Make your own vegan pop tarts right at home with this easy recipe! They are much healthier than the store-bought pop tarts, plus they are so delicious and fun to make. Feel free to switch up flavoring and make them ahead to have easy and good-for-you breakfasts or after school snacks.
Pop tarts were such a childhood favorite. We all remember popping these little pies in the toaster for breakfast, don't we? Extra sweet fruit filling with a buttery crust that's covered with ultra sugary icing... this is dessert camouflaged as breakfast!
But as we all know, the store-bought pop tarts aren't that good for you. Ok for the occasional treats, but not the best start to your day. So why not make them yourself? I assure you they are easier to make than it seems!
And not only are they fun to prepare, these 100% made from scratch vegan pop tarts are SO yummy. The recipe is essentially a pie crust + jam + icing, nothing out of the ordinary, and you will have full control of the ingredient list. No processed sugar, no artificial flavoring, no preservatives. Just normal pantry ingredients.
They can also be made over the weekend and reheated throughout the week for quick breakfasts, just like the classic ones. They are also great for celebrations such as Mother's day brunch or Easter morning and their beautiful pink-ish shade makes them a fun treat for Valentine's day!
Why you will love this recipe
- Appetizing and fun to make
- Kid-friendly
- Versatile (you can switch up flavoring)
- Great for meal-prep
- Much healthier than the store-bought pop tarts
- Dairy-free, egg-free and fully plant-based
Healthy vegan pop tarts made from scratch
Making your own pop tarts is without any doubt much healthier than grabbing a box at the store. Not only are they made with ingredients you know and can pronounce, but also:
- Choose a healthy jam and make your pop tarts lower-in-sugar.
- They are higher-in-fiber: be sure to do a combo of 50/50 all-purpose + whole wheat flours and also, make your own chia jam for added fiber.
- No butter and no dairy are used, but instead, the pie crust is made using coconut oil.
Ingredients you'll need
- Pie crust: I recommend using this vegan pie crust recipe. You will need double batch to be able to make 8 pop tarts. Also, instead of using only all-purpose flour, I swapped half of it with whole wheat flour for an even healthier option.
- Coconut sugar: totally optional, but I added a little coconut sugar to the pie crust recipe to make it a little sweet.
- Strawberry jam: I modified my blueberry chia jam recipe and used strawberries instead, but simply use your favorite store-bought jam if you prefer.
- Vegan cashew icing: to make it, you will need cashews, plant-based milk, maple syrup (or agave) and vanilla extract.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: I added some to the icing recipe for added flavors.
How to make them
Prepare the pie crust
You can use your favorite pie crust to make them, but I recommend you follow this vegan coconut oil crust recipe. I used 50% all-purpose + 50% whole wheat flour and also made double batch, which gave me a total of 8 pop tarts.
Also, I added 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to the pie dough straight to the food processor with the flour to add a subtle sweet flavor.
Just as recommend in the recipe, chill the dough in the fridge before rolling.
Roll the dough
Once your dough is prepared and chilled, divide it in 2 equal balls. Then, roll each of them on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin to a thin sheet of about ¼ inch thick. The dough might crack while you roll, this is normal and gives the BEST flaky dough. So, simply use your fingers to press on the dough to repair the cracks once in a while as you roll without overworking the dough.
When rolled, use a knife to divide each sheet into 8 equal rectangles that are about the shape of a pop tart. You should have 16 pieces out of your 2 rolled sheets: 8 for the bottom and 8 for the tops of the pop tarts.
Build the pop tarts
Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and transfer 4 rectangles on each of them. Add about 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam over each piece making sure to leave an edge all around without any jam. Then, top with another piece of dough (the largest should go on top).
Then, using a fork, press all around the pop tarts to seal the 2 layers of dough together. Take your time and ensure no spots are left un-sealed as the filling might try to leak out while cooking.
Bake
Bake the pop tarts for about 30 minutes or until golden brown with crispy edges. Depending on your oven, you might need to bake both baking sheets of pop tarts one after the other one for best results.
Frost and enjoy!
While the pop tarts are baking, make the frosting. Follow this cashew frosting recipe to make it. In this case, I also added some freeze-dried strawberries (with a little extra milk to help blending them in) so it adds color and flavor.
I recommend to make the frosting ahead of time. The recipe requires the cashews to soak and I found the results better when the glaze was first chilled in the fridge before covering the pop tarts.
Once the pop tarts are done baking, let them cool down and then spread the icing over. You can also sprinkle some extra freeze-dried strawberries over.
Watch how to make them
Baking tips
- As you can see when watching the video, the pop tart dough breaks easily when I roll it. This is because I really under-worked the pie crust before chilling it (see the pie crust recipe here), which means I didn't manipulate the dough much once combined in the food processor. This is what you want! It take some time to roll as you will need to repair the big cracks as you go with your fingers, but this will make for the flakiest crust!
- Try not to overfill the pop tarts with the jam or it tends to overflow while baking.
- Take your time to seal the surrounding of the pop tarts. If you leave some holes, it will likely leak while cooking.
- You can use the pie dough scrap to re-roll and make 1-2 extra pop tarts!
- Be sure to let the pop tarts cool down before frosting them.
Variations to the recipe
This is a great basic recipe to flavor your pop tarts the way you want. Simply use your favorite flavored jam or even try using chocolate, apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, marmalade, etc. Aim for a filling that's not too thin for easier sealing process of the pop tarts.
Also, if you want to avoid making the cashew frosting or want to keep these vegan pop tarts fully nut-free, then you could spread some plant-based milk and then sprinkle coconut sugar over them before baking. Or, swap the frosting for:
- melted chocolate
- quick peanut butter frosting
- dark chocolate frosting
- vanilla coconut or almond yogurt to make them very breakfast-y
Storage
Keep in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Ideally, keep the pop tarts and frosting apart while storing them so the crust does not get too soggy. That being said, I frosted them all to take pictures, so I had to store them with the frosting on and they actually kept pretty well that way too.
If you plan on having more than you can eat, another option would be to freeze some of them. In that case, prepare the pop tarts, but freeze them before baking them. When you want to eat them, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning as directed. You could also freeze them after baked if you must and thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
FAQ's
I used a refined coconut oil, which makes the pie crust almost completely coconut flavor-free.
No! They are going to be too puffy anyway and won't fit in a regular toaster. Plus, the frosting would leak/stick to the sides of a toaster. Use a toaster oven to reheat them or just your regular oven.
Yes, simply use a gluten-free flour to make the crust or use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe!
Other healthy breakfast recipes you might like
- Banana buckwheat pancakes
- Silken tofu scramble
- Barley strawberry breakfast bowl
- Pumpkin and orange overnight oats
- Vanilla almond granola
I hope you like these homemade pop tarts as much as we do! If you try them, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how they were. Your feedback is so helpful!
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Homemade Vegan Strawberry Pop Tarts
Equipment
- Food processor
- Blender
Ingredients
Poptarts dough
- 2 batches of vegan pie crusts
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar - optional
Strawberry filling
- 1-1 ½ cup strawberry jam - or your favorite flavor
Icing
- 1 batch of cashew icing
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries - plus more for topping
- 3-4 tbsp extra plant-based milk
Instructions
- Make this vegan pie crust. I used 2 cups all-purpose + 2 cups whole wheat flour and also, I added 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to the food processor to make the crust a little sweet. Add 1-3 tablespoons extra of water if needed to help the dough come together. Once the dough is done, don't forget to chill it in the fridge before rolling.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and pre-heat the oven to 350º.
- Once the dough is chilled, divide it in 2 equal portions. Roll one of the portions on a lightly floured surface into a thin sheet of about ¼ inch. Then, use a knife to divide the sheet into 8 equal rectangular portions. These are the base of the pop tarts! Use a spatula to transfer them on both of the baking sheets (4 on each baking sheet) and repair cracks or holes using your fingers if needed. Roll the second half of the dough and also divide in 8 equal portions. Leave those on the counter until needed.
- Transfer about 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam on each piece of dough on the baking sheets. Try to keep a good edge on the side free of the jam so you can seal them later. Then, place another rectangular over and using a fork, press on the edges to squeeze both layers of dough together. This will seal the pop tarts, so be careful not to let any spots un-sealed or the filling might escape while baking.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown with crispy edges. Let them cool down before frosting them.
- While the pop tarts are baking, make the glaze following this vegan cashew icing recipe. Once the cashews are blended to smooth, add the freeze-dried strawberries to the blender and about 3-4 tablespoons extra of plant-based milk and blend again until smooth. The icing can be made ahead.
- Once the pop tarts are cooled down, then spread the icing over the pop tarts and crush some more freeze-dried strawberries over. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for about 3 days. You can also prepare the pop tarts and freeze them un-glazed and un-baked. Then, thaw them overnight in the fridge and simply bake as directed. The pop tarts store better when unglazed, although can be kept with the glaze on for 1-2 days without getting too soggy.
- As you can see when watching the video, the pop tart dough breaks easily when I roll it. This is because I really under-worked the pie crust before chilling it (see the pie crust recipe here), which means I didn't manipulate the dough much once combined in the food processor. This is what you want! It take some time to roll as you will need to repair the big cracks as you go with your fingers, but this will make for the flakiest crust!
- Try not to overfill the pop tarts with the jam or it tends to overflow while baking.
- Take your time to seal the surroundings of the pop tarts. If you leave some holes, it will likely leak while cooking.
- You can use the pie dough scrap to re-roll and make 1-2 extra pop tarts!
- Be sure to let the pop tarts cool down before frosting them.
Pin it for later!
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