Enjoy a taste from your childhood and achieve your protein goals each morning with this recipe for gluten-free vegan pop tarts! This delicious breakfast treat has a fudgy filling, flaky crust, and sweet icing that you will love.
Did I mention these healthy pop tarts are refined sugar-free?
Enjoying a delicious pastry in the morning for breakfast is enticing, but when working on personal fitness goals (hitting a minimum protein intake), passing up the breakfast treat might be the norm.
Thankfully, this healthy Pop Tart recipe is packed with protein to help you get your protein intake for the first meal of the day. Not to mention, the Pop-tart ingredients are clean (refined sugar-free) and the gluten-free Pop-Tarts are vegan! An all-around win first thing in the morning. Indulge in a breakfast pastry without feeling guilty.
Jump to:
Gluten-Free & Vegan Pop Tart Ingredients
There is no better way to start the day than with a high-protein chocolate or berry pastry. Unfortunately, processed Pop-Tarts are packed with unhealthy ingredients and empty calories. These healthy vegan Pop-Tarts are loaded with protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs to keep you energized all day.
Protein pop-tart crust pastry:
- Gluten-free oat flour
- Chick-pea flour
- Vanilla Protein powder (I use this one)
- Thick dairy-free yogurt (This is my favorite brand)
- Avocado oil spray
Filling:
- Raspberries
- Chia seeds
- Chocolate protein powder
- Thick dairy-free chocolate chips (These are amazing)
- Sugar-free drops
Toppings and icing:
- Dairy-free chocolate chips
- Thick dairy-free yogurt
- Cocoa Nibs
- Gluten-free granola
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
After getting the dough prepared, the homemade pop-tarts come together quickly.
Combine all high protein pop-tart crust ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. The dough should not be wet – if it is, make sure to add more gluten-free oat flour.
Roll out the dough using a pastry rolling pin. Using a knife, cut the pastry into small rectangles of equal size. Place a small dollop of filling on every over pastry rectangle.
Sandwich the two pastry rectangles together. To do this, one pastry sheet that has the filling dollop on top will be on the surface and stay stationary. Pick up the other pastry sheet and cover the first pastry sheet. Take a fork and press into the ends of the pastry to secure the filling.
Bake the healthy protein pop tarts until golden brown. Allow the pastries to cool and then drizzle the sweet chocolate icing and berry icing on top of the protein pop tarts. Add toppings if you desire (i.e. cocoa nibs, sprinkles, granola, etc.!)
Hint: We recommend rolling the dough out on two pieces of parchment paper for easy flipping.
Protein Pop Tart Substitutions
To Ice or not to ice the healthy pop tarts…..
- Icing – feel free to enjoy these protein pop-tarts without the sugary glaze! try throwing it in the toaster oven on day 2 and reminisce on childhood memories.
- Thick dairy-free yogurt – use dairy-free butter to bind the dough. this is going to increase the calorie intake, but the crust will be extremely flaky.
Protein Pop Tart Variations
We love this healthy pop tart recipe because you can be creative with the filling, icing, and toppings. Feel free to mix and match.
Icing Variations
- Chocolate Fudge (refined sugar-free & dairy-free) – add cocoa powder, sugar-free drops, vanilla, and a dash of water to a bowl. mix until the icing is thick.
- Natural Sweet Berry – add dairy-free yogurt, sugar-free drops, and berries to a bowl. mix until the icing is thick.
Filling Variations
- High protein fudge – add chocolate protein powder, melted chocolate chips, and water into a bowl. mix until the icing is thick.
- Mixed Berry – add chia seeds and mixed berries into a saucepan on medium heat. cook until the berries start to release the juices. remove from stove top after the consistency is thick.
Equipment
The best part of this recipe is you only need high-quality cookie sheets to get the job done. We love these.
We haven’t tried air frying these healthy pop-tarts, but we think it would taste great.
Storing the Protein Pop Tarts
Allow the icing to dry completely before placing the healthy pop-tarts in a container. Store the high protein pop-tarts in an air-tight container. Good for 2-3 days (but you will probably finish eating them before that time frame is over).
These ingredients do not do well in the freezer, just an FYI. We recommend bake, then eating asap!
Top tip
Prepare the protein pop-tart dough the night before and leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, let the dough thaw and begin to roll out the dough for cutting. This will save you a ton of time!
FAQ
Questions we have been asked and some answers!
- Are pop tarts healthy? Great question. Unfortunately, processed Pop-Tarts are packed with unhealthy ingredients and empty calories. These healthy vegan Pop-Tarts are loaded with protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs to keep you energized all day.
- Can I use gluten-free flour? Yes! that works great in this recipe.
- Are these pop-tarts dairy-free? We crafted this recipe to be 100% dairy free and vegan. Plus, this recipe has no butter. The yogurt acts as the binding agent to make the dough thick.
- What ingredients are in pop tarts pastry? oat flour, thick dairy-free yogurt, and protein powder. That’s it!
π Recipe
Healthy Protein Pop-Tarts (Gluten-free & Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
Protein Pop-Tart Crust Pastry
- 1 Cup Gluten-Free Oat Flour
- ΒΌ Cup Vanilla Protein Powder
- β Cup Thick Dairy-Free Yogurt
Chocolate Filling
- ΒΌ Cup Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips We love using Lilys!
- 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
- 1 Splash Almond Milk Use just enough liquid to make the filling spreadable
Berry Filling
- Β½ Cup Rasberries
- 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds
- 5 Drops Sugar-Free Drops
Chocolate Icing
- Β½ Cup Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips
Berry Icing
- 3 tablespoon Thick Dairy-Free Yogurt
- 2 Tbsp Resberries
- 3-4 Drops Sugar-Free Drops
Toppings (optional)
- 3 tablespoon Cocoa Nibs or Chocolate Chips
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt Flakes
- 1 Handful Gluten-Free Granola
Instructions
Protein Flaky Crust:
- Combine the protein crust ingredients in a small bowl & mix until a thick dough forms.
- Allow the dough to sit in the refridgrator for ~30 minutes.
Mold the Pop-Tarts
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
- Split the dough into two small balls. Place one ball on one peice of parchment paper and place the other ball on another peice of parchment paper.
- Roll out the two dough balls into long, even rectangles.
- Using a knife, cut the dough into 8 even and equal rectangles.
- Make the filling that you desire. For the choclate filling, melt the chocolate chips and combine all ingredients into a small bowl. Mix. For the berry filling, place the ingredients into a saucepan on medium heat. Cook until the berries start to release the juices. Remove from stove top after the consistency is thick and let it cool.
- Scoop a small dollap of the filling on top of 4 of the pastry rectangles.
- Sandwich the pastyr wiht the dollop of filling by taking a the other pastry and pressing it on top of the bottom pastry.
- Use a fork and press into the dough to ensure the filling will not fall out.
- Spray the protein pop tarts with avocado oil. This will make the pastries golden brown. Take a fork and poke holes into the top of each pastry.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes. Keep an eye on the pop-tarts! You don't want to burn them.
Icing & Toppings
- Combine the icing ingredients into a bowl. Mix well.
- After allowing the poptarts to cool completely, coat the pop-tarts with the sweet chocolate glaze or berry glaze.
- Add toppings like gluten-free granola, sea salt, sprinkles or chocolate chips.
- Enjoy!!!!