet, Genius Kitchen Chocolate, Genius Kitchen Vanilla
