Vegan Strawberry Shortcake / Gluten-Free
This scrumptious vegan strawberry shortcake recipe uses all-purpose gluten-free flour and almond flour for a light and tender biscuit. Full-fat coconut milk makes it extra rich and oil-free!
Picture fresh-from-the patch strawberries and sweet coconut whipped cream, sandwiched between moist and tender melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. Are you drooling yet because I sure am! This vegan strawberry shortcake recipe uses all-purpose gluten-free flour and almond flour for a light, tender biscuit, and full fat coconut milk for richness. So, you can have your cake and eat it too without gluten or oil. It makes the perfect fancy brunch or dessert when summer strawberries are ripe and plentiful.
A few tips and tricks for making perfect vegan strawberry shortcake:
1. This oil-free recipe relies on fat from coconut milk, so be sure to use full-fat coconut milk that comes in a can and mix it well so it’s nice and smooth with no lumps. I’ve had good luck with Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
2. The wet/dry ingredient ratio in gluten-free baking needs to be balanced to avoid gummy or dry, crumbly biscuits. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for accuracy. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, use the scoop and level method for the 1 to 1 gluten-free flour. This is where you spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the flat end of a knife. The almond flour (which is super fluffy) measures most accurately by scooping directly from the bag (which compacts the fluffiness) and then leveling the top with the flat end of a knife. Almond flour is key for flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. This is the kitchen scale I use.
3. I enjoy fresh strawberries in this recipe without adding additional sugar. But feel free to macerate the strawberries by mixing them with 1 tablespoon of sugar and letting them sit for an hour to release some of their juices. If you’re making this recipe outside of strawberry season, just use thawed frozen strawberries instead.
Ingredients for Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
2/3 cup (5.3 oz.) of full-fat coconut milk, whisked until completely smooth with no lumps remaining
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
1¼ cups (156 grams) of gluten-free baking flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour)
1½ cups (168 grams) of blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of fine sea salt
2 cups (270 grams) of fresh strawberries, sliced
1 recipe of coconut whipped cream
Makes 6 shortcakes. Click on the ingredients in bold to see what I use in this recipe.
How to make Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Steps 1-3:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F (204 C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Fully mix your coconut milk until it is completely smooth and free of lumps. Whisk the coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and maple syrup in a small bowl and set aside to turn into buttermilk. (this acts as a natural leavening agent)
3. In a large bowl, combine gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
Step 4:
4. Drizzle ¼ of the milk over the flour mixture and fold it in with a fork. Repeat this step until all but 1 tablespoon of the milk is worked into the dough. The dough will be slightly sticky but easy to handle with floured hands. (if it’s too sticky to handle, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon more of gluten-free flour)
Steps 5-6:
5. Lightly flour your work surface and gently pat the dough into a square disk that is 1 inch thick, using your hands. (not a rolling pin which will squish all the air out of the dough)
6. Using a floured 2½ inch biscuit cutter, cut 4 biscuits from the disk. Reform the dough into a rectangle and cut the remaining 2 biscuits. Gently transfer biscuits to the parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced evenly apart.
Step 7:
7. Brush the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk and bake at 400 F (204 C) for 17 minutes.
Steps 8-9:
8. Let cool for 10 minutes and slice in half.
9. Layer the bottom half of the biscuit with coconut whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Add the top biscuit and layer with more whipped cream and strawberries.
Enjoy as a decadent breakfast, brunch or dessert!
Note: If you don’t have almond flour, you can use 2 cups (256 grams) of gluten-free 1-to-1 flour, but the biscuits will be denser and less flavorful.
Other healthy vegan desserts to fall in love with
Vegan Strawberry Shortcake (Gluten & Oil-Free)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F (204 C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Fully mix your coconut milk until it is completely smooth and free of lumps. Whisk the coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and maple syrup in a small bowl and set aside to turn into buttermilk. (this acts as a natural leavening agent)
- In a large bowl, combine gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- Drizzle ¼ of the milk over the flour mixture and fold it in with a fork. Repeat this step until all but 1 tablespoon of the milk is worked into the dough. The dough will be slightly sticky but easy to handle with floured hands. (if it’s too sticky to handle, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon more of gluten-free flour)
- Lightly flour your work surface and gently pat the dough into a square disk that is 1 inch thick, using your hands. (not a rolling pin which will squish all the air out of the dough)
- Using a floured 2½ inch biscuit cutter, cut 4 biscuits from the disk. Reform the dough into a rectangle and cut the remaining 2 biscuits. Gently transfer biscuits to the parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced evenly apart.
- Brush the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk and bake at 400 F (204 C) for 17 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes and slice in half.
- Layer the bottom half of the biscuit with coconut whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Add the top biscuit and layer with more whipped cream and strawberries.
Notes
For tips and tricks, and step-by-step instructions with photos, see blog post.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
396.86Fat (grams)
26.42Sat. Fat (grams)
11.79Carbs (grams)
35.27Fiber (grams)
5.24Net carbs
30.03Sugar (grams)
10.23Protein (grams)
9.62Sodium (milligrams)
559.02Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
Vegan Strawberry Shortcake (Gluten & Oil-Free)
