Make the holidays both holly and jolly with these adorable Strawberry Santas. Made with fresh strawberries and vegan buttercream frosting. These delicious vegan treats are sure to please everyone.
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The great thing about sweet treats is that they’re relatively easy to make in vegan form. It only takes a few tweaks to create festive holiday sweets with zero animal products.
Every year, I make vegan-friendly holiday desserts and snacks like Christmas chocolate bark, coconut banana Christmas smoothies, and many Christmas cookies. This year, I’ve added these super-easy strawberry Santas for a bright, fruity flavor and all the Christmas spirit you could ask for.
This no-bake recipe is a relatively healthier holiday treat. It’s fun to make with the kids and just as fun to eat!
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Why You’ll Love These Strawberry Santas
- Limited Ingredients: It only takes three simple ingredients to make these treats.
- Easy: These little Santa treats are finished in about 15 minutes.
- Festive: Their Santa look makes them a fun addition to any holiday gathering.
- Sweet: The combination of strawberries and the vegan buttercream frosting makes these treats so sweet!
Ingredients and Notes
- Fresh Strawberries: Fresh strawberries cut in half create the body and hat for these Santas.
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting: Vegan buttercream frosting adds a rich, creamy texture and sweet flavor while making the beards.
- Sesame Seeds: Used for the eyes.
- Red Sprinkles: Round circle sprinkles for the nose.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Substitutions and Variations
- Whipped Cream: You could use vegan whipped cream, but it isn’t as sturdy as buttercream.
- Strawberries: Look for large fresh strawberries with a pointed top.
- Red Hot Candies: For the nose.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: For the eyes.
How to Make Strawberry Santas
- Rinse and dry the strawberries. Then, cut off just enough of the tops for the strawberries to stand up.
- Slice the top third off of each strawberry.
- Pipe the frosting on the larger top of the strawberry to create Santa’s face and beard.
- Place the top portion of the strawberry on top of the buttercream to make the hat, and add a small dollop of buttercream to the tip for the hat pom-pom. Add two small buttercream buttons to the larger portion of the strawberry.
- Place two small sesame seeds to the frosting for the eyes, and a small circular red sprinkle for the nose.
- Enjoy immediately!
FAQ
First, never wash your strawberries until you’re ready to use them. They will mold quickly if you do. Second, always store your uncut strawberries in a container with a loose lid to allow plenty of airflow.
Vegan buttercream is a plant-based version of buttercream frosting made with vegan butter, non-dairy milk, and powdered sugar. It has a texture similar to traditional buttercream and can be used similarly.
Yes, it does. Or rather, it can. Vegan buttercream is made with high-quality vegan butter with a neutral flavor of sifted powdered sugar, and a neutral-flavored plant cream can taste almost the same as traditional buttercream.
Expert Tips
- Wait until you’re ready to use your strawberries to wash and dry them to ensure maximum freshness.
- Use a very sharp knife to cut the strawberries. This will give you clean, pretty cuts.
- Keep your strawberry Santas refrigerated in a loosely covered container. Don’t use an airtight container; the strawberries will go bad more quickly.
- The moisture of the cut strawberries can begin to melt the buttercream. I recommend making them just before serving and refrigerating to ensure the buttercream remains firm.
Serving Suggestions
Add these Santas to a larger table of Christmas desserts at your party or dinner. They work well with other festive treats like festive chocolate-covered pretzel rods, vegan peppermint bark, Grinch fruit kabobs, Christmas Fruit Wreath, and Vegetable Christmas Tree Tray.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store these strawberry Santas in a loosely covered container for up to a day. After that, the juice from the strawberries will begin to make the vegan buttercream too thin.
More Vegan Christmas Treats!
Recipe
Strawbery Santas
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 12 large strawberries
- 1 cup vegan buttercream frosting
- sesame seeds
- red circle sprinkles or red hot candies
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the strawberries. Cut off the leafy stem at the bottom so each strawberry has a flat base to stand on. Then slice the top third of each strawberry to create the "hat."
- Using a piping bag, add a dollop of vegan buttercream onto the larger part of each strawberry "body" to form santas beard and face.
- Place the strawberry "hat" back on top of the vegan buttercream, pressing down gently. Add a small dollop of vegan buttercream to the tip of the strawberry for the pompom.
- Add two small buttercream buttons to the larger part of the strawberry.
- Add two small sesame seeds to the Santa face for the eyes and the small red circle for the nose.
Video
Notes
- Wait until you’re ready to use your strawberries to wash and dry them to ensure maximum freshness.
- Use a very sharp knife to cut the strawberries. This will give you clean, pretty cuts.
- Keep your strawberry Santas refrigerated in a loosely covered container. Don’t use an airtight container; the strawberries will go bad more quickly.
- The moisture of the cut strawberries can begin to melt the buttercream. I recommend making them before serving and refrigerating them to ensure the buttercream remains firm.
- Keep in the fridge for up to 1 day.
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