Easy Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with homemade biscuits, lightly sweetened strawberries and fluffy coconut whip in less than an hour.
The strawberry season is upon us! These juicy red strawberries are abundant at the farmer’s market right now, and I even have a little strawberry patch in our backyard that is producing quite a lot this year. My 2 year old loves to wake up in the morning and go outside to pick a few strawberries. He’s so cute, he will even save a couple in the fridge for daddy or his brother/sister.
I can hardly stand conventional strawberries anymore after tasting these beauties. They are almost a different food altogether! There is nothing like the deep redness and sweetness of a freshly grown strawberry.
How do you make the biscuits for vegan strawberry shortcake?
The biscuits are easy to make and are ready in under 30 minutes. It involves combining the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Then cut cold vegan butter into squares and cut it into the dry using a pastry cutter (or your hands like I do!) until it’s fine and crumbly. Then pour in the ‘vegan buttermilk’, which is simply non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix, cut into biscuits and bake for 15 minutes. Easy peasy.
TIP: If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can use a round glass to cut them.
What about the coconut whip?
You can make your own using canned coconut milk (see instructions in the recipe below). OR if you have a natural food store like Whole Foods nearby, they will probably have this So Delicious Cocowhip which makes this recipe even easier! Homemade tastes better, but this stuff is pretty dang delicious and totally vegan.
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If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram. Enjoy!
Inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Easy Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
Strawberries
- 6 cups sliced strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Biscuits
- 1 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, cold and cubed
Coconut Whip
- (2) 14-oz cans full fat coconut milk OR coconut cream*
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the strawberries: Stir the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Cover and set in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet. Measure the 1 1/4 cup almond milk and add the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it, stir a little and set aside to curdle (this is your buttermilk).
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cubed vegan butter and cut into the dry ingredients (may also use a food processor for this). Use a pastry cutter or just your hands. It will look fine and crumbly.
- Pour the vegan buttermilk into the bowl, and stir until just combined. The dough will be quite sticky. Lightly flour a working surface (such as a clean countertop), and your hands and work the dough into a ball. Gently flatten to about 1/2 inch thick, then cut into circles using a biscuit cutter or even a rounded glass. You should have about 10 biscuits.
- Place on the pan and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let cool for 10 minutes or so before assembling.
Make the Coconut Whip (if not using store bought cocowhip)
- Chill the canned coconut milk or cream overnight, being careful not to shake the cans so the cream will remain separate.
- Remove the cans, open and scoop out the hardened coconut cream, leaving the liquid in the can. Add to a large bowl, and beat with a mixer for a minute until creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until creamy, smooth and fluffy. Refrigerate until using so it doesn't melt!
Assemble the shortcakes
- Slice the biscuits in half and layer with strawberries and coconut whip cream. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi Nora! Amazing recipe as always! I was wondering can this recipe be made into a cake? Like a 3 tier cake? Would I need to make any changes to the ingredients? Thank you ♥️
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! To make a 3-tiered cake (8 or 9 inch rounds) you will need more cake batter. About 1.5 times the normal amount. Or you could make a triple 6-inch layer cake with the recipe as written.
What a great biscuit recipe! I’ve made them 4 times and love how tender and tasty they are. They are delicious just by themselves. I usually make half (of the X1) recipe. It’s plenty for 4 people. I pat out the dough very carefully on a floured surface into a rectangle shape and cut into 8 squares. I’m careful not to overwork the dough. They come out perfectly every time. Thanks for this recipe and all your other recipes!
You are welcome, Michal! I am glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for taking time to share your baking experience and wonderful review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking! I appreciate you using my recipes!
Hi! If I wanted to make these a different flavor, would the addition of matcha or cocoa powder mess with the outcome significantly?
I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t be sure. You can certainly try it and experiment.
So easy to make and they were fluffy and Delicious!
Hi Belinda. Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback!
Could I make there gluten-free by just subbing a gluten-free flour…something like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1? Thank you
That should work well, though I haven’t tried it myself.
Oops-a-daisy! I forgot to put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator last night, but luckily Plan B worked out! I had aquafaba and you have a recipe to make Aquafaba Vegan Whipped Cream! The shortcakes were the perfect size, texture, and flavor. I added just a pinch of sugar to the strawberries I picked up at the Farmer’s Market because they were already super-sweet on their own. It was just the dessert I wanted for Mother’s Day!
That sounds lovely! Thank you for your positive review and feedback! Happy cooking to you!
Hi!
My husband makes delicious nondairy ice cream and he wanted me to make some shortcakes to serve with it. This recipe is perfect! So tender and not too sweet.
In fact this also is the perfect breakfast biscuit! No more questionable canned biscuits for us! Thanks!
Can I use coconut milk instead of almond?
Yes, any plant based milk works. Happy baking!
These are delightful! My 3 yo ate 2 and wanted a third! I can’t blame him because so did I 😁.
That is awesome! Thank you for you fabulous feedback and review!
Another great recipe. Love that the biscuits are not too sweet. Easy to make and so good. Thanks!
I’m so glad you loved them! Thank you for sharing!
I have made these before and loved them.
Just wondering how far ahead of baking can I get them ready… having friends over and didnt want to mess up the kitchen while everyone was here…
It’s best to serve the shortcakes immediately after they’re assembled because the biscuits will become soggy. However, the biscuits can be baked well in advance!
I’m sorry my question wasn’t clear. Can I mix all the ingredients, roll them out, cut them and put them on the baking sheet a few hours before I bake them?
Oh, yes, that should be fine. Though I would keep the baking sheet in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Do you have any suggestions on making the biscuits chocolate? A chocolate strawberry shortcake has been requested of me but I’m not sure how to incorporate that into the recipe.
Hi Molly, that sounds so good! I haven’t tried making chocolate biscuits before but you can try adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the biscuit dough. Hope this helps!
So easy and delicious! Thanks for the comment on the coconut cream, I also forgot to chill overnight and put it in the freezer for 30min and worked perfectly! I added lemon zest if one lemon to my dough and it really kicked it up a notch! Will be making again!
Thanks so much for your feedback and review!
These shortcakes are delicious! I have a coconut allergy so had to adjust the whipped cream but this is the first shortbread recipe that my husband loved! Thanks so much.
Hi Robin. Thanks for sharing your terrific feedback! I’m happy you both loved the shortcake!
My first try making vegan biscuits- they were easy to make and turned out delicious! The recipe said it only makes 10 but I made about 17 and they were the perfect size
Hi Kristy. I’m so glad the shortcake turned out delicious for you! Thanks for sharing your great feedback!
I have a question regarding ingredients. Two tablespoons of baking powder seems like a lot. Usually, most recipes call for baking powder in teaspoon measurements. Is more baking powder needed because there are no eggs in a vegan recipe?
Yes, often I use more baking powder to help the cakes rise without eggs. It works well!
Usually biscuit recipes don’t call for eggs anyway… it’s the extra baking powder that makes them puff up so nicely!
This was such a delicious summery dessert! My kids loved it, especially the biscuits, which are so soft and fluffy! We all said that these were the best strawberry shortcakes we’ve had!
I agree this is such a fun summer dessert! I’m so happy your family loved it! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful feedback and review!
Is there anything that can be used in place of the V butter
Yes, you can try replacing the butter with cold coconut oil.
The BEST strawberry shortcake! My kids LOVE the biscuits so much they can’t stop eating them! I double the biscuits just because they love them so much! They are so easy to make! For the strawberry part I follow your directions and then I always like to take a potato masher and mash the berries up and they get so juicey and if not enough juice add a little water so you have mashed berries and the strawberry juice. You laddle it onto a biscuit or two and add the whip, if I don’t have ingredients on hand for whip, I always have a frozen vegan coco whip container in the freezer to use! The biscuits get all soaked in the juice and it is devine! My family of 6 devours it! Thank you for the amazing recipes! Whenever I make food, which is everyday I look on your site first, it’s my favorite and I always find something delicious to try! Never disappointed! I have to have strawberry shortcake every summer and this is by far my favorite!
Hi Chelsea. I love your wonderful feedback and ideas of how you prepare the strawberry shortcake for your family! I’m glad you guys are enjoying the recipe! It’s such a great summertime treat! Happy cooking!
This taste amazing! I didn’t have time to leave can in fridge over night so I put in freezer for about 30 min and still worked for the creme! Saving this to make again awith different fruit toppings! Maybe try to add raisins for like a scone effect!
I”m so glad you loved the shortcake recipe! Thank you for sharing your great comments and review! Have fun with all your future flavor explorations!
Hi Nora can I use soy milk instead of almond? Thanks
Yes, you can use soy milk!
Does anyone have a suggested GF flour that could be subbed for the biscuits?
I usually use bobs red mill 1:1 gf flour !
My husband and I have been making these biscuits for over a year now! They are so yummy ? Would you happen to know the nutritional info for just the biscuits?
I was concerned based on other comments that my biscuits would not rise. I didn’t do a trial run on these before making them as I’ve only had one of your recipes that has been a failure (my fault I’m sure). These are fantastic!!! Fluffy and beautiful!!! Thank you!!! I love that I never waste ingredients when I’m making your recipes. Happy 4th!!!
Thank you Carrie! I’m so glad your shortcake turned out wonderful! Thank you for using my recipes. I appreciate you taking your time to share your review and comments!