VEGAN STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Vegan Strawberry Shortcake – Fluffy and tender, sweet biscuits made from scratch with fresh, juicy strawberries and coconut whipped cream are a perfect summer treat and so easy to make!
I ran across another sale on berries last week. This time it was sweet & juicy, ruby red strawberries!
Making vegan strawberry shortcake has been on my to-do list, so it seemed a perfect time to put the task at hand. And they turned out perfectly if I do say so myself!
What is Strawberry Shortcake?
Strawberry shortcake is a popular dessert originating in England that’s made with shortcake. A shortcake can be a cake or biscuit. Fresh strawberries are mixed with a little sugar and left to macerate (meaning get really juicy!). The biscuit is split and topped with the juicy berries and dollop (or two, or three) of whipped cream. It’s like a pillowy soft dessert that dreams are made of!
So let’s do this, you and me!
How To Make Shortcake Biscuits
Let’s start with the shortcakes. They are super easy to make using a few pantry staples and will be ready in as little as 25 minutes.
What you’ll need:
- Flour: Use spelt, all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Sugar: Organic pure cane, coconut or date sugar will all work well.
- Baking powder.
- Salt: My favorite salt is pink mineral salt.
- Unsweetened Plant Milk: Almond, soy, cashew, or use your favorite!
- Lemon or Apple Cider Vinegar: To make vegan buttermilk.
- Coconut oil: Not in liquid state (vegan butter ok too, see below)
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Make vegan buttermilk by combining 1 cup milk with juice of 1 lemon, let rest for 5 – 10 minutes to curdle.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the dough:
- Add the room temperature coconut oil to the flour and cut into with a fork or pastry blender. Make sure to cut into it well. When done you’ll see little balls of flour (shown above left).
- Pour the vegan buttermilk into the flour mixture and mix to combine. Don’t overmix the dough, it will be rough looking but you’ll shape it next.
Flatten and cut the dough:
- Once dough is formed (above left), place it on a lightly floured flat surface and flatten and mold the dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick using your hands or rolling pin.
- Cut circles using a 2 3/4 – 3 inch cookie cutter (a glass works too). Leftover dough can be reshaped and cut.
Tips for cutting biscuits:
1. To keep the dough from sticking to the cutter, keep a small bowl or plate of flour nearby and dip the cutter into the flour, shaking any loose flour away, before making cuts.
2. Don’t twist the cutter when making cuts, it creates a seal and the biscuits won’t rise as well.
Prep and bake:
- Place the shortcakes on an ungreased baking sheet, or lined with a silpat or parchement paper. Tip: Make sure the sides touch each other, this will make them cling to one another, rising bigger and taller (meaning awesome shortcakes!).
- Brush the tops with a little almond milk and sprinkle with pure cane sugar or turbinado. Tip: The sugar will give the shortcake tops a nice sweet and crunchy texture.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before assembling your strawberry shortcakes.
These homemade biscuits fluff up nicely with a soft and tender center. They would be great on their own with a smear of this Triple Berry Chia Jam!
Commonly Asked Questions
What kind of flour can I use to make shortcake biscuits? I’ve used both all-purpose and white whole wheat flours and much prefer the all-purpose flour when making shortcakes. The whole wheat batch resulted in hard biscuits, although the flavor was delicious. I may not have added enough oil, but still I loved the all-purpose batch as they baked up perfectly tender. You could also try half all-purpose and half whole-grain flour with ok results, just don’t skimp on the coconut oil.
Can I use butter in place of coconut oil for the shortcakes? Yes! Vegan butter will work great. Just cut it into 1/2 inch cubes before adding to the flour, using 1/2 cup. My favorite vegan butter is Miyoko’s and I highly recommend sourcing it!
How do you store strawberry shortcake biscuits? Store leftover biscuits, covered, on the counter for 4 days. Or keep them stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 – 10 days. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months (let thaw on the counter or in the fridge). Warm the shortcakes in a toaster oven.
How To Make Vegan Strawberry Shortcakes
Making strawberry shortcakes is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3!
- Cut the strawberry tops off, quarter the strawberries or chop them if they are really large. Place in a bowl with 2 teaspoons sugar and mix. Let rest for 20 minutes or longer. Tip: The longer they rest the more macerated, or juicier, they will become.
- Make the shortcakes. Whip up the vegan whipped cream if making your own.
- To assemble, slice the shortcakes in half, top with strawberries and dollop of coconut whipped cream. Put the shortcake top on and add a nice dollop of whipped cream and slice of strawberry on top.
This homemade strawberry shortcake is another fantastic summer dessert for the archives. It’s a quick, easy, and a mostly healthy vegan dessert recipe that I know you’re going to love!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Southern Blackberry Cobbler
- Favorite Vegan Brownies
- Easy Vegan Banana Cake
- See all vegan Dessert recipes on TSV!
If you try this easy strawberry shortcake recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintEASY VEGAN STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with fluffy and tender, sweet biscuits filled with juicy strawberries and coconut whipped cream are a perfect summer treat and so easy to make!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
Strawberries + Coconut Whipped Cream
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries, tops removed and chopped
- 2 teaspoons organic pure cane sugar
- Coconut whip cream
Shortcake Biscuits
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (use your favorite non-dairy milk)
- juice of 1 lemon or 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups flour (unbleached all-purpose, or half mix with spelt or white whole wheat)
- 1/4 cup organic pure cane sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon mineral salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature or hard (cubed vegan butter is ok too)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Vegan Buttermilk: Measure the milk and the juice of 1 lemon or apple cider vinegar, let rest for 5 – 10 minutes to curdle.
Strawberries: Place the strawberries in a medium bowl with 2 teaspoons pure cane sugar and combine. Set aside for at least 20 minutes. The longer they rest, the juicer (more macerated) they will become.
Shortcakes:
Dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Cut the oil (or butter): Add the coconut oil and cut the oil into the flour using a fork or pastry blender. When done flour should be lumpy with little balls of flour.
Combine dry and wet: Pour the vegan buttermilk into the flour mixture and mix to combine. Don’t overmix the dough, mix just until combined.
Flatten dough: Once dough is formed, place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Using your hands, flatten and mold the dough into a circle shape about 1/2 inch thick (a rolling pin will work too).
Cut dough: Cut circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter (a glass is ok too). Dip the cutter in flour before each cut to keep it from sticking. Leftover dough can be reshaped and cut. You should get 12 shortcakes.
Prep for baking: Place the shortcakes on an UNGREASED baking sheet, or lined with a silpat or parchement paper. Make sure the sides are touching each other, this will make them cling to one another, rising bigger and taller.
Garnish biscuits: Brush the tops with a little almond milk and sprinkle with pure cane sugar or turbinado. The sugar will give the shortcake tops a nice crunchy texture.
Bake: Place shortcakes in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before assembling your strawberry shortcakes.
Assemble shortcakes: To serve, slice shortcakes in half, top with strawberries and generous dollop of vegan whipped cream.
Makes 12 strawberry shortcakes.
Store leftover biscuits, covered, on the counter for 4 days. Or keep them stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 – 10 days. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months (let thaw on the counter or in the fridge). Warm them back up in a toaster oven.
Notes
Types of flours: My favorite is unbleached all-purpose when making shortcakes. It yields the most tender and fluffiest biscuits. You could also try half all-purpose and half whole grain, just don’t skimp on the oil or butter.
Tips for cutting biscuits:
- To keep the dough from sticking to the cutter, keep a small bowl or plate of flour nearby and dip the cutter into the flour, shaking any loose flour away, before making cuts.
- Don’t twist the cutter when making cuts, it creates a seal and the biscuits won’t rise as well.
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my Silpat or these parchment liners for lining the baking sheet, and these fluted cookie cutters and pastry blender (affiliate links) work great too!
Nutrition information is calculated with 1 can (14oz) coconut cream for the whipped topping.
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I tried using spelt flour and they fell a little ‘short’ lol. I’ve never baked with spelt flour before but I’ve had cakes made with it that were amazing. Maybe I need to adjust it somewhere. Or try again! You really can’t go wrong adding strawberries and whipped cream to anything so it wasn’t horrible. Just not as big and fluffy as the pics.
Very good shortcakes, could have made them GF but made them as the recipe is written. Used Miyoko’s vegan butter – and added a little coconut oil – as I did not think it was quite enough Miyokos, it tasted very nice and was flaky. We enjoyed this and I will make this recipe again. Thanks
Made these exactly according to the recipe instructions and they came out well. They rose nicely, and are tender. I gave them a couple extra minutes of baking time to get them to brown up better; still not real brown but otherwise done, so don’t skip putting that sugar on to aid browning. Really tasty!
I used coconut oil, and a trick that I use is to put it in the refrigerator so it is solid and shave it out of the jar with a knife – this produces little shards that are similar to what you get when you grate frozen butter. Makes blending in the coconut oil a snap. And instead of trying to measure the coconut oil in a measuring cup you can use a scale; coconut oil weighs 14 grams per tablespoon.
Also, I use the metal ring of a canning jar lid as a biscuit cutter- because it’s a ring you can use your fingers to push the biscuit out, and the thickness of the cutter is a good gauge for evaluating the thickness of the patted out dough.
Thanks for sharing, Susan! Your tips will surely help others! :)
Nice suggestions. Thank you.
Can the dough be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake? If so does the dough need to be cut into biscuits first or can it be rolled out and cut later?
Thanks! I made these once before and loved them!
Great question, Laura! Yes, you can refrigerate the dough either as a single ball or already cut into biscuits, whichever is easier for you. You can bake from chilled on the upper rack. I hope that helps!
Can I substitute canola oil instead of coconut?
No, but you can use vegan butter or margarine. Canola oil is too liquidy, the dough needs a semi-hard to hard fat. Hope that helps!