These vegan brown sugar pop tarts are super delicious and bring back so much nostalgia. If you love a tasty tart crust with a cinnamon brown sugar filling and a cinnamon frosting, then give these pop tarts a try!
Traditional pop tarts are full of questionable ingredients but a lot of nostalgia. We didn’t have pop tarts much growing up, but I always enjoyed it when we did.
They are coming out with a lot more vegan pop tart options these days; the typical ingredient that makes them not vegan is the gelatin they use for the frosting.
It seems like that would be an easy enough ingredient to change out to make it so everyone could eat them.
But let’s be real, homemade is always better, and these homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts are straight-up tasty!
You won’t be missing the store-bought pop tarts with these babies.
This recipe has simple ingredients you likely already have on hand.
It’s also an easy recipe, but it happens to be a bit time-consuming.
You’re essentially making little hand pies.
These vegan pop tarts took me a couple of tries to get right.
I happened to have a nonvegan friend whose favorite pop tart of all time is brown sugar. I had her to taste test these on, and she gave me feedback since I’m going on long-term memories.
The first recipe I made with a traditional pie crust recipe; it was good but not a pop tart.
The next recipe was this one, and the crust, although not 100% spot on because it doesn’t have the funky chemicals they can put in pop tarts, but I’ve heard numerous times this was the best pop tart they’ve ever had.
I’ll take that as a win!
Vegan Pop Tart Recipe Q&A
Can I make other pop-tarts flavors with this recipe?
Yes, if you have a specific flavor you like, you can make a different version of the filling and stick with the same instructions for making the dough.
Here are some other tart flavors;
- Fruit- you could use your favorite jam, like; sweet strawberry jam, and make a strawberry glaze instead of the brown sugar combo
- S’mores- mixing vegan chocolate chips, vegan marshmallows, and some crunched-up graham crackers
- Make sure you leave enough room around the edges for whatever filling you use so it doesn’t spill out.
Are pop tarts vegan?
The majority of pop tarts from the store are not vegan because they tend to have gelatin in them; however, some are vegan.
And the majority of the unfrosted ones are vegan. The frosting seems to be what most often has gelatin in it.
Can I make these gluten free?
I haven’t tried this recipe gluten-free, but I think if you use a good all-purpose gluten-free flour, it should work out great.
What ingredients do you need for vegan pop-tarts?
Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
Pie Dough
- all purpose flour
- salt
- white sugar
- non-dairy milk
- vegan butter cold
- shortening, solid
Brown sugar filling
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- flour
- melted vegan butter
Glaze
- powdered sugar
- cinnamon
- non-dairy milk
Vegan egg wash
- soy milk
- maple syrup
How do you make homemade vegan pop tarts?
Start your vegan pie crust.
Get a medium-sized bowl and whisk your flour, salt, and sugar until well combined.
Then cut your cold vegan butter into small squares and add it to the flour mixture, then add your shortening, and use a pastry cutter or two forks until the dough has coarse crumbs.
Last, add your cold vegan milk and fold with a wooden spoon until it’s combined well.
Wrap this in a saran wrap disc and place it in the fridge while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or oven-safe parchment paper and set it aside.
Get a small to medium bowl and combine your brown sugar middle. Melt the vegan butter in the bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and stir until well combined.
After about 20-30 minutes, your dough should be ready to roll.
Grab two large sheets of parchment paper (enough to cover the top and bottom of the dough you’re going to use it to roll out the dough.
Place one sheet on the bottom and place your dough ball or dough disk in the middle, then place the other piece of parchment paper on top of the dough, get your rolling pin and roll out the dough.
If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use plastic wrap or a lightly floured surface and floured rolling pin.
Roll the tart dough into a rectangle until it’s about 1/8-1/4 inches thick, then take a pizza cutter and square up your dough.
That means cutting off the jagged areas and making them even dough rectangles.
If you have a rectangle cookie cutter, you can use that or grab a ruler and measure the height, then divide it by how many even pieces you want and make little score marks so you know where to cut and do the same thing up and down.
You should have an even number of rectangles to make the tarts.
If you’re like me and don’t roll out very well, you will need to re-roll the excess dough just like you did before to use the remaining dough.
Get a baking sheet (baking tray) and layer it with parchment paper, then place the bottom of the tarts on the parchment paper. To do this, use a spatula and move them carefully so they don’t lose shape.
Get a small bowl or cup and add the vegan egg wash 1 TB maple syrup with 1 TB soy milk and stir until combined.
Brush this on what will be the bottom of the tarts, just a light coat, then add about 1 1/2 TB of brown sugar mixture onto the tarts, leaving a rim around the edge of the tart with no brown sugar.
Then place your top onto the brown sugar-covered bottom tart.
Take a fork and seal the edges of the tarts by crimping them.
Last, cover the top of the pop tart with the vegan egg wash lightly and poke a hole gently three times with the fork to vent the tart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 16-22 minutes until lightly golden brown and cooked through.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then use a spatula and place them on a cooling rack.
While the tarts are cooling, you can make the icing.
Take a small bowl and combine the frosting ingredients with a whisk until smooth if it’s too thick, add only a tiny bit more of plant milk; if it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
And finally, the last step is to frost the tarts;
Let the tarts cool completely before frosting. I used a spoon and just smoothed it over where I wanted it.
How do you store homemade pop tarts?
Let the pop tarts come to room temperature before storing them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
How do you reheat homemade pop tarts?
If you prefer your pop tarts heated up, you can eat them up in the oven at 250 degrees for about 5 minutes or until it’s the temperature you want. You don’t want it to get too warm because the frosting will melt off.
These can’t go in the toaster; that would be a huge mess.
You could try to do it in the air fryer or a toasted oven that’s not vertical if you’d rather.
How do you serve these?
These are best served at room temperature or warm, depending on how you like pop-tarts.
Can you freeze homemade pop tarts?
Yes, let the pop tarts come to room temperature before placing them in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Let the pop tarts defrost on the counter and reheat in the oven at 250 degrees for about 5 minutes.
Want some other vegan dessert recipes?
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 6-7 TB non-dairy milk
- 4 TB vegan butter cold
- 4 TB shortening solid
Brown sugar filling
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 TB flour
- 1/5 TB melted vegan butter
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 TB non-dairy milk
vegan egg wash
- 1 TB soy milk
- 1 TB maple syrup
Instructions
- Start your pop tart dough. Get a medium-sized bowl and whisk your flour, salt, and sugar until well combined. Then cut your cold vegan butter into small squares and add it to the flour mixture, then add your shortening, and use a pastry cutter or two forks until the dough has coarse crumbs. Last, add your cold vegan milk and fold with a wooden spoon until it's combined well. Wrap this in a saran wrap disc and place it in the fridge while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or oven-safe parchment paper, and set it aside.
- Get a small to medium bowl and combine your brown sugar middle. Melt the vegan butter in the bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and stir until well combined.
- After about 20-30 minutes, your dough should be ready to roll. Grab two large sheets of parchment paper (enough to cover the top and bottom of the dough you're going to use to roll out the dough. Place one sheet on the bottom and place your dough disc in the middle, then place the other piece of parchment paper on top of the dough, get your rolling pin and roll out the dough into a rectangle until it's about 1/8-1/4 inches thick, then take a pizza cutter and square up your dough. That means cutting off the jagged areas and making them even rectangles. If you have a rectangle cookie cutter, you can use that or grab a ruler and measure the height, then divide it by how many even pieces you want and make little score marks so you know where to cut and do the same thing up and down. You should have an exact number of squares to make the tarts. If you're like me and don't roll out very well, you will need to re-roll the excess dough just like you did before.
- Get a small bowl or cup and add the vegan egg wash 1 TB maple syrup with 1 TB soy milk and stir until combined. Brush this on what will be the bottom of the tarts, just a light coat, then add about 1 1/2 TB of brown sugar mixture onto the tarts, leaving a rim around the edge of the tart with no brown sugar. Then place your top onto the brown sugar-covered bottom tart. Take a fork and seal the edges of the tarts by crimping them. Last, cover them with the vegan egg wash lighting and poke a hole gently three times with the fork to vent the tart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16-22 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then use a spatula and place them on a cooling rack.
- While the tarts are cooling, you can make the icing. Take a small bowl and combine the frosting ingredients with a whisk until smooth if it's too thick, add only a tiny bit more plant milk; if it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Let the tarts cool completely before frosting. I used a spoon and just smoothed it over where I wanted it.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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