No Cow Cafe Gluten & Dairy Free Bakery

Coffee Shops

4.9(465 reviews)

The take

A dedicated gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan bakery that's good enough that non-celiac locals buy the cinnamon rolls on purpose. Open four days a week. Plan around it.

Why it's here

No Cow Bakery is the rebrand (as of roughly 2024) of what used to be No Cow Cafe, they dropped the cafe menu and doubled down on the baking. Everything is baked with avocado oil, no butter, no seed oils, no gluten, no dairy, no tree nuts except coconut, no soy, and most items are vegan. The space on Fifth Street in downtown Castle Rock is small, a case, a counter, a few tables. Thursday through Sunday only.

If you've been burned by gluten-free baking being chalky or sweetened into oblivion to compensate, this isn't that. The cinnamon rolls are the item everyone flags, dense, actually tender, glaze that tastes like glaze. The bread gets called out in reviews more than you'd expect for a pastry-forward shop; locals use it as their sandwich loaf. Carrot cake, German chocolate cake, apple monkey bread, chocolate chip monkey bread, pretzels, brownies, fudge, Bhutanese dumplings (yes, really, a seasonal item that keeps appearing).

Owner and staff get cited in reviews for remembering regulars' names and orders, the 4.9-star average isn't padding. This matters in DougCo because the next-closest dedicated gluten-free bakery is either in Denver proper or Highlands Ranch, both a drive. For families with celiac kids in Castle Rock, this is the place.

Know before you go

Go for

•The cinnamon roll (the consensus best item)
•A loaf of the sandwich bread for the week
•The carrot cake for a birthday
•Pretzels, the dark horse second-place favorite

Timing

Thursday and Friday 9am–6pm, Saturday 9am–6pm, Sunday 9am–3pm. Closed Monday–Wednesday. Saturday mornings 9–11am get a line. Sundays sell out by 1pm.

Pro tip

Preorder for holidays and birthdays. They take custom cake orders and will do specialty items if you call ahead.

Skip / heads up

The prices run higher than a standard bakery, gluten-free ingredients cost more. Seasonal menu rotates, so the dumplings or a specific cake flavor you saw last month may be gone. Check the Instagram (@nocowbakery) before driving in for a specific item.

By Mara Holloway