These vegan pop tarts are fun to make and absolutely delicious! Made with your choice of fillings sandwiched between flaky pastry and topped with sweet, gooey glaze, these delicious little pastries are even better than store bought pop tarts. Perfect for an indulgent breakfast or a sweet snack!
I'm a child of the 80's, so Pop Tarts were a staple in my house growing up. Man, I LOVED those things. There's so much to love! Stuffed pie crust that you heat up in the toaster? Count me in!
I kind of forgot about Pop Tarts for a while, until I was in the supermarket the other day and realized there was basically an entire aisle dedicated to them. People must love Pop Tarts. So I thought, perhaps my readers would love some vegan pop tarts? (Spoiler: Yes, you're going to love these.)
I went ahead and created a recipe, and holy moly, these things were GOOD. They were fun to make, and creating a variety of flavors was easy (although maybe I didn't cover every variation available at the store). They surpassed the Pop Tarts I grew up eating in deliciousness, and that's saying a lot!
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Ingredient Notes
For the Pastry
- Flour. I've only tested the recipe with all-purpose wheat flour, so I can't guarantee results with any other variety.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Salt.
- Vegetable shortening.
- Vegan butter. Look for brands such as Miyoko's and Earth Balance near where the regular butter is sold at the supermarket.
- Cold water.
Filling Options
- Fruit filling. Use jam if you'd like to make fruit-flavored vegan pop tarts. Any flavor jam works! I went with classic strawberry jam, but raspberry, apricot, and blueberry jam would also be great choices!
- Chocolate filling. You'll need vegan chocolate chips (such as those made by Enjoy Life), and full-fat coconut milk from a can (don't use light coconut milk).
- Brown sugar cinnamon filling. All you need is organic brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and cinnamon.
For the Frosting
- Powdered sugar. Again, use organic to keep the recipe vegan.
- Non-dairy milk. Any variety works, and water can be substituted in a pinch.
- Vanilla extract.
- Additional mix-ins. You can add a bit of cinnamon, cocoa, or vegan food color for each of the flavor variations if you'd like.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by stirring your flour, sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl, then cut in cold shortening and butter. Ideally you'll want to use a pastry cutter for this, but a fork or a couple of butter knives can also be used. Keep cutting until your mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Begin adding ice cold water to the flour mixture. Drizzle a bit in, then stir, then drizzle a bit more in. Keep going until the mixture forms a dough that holds together.
- Once you've got a dough, split it into two halves, roll each in a ball, wrap them in plastic wrap, and stick them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Variation: You can also use your food processor to make the pastry. Use the s-blade to cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture, then drizzle in the cold water. Make sure not to overmix the dough, which can make your pastry tough.
- Prepare your fillings while the dough chills. For fruit-filled vegan pop tarts this means cracking open a jar of jam, for cinnamon pop tarts you'll be mixing some brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, and for chocolate pop tarts you'll be mixing some coconut milk and melted chocolate chips. Easy!
- Roll one of your dough balls to about ⅛ inch thick, and cut it into 3 inch by 4 inch rectangles (you should get about 9).
- Arrange the dough rectangles on a couple of parchment paper-lined baking sheets, then roll your other dough ball and cut it into rectangles in the same manner.
Tip: You'll probably end up with some scraps each time you cut your dough. You can reroll them, but try not to do this too many times. The more you handle your dough, the less tender your pastry will be.
- Use a bit of water to moisten the edges of your 9 dough rectangles on the baking sheet, then spoon a bit of filling into each of their centers.
- Lay a second dough rectangle over each of the filled rectangles, press the edges to seal, then crimp them with a fork. Poke holes in the tops of your unbaked vegan pop tarts using a toothpick.
- Bake your vegan pop tarts until they're golden brown. Brush them with some melted vegan butter as soon as they come out of the oven, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Mix up some glaze and spoon it over your vegan pop tarts once they're cool. You can optionally top them with some sprinkles or brown sugar.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Homemade vegan pop tarts will keep in a sealed bag or airtight at room temperature for about 5 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
To reheat, simply place them in an oven heated to 400°F. They should heat up in about 5 minutes, or about 8 to 10 minutes if they were frozen.
Do not reheat your homemade vegan pop tarts in a toaster (unless it's a toaster oven). The glaze will run and make a mess all over the bottom of your toaster if you do.
More Vegan Sweet Snacks
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Vegan Pop Tarts
These vegan pop tarts are fun to make and absolutely delicious! Made with your choice of fillings sandwiched between flaky pastry and topped with sweet, gooey glaze, these delicious little pastries are even better than store bought pop tarts. Perfect for an indulgent breakfast or a sweet snack!
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup vegetable shortening, chilled
- ¼ cup vegan butter, chilled
- Cold water
For Fruit-Filling
- ⅔ cup fruit jam (any flavor)
For Chocolate Filling
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
For Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For Topping
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
For the Glaze
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optinal Glaze Add-Ins
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (recommended for use with chocolate filling)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (recommended for use with brown sugar-cinnamon filling)
- Vegan food coloring (recommended for use with fruit filling)
Instructions
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Note: It's a good idea to read through the entire recipe before getting started. Also note that you will choose one filling (don't make all three, or you'll have way too much!).
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To make the pastry, first stir the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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Cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
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Begin adding cold water to the flour mixture, stirring in a tablespoon or two at a time using a fork, until the mixture just holds together. You can add up to ½ cup of water.
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Divide the dough into two halves. Roll each half into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and place it into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
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When the dough has only a few minutes left to chill, prepare your filling of choice. If making fruit filled pop tarts, measure your jam. For chocolate filled pop tarts, melt the chocolate chips by microwaving in 30 second increments and stirring in between, then stirring coconut milk into the melted chocolate. For brown sugar cinnnamon pop tarts, stir the filling ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove one of your dough balls from the fridge and unwrap it.
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On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ⅛ inch thick.
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Cut the dough into 3 inch by 4 inch rectangles (you should get about 9) and arrange them on the baking sheets.
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Remove the other dough ball from the fridge and roll it to ⅛ inch thick in the same manner. Cut into 3 inch by 4 inch rectangles.
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Use a bit of water to moisten the edges of the 9 rectangles that you've placed on the baking sheet, then spoon a 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling into the centers of the rectangles. Be careful not to use too much filling or it will spill out during baking.
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Place another rectangle over each of the filling topped rectangles, press the edges to seal, then crimp them with a fork. Poke a few holes in the tops with a toothpick.
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Bake the vegan pop tarts until golden, about 25 minutes.
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Brush them with melted butter once they come out of the oven, then carefully remove them from the baking sheets and place them on a cooling rack.
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When the pop tarts are cool, stir the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl, along with add-ins of choice.
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Spoon the glaze over the pop tarts and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Choose only one filling and one glaze variation for this recipe.
- To reheat, place your vegan pop tarts in a 400°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until hot. Don't reheat them in the toaster or the glaze will run.
- Nutrition information is for strawberry pop tarts.
Is the brown sugar version correct or should the 1 tsp. brown sugar be cinnamon? I’m guessing cinnamon. These sound delicious vegan or not. My family is mixed diets so I think these would be great for making when we all get together.
Oops! It's cinnamon. Thanks for catching that! This is definitely one of those recipes that can be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike. My non-vegan nephew loved them. I hope your family does as well!
To make a dough to go with savory pop-tarts (more like hand pies), would you just leave out the sugar, or do you have another recipe that might be better? Thanks!
Yup! You can absolutely just leave out the sugar. I'd love to hear how they turn out!
Can these be made using gluten free flour?
I haven't tried so I'm not sure. You could try switching out the pastry portion of the recipe with a good gluten-free pie crust if you have a recipe you like for that.