Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

Name: Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 33 min
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup oat milk (see notes); 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled; 1 tablespoon white vinegar; 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream, chilled; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 5 cups sliced strawberries; 2 tablespoons sugar

By Alexandra Caspero on April 29, 2022

Homemade vegan shortcake biscuits topped with fresh strawberries and whipped coconut cream.

Makes 8 Shortcakes

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Vegan Strawberry Shortcake! If you love strawberry shortcake then you’ve gotta try this vegan version. Served with whipped coconut cream and sweet strawberries.

It’s strawberry season! The best time of the year in my opinion, as it means the next few months are filled with almost weekly trips to our local berry farm. First with strawberries, then quickly moving into blueberry, raspberry and blackberry season.

In-season strawberries taste like candy to me, and I happily eat bowl after bowl this time of year for both dessert and snack. I love that fruit can be so simple on it’s own yet perfectly decadent when made into this vegan strawberry shortcake.

While we haven’t been fresh strawberry picking yet this year, I plan to do some when we head up to Michigan next week. (STL friends, we love both Eckert’s Farm and Theis Farm.)

After eating them by the bowlful, I’m alway in the mood for using the leftovers in some fun way. A batch of my low sugar strawberry jam is typically first on the list, with vegan strawberry shortcake a close second.

I created this vegan strawberry shortcake last weekend then made them again on Friday after a quick trip to a local farm to grab more berries. With rustic biscuits, fresh berries and fluffy coconut cream, this is one of my favorite May treats.

vegan shortcake biscuits

Ingredients for Vegan Shortcakes

You are essentially making a biscuit to then halve and top with whipped coconut cream and sliced strawberries. As someone who is absolutely more a cook than a baker, I appreciate the simple, rustic quality that shortcakes have.

What you’ll need for the vegan shortcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup oat milk, or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled. Alternatively, you can use vegan butter instead.
1 tablespoon white vinegar

You’ll also need fresh strawberries and whipped coconut cream (or other whipped cream) for assembly.

Vander in Strawberry Field

Instructions for how to make this Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Make the shortcakes

Start by making the shortcakes. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Next, in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, melted and cooled coconut oil, lemon juice (it’s OK if the oil clumps.)

Stir the coconut milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated, taking care not to over mix. Using a greased 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop and drop batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining biscuits, leaving ~ 1 1/2 inch space between biscuits.

I like this method so much more than rolling out the dough on a flat surface and having to use a biscuit cutter. While you could do that, the drop method produces delicious shortcakes with less mess.

Bake until tops are golden, about 13 minutes. Transfer cakes to a wire rack and let cool before serving.

Make the strawberries

Since this is dessert, you want to ensure that your strawberries are sweet enough. While in-season strawberries are usually perfect, out of season strawberries or less-than-sweet strawberries will need a little help.

Place one heaping cup of strawberries in the base of a bowl along with the sprinkle of sugar and mash with a fork or potato masher. Stir in remaining strawberries and let sit while the shortcakes cool. This method creates a sweet, strawberry sauce that spoons perfectly over the shortcakes!

Assemble the Shortcakes

Split each shortcake in half, then top with berries and a dollop of coconut cream. Top with the remaining shortcake half and enjoy immediately!

No need to be perfect here, which is exactly my kind of dessert. They absolutely taste best when eating on the porch, with your babe taking bite after bite, and juicy strawberries running down both of your cheeks. Van loved these vegan strawberry shortcakes, especially with the mounds of coconut cream on top.

Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with Coconut Cream

Why I like Oat Milk for vegan baking

If you have it, I highly recommend using oat milk here instead of other non-dairy milks. Oat milk is higher in carbohydrates and therefore browns easier compared to other non-dairy milks, especially almond milk or coconut milk.

If you don’t have oat milk, coconut milk beverage or soy milk is my next choice as it also browns fairly well. These days, I usually have at least two different non-dairy milks in my fridge at all time: almost always oat milk for my coffee, usually soy for my kids and almond for smoothies!

vegan strawberry shortcake with coconut cream and fresh strawberries

How to Make Coconut Whipped Cream

The coconut cream is the perfect topping for these vegan strawberry shortcakes and a neat dairy-free trick. If you haven’t made coconut cream before, it’s fairly easy but you will need a can of chilled coconut cream for best results.

Once coconut cream (or full-fat coconut milk) is chilled, it solidifies and separates into a fatty, solid cream layer and a watery layer. You’ll want to skim the top of the cream off, discarding any watery remains for another recipe (try it in smoothies!)

From there, place the solid coconut cream in the base of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk along with a little sugar and vanilla; it will whip up very similar to regular whipped cream! So yummy; I usually split a few spoonfuls with Vander as soon as it’s ready.

Vander in a field vegan shortcake biscuits

More Vegan Strawberry Recipes:

Strawberry Lemonade Scones
Low Sugar Strawberry Jam
No Bake Chocolate Strawberry Bites
Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

It’s so good, I really hope you try this vegan strawberry shortcake. If you do, come back and leave a comment (and a rating), or show me your creations on Instagram using the hashtag #delishknowledge

This post was first published in 2020 and updated in 2022.