Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

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 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 its own, yet perfectly decadent when made into this vegan strawberry shortcake.

Why I love this recipe

After eating fresh strawberries 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 my 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.

Ingredient Notes 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.

• Fresh Strawberries: The better your berries, the better this vegan strawberry shortcake will taste.
• All-purpose flour: I tested these vegan strawberry shortcakes with different flours and found that all-purpose flour had the best texture compared to whole wheat flour or other flours. If you want to make these gluten-free, then I recommend using a 1:1 ratio flour.
• Oat milk: I prefer oat milk in baking, as I find that it browns better than other non-dairy milks. I almost always have it on hand, as it’s my preferred milk for baking.
• Coconut oil: The coconut oil acts like butter in traditional scones. The solid oil helps to make for flaky biscuits and liquid oil, like canola oil, won’t work the same way. Alternatively, you can use vegan butter instead.

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!

How to make

Make the shortcakes

Start by making the shortcakes. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, melted and cooled coconut oil and lemon juice. It’s OK if the oil clumps as that will often happen when the cold milk combines with the oil.

Combine Wet and Dry

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 sugar, like my macerated strawberries.

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!

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.

Serving Notes

No need to be perfect here, which is exactly my kind of dessert.

I think these vegan strawberry shortcakes taste best when eaten on the porch, with my kids taking bite after bite, and juicy strawberries running down both of our cheeks.

My son loved these vegan strawberry shortcakes, especially with the mounds of coconut cream on top.

More Vegan Strawberry Recipes:

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

More Summer Dessert Recipes:

• Creamy Acai Popsicles
• Vegan Peach Cobbler
• Easy Peach Crisp for Two
• Peach Pie Bars
• Fresh Berry Trifle

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.