There’s nothing worse than buying special ingredients and spending time and energy on a recipe that doesn’t live up to the hype. This is not one of those recipes, my friends. We kept all of the classic strawberry shortcake flavors intact while using slightly different ingredients to level up the nutritional value in these perfectly light & fluffy shortcakes. The sweet macerated strawberries, and a rich & creamy whipped cream make this one top notch.
Looking for More Recipes Like This?
Then check out our strawberry shortcake parfaits! They come together in 30 minutes and are great for a grab-n-go dessert option.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- almond milk & lemon juice: Mix these two together to make a nice and light buttermilk. Or swap for store bought buttermilk.
- whole wheat flour: We love whole wheat flour for it’s increased fiber, vitamins, and minerals. This could be swapped out for white flour as well.
- coconut sugar: This has a lower glycemic index than white sugar, helping to keep blood sugar levels from rising quickly. Feel free to swap with regular white sugar.
- fresh strawberries: Here in the midwest, these little babies are the most ripe between late may and early June. Grab some from you local farmers market for the best flavored berries!
- heavy creamy: Used in our whipped cream, but you could use our dairy free whipped cream in its place.
How To Make A Healthier Strawberry Shortcake
Mix all of the dry ingredients together and then use a fork or pastry cutter to add in the cubed butter. Then pour in the buttermilk mixture and mix to make a shaggy dough.
Roll the dough into a rectangle shape on a floured surface. Then fold in the sides, roll, rotate dough, and repeat the folding and rolling a couple of times until your dough is 3/4 – 1 inch thick.
Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles. Then let pop ’em in the oven to bake!
Let Your Biscuits Touch
When placing your biscuits on the baking sheet, be sure that they’re touching each other. This allows the heat to get trapped, which creates steam pockets and results in a more puffy and hydrated biscuit.
While the shortcakes bake, get working on your strawberries and whipped cream.
Let the biscuits cool, then slice them down the middle and assemble them with the strawberries and cool whip!
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- Will almond milk change the taste of the shortcakes? Nope! You won’t notice any almond flavor in these.
- Do these freeze well? Yes! The shortcakes can be stored in the freezer for up to two months.
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Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Healthy Strawberry Shortcake – this healthier version of strawberry shortcake is made with whole wheat flour and coconut sugar!
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Shortcakes
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup salted butter, cubed
- 1 tablespoon melted butter + cane sugar for topping
Macerated Strawberries
- 2–3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- 2–3 tablespoons sugar (granulated or coconut)
Homemade Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
Whole Wheat Shortcakes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine lemon juice and almond milk in a small bowl to make “buttermilk”; whisk to combine and set aside.
- Combine whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; whisk to combine.
- Add in butter cubes and use pastry cutter or fork to combine into coarse crumbs.
- Pour in “buttermilk” mixture.
- Use spoon to combine – the resulting dough should be shaggy looking.
- Pour dough out onto lightly floured surface.
- Using your hands, work flour into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
- Take two sides parallel to each other and bring in to meet in the middle. Work dough until it is flat again; about 1 inch thick. Repeat 1-2 more times ensuring your dough is ultimately between 3/4 – 1 inch thick.
- Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut into circles/biscuits.
- Place biscuits on parchment-lined baking sheet, ensuring they are all touching (this helps them rise better).
- Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cane sugar.
- Place in oven, middle rack, for 19-24 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let sit on hot baking sheet 5-10 minutes. Move to cooling rack and let cool fully before cutting into.
- Cut in half and serve with macerated strawberries and whipped cream.
Macerated Strawberries
- Place strawberries and sugar in a bowl.
- Stir to combine.
- Let sit out on the counter, stirring every so often, for approximately 30 minutes or until the strawberries get juicy.
Homemade Whipped Cream*
- Place large metal bowl in freezer for 30 minutes.
- Remove bowl from freezer. Add ingredients to bowl.
- Using either a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whip ingredients together on med/high speed for approx. 3 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
Notes
- *Dairy-Free Whipped Cream: if you want to go lighter on the dairy then feel free to make some dairy-free whipped cream instead!
- Storage: Store these in an air-tight container on the countertop for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 oz
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 13.2 g
- Sodium: 281.9 mg
- Fat: 12.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.7 g
- Fiber: 4.7 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 32 mg
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