New York City is known for having world-class bakeries, ranging from specialty pastry shops to cookie havens and renowned donut spots. But what is a lover of baked goods to do if they or a loved one has dietary restrictions?
In the past, observing a gluten-free or vegan diet largely prevented a large portion of the population from sampling some of the city’s finest selections of cupcakes, scones, and pastries. While there may have been a few dietary-friendly options at niche bakeries, those early creations were largely disappointing in terms of flavor, artistry, and culinary wonder — similar to the lackluster plant-based meat options of the past (think a sad frozen veggie patty made of artificial ingredients on a wilted bed of lettuce). Luckily, the world has shifted in the recent decade to embrace a variety of alternative diets, including vegan, low-sugar or sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, and paleo. As New York is often at the helm of the latest culinary trends, it’s no surprise that some of the best dietary-friendly bakeries can be found here.
As a baked goods aficionado and native New Yorker, I’ve had the chance to try many of the city’s best bakeries. In recent years, several loved ones have entered my life with different dietary considerations, so I’ve made it my personal mission to locate where to procure the very best desserts to support their lifestyle. This list was made based on my personal experience as well as reputable news sources and customer reviews.
Noglu
nogluny/Instagram
We begin our dietary-friendly bakery tour at Noglu. This New York outpost of a Parisian gluten-free bakery has helped transform the way the world thinks about gluten-free baked goods since its opening in the United States in 2015.
Noglu is committed to offering the freshest baked goods produced with locally sourced ingredients that reflect the changing seasons. Everything made at Noglu is 100% gluten-free, which is particularly important to the bakery’s French founder Frédérique Jules, who opened Noglu Paris in 2012 after being diagnosed with celiac disease. While gluten-free or low-gluten diets have become increasingly popular in recent years, for those with celiac disease, the distinction of 100% gluten-free is essential for their health and safety. But Noglu’s commitment to honoring its patrons’ dietary needs is only one of the reasons we’re such big fans of the bakery.
Noglu’s extensive pastry menu features some of the most delicious tarts we’ve enjoyed in NYC — and that’s not just counting the gluten-free options. Our favorites include the creamy lemon tart topped with toasted meringue, the rich chocolate tart filled with seasonal berries, and the caramelized pecan. Not to be missed is the exceptionally decadent Paris-Brest — a delicacy that features thick praline cream sandwiched between two pastry shells covered in flaked almonds. Bread lovers can rejoice at gluten-free baguettes, croissants, brioche, and pain au chocolat — a rarity in the gluten-free world. Noglu also offers one gluten-free and vegan cake.
noglu.nyc
(646) 895-9798
1260 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10128
AnnTremet
AnnTremet is a relative newcomer to the New York City bakery scene. Its name is a play on the founder and head baker Annabelle Li’s moniker and entremet, the French word for mirror glaze cake — which is the cake AnnTremet is famous for. Mirror glaze cakes are having a moment in the dessert world as the highly aesthetic cake preparation, featuring a perfect sheen on the cake’s exterior, was practically made for our current digital age.
Though AnnTremet isn’t exclusively known as a dietary-friendly bakery, all of its cakes and petite sweets are said to be made with 50% less sugar than traditional American bakeries. The decision to craft low-sugar baked goods was made to highlight the natural flavors in all of the seasonal ingredients to avoid overpowering them with too much sweetness.
Drawing from Li’s personal background, AnnTremet blends French culinary preparation with Asian flavors, including pandan, black sesame, lychee, and yuzu matcha. While named for its mirror glaze cakes, we believe AnnTremet’s true mastery lies in its fresh cream cakes — particularly the strawberry shortcake, which is light as air yet intensely rich and creamy. Another showstopper is the purple pie, made with purple yams and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. AnnTremet also has a low-sugar vegan option: a wonderous chocolate vegan sponge cake with thick layers of fresh raspberry jam and rich vegan chocolate buttercream.
anntremet.com
(646) 371-9970
47 8th Ave, New York, NY 10014
Dun-Well Doughnuts
dunwelldoughnuts/Instagram
Donuts are one of the most beloved and quintessential baked goods that, for many years, could rarely be found dietary-friendly. Luckily, Dun-Well Doughnuts arrived in Brooklyn to bring New Yorkers observing vegan diets donuts that are not only entirely vegan but also incredibly innovative and deliciously mouthwatering. This spot is deeply committed to producing donuts that are exquisitely crafted and ethically made. That means everything in the donut shop contains no any animal or animal-derived ingredients. Dun-Well Doughnuts also prioritizes sourcing local ingredients to keep the donuts flavorful and community-oriented.
Because taste is at the heart of our mission to find the best baked goods in the city, it’s worth noting that Dun-Well Doughnuts’ offerings are divine not simply because the donuts are vegan, but because the flavor pairings are both creative and scrumptious. Our favorites include the sweet and savory everything bagel — featuring a glazed donut coated with everything bagel seasoning and filled with whipped cream cheese and fresh chives. We also love the snack attack, a donut covered in thick chocolate frosting, topped with an outrageous combination of peanuts, potato chips, pretzels, and chocolate chips, and stuffed with a creamy peanut butter filling.
For more classic flavors, opt for the excellent maple glaze donut. We also recommend the lemon bar, a donut glazed with fresh lemon icing, topped with vanilla cookies, and filled with a stunning lemon curd employed creatively in the center of the donut.
dunwelldoughnuts.com
(347) 294-0871
222 Montrose Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Erin McKenna’s Bakery
st311avi/Instagram
If you or a loved one have dietary restrictions, Erin McKenna’s Bakery is likely a household name. This NYC spot, which opened in 2005, has been committed to bringing New Yorkers glorious baked goods that are gluten-free, vegan, and kosher for nearly two decades.
As one of the leading bakers in the world of food sensitivity, Erin McKenna sought to create beautiful, delicious pastries, cookies, cakes, and donuts that honor dietary needs without sacrificing taste, whimsy, or artistry. While finding kosher pastries is more common, often vegan baked goods rely on gluten — and the same is true in the inverse, with gluten-free goodies benefiting from the glorious cream of butter. Somehow, this bakery makes magic happen across a wide spectrum of baked goods.
Housed in a bright and vibrant bake shop, a trip to Erin McKenna’s Bakery is a pastel dream. Our favorite sweets to enjoy include the classic frosted cupcakes offered in a variety of flavors, such as cookies ‘n cream, red velvet, strawberry, carrot, and brownie. We also love the decadent donuts, particularly the samoa with toasted coconut, coffee crunch, and salted caramel. We also recommend trying the thick, perfect-for-sharing teacakes in either iced lemon, banana and chocolate, or classic banana. Another crowd-pleaser is the crumb cake made with agave chocolate and cinnamon. But perhaps the most exciting baked good of all — which is rarely found vegan and gluten-free — is the gooey cinnamon roll.
erinmckennasbakery.com
(212) 677-5047
248 Broome St, New York, NY 10002
Rawsome Treats
rawsometreats/Instagram
Rawsome Treats is the bakery made for those with several dietary considerations, including ones that honor health and wellness concerns. Founded by Watt Sriboonruang, the bakery’s head chef and a Muay Thai contender, Rawsome Treats was created to make alternative treats that are as delicious as they are inventive.
The bakery’s name is a nod to the fact that raw ingredients are used in the design of each of its pies, cakes, and ice cream sandwiches. Additionally, all of these goodies are entirely plant-based, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, have no refined sugar, and are kosher. There is a curated selection of pies that are keto, made with fruits and other ingredients one observing that diet can enjoy, including a creamy black sesame, tangy lemon ginger, and decadent blueberry cream. To sample a variety of what Rawsome Treats has on offer, we recommend ordering the pie palette, a pie made with eight different slices so you can try multiple flavors, including the matcha cream, peanut butter cup, dark chocolate, and cranberry tangy.
As natural ingredients are key to the creations at Rawsome Treats, the offerings change based on the seasons. During the summer, try the mighty lychee, a gorgeous cake bursting with fresh lychee fruit, filled with lychee cream, and topped with white chocolate and lychee fudge. In the fall, we recommend the persimmon pie, a creamy vanilla coconut cream covered with fresh persimmons in a shortbread crust.
rawsometreats.com
(646) 767-0373
158 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Le Petit Monstre
lepetitmonstrebk/Instagram
Le Petit Monstre is a specialty all-vegan bakery in the French tradition. It sources seasonal ingredients, often locally, to bring food lovers in Brooklyn pastries that are decadent and entirely plant-based. There’s also a curated selection of goodies that are gluten-free. In a bright, brick-lined shop in Clinton Hill, you’ll find cases of freshly baked French pastries. These include croissants, pain aux raisin, pain aux chocolate, vegetable quiche, fresh fruit tarts, and kouign amann — a flakey pastry made from croissant dough that’s gloriously caramelized. Every day, there is a rotating seasonal selection of scones, slices of cake, cupcakes, brownies, and donuts. One of our favorite delicacies at Le Petit Monstre is the vegan chocolate babka with lush layers of chocolate wrapped around sumptuous dough topped with coarse sugar crystals.
For those observing a vegan and gluten-free diet, we highly recommend the oozing gluten-free cream cheese brownies that are as chocolatey as they are creamy, or the gluten-free cheesecake encased in a nut-and-agave crust with a daily rotation of flavors. Also available is an assortment of specialty gluten-free loaves of bread that are soft and pillowy inside with satisfyingly crusty exteriors.
lepetitmonstre.com
(718) 269-6855
82 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Sixteen Mill
sixteen.mill/Instagram
Sixteen Mill is the answer if you’re vegan, gluten-free, and avoiding refined sugar. Located in Brooklyn, it’s a 100% gluten-free and vegan facility that doesn’t use any cane sugar. Instead, the primary sweetener for the delicious treats baked daily is Vermont-sourced organic maple syrup. The distinction of operating as a 100% gluten-free bakery is deeply important for folks with celiac disease, who could fall ill if exposed to traces of gluten. All of its ingredients are kosher and made in a facility without any animal products, but Sixteen Mill isn’t kosher-certified, as of this writing.
As the name suggests, Sixteen Mill produces artisanal bread made with organic and locally sourced ingredients. Some of our favorite loaves include the sourdough rosemary focaccia, the buckwheat and flax seed bread, and the seeded sourdough. For exceptional chocolate chip cookies that just so happen to also be grain-free, order the salted chocolate chip cookies, made with almond butter, almond flour, Himalayan salt, baking soda, Maldon salt — a specialty flakey sea salt used as a topping — and dark maple RAAKA chocolate. A special shout-out goes to the savory sourdough scallion scones, which are mouthwateringly delicious.
sixteenmill.com
(201) 474-5737
552 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Cloudy Donut Co.
cloudydonuts/Instagram
Artisanal donuts are having a resurgence in the world of baked goods — and fortunately for folks with dietary considerations, that extends into the vegan marketplace. Per its website, Cloudy Donut Co. “is NYC’s first 100% vegan donut store and the first Black Owned food and beverage business in Brooklyn Heights and Nolita.” It retains much of its hold on the donut market in large part because of the supremely light texture of its donuts. Every donut here is handcrafted and produced in small batches. That commitment to quality extends to a robust selection of innovative flavors, all available at its largest location in Manhattan, with more than 50 types of donuts to choose from.
Of the more elaborate creations on offer, our favorites include the cookie butter, smothered in Biscoff cookie butter glaze and topped with Biscoff cookie crumbs and ribbons of creamy Biscoff cookie butter. We also love the s’mores, coated with chocolate hazelnut and almond glaze and sprinkled with crushed graham crackers, toasted marshmallow, and mini chocolate chips. Not to mention the apple pie, Cloudy Donut’s signature donut that’s coated with cinnamon sugar and stuffed with baked apple pie filling.
For donut lovers looking for more pared-back flavors, we heartily recommend the maple butter pecan, a donut drenched in a 100% pure maple syrup glaze and sprinkled with toasted salted butter pecans. Or try the sugarberry, which is covered in a sugary mixture of dehydrated blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.
cloudydonut.com
Multiple locations
By the Way Bakery
bythewaybakery/Instagram
By the Way Bakery is a charming bakery with multiple locations within Manhattan — it specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free, and certified-kosher baked goods. It was founded by Helene Godin, a former attorney who noticed a growing trend in gluten-free baking products at the grocery store in 2010, and decided to dedicate her career to a bakery that would craft fresh artisanal gluten-free treats.
At first glance, the selection at this bakery can be somewhat daunting, simply because there are so many glorious sweets. We recommend starting with any of the bakery’s small treats, including the creme puffs — pillowy donut holes brimming with rich custard — or the raspberry bars, buttery shortbread slathered in tangy raspberry jam. Or try the turtle bars, with layers of toasted pecans drenched in caramel that’s nestled in chocolate in a nourishing cookie.
For cookie lovers, you can’t go wrong with the classic biscotti, Linzers (filled with tart ruby-red raspberry jam), madeleines (the quintessential French cake-like cookie), or the rugelach — a decadent wrapped pastry stuffed with chocolate or raspberry jam. If you’re celebrating a birthday or hosting a gathering with loved ones, try one of By the Way Bakery’s specialty cakes. Our favorites include the blueberry tart bursting with fresh berries, the coconut cheesecake (which is so rarely found dairy-free), and the orange almond cake, a bright citrusy flourless cake topped with slivers of almonds.
btwbakery.com
Multiple locations
Sans Bakery
sansbakery/Instagram
Sans Bakery is the culinary creation of founder and owner Erica Fair, who left a career in the fashion industry to make delicious gluten-free baked goods. Since 2010, Sans Bakery has been serving specialty treats to the gluten-free community and has expanded its offering to include sweets that are both vegan and gluten-free. With a wide range of sumptuous selections, Sans Bakery is your go-to spot for celebrations, to satisfy your cookie fix, and for a tasty morning muffin.
Our favorite baked goods to enjoy at Sans Bakery that accommodate a vegan and gluten-free lifestyle are the dense vegan brownies, the funfetti vegan mini cakes — a vanilla sponge cake topped with technicolor sprinkles— and the vegan peanut butter oat chocolate chip cookies. On the purely gluten-free side, we can’t get enough of the lamingtons — Australian sponge cake sandwiches filled with organic strawberry preserves that are then drenched in chocolate and coated with coconut flakes.
sansbakery-nyc.com
(347) 527-2134
The Falchi Building, 31-00 47th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
Confectionery!
confectionerynyc/Instagram
Confectionery! is an all-vegan sweets shop that was created when two vegan culinary stars in Upstate New York — one bakery, and one chocolate shop — decided to join forces. The result is a community-oriented bakery that’s woman-owned, entirely vegan, and committed to ethical sustainability practices, as evidenced by its use of only 100% post-consumer recycled paper boxes and packing materials. And the sweet treats happen to be scrumptious.
We recommend ordering one of the seasonal fruit tarts in a housemade shortbread crust, and an assortment of cookies, including the bakery’s bestselling chocolate walnut — a deliciously chewy chocolate walnut wonder. Or try the pistachio crinkle sugar cookies that are crisp and nutty, and the marzipan — mouthwatering sugar cookies made with almond paste. For gluten-free sweets lovers, Confectionery! offers a cross-section of vegan and gluten-free goodies, including gluten-free snickerdoodles, a gluten-free walnut brownie, and a gluten-free chocolate mint cakelette. For those with celiac disease, it should be noted that the facility is not gluten-free, so these products may not be suitable for those with a severe gluten intolerance.
confectionerynyc.com
(646) 869-0133
440 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009
Clementine Bakery
clementinebakery/Instagram
Clementine Bakery is a sister bakery to one of our other favorites, Le Petit Monstre. Also located in Brooklyn, Clementine serves specialty vegan baked goods, including pastries and cakes that are sustainably sourced, using local ingredients. It’s also committed to inclusive and ethical business practices. Like many of the other dietary-friendly bakeries on this list, while Clementine specializes in vegan goodies, the bakery also offers a curated selection of baked goods that are both vegan and gluten-free. The most sumptuous pastries to sample that accommodate both diets are the classic rice crispy treats, flakey biscuits, crumbly coffee cake, and thick slices of quiche.
For exclusively vegan wonders, we recommend the heavenly peanut butter blondies, massive cinnamon rolls drizzled with sweet icing, buttery croissants, and the wide assortment of thickly frosted cupcakes. Clementine also serves a delicious all-vegan savory menu with breakfast and sandwich options.
clementinebakery.com
(347) 201-0944
395 Classon Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
Methodology
Ivandzyuba/Getty Images
I’m a native New Yorker and lover of all things baked goods. I have several loved ones with dietary restrictions and have spent many years finding the best places around the city to procure baked goods for them. With taste, texture, the variety of goodies available, creativity of the bakers, number of dietary needs met, and quality of ingredients used in mind, this list was partially compiled based on the personal experience of myself and my friends and family. I’ve personally sampled sweets from the following bakeries: Erin McKenna’s Bakery, Rawsome Treats, Noglu, Sans Bakery, AnnTremet, and By the Way Bakery. Also considered was testimony from folks in NYC with dietary restrictions, reputable local news sources, and verified customer reviews.
