Healthy Overnight Strawberry Shortcake Jar (vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, keto option)
Feb 21, 2019 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
This page may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission for products purchased through my link.
There are two things I love about coming home from travels. First, coming home to your own kitchen of course, and being able to cook for yourself and second, coming home with inspiration for new dishes from the food you ate while on your trip. That usually means that the first thing I do when I get home is play around in the kitchen to try to recreate dishes I ate but this time around, it’s a little tougher. My apartment building had a gas leak before I left, and they have been working to get our gas line back up and running. The situation is not ideal–it means no baking for the time being, but it’s also a unique challenge that gives me the perfect opportunity to spend more time creating no-cook dishes. It has been a few years since I’ve been in college, but I do remember the struggle of trying to cook for yourself while living in the dorm, whether you had access to a bare bones kitchen or not.
The good news is, this healthy Overnight Strawberry Shortcake Jar requires zero cooking and very minimal effort. If you can throw things into a jar, you can make this recipe. It’s great for meal prep, an on the go breakfast, road trip food, or even as a healthy dessert or snack if you need a pick me up during the day. It’s vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, rich in protein and healthy fats and can actually be modified to be keto friendly. As you probably know, I’m the furthest thing from keto, but I do get requests every now and then for keto-friendly recipes so here ya go! I’ll provide a modification in the notes, but all you really need to do is sub out the oats.
In this jar, we’ve got a blend of seeds like chia and flax, coconut, strawberry and goji berries, and oats (which you can sub out to make keto). I added my daily serving of flax which also helps this breakfast thicken up, chia for some protein and omegas, and goji berries because I love the combo of strawberry and goji. Read more about goji here! This jar was inspired by a smoothie bowl I had while in Paris that tasted just like one of those ice cream truck strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. If you watched my Paris vlog, then you saw me completely scrape the bowl clean. I was blown away by how much the smoothie bowl resembled the bar from my childhood, and it was a surprising combination of coconut and strawberry that really pulled it together. I love coconut water, and fresh coconuts having spent much of my childhood growing up in Thailand, but in my cooking? Not so much. This recipe might’ve changed my mind though, because the subtle addition really gives it that nostalgic flavour. It’s a great healthy fat to add, and makes this a power packed breakfast that will keep you energized and satiated through your morning. Trust me on this one! The strawberry flavours will overpower the coconut for the most part anyway.
To assemble, it’s really as simple as stirring in a jar, and letting it sit. I recommend making this the night before, and you can also make multiple batches in mason jars so you have breakfast ready to go for the week. I personally like mine less sweet, and love the natural sweetness from the strawberries and coconut yogurt, but as with all recipes, adjust to suit your sweetness preference. I used freeze dried strawberries because it adds a nice texture and better strawberry flavour to the recipe, but you can use fresh strawberries too, and I encourage using a mix of both! I would say this recipe makes one large serving, or 2 small servings if you’re enjoying as a little snack. While not ALL the ingredients are essential (because I know, not everyone has ever single seed/nut in their house at all times), the freeze dried strawberry, vanilla extract, and coconut yogurt are definitely a must to achieve that strawberry shortcake-y flavour.
And finally, toppings. I went a little crazy with my toppings, mostly for the photo, but also because I happened to have so many strawberry components on hand. I added additional vegan strawberry yogurt (coconut based), a strawberry coconut butter, coconut flakes, chopped almonds and freeze dried strawberries. I’m actually eating a second jar that I made yesterday as I’m typing this blogpost up, and let me tell you, it has so many great textures and flavours. Anyway, I told myself I’d get this blogpost up before I finished this jar so let’s get into the recipe!
Healthy Overnight Strawberry Shortcake Jar (vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, keto option)
Ingredients
- dry
- 1/3 cup gluten free rolled oats sub unsweetened coconut shreds or hemp hearts for keto
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp coconut shreds
- 2-3 tbsp dried goji berries
- 1/4 cup freeze dried strawberry pieces
- wet
- 1/2 cup plant milk of choice I used cashew, but coconut works well too
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 2 tbsp coconut yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp sweetener of choice to taste (maple syrup, date syrup, monkfruit etc.)
- handful of chopped strawberries
- toppings/optional add-ins
- chopped almonds
- toasted coconut
- coconut butter
- more fresh strawberries to top
Instructions
- In a mason jar, combine oats (or substitute), chia seeds, flax seeds, coconut shreds, goji berries and freeze dried strawberry pieces. Give the jar a shake to combine all ingredients.
- Add plant milk, filtered water, coconut yogurt, vanilla extract and sweetener if using and stir quickly with a fork, making sure not to leave any clumps at the bottom of the jar.
- Cover jar and give it a good shake. Add fresh strawberries on top and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
- When serving, feel free to add additional plant milk as desired, sweetener, and toppings of choice.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love strawberry? Check out this Strawberry Rose Bubble Tea, or for more breakfast ideas, these Raspberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.
Love & breakfast,
1 Comment