Mashed Potatoes: I like using leftover mashed potatoes, but you can also use fresh mashed potatoes. Alternatively, you may also use equal amounts of sweet potato puree or mashed pumpkin puree as well.

Eggs: Eggs help the ingredients to bind better and give the bagels better rise. I haven’t tried making this slider bun recipe without eggs, but I believe that if you are vegan or allergic to eggs, you may also use aquafaba or an egg-replacer (please let me know how it goes in the comments below if you make these slider buns without eggs).

Warm Water: Make sure the warm water has a temperature of between 105 to 115F. If the water is too cold, the yeast will not be activated, but if the water is too hot, the high heat will kill the yeast. Alternatively, if you prefer, you may also use warm unsweetened non-dairy milk for extra flavor (such as almond milk, cashew milk, tigernut milk, rice milk, soy milk, or oat milk). If you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal cow’s milk instead.

Sunflower Oil: I like using sunflower oil because I always have a bottle of it on hand. You may also use another type of vegetable oil (such as olive oil, avocado oil, melted coconut oil) or even melted vegan butter. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use melted normal butter if you prefer.

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I recommend using a good-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that includes lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch or potato starch) to ensure that you get a light and fluffy final texture. I do NOT recommend using gluten-free flour blends that use heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour) as it will result in a denser texture.

Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours, and helps the ingredients to better bind together. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include xanthan gum, make sure you add it in.

Psyllium Husk Powder: Psyllium husk powder is an amazing binding agent and makes a big difference in the rise of the gluten-free slider buns. For best results, I do NOT recommend leaving it out or swapping it out for anything else. (If you only have access to whole psyllium husks, you can use a coffee grinder or a high-speed blender to grind the whole husks into a super fine powder.)

Baking Powder: I like adding a bit of baking powder to help the potato buns rise better. If have Celiac disease or are gluten-intolerant, make sure to use certified gluten-free baking powder.

Instant Yeast: I prefer using instant yeast because there’s not pre-activation required, and you can mix it in with all the other dry ingredients at the same time. However, if you don’t have instant yeast, you may also use active dry yeast instead (just make sure to activate the yeast with sugar and warm water before adding it to the other ingredients).

Sugar: In this case, sugar acts as the food that the yeast will feed on in order to produce the gases essential in the dough-rising process. Do not leave out the sugar. It will be consumed by the yeast and will not make the gluten-free slider buns sweet. I used granulated white sugar, but you may also use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar if you prefer (just note that the darker the color of the sugar, the darker the interior of the buns).

Salt: I added a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor, but feel free to leave it out if you are on a salt-free diet.

Sesame Seeds: I like sprinkling white sesame seeds to decorate the buns, but feel free to use black sesame seeds if you wish). Alternatively, you can also sprinkle the dough with a mix of seeds (think chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds). You can also use everything bagel seasoning if you prefer.

Storing/Freezing: To store, place the cooled gluten-free slider buns in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap the gluten-free potato buns in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Before eating, let the frozen potato slider buns thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or you can reheat them in the oven for 5 minutes at 350F.