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Slice by slice, these vegan strawberry shortcake ice cream bars will disappear before your eyes. Golden Oreo cookies to create the crunchy base, vegan vanilla ice cream, vegan strawberry ice cream, swirled with some homemade strawberry jam, along with some freeze-dried strawberries. And to give these bars that classic shortbread bars look, top with crushed cookies and crushed freeze-dried strawberries. This homemade version of everyone’s childhood favorite ice cream bar is an effortless, pretty, frozen dessert, that you’ll enjoy all summer long.
These homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bars are…
- super easy and fun to make!
- made without popsicle moulds and an ice cream maker!
- the perfect summer treat
Simple Ingredients for vegan homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bars
- Cookies: For the base, you’ll need some golden sandwich cookies, like the Oreo ones! Blitzing the cookies with the help of a little vegan melted butter, will create a lovely, perfectly crunchy base. And yes, the golden Oreos are vegan! The golden Oreos will also be used to create that nostalgic topping!
- Strawberries: Just like the bars you can get from an ice cream truck, you’ll need some freeze-dried strawberries to create that classic topping. And for the homemade strawberry jam, you’ll need some fresh, juicy, summer strawberries! The jam isn’t something that’s typically found in strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, but I wanted my bars to look extra pretty. And, what’s prettier than swirled fresh strawberry jam? Not a thing. You could also use store-bought strawberry jam if you prefer!
- Ice cream: Vegan vanilla ice cream, two tubs of them. I like to make my strawberry ice cream by simply combining the homemade strawberry jam with one of the tubs of ice cream. You can of course use store-bought vegan strawberry ice cream if you prefer!
- Butter: Just a little melted vegan butter to help bind the cookie crumbs for the base. I always prefer to use salted vegan butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
Homemade strawberry jam…
Something about strawberry desserts screams summer! And to make this recipe extra special, I used fresh, juicy strawberries to make a simple jam, that then is mixed with vanilla ice cream, to make our very own, homemade strawberry ice cream. For the best strawberry flavor, make my simple homemade strawberry jam. It can be hard to find vegan strawberry ice creams at grocery stores, so this jam will be used to make our own cheat vegan strawberry ice cream by combining vanilla ice cream with some of the jam until pretty and pink. Easy right? Plus this way we’re using fresh fruit over
Add fresh strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and a little lemon juice into a saucepan and heat on medium-high heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, bring it down to a simmer and cook for 10ish minutes or until it becomes thicker. While the jam simmers, the strawberries will become soft and more mashable. Mash them gently with a potato masher or even a fork. I like to keep a few larger strawberry chunks, so when we slice the bars, it looks extra pretty.
The cookie crust…
Line a square pan with parchment paper, with an overhang on all sides. This will make removing the bars effortless.
Add the golden Oreos into a food processor, and blitz until it resembles fine crumbs. And if you don’t have a food processor, simply add the Oreos into a plastic bag, squeeze all the air out, and with a rolling pin, smash into fine crumbs. Add in the melted vegan butter and mix until well combined. Tightly press the mixture, with clean hands, or the back of a measuring cup into the bottom of the lined pan. Place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
All about the pretty strawberry shortcake ice cream layers…
Start with the first layer, by transferring the vanilla ice cream into a large bowl and gently beating it with a wooden spoon or spatula until it becomes slightly soft. This will make transferring the ice cream over the cookie crumb layer easy, as you won’t have to apply too much pressure to spread it into an even layer. Once the vanilla ice cream has softened slightly, pop it into a large bowl, add in most of the homemade strawberry jam. Fold together until combined well. Gently transfer the homemade strawberry ice cream with over the frozen cookie crust, spread into an even layer with an offset spatula and freeze for 30 minutes.
Grab the remaining strawberry jam, and spread over the strawberry ice cream layer. Once we slice these bars, we’ll be gifted with pretty strawberry jam layer! Freeze for 1-2 hours.
While the layers freeze, make the crumb coating. This will make these ice cream bars extra special (and pretty to look at!). Simply place 1/2 of the freeze dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until it turns into a strawberry powder. Place a few more golden oreos into a plastic bag, and smash into small-medium sized chunks using a rolling pin.
For the next layer, remove the second tub of vanilla ice cream from the freezer, and once softened ever so slightly, dollop it over the strawberry jam layer. and spread with a spatula into an even layer. Freeze for 30- 40 minutes. Grab the crumb coating, and press the mixture over the bars. Cover bars with plastic wrap, and freeze for 18 hours, but for the best results, freeze overnight.
Slice, slice, baby
Remove the homemade ice cream bars from the freezer.
Pro tip: To loosen the slab of ice cream, place the whole baking pan in a wider baking tray filled with warm water. This will help loosen up the edges of the ice cream, making it easier to lift the baking sheet out of the baking pan.
With a sharp knife slice into 16 bars (or 12 if you want them to be a little larger). These are the perfect treat to make and keep stored in your freezer. These strawberry ice cream bars make a great ready-to-eat on hot summer days.
After you make these homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bar recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to see your images!!
More vegan ice cream recipes you’ll love:
Print Ingredients
Crust
- 26 golden Oreo cookies
- 5 tbsp salted vegan butter
Ice Cream Layers
- 3–4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 litre vegan vanilla ice cream, divided in half
Topping
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 8 golden oreo cookies
Instructions
- Start by making the strawberry jam. Add fresh strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and a little lemon juice into a saucepan and heat on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn down to simmer for 10 minutes. Gently squash the strawberries with a fork. Set aside to cool.
- Line a square 9×9 pan with parchment paper, with an overhang. Add golden Oreos into a blender, and blitz into crumbs. Mix in melted vegan butter. Transfer the golden oreo base into the pan, and tightly press the mixutre into the pan. Place into the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Pop half of the ice cream into a large bowl, and let it sit outside for a few minutes, just to soften slightly. Add in most of the homemade strawberry jam (I set aside around 1/3 cup). Fold together until combined. Pour over the golden oreo crumb layer. Freezer for 2-3hours.
- While the layers freeze. Make the strawberry shortcake topping. Crush 8 golden oreos with a rolling pin. Add 1/2 of the freeze-dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Combine the crushed oreos and freeze-dried strawberries.
- After 2-3 hours, remove the pan from the freezer, pour the remaining 1/3 cup of strawberry jam over the strawberry ice cream layer. Dollop the remaining vanilla ice cream over and spread into an even layer, and top with the crushed Oreos, and all the freeze-dried strawberries. Freeze overnight or for at least 5-6 hours.
- Lift the ice cream from the pan, slice and enjoy!
