These homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts are built with from-scratch pie crust, strawberry jam filling, and the iconic white icing. Don't forget the rainbow sprinkles.
The “nowstalgia” trend is firmly here, encouraging us to indulge in favorite sweets from childhood, but with a modern twist. Strawberry Pop-Tarts are one of our most beloved snacks, but now that we’re hyper aware of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, not many of us are reaching for a box as adults—not even off-brand Pop-Tarts. Instead, “nowstalgic” homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts are the new best thing—a true copycat version with better ingredients and no sealed foil bag. Spoiler: They taste better, too!
Ingredients for Homemade Strawberry Pop-Tarts
- All-purpose flour: Measure the flour carefully by spooning it into the measuring cup. Sticking the measuring cup straight into the bag will pack in too much flour, which will make your pie crust dough dry and easily breakable.
- Butter: We often call for room-temperature butter in our baking recipes, but not here. Cold butter helps create the flaky layers in pie crusts. What I like to do is cube the butter, then stick it in the freezer while I prep the rest of the crust ingredients. I wait until I need the butter to take it out of the freezer.
- Eggs: One egg helps bind the pie crust ingredients, making the dough more manageable.
- Milk: Two-percent milk moistens the pie crust. Start with just 2 tablespoons and add more as needed, up to 4 tablespoons. Whole milk works, too. Save a little for the icing!
- Strawberry jam: The filling for this homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts recipe starts with the best strawberry jam. There’s no need to use fresh strawberries and go through the whole process of cleaning, hulling, chopping and cooking them down. Easy!
- Cornstarch: The strawberry jam is thick, but you’ll thicken it more with cornstarch so it doesn’t explode out of the sides of the Pop-Tarts.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is the base of the icing. It dissolves without heat, so all you have to do is stir in a bit of milk.
- Sprinkles: Like real Pop-Tarts, these homemade pastries are finished with rainbow sprinkles.
Directions
Step 1: Make and chill the pie dough
Place the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse them until they’re blended. Add in the cold butter, and pulse until butter is the size of peas.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 tablespoons of 2% milk and the vanilla extract. While pulsing, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture to form moist crumbs. If needed, add the remaining milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form moist crumbs.
Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a disk, then wrap them individually in storage wrap and refrigerate them for one hour or overnight.
Step 2: Mix the filling
In a small bowl, mix together the strawberry jam, cornstarch and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Cut the pie dough
Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pie dough into a 12×8-inch rectangle. Using a sharp chef’s knife or pizza cutter, cut the pie dough into eight 4×3-inch rectangles. Transfer the rectangles to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Editor’s Tip: This is the part that takes the longest, but it’s worth breaking out a ruler and being precise to make them picture-perfect.
Step 4: Assemble the pastries
In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Use a pastry brush or a clean finger to brush the egg wash over the rectangles all the way to the edges.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling over each pastry to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll out the remaining dough into a 12×8-inch rectangle, then cut it into eight 4×3-inch rectangles. Place the rectangles over the filling, lining up the edges as best as possible. Press the edges down with the tines of a fork to seal them.
Step 5: Bake the pastries
Bake the toaster pastries until the edges are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove them from the baking sheet and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Editor’s Tip: Don’t move on until the Pop-Tarts are at room temperature. Glazing the Pop-Tarts while they’re still even a little warm will cause the glaze to soak into the Pop-Tarts and become a sticky mess.
Step 6: Add toppings
In a small bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar and milk until they’re smooth. Spread the icing on the pastries. If desired, sprinkle the icing with nonpareils before the icing sets. Let the pastries stand until the icing is.
Recipe Variations
- Play with jam flavors: Don’t feel limited to just strawberry! Try any jam flavor here, like blueberry, peach, apricot, cherry, raspberry—anything! I do recommend sticking with a sweet jam, though.
- Have fun with fillings: Want something completely different? Fill your Pop-Tarts with Nutella, pistachio cream, apple butter, hot fudge sauce or lemon curd instead of jam.
- Try a different topping: Play around with food dyes to give the icing a fun hue. Pop-Tarts decorates its blueberry Pop-Tarts with a fun two-tone blue icing design and skips the sprinkles. You could also decorate the tops with freeze-dried fruits, edible flowers or even edible gold.
How to Store Homemade Strawberry Pop-Tarts
Store homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. You could also store them in the fridge for up to five, but the crust will dry out a little.
Can you freeze homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts?
Yes, homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts are the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert to freeze for later. Stack the Pop-Tarts in a freezer-safe, airtight container, with pieces of parchment or waxed paper between them to prevent them from sticking. Freeze them for up to two months and reheat them from frozen in a convection toaster oven before enjoying them.
Homemade Strawberry Pop-Tarts Tips
What should I do if I don’t have a food processor?
If you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry! You can make the crust by hand. Break out a pastry cutter tool or use very clean fingers to make the dough in a large bowl. Stir together the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt, then work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas. In a separate bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg, 2 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract, then mix it into the dry ingredients. If needed, add the remaining milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form moist crumbs.
Can you make homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts gluten free?
Yes, you can make gluten-free homemade strawberry Pop-Tarts. Replace the all-purpose flour with one of the best gluten-free flour blends—it should contain xanthan gum. For anyone who is particularly sensitive to gluten, check that all other packaged goods are certified gluten free, and that they were not processed in a facility that handles gluten or wheat.
Can I just use store-bought pie crust instead?
Yes, you can use store-bought pie crust instead of making it yourself. Buy one of the best premade pie crusts that’s rolled up, not one of the preshaped ones in a tin. Bring the crust to room temperature before rolling it out so it doesn’t crack. I would buy two, just in case, since premade pie crusts are already cut into a circle, which means you won’t have as much crust to work with as you would with a homemade one.
You could also use puff pastry, following the directions on the box for the best results.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Dash salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- filling:
- 1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- frosting:
- 1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons 2% milk
- Nonpareils, optional
Directions
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1Place flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until blended. Add butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. In a small bowl, whisk egg, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla. While pulsing, add egg mixture to form moist crumbs. If needed, add the remaining milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form moist crumbs. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
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2For the filling, in a small bowl, combine jam, cornstarch and vanilla extract.
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3Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough into a 12x8-in. rectangle. Cut into eight 4x3-in. rectangles. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Whisk egg; brush over rectangles all the way to edges. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling over each pastry to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll remaining dough into a 12x8-in. rectangle; cut into eight 4x3-in. rectangles and place over filling. Press edges with a fork to seal.
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4Bake until edges are golden brown and filling is bubbly, 15-18 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. For frosting, mix confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Spread on pastries. If desired, sprinkle with nonpareils. Let stand until set.
