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Home Recipe Index Desserts

Healthy Strawberry Shortcake

4.7 /5
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By: Rachel TiemeyerPosted: 4/12/21Updated: 4/7/25

This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This healthier take on Strawberry Shortcake uses 100% whole wheat and real food ingredients but turns out moist and delicious! Top with our Homemade Whipped Cream or Maple Whipped Cream.

A slice of healthy strawberry shortcake. this …


 
Table of Contents
  • 3 Tips for Making This Recipe Amazing
  • Why Is This Strawberry Shortcake Healthier?
  • More Fruit Desserts
  • Healthy Strawberry Shortcake

3 Tips for Making This Recipe Amazing

The key to this making this Healthy Strawberry Shortcake absolutely delicious is three-fold:

  1. Use ripe strawberries macerated with just a little sugar. That means you’ll just toss your sliced strawberries in a bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and let them sit for at least 30 minutes or longer. This helps to soften and sweeten them a little bit. Feel free to use coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, which are less refined.
Cut up strawberries in a bowl.

2. Make your own homemade whipped cream. Trust me, it’s really not hard and it makes a huge taste difference. (Please don’t ruin this dessert with whatever it is that Cool Whip is…ick!)

Healthy strawberry shortcake on a plate with homemade whipped cream and strawberries on top.

3. Use the white whole wheat variety of flour (this is also now labeled as “gold” whole wheat), if you can find it. This variety makes for a much less dense cake, yet is still 100% whole grain.  

I must warn you, if you’re accustomed to the classic biscuit or sponge cake versions, this was neither. Instead, this Strawberry Shortcake was a moist, sweet, and yet denser cake. It has a pretty strong honey flavor which is tasty but probably not the traditional shortcake you are used to. Not traditional but awesome nonetheless.

Why Is This Strawberry Shortcake Healthier?

Glad you asked! Two big reasons:

1 – Everything is made with whole food ingredients instead of processed foods, like store-bought cake and Cool Whip that are filled with icky ingredients. Instead, whole wheat flour, honey (and not too much really), fresh strawberries, coconut oil, eggs, and organic milk and cream make for a healthier, whole-food approach to this delicious dessert.

2 – Made with 100% whole wheat flour, which means more fiber and protein. I recommend using white or golden whole wheat for best texture.

3 – Honey is the main sweetener, so this dessert has far less refined sugars.

Now that blueberries are everywhere around these parts, I’m thinking this cake could be great with those, too. Enjoy!

A piece of strawberry shortcake on a plate.

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Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

A slice of healthier whole wheat Strawberry Shortcake on a plate.
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 12 reviews

Healthy Strawberry Shortcake

Filled with all real food ingredients, this healthier Strawberry Shortcake with homemade whipped cream is a wholesome dessert your whole family will LOVE. 

Yield: Makes 9 servings 1x
Prep: 30 minutesCook: 20-25 minutesTotal: 0 hours
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Ingredients

  • 4–5 cups of fresh, sliced strawberries (sub: frozen and thawed sliced strawberries)
  • 1–2 tablespoons sugar (you can use coconut sugar or another unrefined sugar)
  • 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (I highly recommend using the white whole wheat variety!)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • 1/2 cup milk (your choice)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup melted, slightly cooled coconut oil (sub: avocado oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • Maple Whipped Cream or Homemade Whipped Cream (or store-bought whipped cream)

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan.
  2. Toss the sliced strawberries in a bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. Set them aside to macerate while you make the cake. (I usually store mine in the fridge.) 
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
  4. In another mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the milk, honey, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a spoon just until combined. Do not overmix.
  5. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake for 18-23 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
  6. Allow the cake to cool. While it cools, whip up a batch of Homemade Whipped Cream or Maple Whipped Cream. Top each serving with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Notes/Tips

  • If your cake doesn’t rise when baking, your baking powder may not be good anymore. How can you tell? Place 1/2 teaspoon powder in a bowl and cover with 1/4 cup boiling water. If it bubbles vigorously, then it’s still good. If there’s no or little bubbling, then it’s time to toss it.
  • Note: This cake will have a distinct honey aroma and flavor to it, but it’s surprisingly not super sweet. Once paired with the strawberries and whipped cream, the sweetness is perfect!
  • This is different than traditional shortcake but still delicious.
© Author: Rachel Tiemeyer
Cuisine: American Method: Baking

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A piece of healthy strawberry shortcake with whipped cream on top.
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Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

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  1. Chloe Smart says

    Posted on 5/11/25 at 7:52 pm

    I made this for my mom for Mother’s Day, and she loved it! She has a specific diet that makes it hard on her to have sugar or white flour, so she really appreciated being able to have cake for the first time in a while. She had three pieces! Would definitely recommend!😊👍

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 5/12/25 at 9:31 am

      This warmed my heart Chloe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review with your mom’s story. Glad you found the recipe!

      Reply
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A piece of healthy strawberry shortcake with whipped cream on top.