Crispy Gluten-Free Beef Samosas From Scratch

30 Reviews
Published Apr 18, 2018 ∙ Kristina Stosek

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Gluten-Free Spicy Beef Samosas are crispy Indian pastries filled with ground beef, green peas, and onions, seasoned with garlic, ginger, cumin, curry powder, and cinnamon. These savory hand pies make a delicious appetizer or snack, especially when served hot alongside mint chutney, tamarind sauce, or a cooling cucumber raita.

3 gluten free beef samosas on a small plate

The Spiced Beef and Pea Filling

The filling comes together in about 10 minutes. Ground beef is cooked with onions, garlic, and fresh ginger, then seasoned with curry powder, cinnamon, and red chili flakes. Green peas are folded in at the end for texture and balance.

Make sure to let the filling cool completely before assembling your samosas. Warm filling will soften the pastry dough and cause it to tear.

Indian spiced beef filling in a skillet

Are traditional samosas gluten-free?

No. Traditional samosas use a wheat-based pastry dough. This recipe replaces the wheat flour with a high-quality gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour blend to get that same authentic, crispy texture.

Tips for Perfect Gluten-Free Samosa Pastry

Working with gluten-free pastry dough requires a little extra care, but this recipe keeps it simple. The dough mixes dry ingredients with milk and olive oil, and it needs to rest for about 40 minutes to become pliable.

  • Check the thickness: Roll the dough thin, but not paper-thin, or it will break when stuffed.

  • Use parchment paper: Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking without adding extra flour, which dries out the dough.

  • Keep the oil at medium heat: Fry the samosas in medium-temperature oil. If the oil is too hot, the pastry exterior will harden and brown before heating through. Since the beef filling is already fully cooked, you only need to fry them long enough to crisp the pastry to a golden brown.

3 Samosa Filling Variations

If you want to switch up the protein or make a vegetarian version, you can use the same pastry dough with these alternative fillings:

  • Potato and Pea (Classic Veg): Mashed boiled potatoes and green peas seasoned with cumin seeds, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, minced ginger, and fresh cilantro.

  • Spicy Chicken: Shredded cooked chicken tossed with chopped onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and green chilies.

  • Lentil (Dal): Cooked, mashed yellow or red lentils seasoned with garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, and a splash of fresh lemon juice.

Two Ways to Shape Samosas

1. The Easy Method (My Preferred Way)

Roll a small ball of dough into a 4-to-5-inch circle. Place about two tablespoons of cooled beef filling directly in the center. Fold the dough over to create a half-moon shape. Moisten the edges with a little water and press firmly to seal.

4 images of how to make gluten free samosa, flour and spices in a bowl, samosa filling on rolled dough, shaped uncooked samosa, samosa frying in oil

2. The Classic Triangle Shape

Roll a ball of dough into an oval shape, roughly 6 to 7 inches in diameter, and cut it clean in half. Moisten the straight edge with water, bring the two corners of that edge together, and pinch them to form a cone. Spoon two tablespoons of filling into the cone, then firmly press the top edge closed. Be careful not to overfill.

4 images shaping samosa, holding dough with fingers, shaped cone in a hand, samosa filling in a cone, closed samosa with filling before frying

And remember, the samosas don’t have to look perfect, because they taste so good!

How to Fry Gluten-Free Samosas

Fry the samosas in medium-temperature oil. If the oil is too hot, the pastry will harden instantly instead of getting light and crispy.

Keep a close eye on them and do not overcook. Since the beef filling is already fully cooked, you only need to fry the samosas long enough to crisp up the pastry to a beautiful golden brown.

Can I bake or air-fry these?

While deep-frying yields the traditional, ultra-crispy texture, you can brush the samosa lightly with oil and bake them at 400°F (200°C) or air-fry them until golden brown.

fried gluten-free samosa on a plate with yogurt and cilantro

Can samosas be frozen?

Yes. Assemble and shape the samosas, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen samosas to an airtight freezer bag. You can cook them straight from frozen; just add a few extra minutes to the frying time.

Love Indian food? Check out my selection of 100 + gluten-free Indian recipes, especially my famous low fat Indian butter chicken…so so good. Enjoy!

This Gluten Spicy Beef Samosas recipe has been created and tested by Kristina gluten-free recipe developer. If you enjoyed this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a ⭐ star rating and a quick review, it really helps others discover these recipes.

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Crispy Gluten-Free Beef Samosas From Scratch

30 reviews
Published Apr 18, 2018 · Kristina Stosek
Prep Time:
20 min
Cooking Time:
40 min
Serves:
12

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 - 1 tsp. GF red chilli pepper flakes
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1 Tbsp. GF curry powder
1 tsp. GF ground cumin
1/4 tsp. GF ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Pure sea salt
3/4 cup frozen or fresh peas
SAMOSA DOUGH
2 1/4 cups (333 g) gluten-free baking flour mix
1 tsp. Xanthan gum, add only if the baking flour mix doesn’t include xanthan gum
1 tsp. GF baking powder
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. GF ground anise seed (optional but adds lovely flavour to the samosa pastry)
1/4 tsp. GF ground turmeric (adds natural colour and is optional)
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. SPICY BEEF FILLING
  2. Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent. About 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, and chilli pepper flakes.
  3. Add beef, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon and salt. Cook until browned
  4. Add peas and cook until heated. Set aside
  5. SAMOSA DOUGH
  6. Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, salt, and if using anise seed and turmeric. Add milk and olive oil and mix until a dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and rest the dough for 40 minutes
  7. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions for small samosas, about the size of a lime. Roll out the dough into thin rounds between two pieces of parchment paper about 4 - 5 inches in diameter. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the dough. Wet the edges of the dough with water and overlap one side of the dough over the filling. Using your fingers press the edges together. Place samosas on parchment paper. * see below two ways of shaping samosas
  8. Fry small samosas in 1/2-inch vegetable oil over medium heat, until golden brown. About 3 - 4 minutes per side. Place on paper towel or wire rack for the oil to drain.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Samosa: Calories: ~228 Fat: ~8.8g Carbohydrates: ~27.7g Protein: ~7.9g Fiber: ~2.1g Sugar: ~2.8g Sodium: ~127mg | These values are estimates and can vary depending on the specific gluten-free flour blend, milk type, and fat percentage of the ground beef used.

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Comments

  1. Annie

    Great gluten free samosa recipe! Thank you for this! It took about 40 minutes

  2. Danielle

    It's very delicious, I like it

  3. Kristina

    fantastic!

  4. Kristina

    thats excellent, thank you!

  5. Mary

    I am not following the folding directions. Any advice?

  6. Kristina

    Hi Mary, to fold the dough, first you fold it over the filling in half, then one more time making sure the edges meet. Hope this helps.

  7. Geeb

    Photographs would have been so helpful

  8. Kristina

    I will get some done and post them as soon as they are ready!

  9. Brenda

    This is the third time I am making them, we love them so much. Thank you for adding the photographs, makes it a lot easier to follow the instructions.

  10. Kristina

    I am so happy to hear that you are loving them. Yes I added the photographs because I received many requests for them, I hope the instructions are easier to follow now.

  11. Samina

    Hello, in order to make it dairy free, do you think coconut milk will work as a substitute instead of cow milk? Also, can some of these unfried samosas be freezed for future use?

  12. Kristina

    yes you can use coconut milk or rice milk. And yes you can freeze untried samosas in freezer bags.

  13. Cynthia

    the best gluten-free samosas recipe, thank you sooo much!

  14. Kristina

    thank you

  15. Valerie

    I am so happy I found this recipe. I made them four times already. You are the best, love your website!

  16. Ali D.

    a little work to make the samosas but my family loved them, thank you!

  17. Kristina

    yes I agree Ali, a little more work, a good recipe for the weekend. Thank you.

  18. Rachel

    I did a terrible job filling the dough, so even though my samosas were ugly, they were absolutely delicious!!!

  19. Kristina

    A+ for effort Rachel, well done! Kristina xx

  20. Deute

    I'm going to cheat a bit on this recipe. I have a friend who makes what he calls burger bundles so I'll use your meat recipe partially and add sugar free bar-b-que sauce and make the pastry. My gluten free, sugar free burger bundles.

  21. Kristina

    sounds good Deute, thank you for sharing.

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